The memory of Carson’s parting words made her heart squeeze, reminding her again of just how much of a moron she was. He was right. She did want to be with him. She’d walked away from him that first night at the club because she’d been scared of the intense desire he’d evoked inside her. And she’d walked away from him yesterday because that intense desire had somehow transformed into something a little too close to love, and that had scared her more.
But she wasn’t scared anymore. Steve might have broken her heart, but Carson had put the pieces back together.
So maybe it was time to quit acting like an idiot and give him what he wanted. What she wanted.
Starting the car, Holly reversed out of the driveway, knowing exactly what she needed to do.
Carson wasn’t picking up his phone. Holly left him three voice mails, but by the next day, he still hadn’t called back. She would have driven over to his apartment, but she was ashamed that she didn’t even know where he lived. She’d tried so hard to keep him at a distance, to keep things on her own turf, that she hadn’t bothered to find out his address.
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Heat of Passion
By the time the early evening rolled around, she was getting frustrated. She needed to see him, damn it! Apologize for asking him to leave, for calling him selfish, when all he’d tried to do was show her that it was time to quit letting her family take advantage of her.
There was only one other way she could think to find him, so just after six, she got into her car and drove across the bridge to Coronado. At John and Shelby Garrett’s wedding, she’d overheard that the bride ran a bakery and coffee shop near the Navy base, so Holly headed in that direction. She found the place quickly—the name, Shelby’s Bakery Café, helped narrow it down—and ten minutes later she’d parked her car at the curb out front.
The bell over the door jingled as she stepped inside. A few elderly women sat at a small table by the window, sipping coffee, but the gorgeous blonde from the wedding was nowhere in sight. Holly drifted through the doorway that separated the café from the bakery, and found Shelby Garrett standing behind the counter, blowing her nose with a crumpled tissue.
It was obvious the other woman was upset, and Holly was about to back away when Shelby caught sight of her.
With a strained smile, Shelby said, “Can I help you?”
“You’re Shelby, right?”
The blonde nodded.
Holly offered a smile of her own. “I’m Holly Lawson. I work for the company that catered your wedding.”
A spark of recognition filled Shelby’s blue eyes. Holly couldn’t help but notice how pretty the woman was. She looked like she belonged in an advertisement for surfing gear or something, all California girl good looks.
“Is this about the check we wrote?” Shelby asked with a sigh. “Johnny swore he put the right date on it, but he tends to accidentally postdate his checks all the time.”
“No, as far as I know, everything is fine.” Holly moved closer to the counter, discreetly pretending not to notice the other woman’s red-rimmed eyes and blotchy www.samhainpublishing.com 63
Elle Kennedy
cheeks. She hoped there wasn’t trouble in paradise already. The couple she’d seen at the wedding had looked so disgustingly in love, it would be a shame if they’d somehow lost that lovin’ feeling.
“I’m actually here about something else. Well, some one.” She swallowed, absently glancing at the cakes sitting in the refrigerated glass cases next to the counter. “Carson Scott. He’s your husband’s friend, right?”
A rosy blush swept over Shelby’s cheeks. “A friend of both of ours, actually.”
Holly could sense there was a whole story behind that one sentence, but this probably wasn’t the best time to pry. Instead, she moistened her lips and said, “I’m trying to get in touch with him, but he’s not answering his phone. I was hoping maybe you could give me his address.” She quickly pressed on. “I swear, I’m not a crazy stalker or anything. Carson and I…have been seeing each other, I guess. I just needed to talk to him.”
“I’m afraid his address isn’t going to help you right now,” Shelby answered. “The team left for an assignment last night. I have no idea where they are, or when they’ll be back.”
Shelby had barely finished her last sentence when a few tears slid down her cheeks again. Looking embarrassed, she swiped at them with the sleeve of her green V-neck shirt. “I’m sorry. I know, it’s pathetic, huh? I shouldn’t get this hysterical over John being away. It’s what he does. I knew that when I married him.” She blinked a few times, her lashes spiky with wetness. “But it still sucks, you know? Never knowing if he’s okay, making coffee and baking cakes while he’s God-knows-where, possibly getting shot at.”
With a shaky breath, Shelby raised her tissue and blew her nose again.
Her words brought a spark of alarm to Holly’s gut. Getting shot at? She’d been so focused on herself ever since she’d met Carson that she hadn’t given much thought to what the life of a SEAL was like. God, was he in danger right now? The idea sent her pulse racing.
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