“Hey, guys.” Madison acted like it was no big deal being stared at by twenty men in uniform. Though being in the military herself, it likely wasn’t. “Is my brother around?”
“He left for lunch a bit ago with Robertson and Phillips. Should be back soon,” one Marine answered Madison. But his eyes never left Skye. She might have taken the attention as a compliment, if the kid looked old enough to shave. But she was pretty sure attraction wasn’t his main reason for the double-glance.
“We’ll wait in his office then.” And with that, Madison wrapped one hand around Skye’s arm and tugged her into a room off to the side.
After shutting the door carefully behind them, Madison sighed. “Sorry, I thought most of them would be at lunch now. Stupid me, forgetting there’s another deployment gearing up immediately. I didn’t know how to introduce you, so I didn’t.”
Skye was about to say that was fine when the door opened.
“O’Shay, I need you to—oh. Sorry, ladies. Madison!” A man who looked to be in his late forties stood in the doorway, a smile on his face for Madison. “I didn’t know you were here.” He took a step in the office, propping the door behind him. “Tim’s not around?”
“Afternoon, sir.” Though she didn’t pop a salute or anything, Madison’s posture became stiff, almost rigid. “The PFC said he’d be back soon so I thought we’d wait. Is that all right?”
“Sure is.” He looked over at Skye. She could feel his gaze raking over her from head to toe. Observing, judging. She should be used to it by now, really. She must have some sign on her back that said Peruse at your leisure. “And who is this young lady?”
A movement in the doorway caught Skye’s eye. She turned and, with a combination of relief and dismay, found Tim standing there. His mouth was set in a grim line, eyes shuttered and unreadable.
“Afternoon, sir. This would be my wife.”
***
So much for easing into the marriage slowly.
Colonel Blackwater turned, his face a blank slate. “Wife?”
Tread carefully, man. “Yes, sir. My wife, Skye…” He hesitated, not sure whether to use her own name or his. She hadn’t legally changed it, but keeping her own last name might not sound right to a conservative man like the Colonel. So he pushed on. “My wife. Skye, this is my CO, Colonel Blackwater.”
The man wasn’t an idiot. He might have questions for Tim, but he turned a smiling face to Skye and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. You’ll have to excuse my surprise. Apparently Tim was keeping a lid on this one.”
The man had no idea.
Skye smiled and nodded, then gave the Colonel a firm handshake. But he could see she was nervous. “Nice to meet you, sir.” From Tim’s angle, he could see as she reached back to covertly wipe her hands on her flowing, ruffled skirt. Sweating palms. Tim could relate. Then he took a moment to look over her whole outfit.
With her blouse and sandals, and her hair a curling mess, she looked like a wild gypsy come to entertain the troops. He half-expected her to break out a tambourine and start dancing for coins.
And why did that mental image make him want to smile?
“How long have you two been married?”
Skye started to answer, but Tim cut her off. “Newlyweds, sir.”
Blackwater gave him a long look, then nodded. “I’ll just head back to my office and give you a few minutes alone.” The Colonel paused by Tim as he headed out the door. In a low voice only Tim could hear, he warned, “We’ll talk about this later,” then left.
The silence in the room was deafening. Tim had no clue what to say. He was glad to see Skye, yes. But not here. Not in his office. Not yet anyway. He wasn’t even close to ready to make the news of his marriage public knowledge before he had a chance to figure out the angle.
Guess that was just too damn bad.
He wanted to say something, but she looked so miserable. Her hands were clenched around the edge of his desk, and she wouldn’t make eye contact. Well, wasn’t this marriage just off to a great start.
Madison cleared her throat. “I, uh, found an apartment. I’m moving in over the weekend.”
“I’ll see if Jeremy and Dwayne can come over to help.”
“Oh, don’t bother them,” she said quickly.
“They’ll want to help.”
“Great!” Her voice was cheerful. But Tim knew that smile was the one she used every time she wanted to pretend the world was right, but everything was really wrong. What the hell was that all about?
She grabbed Skye’s arm and tugged. “Sorry we intruded. I thought we could just slip in really fast and catch you to say hello but…” She shrugged. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He tousled his sister’s hair, just to piss her off. He wasn’t disappointed. Her face flushed and her mouth set in a stubborn line. “I’ll see you when I get home. What do we have in the freezer?”
“I’ll get some steaks out.”
Skye mumbled something under her breath, and Tim looked over, surprised. Shit. Was dinner something he should be talking to her about? Was she upset? God, being married was hard.
“Um, are steaks okay with you?” He didn’t even know if his wife ate meat. Everyone ate meat though, didn’t they?
“Uh.” She glanced to the side and gave a strangled, “Sure.”
Okay. So maybe she wasn’t a huge red meat fan. Tim liked chicken as much as the next guy. “How about barbeque chicken instead?”
Skye’s face paled just a little and she swallowed hard. “Sounds delicious.”
Total lie. But she clearly didn’t want to talk about it now. His eyes still on Skye’s, he motioned with his head toward the hallway. “Madison. Out.”
He waited for the door to shut. “What are you doing today?”
