Shit. He was a goner.
He’d seen it happen with Mustang. Then Midas. And now he was acting the same way his friends had after they’d met Elodie and Lexie, respectively. But instead of being freaked out about it, contentment filled him.
It was hard to believe twenty-four hours ago, he didn’t know Kenna existed. It felt as if the entire trajectory of his life had changed since meeting her. That sounded nuts, and he knew it, but he also didn’t care.
Maybe he and Kenna wouldn’t work out. There was a lot they needed to learn about each other. But Aleck had a feeling he could be in it for the long haul…and he was one hundred percent all right with that.
Smiling, he greeted Jag with a grin and they headed down the sidewalk toward another parking garage, where Aleck had left his Jeep. Neither spoke, both lost in their heads. Things had changed for both of them that night, and it was a lot to process.
Chapter Six
One week.
That’s how long it had been since Kenna last saw Marshall, and she was almost giddy with the thought of getting together with him later that morning.
While she may not have seen him, they’d talked every day. She’d texted him when she’d gotten home from the work shift from hell and ten minutes later had received a note back. He’d let her know he was also home. Even though it was late, they’d talked back and forth via text for another thirty minutes before she called it a night.
When she’d woken up the next morning, Marshall had already left her a good morning message.
She hadn’t lied, she liked texting. Liked using emojis. And so far, he hadn’t seemed annoyed with how often she shot him messages. Kenna thought back to the parking garage, where he’d admitted that he liked the thought of getting texts from her because it meant she was thinking about him.
He wasn’t wrong.
But then again, Kenna found herself thinking about Marshall all the time. He intrigued her. She’d met her fair share of military men and women at Duke’s, but something about Marshall, and his friends for that matter, seemed different. More intense. It was probably because they were Navy SEALs, but she didn’t think that was the only reason.
They were definitely protective—look at how fast Mustang had gotten to her and pulled her away from Shawn, how quickly Jag had gotten Carly out of Shawn’s grasp, and how easily Marshall and Midas had subdued him. But it was more than that.
They were good men. Kenna would bet her life on it. She was a fairly good judge of character. She’d learned from years of waitressing to sum up patrons at a glance. She could tell who were tourists, who would probably be stingy with tips, and which customers were going to be a pain in her butt. And she was rarely wrong.
Marshall could’ve been an ass about her interrupting his training session. He could’ve yelled at her, told her to get the hell away from him. He could’ve been pissed that he’d gone all the way down to Duke’s with the expectation of a date, and instead she was working. He could’ve wanted nothing to do with her and Carly after what happened, deciding the entire situation was simply too much drama. But that didn’t seem the case.
Carly knew men in general were good at hiding their crazy from others. Heck, serial killers didn’t exactly wear a sign warning people away from them. She’d seen enough murder shows to know most people acquainted with a killer said something to the effect that they “seemed so normal.”
While Marshall might not be perfect, he was certainly the most interesting man she’d met in a very long time. And for some crazy reason, he seemed to like her. Not that Kenna thought she wasn’t likable. She was. But her dating life had been pretty pathetic recently, so it was nice—really nice—to find Marshall so into her.
She was excited about meeting him near the Naval base today, where he’d give her a tour. They didn’t have long, since it was Friday and she had to work later, but he’d gotten permission from his commander to take a few hours off.
Marshall had offered to come into the city to pick her up and bring her back to the base, but she’d declined. Kenna liked him, but she wasn’t ready for him to see where she lived. It wasn’t smart, even though he seemed amazing and she felt safe with him.
Her phone vibrated with a text and she looked down and smiled at seeing the note from Marshall.
Marshall: Looking forward to today. It feels like it’s been a month since I’ve seen you.
Kenna: Me too (and please tell me you’re wearing your uniform! Hubba hubba!). And I feel the same way.
Marshall: I’ve got on my BDUs. Nothing special.
Kenna rolled her eyes. Guys had no clue how much women liked a man in uniform. There was no explaining why, at least for her. It just was. And she couldn’t freaking wait to see Marshall in his. He was hot in jeans and a black T-shirt. But camouflage? Be still her heart.
Marshall: Cat got your tongue?
Kenna: Just trying not to drool on my phone, thinking about you in a uniform. Any chance I’ll get to see you in your dress whites someday?
Marshall: I’m sure that can be arranged. ;)
Shit, had he just used the winky emoji? Kenna couldn’t stop smiling.
Kenna: You sure you still have time to show me around today?
Marshall: Absolutely. Nothing short of world war 3 would keep me from our date today.
Kenna: So it’s a date?
Marshall: Yes.
One word. Kenna could practically hear his emphatic response.
Kenna: Cool. So I’ll meet you in the parking lot for the Pearl Harbor memorial in an hour?
Marshall: I can still come and pick you up if you want.
Kenna: I know, and I appreciate it. But…as much as we’ve talked in the last week and as much as I like you, I’m not comfortable with you knowing where I live yet. Sorry.
Marshall: Don’t apologize. I’m not comfortable with you knowing where I live yet either.
Kenna wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not. It was hard to tell that kind of thing over text. And since he didn’t use any funny emojis to help her figure it out, she decided to just move on.
Kenna: You’ve got a yellow Jeep, right?
Marshall: Yup. I’ll text you when I get close. Wouldn’t want any other guys with yellow Jeeps horning in on my date.
Kenna sent an eye-rolling emoji.
Kenna: Not sure you have to worry about that.
Marshall: Their loss is my gain. I need to go. I’ll see you in an hour. Drive safe.
Kenna: I will. Later.
Marshall: Later.
Kenna sat back on her couch and couldn’t help but smile. One of the things she liked most about Marshall was how much he made her laugh. He simply made her happy, which felt really good.
He’d proven to be a good listener as well. One night after she got home from work, and after an especially hard shift with table after table of assholes, she’d sent him a brief note about how tired she was and wishing him a good night. He’d immediately messaged back and asked if he could call.
They’d ended up talking for an hour. Kenna had gone on and on about the more frustrating parts of her job and the various ways people acted like jerks. He hadn’t blown her off or made jokes. He’d listened. Then he’d shared some of his shitty experiences with humans.