Falling for Her Soldier (9 page)

“Thank you,” she said, grateful for the vote of confidence.

“I offered to help, even though I’m way out of my depth here. But I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Thanks”—she chuckled under her breath—“again.”

He opened the door for her, and she glanced at him as she passed into the parking lot. It was still a wonder that the stories Sam told her about Hunter and the guy holding open the door were the same person. The man she was getting to know might’ve been a flirt who tossed around laughably cheesy lines. But other than that, he’d been polite and helpful and well-behaved.

And hot. She could not forget the hot part, no matter how hard she tried.

Thank goodness for those twenty-three more days…

“Will you have dinner with me?” Ellie asked, much to her own surprise. Hunter seemed just as stunned. And why shouldn’t he be? Hadn’t she shot him down twice already and told him never to try it again?

“Uh, sure,” he said. “Of course.”

“It’s not a
date
,” she tweaked, if only for her own benefit. “We need to, ya know, figure this out.”

“We sure do,” Hunter said, wearing a pretty intense expression as he looked at her. Not since yesterday had her legs done that wobble dance. They were wobbling now. “A
lot
of figuring out to do,” he added under his breath. He looked extra sexy when he was thinking hard. She’d need him to think hard to help her come up with a plan.

“I’m driving,” he said.

Ellie flashed a glance at his pretty car, the desire to see the inside pulling at her again. What harm could it do? It was just a drive. She’d even pick some place close to eat.

“Okay,” she caved without a fight. “But I’m paying. My invitation, my treat.”

Hunter opened the passenger door for her. “I didn’t agree to that.”

“But—”

“Shhh. We’ll discuss it later.”

Ellie said nothing more and got in the car.

It had black interior, that really thin, tight leather. And a bench seat. Something about that made a tingle tiptoe up her spine; maybe the fact that there was no gearshift or cup holder separating her from Hunter when he slid in beside her. The door made a metallic moan when he pulled it closed.

She ran her hand over the dash.

“You’re petting my car,” Hunter said, turning the key. “I usually charge for that.”

“I’m not into heavy metal,” she admitted, “but this is really cool.”

“Thanks. It took me seven years.”

She looked at him in surprise. “You restored this?”

“With my own two hands.”

Ellie couldn’t help doing a quick examination of his hands. They certainly looked capable of restoring a car. Capable of other things, now that she thought about it.

“That’s why it took so long,” he added, driving out of the parking lot.

“That’s impressive.”

“You sound surprised.”

She shrugged one shoulder. “I sometimes forget Army people have interests outside the Army.”

“I have many interests, Ellie.”

She stared straight ahead, wanting to look at him but not wanting to look at him. “Hmm, I’m
sure
you do.”

He burst into laughter. “Okay, we need to get something out in the open.”

When she glanced at him, the way he was looking at her, how his eyes flicked to her mouth for just an instant, made Ellie wonder what he had in mind. Though she had a pretty good idea.

“I know Sammy told you a bunch of stories about me.”

Ellie nodded. “He sure did.”

“It was fair of him.” Hunter squinted into the sunset. “But…”

“Let me guess: You’re not like that anymore.”

She couldn’t help laughing at the way he gaped at her.

“Well…yes.”

A second later, she stopped laughing. It surprised her how much she wanted to believe him. There was another warning gnawing at the back of her mind, though she couldn’t pinpoint what it was.

“Look, it doesn’t matter what I know about you—this isn’t a date.” She motioned to the empty space between them on the bench seat for some reason. “It’s a business dinner. We have to plan the fund-raiser, that’s it. Deal?”

“If that’s what you say, boss.” The side of Hunter’s mouth curled into a slow smile.

They drove in silence while Ellie nibbled her thumbnail (bad nervous habit!), trying not to conjure the image of Hunter smiling across the bench seat at her…then maybe even sliding over. She was startled when they pulled into a parking lot and stopped.

“Where are we?”

“You didn’t tell me where to go, so I made an executive decision.”

“Oh.” She peered through the windshield at the flashing black sign. “I’ve never been to this place. Good ice cream?”

“Pie,” he said. “But not until after.”