She sighed. “We spent the morning looking for a place for Madison. And now I’m going to go put in some résumés at restaurants.”
“What? Why?” He stepped back to look at her.
Skye wore a bemused smile. “Because there are no casinos that I could work at,” she said, like it was obvious.
“You don’t have to work.” Did she think she needed to? That he didn’t make enough money to support her?
“I want to. I’ve always worked, and I want to continue. So I’m looking for something related to my old job. I might have to start at the bottom of the food chain, but that’s okay.”
Tim shook his head. Talk about a one-eighty from expectations. “If that’s what you want then.”
“It is.” She slithered by him, her skirt wrapping around his ankles for a moment. It would be so easy—so damn easy—to toss her up on the desk and flip that skirt up. What would she wear under something like that? Cotton? Satin? Lace?
Nothing?
“Tim. Hello?” Skye waved a hand in front of his face.
His mind snapped back. “Huh?” Okay, maybe it didn’t snap back so much as make a slow slide into Idiot Land.
“You were staring at your desk. You just blanked. I was trying to say good-bye.”
“Ah. Right.” Skye was having an entire conversation and he was stuck in a zone, staring at the spot he’d imagined her ass perched on. Even without touching her, he wasn’t safe with her around. “I’ll walk you to the car.”
“Nope. That’s okay. We already interrupted your day enough as it is.” Her smile was wide, but her eyes weren’t shining like he was used to.
With another quick check to make sure the door was shut, he reached out and pulled Skye to him. The feel of her arms wrapped around his back was heaven. Added bonus, he was completely restricted from trying anything that might or might not have been appropriate, since anyone could come through the door. But God she felt good against him.
He propped his chin on the top of her head. “I’m
glad you stopped by.” He gave her a quick kiss on the nose before dropping his arms and opening the door. Madison stood on the other side, arms crossed, foot tapping.
“Ya done yet?” she huffed.
“Bug off, squirt. It’s your day off. Not like you had something better to do.”
“Yeah. Day off. Meaning I have to use today to get all the crap done I don’t have time for on the days I’m not off.” She grabbed Skye’s forearm and started walking toward the outer office door. “We’ll see you at home,” she called over her shoulder.
“Bye!” Skye yelled as the door to the outer office was shutting behind her.
Tim stood for a moment, watching the two women disappear through the window in the office door.
“Who was that, sir?”
Tim glanced to his left to see PFC Malone staring the same direction, eyes all but bugging out of his head.
He rolled his eyes. “Back to your desk, Marine.”
***
“O’Shay, you’ve always impressed me.” Colonel Blackwater leaned back in his chair, elbows resting on the armrest, fingers steepled in front of him. “I’ve enjoyed our discussions. I’ve admired your work ethic. And nobody can complain about your attributes. Fourth generation Marine. Top of your class at the Naval Academy. Breezed through TBS.”
Tim felt his gut tighten. This sounded very much like it was leading up to a huge “but.”
“However—”
Close enough.
“—I am more than a little surprised to find you married.” He leaned forward over his desk. “Is this a new development?”
“It’s, well…” Tim took a deep breath. He had to remember that he’d done nothing wrong. Unconventional, sure. But wrong? No. “We’re newlyweds, sir.”
“I haven’t seen your wife at any functions yet. Did she not want to attend things while you two were dating?”
“She lived out of state until we married, sir.” Total truth.
“I see.” Clearly he didn’t, given the frown that pulled at the CO’s mouth. “Well, I hope she feels comfortable in the battalion. Gets involved. Joins the wives’ club. That sort of thing. You know how I feel about spouses plugging into the available resources. And it’s my personal opinion that spouse support can be the major difference between a Marine’s success or failure in his career.”
Tim disagreed with that thought. What did it matter if his wife went to a spouse meeting once a month? Besides, Skye didn’t sound much like a joiner to Tim. But now was really not the time to bring up her unique perspective on life. “I’ll definitely bring it up with her.” He could just tack it onto the list of things they had to discuss. Starting with “What’s your middle name?”
He nodded sharply. “I hope so. I count on you to be a good example to the younger Marines. And your marriage is a part of that. Setting up good family standards will help solve any possible future problems. I think everyone knows how I feel about family life and its possible consequences in the workplace. A distracted Marine is a dead Marine.”
Tim hated that anything in his personal life was considered a requirement for work. Not all commands ran like this. But Blackwater was big on knowing everyone’s shit, and a failing family would be seen to him as a major sign of weakness. But instead of telling the CO to mind his own business, he simply said, “Yes, sir.” Because what else could you tell your boss?
He’d have liked a little more credit than this. He wasn’t a guy to run wild on the weekends, to get speeding tickets every other night, or get tossed in the drunk tank repeatedly. He wasn’t filing for bankruptcy or defaulting on child support. He just got married. And maybe it was a little like tooting his own horn, but Tim thought he was a guy who was steady enough in his work that he could make sure a problem at home wouldn’t become a major disaster at work.
Apparently the CO held everyone to the same standard.
Tim walked back to his own office with cold sweat pooling in his lower back. He hadn’t expected to have to explain his marriage so quickly. Easing in would have been much more welcome.
