Page 26 of Some Like It Hot
“The answer to that is yes.”
“Or no. I was in a hurry, trying to get the fire mopped up, my brain thinking about Tucker and Skye and not on my job, and I could have gotten myself—or one of my teammates—killed.”
She’d been on this side of many post-attack dark evaluations and now sat on the chair again. “It doesn’t help to rehash it. It happened. Deal with it.”
He looked over at her. “Sheesh. What happened to Sunset Girl? I liked her—bring her back.”
“She woke up. Answered a call to pick up an injured smokejumper and realized that she was right back in a war zone. No thank you.”
“Wait—youaremad at me.” He grinned then.
“Why are you grinning?”
“Because you like me. My charm worked. You missed me. You’reworriedabout me.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Come over here and kiss me.” He even reached for her.
“Have you lost your mind?” She got up and put the chair between them. “You’re arrogant and reckless and you drive me crazy. Our little sunset conversation was a bad—very bad—idea and I’m…leaving.” She headed for the door.
“Stop being such a coward.”
She stopped, turned.
He’d dropped his hand, his smile gone also, those brown eyes flashing. “I was kidding about the kiss—mostly, butyouweren’t. You do like me, and that scares you. A lot. Enough to run.”
“I’m not running. I’m…you’re fine. And I have to get back to the ranch—”
“You’resorunning, but…not from me, I don’t think. I mean, yeah, technically, but I just remind you of your ghost.”
She quirked an eyebrow.
He cocked his head. “Freeman, wasn’t it? The guy you loved. Who died because—he saved your life?”
Her mouth opened, and, okay, fine. “You’re right. You do remind me of him. He was reckless and made a stupid decision. I was pinned down, yeah, but I was fine. Safe. And he ran out through the chaos and got hit for nothing. And what’s worse, if he’d just told me he was hit—good grief, I’m a medic. I could have done something. But he just…he justsacrificedhimself because…because—”
“Because he loved you?”
She stared at Riley, the fact that he’d said it so softly it landed like a punch to her sternum. Crazily, her eyes filled.
“Because he didn’t believe I could take care of myself.”
Riley gave her a sad look. “That’s a lie, and you know it. You were a soldier. He did it because he couldn’t stop himself.”
She closed her eyes, her jaw tight. Opened them and walked over to the window. “He should have. It’s my fault he’s dead.”
A beat.
Then, “That’s a lie, too.”
“It feels true.”
“Larke. I didn’t know Freeman, but I do know that it’s simply instinct for a guy to protect the woman he loves.”
She wiped her wettened cheekbone. “Maybe. But I wish everyone would stop acting like I’m breakable.”
“Who does that?”
“I’m the only girl in a family of men. And they act like I am the weak one, that they needed to protect me.”
“You’re their sister—”