Soft Place to Fall (Navy Book 4)

Chapter 5

It was a few days before Carmen saw Will again. Dana and Quinn had left to go and visit their family in New York which left Carmen alone in the house. At first it had been great. She had turned off her phone and read books in between taking long naps, but after a few days she felt the need for some fresh air and sunshine, so she put her ball cap over her messy up do, got into the dreaded overalls, and ventured outside.

After a few minutes of wandering she noted a creek and she didn't waste any time in sliding off her shoes and rolling up her pants. The water was crisp and clear and she could see the fish as they swam around the rocks. She splashed about for a few minutes before she found a shady spot to sit and think about nothing in particular.

Her mind jumped from her current situation, to her past week, to the upcoming photo shoot. Davis Stevens was taking the photos again. This time they were focusing the photo shoot around women doing jobs that weren't necessarily thought of as feminine. They were also going to try to include some women who actually did the jobs. The last she had heard they were going to be focusing on women in sports, construction, the military, and female mechanics, but with Davis running the show it all could change at any minute, Carmen loved cars so she was secretly looking forward to the mechanic photo shoot. The idea behind the campaign was that no matter what the job was there was no reason a woman couldn't look good doing it.

Carmen thought it was a little sexist, but since the company was run by men she wasn't really surprised by the choice. Knowing Davis he would put his own unique spin on it and make it all pro-woman, taking the company's outdated idea and bring it into the present.

She heard a horse's exhale from across the water and she looked up, startled to see Will watching her from atop a massive horse; his hat sitting low on his head.

"Finally ventured out of the house?" he asked.

Carmen was speechless once again as she took in the sight of him. Hopefully, he thought she was silent because she was being unfriendly. The last thing she wanted him to know was that he took her breath away.

"Awww Honey, are you mad because I didn't come and see you sooner?"

There it was, that easy charm that made a girl want to smile at the very least, but she didn't smile as she remained silent.

He was not one to be easily discouraged, and she watched as he guided the horse across the creek, effortlessly dismounted, and tied the massive beast to the nearest tree. "You look positively stunning in the morning light."

Now he really was laying it on too thick and Carmen gave him her best arched eyebrow to let him know it.

His smile only broadened as he moved into her space, towering over her. She had to fight the urge to stand. He knelt next to her, tilting his head as he let his gaze wander from her head to her feet. It felt as if he was looking into her and seeing her, not the image she was presenting.

"There's a very serious question I've been wanting to ask you." His voice lowered and he took off his hat as he moved closer, his face growing serious.

Carmen was mesmerized by this serious side of him. It was as if he was letting her see the real man behind the charm, and he wasn't as happy as he pretended to be. There was a pain behind his eyes, she recognized it because she sometimes saw a similar pain when she looked in the mirror.

He put his lips to her ear and she held her breath at his closeness, if she turned her head she would be in his face, her lips on his.

"Tell me Honey, do you taste as good as you look?"

It just about worked. She had almost fallen for it and told him to kiss her and find out, but thankfully, she came to her senses before she could open her mouth. Instead she placed her hand on his chest and looked up into his eyes, giving him her best simper.

"Will, that's something you'll never find out," she said just before she pushed him hard, causing him to fall into the creek behind him. Standing, she looked down at him. "The name is Carmen but it's Ms. Morales to you."

He actually had the nerve to laugh at her, not at all upset by what she had done to him. Some of the men in her past would have hit her for less and she suddenly felt bad for having pushed him.

"I'll stick with Honey, because I bet you do taste just at sweet, despite your sharp tongue." He stood up, looking down at his pants and t-shirt which were plastered to his well-muscled body. "Does this mean you like me enough to go to dinner with me this evening?" He looked up at her, squinting one eye against the sun, a lock of beautiful blond hair falling across his forehead.

She must have imagined his earlier seriousness because there was no evidence of it currently. Her answer to him was to turn her back to him and march up the hill towards the house.

"Just so you know Honey, I'll be dreaming about you."

She was glad that her back was to him because she could no longer hide her smile at his complete incorrigibility.

She had little doubt that she would be dreaming about him too.

*******

Will watched her march up the hill. Even with rolled up overalls she still looked like she belonged on the runways of Paris. He didn't know why he had teased her the way he had. He hadn't teased a woman like that in over a decade.

It hadn't been the question he had wanted to ask her, he had wanted to ask her out to dinner, and he thought the honest serious approach would work best, but as he had grown serious he had seen something in her eyes, something that reminded him of things he would rather forget. And, as was his normal, he automatically switched to easy and light.

In his defense, it was a question he had thought about over the last few days.

Now he had to find a way to woo her out to dinner, sooner rather than later. He didn't like what he was seeing on the video surveillance. Everything that had been installed was top of the line, but there was someone who kept trying to hack the system. Something a simple stalker wouldn't have the resources to do. The stalker he had seen the night at the airport was still around, but Will had the suspicion that he was only a decoy.

He wished that Josh would let him reveal himself to Carmen. It would make things much easier for all involved, as things stood now, all he could do was watch and learn, and he was not a patient man. If he could get Carmen out to dinner it might draw out the decoy, and he might be able to get Carmen to unwittingly answer a few of the questions that he had.

A few of which were more personal than they needed to be.

*******

Carmen had wandered back onto the porch after lunch. She hadn't taken two steps before she saw her shoes and a jar of honey on the porch with a note. At least this time she knew they weren't from a stalker. Will seemed to lack the finesse to stalk anything.

She opened the note, suppressing a smile.

''I'll pick you up at seven. We'll decide about the taste testing after dinner. - Will'

Why did her chest feel like it was going to explode with excitement? It was only a dinner invitation. She wandered over to the swing and sunk onto the padded seat. She knew she would go, but only because she was bored and a night out sounded like fun. How should she dress though?

Deep down, her feminine instinct wanted to dress to impress, but it was Will so she should probably do the opposite, if only to keep the man under control. She wasn't an overly vain woman but she knew that if Will found her attractive when she didn't try he was bound to find her more so when she did.

Unless he was just having fun with her. Maybe he thought she was an ugly duckling and she was an easy target. Was that it? Did he think he was so irresistible to women that he could make any one of them that he wanted fall for him? If he thought that about her then he had another think coming. She had held off some of the most handsome and famous men in the world with ease. Holding off one Will Pruitt would be a piece of cake. But she would dress down just in case.