Trigger stared down at her. He used his thumb to brush away the lingering wetness on her cheeks. “I hate that I made you cry.”
Gillian shrugged. “I overreacted.”
“No, you didn’t. I was an ass and didn’t explain myself. I’ll try not to let it happen again but…I’m a guy, so it probably will. But in the future, don’t let me get away with being all closemouthed and shit. Get in my face and force me to talk to you. Don’t slink away and cry because I made you feel bad, okay?”
“I…I’ll try.”
“Okay. And yes, if you think you’ll be comfortable, I’d love to have you sleep in my arms—on the couch.”
“I’m comfortable anywhere you are,” she reassured him.
Running his hand over her hair gently, he couldn’t help but wonder how the hell he’d gotten so lucky. Going down to Venezuela should have been just another mission. Just another opportunity to take out some of the bad guys in the world. Instead, it had changed his life forever. It had brought him Gillian.
He pulled himself from her hold and helped her stand, guilt swamping him once again when he saw she was indeed wearing leggings. That she’d covered herself from head to toe in fabric. Wishing he was strong enough to tell her to put her shorts and tank top back on, Trigger pulled her out of the room toward the couch, and their bed for the night.
He sat and immediately pulled her into his embrace. He swung his feet up onto the soft leather and lay back with her in front of him. They were cramped, and the sofa wasn’t overly comfortable, but it was what Trigger needed to keep himself under control. He felt bad that he was putting his own needs above Gillian’s, but he didn’t change his mind on their sleeping arrangements.
“I’m sorry you had a hard day,” he said softly.
“You made it better in the end,” she told him.
Trigger kissed the back of her head and inhaled her sweet scent, filling every cell of his body with her honeysuckle smell.
“Sleep well.”
“I will now that you’re here,” she said sleepily.
Trigger stayed awake a long time, thankful that he hadn’t fucked things up between them so badly she’d kicked him to the curb. Gillian was always so competent, so take-charge and confident, that he needed to be extra careful not to say or do anything that would take a chunk out of her armor. He loved her just the way she was.
Chapter Twelve
Friday, Gillian had to work, and to her surprise, Walker was completely all right with just hanging around her apartment. He did some work of his own on his laptop, but otherwise spoiled her rotten. He brought her coffee in her new Wonder Woman mug and made her an amazing breakfast of eggs and bacon with homemade biscuits to top it off. For lunch, he went out and grabbed them some sushi. After she’d called a few new clients and got some research done on the events they wanted her to plan, she and Walker had talked more about where he was taking her the next day.
Apparently, the daughter of one of his Army buddies was a tomboy and loved participating in the obstacle course events the base had for kids. She was twelve years old and, according to Walker, one of the cutest kids he’d ever met.
Gillian hadn’t spent a lot of time around children, but was looking forward to meeting Annie and spending time with the guys on Walker’s team. She’d met them, of course, in Venezuela, but hadn’t spent any quality time with them. She was nervous, but looking forward to getting to know everyone.
For dinner, Walker grilled steaks on her cheap outdoor grill—complaining the entire time about how crappy it was, and how he was going to need to get her a new one since he’d be spending a lot of time at her place.
Gillian liked that thought.
That night, they once again fell asleep on her couch, but this time Gillian didn’t overthink it. She wanted to move her relationship with Walker forward, but she wanted him to want that too. It felt a little weird to be the one pushing for more, but even that made Walker more attractive to her.
Saturday morning, they woke up early and, while Gillian showered, Walker once more got her coffee and breakfast ready.
“You’re totally spoiling me,” she mock complained when she emerged from her room dressed and ready to head to Fort Hood.
“Good,” he said with a smile. “Just buttering you up so when I screw up, you’ll find it easier to forgive me.”
Gillian knew he was joking but frowned anyway. “Walker, I don’t expect you to be perfect all the time. You’re going to mess up, just as I am. I’d like to think that, while I might be irritated, I can put it behind me. I like you for who you are.”
“Good,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “Because I like you just the way you are too. And if you drive me crazy by leaving dirty clothes on the floor, I can look past that too.”
She chuckled and playfully hit him in the arm. “I’m guessing that’s your way of telling me you’re a neat freak?”
He smiled. “Yup. The Army trained me well.”
“As long as you don’t leave beard trimmings in the sink, I’m okay with that.”
He looked horrified. “I don’t.”
“Good. Can I use your razor in the shower?”
“Nope. I have to draw the line somewhere,” he said with a smile. “I’ll get you your own razors.”
“Deal.”
Gillian sighed in contentment. She was enjoying spending time with Walker. She knew next week he’d be back at work and she’d be busy with her own business, but she’d hate not being able to wake up with him and banter like they were right now.
“What’s that look for?” he asked with a tilt of his head.
“I like this,” she said.
“What?”
“This. Teasing. Chatting. Having you make my coffee and eating breakfast with you. I was just thinking about how I was going to miss it…you…next week, when we went back to our regular lives. Forty miles isn’t that far, but when I wake up alone on Monday morning, I have a feeling it’ll feel like a thousand.”
“I know, Di. I feel the same way. We just have to make the most of the time we do get to spend together,” Walker said softly.
She nodded. “I’m looking forward to today.”
“Me too. Come on, enough melancholy. Let’s concentrate on one day at a time.”
“Agreed.”
An hour later they were on their way to the Army base and Gillian couldn’t wait. They pulled onto the base and, after having their IDs checked, continued to the parking area for the competition. It was packed, and Walker had trouble finding a place to park, which surprised Gillian. She had no idea something like this would be as well attended as it was.
Taking hold of her hand, Walker headed around a building to the field where the obstacle course was located. Gillian had a hard time believing kids would be going through the course laid out in front of her.
It had tires and ropes, but there were also wooden boards set up so high, she didn’t think any kid would be able to get over them. “Holy cow,” she said under her breath.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Walker said with a chuckle.
“Yeah.”