Soft Place to Fall (Navy Book 4)

Chapter 29

Carmen had returned to her room and taken a very long and hot shower to cover her tears. She hadn't expected to see Will, but she had hoped to be able to find out where he was, and now she knew. She should be glad at how the entire situation had worked out in the end. The meddling women, Laura included, had saved her a lot of embarrassment.

At least this way it had looked as if she hadn't necessarily been there for him. If she had gone to all of the trouble to track him down he would have known the truth. That she had fallen for him. It was probably something he was used to so he would recognize the signs, and a woman tracking him down when he didn't want to be found screamed desperate.

She had never been desperate for a man, and she wasn't going to start now. Wrapping herself in the hotel bathrobe, she fell on the bed and fell into a fitful sleep. She dreamed that she kept screaming at Will to turn around and see her but he wouldn't because he couldn't hear her.

When she awoke she was crying and there was a knocking on her door. Looking at the clock she saw it was after ten, which meant that it was probably Laura or Davis checking on her. She wiped her tears as best she could before opening the door, leaving the slide lock in place for protection.

Her eyes grew wide when she saw Will peering down at her through the small opening.

"You've been crying Carmen, why?"

She shook her head in denial, and Will gave her a tender smile. "May I come in?"

She thought about it for a moment, weighing all of the consequences, before she nodded and closed the door before opening it wide so he could enter. She turned her back to him and wiped her face once more then tightened the belt on her robe.

"Why are you crying?" he asked again as he closed the door behind him. His concern only made her want to cry more.

"I had a bad dream, that's all," she assured him as she motioned for the table and chairs that were as far away from the bed as she could get. He followed her lead and took a chair, waiting to sit until after she had.

"What was the dream about?"

"It doesn't matter."

"If it made you cry it matters," he insisted.

"I don't remember."

"Yes, you do, please tell me." His eyes wandered over her face. A gentle Will was so hard to resist.

"Why did you leave?" she asked softly.

He didn't get mad at her dumb question, she knew it was dumb as soon as she asked it. He seemed to understand it though, where it was coming from.

"The obvious answer is because you told me to and you're a stubborn woman. If I hadn't of left you would have."

"What's the less obvious answer."

"Because if I had stayed I would have hurt you." There was so much pain in his eyes, and she wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him it was alright, but she couldn't. Not yet. This was the first time that they were talking honestly and they needed to have the discussion.

"Because you would have left eventually." She nodded. Everyone left eventually.

"No-" His voice broke on the word and he had to clear his throat. "I would have destroyed you because I wouldn't have been able to leave."

Carmen felt her heart start to pound at his words. It wasn't quite a declaration of love but it was close. She licked her lips and he followed the movement with his eyes as the silence between them grew heavy.

"What was your dream about Carmen?" he asked once more.

"You."

He waited patiently for her to continue. "You're all I seem to dream about. Sometimes they're happy dreams, sometimes they're sad." She shrugged as if it was no big deal.