Breaking All the Rules (22 page)

When she
realized he wasn’t moving, she looked up to find him watching her, a strangely
tender expression on his face. It was almost more than she could take. “I bet
you like seeing me like this,” she said, aiming for sarcastic and achieving
soft and breathy. “All weak and needy.”

“I just like
seeing you,” he said simply.

The urge to roll
her head against his shoulder was there. Nothing could be more natural. She
somehow managed to deny it.

He carried her
into the living room and set her on the couch. She pulled the blanket off the
back of the sofa as he moved over to the DVDs stacked on the shelf. “What do
you feel like watching?” he called.

You
, she
thought, picturing him crouching down on his haunches, the jeans straining
around his muscular calves and trunk-like thighs and curving around his ass.
That was a view she’d never be able to get enough of. To avoid it, she focused
on tightening the blanket around herself. “I don’t care. Your choice.”

“I guess you
don’t have anything besides chick flicks?”

“Well, I am a
chick,” she said wryly. It didn’t seem worth mentioning that most of those
movies had been acquired the last time she’d been sick more than two years ago.
She hadn’t had time to watch any movies since then. In a similarly weakened
state, all she’d wanted to watch was romantic movies with no loud explosions to
hurt her throbbing eyes and ears.

“Hell, do you
even have anything made this century?” he asked. “I haven’t seen any of these.
I mean,
Annie Hall
?”

“That is not a
chick flick. That is simply a great movie.”

“
Annie Hall
it is,” he said, pulling the movie off the shelf. He turned on the set and
popped the disc in the machine, then brought the remote control back to the
couch.

She’d left
two-thirds of it for him, curling up in the lefthand corner for herself. To her
dismay, he lowered himself right down next to her.

“Don’t you think
you’d be more comfortable down there?” she said, pointing a finger toward the
other end of the couch.

“Nope,” he said.
“I’m fine right here. Besides, if you’re cold, we should probably huddle
together to share body warmth.”

“The only thing
I’m likely to share is my germs.”

“I’ll take the risk.”

“Fine. I’m
suddenly bothered less by the idea of you catching my flu anyway. Push the
button.”

She settled back
against the arm of the sofa, determined to ignore him and lose herself in the
movie.

She succeeded
too well. When the final scene ended, she suddenly realized she was leaning up
against him, her head practically on his shoulder.

Startled, she
jerked upright. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention—”

“No need to
apologize,” he drawled lazily. You weren’t putting me out any. I’m glad you
enjoyed it. The movie, I mean,” he added after a belated pause.

“It’s not like I
haven’t already seen it at least a half dozen times already. But I really love
it.”

“I’m not
surprised.”

“Great
characters, great dialogue, great story. What’s not to love?”

“Plus they don’t
end up together.” He raised a skeptical brow. “If I didn’t know better, I’d
think you were trying to tell me something by picking that movie.”

“I didn't pick
it; you did. And I wouldn’t waste my time, because we’ve already established
you can’t take a hint. But if you want to take something out of the movie, that
might not be such a bad idea.”

“And what would
that be?”

“That some
relationships aren’t meant to be. What they had didn’t last forever, and then
they moved on.”

“Except they had
a relationship. You’re still saying we don’t. I can’t even get in the game
here, let alone move on after it’s over.”

Sobering, she
looked at him seriously. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Why are you
trying so hard? Most guys would have decided I’m not worth the trouble by now.”

“I think you
are. If I didn’t, then you’re right. I wouldn’t waste my time.”

“But you
are
wasting your time. There’s no way this can work. I’m not the right woman for
you. I’m not cut out for anything serious with someone in the military.”

“I think you’re
stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

Nina swallowed
hard. “Maybe I don’t want to be that strong,” she whispered. “I don’t want to
have to be.” She lifted her hand to his face and curved her palm against his
cheek, unable to resist the impulse. His stubble bristled beneath her skin, the
sensation so unmistakably male. “You’re a good guy, Bobby. Anybody would be
lucky to have you. You deserve a woman who’s right for you, and someday you’re
going to find her.”