Guess it was just time to take the plunge and hope the waves didn’t knock him on his ass.
Chapter 8
Skye wiped her hands on the dishcloth and surveyed the table set for two. The place was a total bachelor pad, with no napkins—paper or cloth—and she couldn’t find anything that remotely resembled a vase in which to put the flowers she’d picked up at a market with Madison earlier, along with a few food items for herself. So she’d settled for a plastic pitcher for the bouquet and set the table with the paper plates and plasticware, with squares of paper towel for napkins. She winced at the waste she could only imagine he’d accumulated up to now.
But as Madison pointed out, she was too busy to care what she ate off of most the time, and Tim was, well, a guy.
He did, however, have a set of steak knives and some of those little corn holders. Skye laughed to herself. Priorities.
While helping Skye find everything in the kitchen, Madison assured her that she had actual matching dishes and silverware, but she’d never unpacked her things when she moved in. Though that turned out to be lucky given the fact that she hadn’t stayed in Tim’s place long.
Madison, much to Skye’s combined disappointment and delight, had cried off for dinner. Skye wasn’t buying the “I forgot I promised to meet a coworker” excuse. Madison was playing matchmaker. Skye just couldn’t decide if the added pressure was amusing or distressing.
Could someone be a matchmaker if the couple was already matched?
“Squirt? Are you here?”
“It’s just me!” Skye called out from the kitchen. “Madison forgot she had something to do so she took off.” She opened the fridge and leaned in to find the steaks and veggie kabobs that Madison put in to marinade earlier and backed out, only to bump into something.
“Oh!”
“Easy there.” Strong hands circled her waist and steadied her, then one took the dish of steaks from her hand. “I’ve got this.”
“Thank you.” Skye turned around and ended up staring at the word “O’Shay” stitched to Tim’s uniform. Had he gotten taller since she last saw him? No, her imagination was running away with her. She looked up all the way and asked, “Where’s your hat?”
“My hat?” His brows scrunched. “Oh. Right.” Tim stepped back and set the dish on the counter. “It’s actually called a cover. Any hat that I wear with my uniform is a cover.”
“Cover. Right.” She seriously needed that notebook to start taking notes. Maybe he wouldn’t mind if she stuck Post-its all over the house.
“I’m going to go upstairs and change. Then I’ll be back down to start up the grill.”
Skye nodded and watched as he left the kitchen. His boots, with their thick soles, should have made some serious noise on the hardwood, but she heard nothing. What she noticed was the way his butt looked in his pants. They were just tight enough to give her a good peep before he turned the corner and was out of sight.
Turning toward the fridge, she opened the door and stuck her head in to cool her flushing face. Her mother would roll her eyes if she knew how unbelievably turned on she was by the sight of a man in camouflage. She could hear the tisk tisk now.
“A Marine? They shoot people, dear. That’s hardly an exercise in peace. They’re walking, talking killing machines.”
“Are you truly checking that man out? That’s objectifying him just like a man objectifies a poor woman forced to become an exotic dancer for money.”
“Why couldn’t you have met someone on the commune? A nice pacifist.”
Just imagine what she would say if Skye told her she’d married the killing machine. In a—gasp!—legally binding ceremony.
“Are you looking for something?”
Bang.
“Ow!�
� Skye stood back and let the fridge door shut, holding the back of her head where she’d bashed it against the freezer door. She turned to glare at Tim, almost glad for the pain. It cast a nice haze over her lust, allowing her to look at him without blushing. The fact that he’d tossed on a T-shirt and baggy jeans helped too. “Do you use that sneaky tactic on terrorists?”
He gave her a wry grin. “Terrorists usually aren’t mumbling to themselves with their heads in the refrigerator. But if I found one in such a situation, sure. What are you looking for?”
“Oh. Um…” She grabbed the bowl of lettuce she’d washed earlier. “Just this.”
“Hmm. I’m going to get started at the grill. How do you like your steak done?”
“Uh, same as yours.” Did that sound right? He nodded and headed out the back door to the patio, so it must have sounded normal. Oh God. Was she really going to have to eat that? Okay. Sooner or later, she’d have to admit she really didn’t eat meat. Why hadn’t she said so already? How hard was that? I’m a pseudo-vegetarian. There. It’s not like she was admitting to leprosy.
Though she had a feeling that he-man out there might very well consider them one and the same.
This isn’t going to start off well if you are constantly trying to impress him. That’s what people do when they’re dating. You’re not dating. You’re married. So start showing it all. Now.
She watched as he stepped out through the back door and onto the concrete patio to fire up the grill before turning and starting to set the table with foods Madison had assured her were Tim’s favorites.
His favorite foods. How he liked his steak cooked. How she didn’t want steak at all. Things people found out while they were dating. Things that were basic, didn’t require a second thought to a married couple.
They’d just have to figure it out as they went along. And she would have to stop hiding little details just to smooth things over. Skye rolled her shoulders and fought past the dread that tried to claw her down. This wasn’t a bad sign. This wasn’t the end of the world. They just went out of order a little bit. There had to be a reason for it.
The Officer Says I Do Page 9