“Nope. But then again, he doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy who’s very impressed with any woman who has the smallest speck of independence in her veins.”
They heard the car door shut on the other side of the vehicle, and Aleck turned to see Jag give him a chin lift and head back toward the elevators. They were carpooling back to the base, and Aleck figured Jag would wait for him down on the sidewalk.
Not able to stop himself, he lifted his free hand and ran the back of his fingers over Kenna’s cheek. His heart rate increased when she tilted her head into his touch.
“When can I see you again?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. I’m going with Carly to apply for the protection order tomorrow, then I work tomorrow night. I’ve got some errands I need to do this weekend as well. What’s your schedule?”
“Pretty much eight to five,” Aleck admitted. “I work out with the team in the mornings and sometimes we have training, like we did this morning. If something comes up, we might have the occasional late meeting.”
Kenna frowned. “When I work the dinner shift—which is really the only shift I work anymore—I have to be there around four.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Aleck told her. “If you think I’m gonna let something like our work schedules keep me from getting to know you better…you’re wrong.”
She smiled up at him. “I have Sundays free. Because I’ve worked at Duke’s so long, I’m able to request not to work them.”
“Me too,” Aleck said, returning her smile. “Except if I’m on a mission.”
“Does that happen a lot?” Kenna asked.
Aleck shrugged. “Enough.”
“Right. So, um, you want to do something Sunday?” she asked. “Not this one, because I have errands, and I want to hang out with Carly and make sure she’s okay, but the next one?”
“Yes,” Aleck said without having to think about it.
“Cool.”
“Yeah. Cool. In the meantime, do you mind if I call? I know you work evenings, but I could call on my lunch break…if that works for you.”
“That sounds great. And are you a text kind of guy? I admit that I am,” she told him.
“I have a feeling I am now,” he said with another smile.
“Just ignore me if I get too annoying,” she said.
“Never.”
“Famous last words,” she said with a chuckle.
“Nope. If you text me, that means you’re thinking about me and wanted to reach out to share something. How could I ever get annoyed knowing you contacted me because I was on your mind?”
She blushed. “Well, when you put it that way…”
“I’ve dated my share of women,” Aleck said, hurrying to continue when she frowned. “Some have only been with me because I’m a SEAL. Others were hoping we’d get married and they’d be set for life…because let’s face it, the military has some pretty good benefits. A few were just out for a good time. And a couple were with me for another reason…which we can talk about later. But none of them have made me feel like you have after just one day.”
Aleck knew he was being sappy, which totally wasn’t like him. He was the smart aleck, the joker. But around her, he couldn’t seem to play that role.
“I like you, Kenna Madigan. And while I might not be able to text you back right away if I’m in meetings or something, know that seeing a message from you pop up on my screen will make me smile, and that I’ll always like hearing from you.”
She stared up at him for a moment. “Another reason?” she asked. “Should I be worried?”
“That’s what you got out of all that?” he asked with a small chuckle.
“Hey, I’ve learned to listen to the little things. They’re usually the most important.”
“No, you shouldn’t be worried. Not at all.” Aleck looked at his watch, then said, “We’ve known each other for three-point-two seconds and we’ve already had a good amount of drama. We can save any more revelations for another time.”
“Fair enough,” Kenna said. “I’ve dated my fair share of men too, and plenty were just looking for regular sex. Or they thought they liked me until they got to know me. Or they wanted me to be more…reliant on them. I’m independent and I like it that way. I’m an extrovert who loves meeting new people. I like my job, as you know, and I have no intentions of quitting and becoming a stay-at-home mother. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s not for me. The stay-at-home part, not motherhood.”
“You want kids?” Aleck blurted.
Kenna shrugged. “Sure. Someday.”
For a split second, he couldn’t get the image of her pregnant out of his head. Which was even crazier than all the other crazy tonight. But still…
“Marshall?” she asked.
“Yeah?”
“Please don’t be a psycho.”
He burst out laughing. “I’m not.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“Even if things don’t work out between us, you aren’t going to be all…weird…right?”
“If you mean weird like Shawn was tonight, no. I have no desire to chase after a woman if things between us aren’t working out, especially one who doesn’t want me. And even if I fall madly in love with you, but you don’t reciprocate my feelings, I swear I won’t be…weird…if you break up with me.”
Kenna nodded. “Okay.” She looked behind him at the car, then met his gaze once more. “I should go. Get Carly home.”
“Yeah.”
Neither of them moved.
Aleck wanted to lean down and kiss the intriguing woman in front of him, but knew it was too soon. He settled for squeezing her hand. “Drive safe. Would it be presumptuous of me to ask you to let me know when you get home?”
“Only if you’ll do the same,” Kenna said.
“Deal.” Weirdly enough, no one had ever asked him to let them know when he arrived back at his place safely. Maybe it was because he was a guy. Maybe it was because he was a SEAL. But he couldn’t deny her concern felt good.
He forced himself to let go of her hand and reached for the door handle of her car. He opened it and, once she was seated, leaned over. “Be safe, ladies. Carly, I’m glad you’re okay tonight. And for the record…you will always be one hundred percent safe with Jag. He’s one of the good guys.”
“I just don’t want him to get the wrong idea,” she replied quietly.
“He’ll follow your lead,” Aleck assured her. And he would. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t do whatever he could to change her mind about being just friends. His teammate definitely couldn’t take his eyes off Carly tonight, making his interest loud and clear to his friends.
It was a good thing he’d taken Carly away and kept her safe, because if Jag had stayed to deal with Shawn, things would’ve gotten ugly. Aleck had no doubt about that.
“Thanks for walking us to the car,” Kenna said.
“My pleasure. I’ll talk to you later.”
Kenna nodded, and once more Aleck had to force himself not to lean over and take her lips with his own. He shut the door and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He gave the women a small chin lift and headed for the elevators.