“I think I
have.”

“Saying it
doesn’t make it true. You’re just making things harder.”

“What can I say?
Some things are worth fighting for.”

She sighed and
stroked the pad of her thumb along the hard lines of his beautiful face. She
couldn’t argue with that. He was right. Some things were worth fighting for,
and he seemed to think she or this relationship was one of those things. If she
hadn’t known how impossible this was, it would have been a perfect thing to
say. But they were at an impasse. They could keep going around and around, but
it wouldn’t change anything. It couldn’t unless one of them bent, and she just
didn’t see that happening.

She suddenly
realized just how close they were sitting, how near his face was to hers. “I
shouldn’t be breathing in your face like this. I’ll get you sick.” And yet,
somehow she couldn’t bring herself to lower her hand.

“I don’t mind,”
he said. One corner of his mouth turned up slightly. Peering straight in his
eyes, she could see he meant it.

One of them was
going to be sensible, no matter how much it hurt. It seemed that was her role
to play.

She’d never
hated it more.

With one last
caress against his cheek, she dropped her hand. “Do you want to watch something
else?”

“Sure,” he said,
pushing to his feet.

The temptation
was there to watch him go. She never could get enough of the way his body
moved, the way he looked in or out of clothes…

Instead, she
made herself close her eyes and took a deep breath. There was no way this could
work. All she could hope to do was enjoy the time they had and hoped she had
the strength to push him away before they both got burned in the end.

Chapter Ten

“I’m telling
you, we’re going to have to go get him.”

Bobby shook his
head, shooting another glance at the door. “He’s only a few minutes late.”

Seated across
the table from him, Mac leaned back in his chair. “Because he’s not coming.”

“Let’s give him
a few more minutes.” When they’d called Archer to come and meet them for lunch
at a sports bar not far from his apartment, Bobby had had his doubts about
whether Archer would do it. Of course it hadn’t helped that Mac had been the
one who’d made the call and he hadn’t exactly been polite about it, telling
Archer to get his ass down here by noon. Bobby hadn’t had to hear Archer’s side
of the conversation to know what his reaction had probably been. Still, he
wasn’t going to lose hope just yet. Neither of them had seen Archer in over a
week now, and it would be good to get him out of his apartment.

Bobby glanced at
the door again, just in time to see Archer step into the entryway.

Relief washed
over him. “There he is,” Bobby said, raising his hand to get Archer’s
attention. As soon as he spotted them, Archer nodded and started making his way
toward them.

Bobby watched
him approach, something immediately striking him as different about Archer. His
stride might be a little smoother than it had been last week. But it was more
than that. He wasn’t frowning the way he’d been when Bobby had visited him at
his apartment. He wasn’t exactly smiling either, but he seemed lighter somehow,
his head high and his back straight. Bobby figured that had to be a good sign.
He was glad to see it.

“Hey, thanks for
meeting us here,” Bobby said when Archer reached the table.

“Didn’t sound
like I had much of a choice,” Archer noted wryly, pulling out one of the open
chairs.

“You didn’t,”
Mac said. “I meant what I said on the phone. If you hadn’t come, we would have
shown up at your apartment to drag your sorry ass out of there.”

“You could’ve
tried,” Archer said. “I can still take on the two of you any day.”

“We would have
come to you, but you don’t have any damn furniture,” Bobby said. “Neither of us
felt like sitting on the floor.”

To his surprise,
Archer didn’t have a sharp comeback for that. He simply nodded seriously.
“Yeah, I need to do something about that.”

The waitress
reappeared to take Archer’s drink order. “It’s good to see you out of your
apartment for a change,” Bobby said when she was gone again.

“I’m out of my
apartment all the time,” Archer grumbled good-naturedly. “I have PT…and some
other stuff I’ve been doing.”

Mac barked out a
laugh. “Listen to you, being all mysterious. You going to tell us what you’ve
been doing or what?”

Staring into his
water glass, Archer gave a small, almost sheepish smile. “Went out to see
Mills. Talked to him about that job.”

