Rex shrugged. “Can’t help it. She’s having a hard time getting over being buried in the dark in that mountain.”
“And you’re helping her, and now you’re thinking that’s the only reason she’s tolerating your ugly mug?” Ace asked with a smirk.
Rex wasn’t in the mood to joke about this. “Fuck off,” he muttered.
Ace got serious and put a hand on Rex’s shoulder. “Women are hard to understand sometimes, but if she didn’t have feelings for you, there’s no way you’d be sleeping in her bed every night.”
“She’s scared of the dark,” Rex admitted. “She called me in the middle of the night and was completely freaked out even though she had every light on in her apartment. She hadn’t slept in a week and was at the end of her rope.”
“Fine, so maybe she was using you that night, but the ones after that? No,” Ace said firmly. “I’m not saying you aren’t helping her, because I’m sure you are, but she’s a grown woman. And a nurse at that. She knows there are other ways to get over her fears. Psychotherapy, drugs…whatever. If she didn’t have feelings for you, you wouldn’t still be in her bed, Rex.”
Rex wasn’t entirely convinced.
“She can’t take her eyes off you for more than few minutes at a time,” Bubba said. “She’s sitting out there with Phantom and Caite, but turns her head to check to see where you are constantly…just as you do to her.”
“I’m scared,” Rex admitted to his friends. It wasn’t something he’d ever say to anyone he didn’t trust one hundred percent, but the men in front of him had been through hell together.
“I’m terrified every single day that Zoey will come to her senses and decide she can’t live with my quirks anymore,” Bubba admitted.
“And even though Piper’s carrying my child, I’ll always worry that one day she’ll wake up and decide being married to a SEAL isn’t for her,” Ace added.
“You know as well as we do that our futures aren’t set in stone,” Bubba told Rex. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take hold of what we want. Embrace it, man. If you’re looking for guarantees that she’ll never leave you, or that life will always be a bed of roses, you’re not going to get it. Life is messy. It’s hard as fuck. There’ll be times you’ll fight and she might think she regrets choosing the life she did. But that just means you have to work harder to show her that she made the right decision after all. That you’re worth it, even when you feel fucked up inside and out. Just as she’ll do the same when you’re pissed at her for some stupid shit she did.
“Life’s a risk, Rex. You know that as well as any of us. So what the hell are you waiting for? The time will never be ‘right.’ You might think you want to wait until she’s out of danger, but what if she never IDs the terrorist? Are you going to be merely a friend to her for the rest of your life? That’s not fair to either of you.
“Either you’re in or you’re out,” Bubba continued. “You could be killed on our next mission. Or have a leg blown off. Or one of her patients could lose their mind in the hospital and kill her. You just don’t know. But one thing’s certain, if you wait for the perfect time to make your relationship work, you’ll be waiting forever.”
Rex looked back out to the porch and caught Avery studying him with a worried look on her face. She mouthed, “Are you all right?”
He realized he’d been frowning while Bubba had been lecturing him, so he smoothed his facial expression and nodded at Avery. She smiled at him, and he smiled back, then she turned back to the conversation she’d been having with the others on the porch.
When Rex turned back to Ace and Bubba, they were both grinning like idiots.
“Point made,” Rex said with a smile.
“Good. Now, how about we go outside so I can make sure my wife doesn’t overdo it on the beach, and you can reassure your woman that you’re all right,” Ace suggested.
Rex followed his friends out the door and laughed when they barely said anything to Caite, Phantom, and Avery, and instead made a beeline for their women on the beach.
“Did you guys get everything taken care of?” Avery asked. “I’m happy to go in and help.”
“We’re good,” Rex told her. He nudged her to scoot down one step, and when she did, he sat behind her and pulled her back into his arms. It was after dinner, but the sun was still up. They had at least another hour and a half before it got dark. Rex made a mental note to stay no longer than an hour so they could be back at her apartment before it got dark. “Anything interesting going on out here?” he asked.
“Rani and Sinta are playing keep-away from Kemala, except Rani keeps dropping the ball. Kemala could’ve easily snatched it up several times, but she’s been pretending to trip, just to keep the game going, and probably so Rani doesn’t feel bad for not keeping the ball from her sister,” Caite said with a smile.
“Sounds like something she’d do,” Rex said with a nod, then leaned over and put his chin on Avery’s shoulder. He felt her relax and tilt her head to rest against him. He felt…content.
“Avery said she’s never been to Aces Bar and Grill,” Caite announced.
Rex stiffened. Aces was a cool bar, but it was also known as a pick-up joint. He and the other guys on the team had been there many times in the past, back when they’d been trolling for women. It had been quite a while since he’d had any desire to go to a bar, especially to pick up women.
Though, Aces was owned by Jessyka Sawyer, the wife of one of the SEALs on Wolf’s team. Word was it was less of a pick-up joint now…but that didn’t mean he wanted Avery hanging out there.
“So I said I’d take her one night.”
“Seriously?” Rex asked. He turned to glare at Caite, and saw she was grinning from ear to ear. “You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?” he asked.
She giggled. “Sort of. But I thought she might like to go for a girls’ night with me, Sidney, Piper, and Zoey.”
“Lunch,” Rex said without thinking.
He only realized what he’d said when Avery gave him a look.
Shit, he hadn’t meant to say anything that would let her fear of the dark out of the bag.
But bless Caite, she didn’t question him, just went with it.
“True. That would be better. Piper said she falls asleep around seven at night because of the baby. And we all like to be home when you guys get off work. Lunch works for me. Avery?”
“Sure, that sounds good.”
“Cool. I’ll arrange it and be in touch,” Caite said.
“Give it a few weeks,” Rex told her.
Caite frowned in confusion, but Phantom knew exactly what Rex meant. “No luck with the pictures today?” he asked Avery.
She sighed, and Rex felt the tension return to her muscles.
“No. And it pisses me off. I must’ve missed him. I’m going to start back at the beginning again, but I know I won’t finish before the first unit arrives stateside,” Avery told Phantom.
Caite, who’d probably been filled in with what Avery was doing by Rocco, frowned. “That sucks. I’m sorry, Avery.”