Bobby sat up a
little in his seat. “You thinking of taking it?”

“I am,” Archer
admitted. “Seems like a good opportunity.”

In his voice,
Bobby heard something he hadn’t during his last visit. Interest. Optimism.
Maybe even hope. The darkness wasn't completely gone from his eyes or his
expression, but it was a start.

“That’s great,
man,” Bobby said, meaning every word. “I’m happy for you.”

Mac clapped him
on the shoulder. “Awesome, buddy.”

“Hell, it’s not
that big of a deal,” Archer said roughly, but there was a note in his voice
that said he knew it was.

“I’m just glad
to see you’ve decided to stop wasting your time and start doing something,” Mac
said. “Maybe you can talk some sense into this guy.” He jerked a thumb in
Bobby’s direction.

“What are you
talking about?” Archer asked.

“He’s chasing
after a woman who doesn’t want him,” Mac said. “Talking about wasting your
time.”

“I’m not wasting
my time,” Bobby said. He shot Mac a dirty look. Mac’s grin never wavered. He
simply shook his head in return.

“What woman is
this?” Archer asked.

“Nina,” Bobby
said, wishing he’d never told Mac anything about his business. “You know, the
one I’ve been hooking up with for a while?”

“And she doesn’t
want you anymore?”

“No, he asked
her out,” Mac interjected before Bobby could answer. “Crazy, right? She said
no. It turned out she thinks he’s just a piece of ass, but he’s been trying to
change her mind ever since.”

Bobby gritted
his teeth, trying to hold on to his temper. “She says she doesn’t want to date
somebody in the military,” he explained to Archer. “Her dad was a naval
officer, and she says she knows the lifestyle and doesn’t want it.”

Archer appeared
to let the words sink in. “Huh. That’s a new one. Usually all you hear about is
women who can’t wait to get their hooks in a guy in uniform.”

“Leave it to Looch
to find the one woman who isn’t,” Mac smirked. “Always gotta do things the hard
way.”

“And you’re
still going after her?” Archer asked.

“I like her,”
Bobby said. As soon as the words came out, they felt wrong. No, he knew by now
that what he felt for Nina was a lot stronger than “like.” Not that he was
ready to admit it to these two. He wasn’t sure he was entirely ready to admit
it to himself. “I could see something between us. So yeah, I’m seeing if I can
change her mind.”

Archer raised
his water glass to his mouth. “Huh,” was all he said. The look on his face said
a hell of a lot more.

Bobby frowned.
“You don’t approve?”

“Hey, it’s none
of my business, is it?”

“Go ahead and
say what you’re thinking.”

Archer shrugged
a shoulder. “Okay. You sure it’s a good idea?”

“What do you
mean?”

“We all know
guys who had wives and girlfriends they thought would be waiting for them when
they came back—only to find they didn’t stick around. And it’s not an easy
life. If this woman’s telling you upfront that she’s not cut out for this, do
you really think you should be trying to change her mind?”

“Save your
breath,” Mac muttered. “I told him the same thing. Didn’t make any difference.”

Mac
had
told him that, Bobby realized. At the time, he’d dismissed the words without
really hearing them. Because Nina was stronger than that. He knew it.

Or at least he
thought he did.

This time the
warning stopped him dead. A chill ran through his veins as it sank in.

Archer shrugged
a shoulder. “Maybe it should. Trying to push her into something she doesn't
want doesn’t seem like something that’s going to work out too well for either
of you.”

Archer gave him
a hard look. Bobby wanted to deny it, wanted to argue Archer was wrong, the way
he had with Nina so many times.

But he couldn’t.

The image of
Nina’s face, looking sad and vaguely pained, as they’d sat together on her
couch came back to him. At the time, the significance of her expression hadn’t
really hit him since she’d been sick and pale at the time. She’d already looked
pretty rough. But now it was all he could see, as the words she’d whispered
reverberated in his head like a distant echo.

Yes, Nina was
strong.

Except, as she’d
told him plenty of times by now, she didn’t want to be. Not when it came to
being with someone in the service.