…

“Okay, back to business.”

But Charlie hadn’t been thinking about business for more than an hour. He’d been fairly preoccupied by the tiny bit of blackberry pie filling clinging to the corner of Ellie’s mouth. It had been there for a few minutes and he didn’t have the heart to say anything. It was too cute, and he enjoyed the way his imagination ran wild with ideas of how to remove it.

“Business,” he echoed.

Ellie pushed aside the pile of napkins she’d been jotting on. “I think the best idea is to have something splendid, something everyone will either want to see or want to be at.”

“You mentioned an auction,” Charlie said, trying very hard to stay engaged in the conversation. But the way she kept licking her bottom lip,
almost
getting the blackberries but not quite, was driving him to distraction.

“Do you plan on auctioning yourself off?” Ellie asked with a smile.

“Not unless you’re the only bidder,” he couldn’t help saying. He was rewarded with a laugh, and was that the tiniest blush on her creamy cheeks?

“Be serious. What goes over big with military people?” She furrowed her brow and stared into the distance.

Charlie didn’t have an answer for her, but it seemed like she was talking to herself, anyway. He’d never been an idea man, but he would support whatever Ellie wanted to do. Maybe if he just kept nodding, he could continue dreaming up ways to remove that dab of blackberry. His ideas were becoming more and more R-rated.

“That’s not half bad,” she said. “What about if we…”

And now she was biting her plump lower lip and twirling a strand of her red hair around one finger. Was she trying to kill him?

“I don’t know, though,” she added. “What do you think?”

Charlie had no idea what she was talking about, but he nodded and said, “Great.”

“Really?” She rested her hand at the back of her long neck and leaned an elbow on the table. Every movement was mesmerizing. Charlie had never been so taken by simply watching a woman before. But he couldn’t sit and watch forever, not if he didn’t want his head to explode.

“I think…I think it might work,” she said. “We don’t have much time. Do you think we can pull it off?”

The only thing he wanted to pull off was her—

“What are you staring at?”

Charlie blinked about five times, then gave himself a mental skull slap for where his mind had been.

You’re thinking like Hunter. Stop it.

“Um, you have something on your…” He reached a hand out and came within an inch of her full lips.

Ellie snatched a napkin and blotted her mouth. “Oh.” She was blushing fiery red. “
That’s
attractive.”

Very
, Charlie couldn’t help thinking.

“So that’s it, then,” she said, still blotting her mouth. “That’s our plan.”

Again, Charlie had been too caught up in his own daydream to follow along, but Ellie was the creative force; whatever her big idea was for the fund-raiser, he’d do whatever she said. Hell, he would wring the last dollar out of every philanthropist in Indiana, if that’s what she wanted.

“Sounds good.” He nodded mechanically for the hundredth time in an hour.

Ellie tilted her head, her hair falling over one eye. “I’m a little amazed by you,” she said.

“Why?”

“I thought I’d have to talk you into it.” She rested her cheek on her palm, leaning forward. “You’re a lot different than I thought you’d be. Men don’t normally surprise me. But you sure do.”

Charlie felt warmth spread through his chest, down to his core. He was about to say something like, “I’m full of surprises, baby, just you wait,” but stopped. He wasn’t that guy anymore. He was someone who wanted Ellie Bell to like him and trust him.

“We should probably start right away,” she said. “I mean, you… Well, I don’t want to
presume
, but you need to learn it, right?”

“Learn what?”

Ellie blinked at him. “The tango, Hunter. Unless you already know how.”

“What tango?”

“The dance. That is what we’ve been talking about, right?”

He felt his expression contort in complete confusion. “You want me to dance the tango?”

She lowered her arm and leaned back in her seat. “Why do you sound surprised? You just agreed to it. I asked you three times.”

Had she? He had no recollection of agreeing to do a tango or any other kind of dance. He would never do a thing like that. He was a
soldier
, not a dancer. He opened his mouth but didn’t speak. Not yet.

The way Ellie was looking at him now, her soft, lily-pad eyes so hopeful, and yet behind them, it was as though she were bracing herself to be let down…let down by him.

He was not about to do that.

“Tango,” he said under his breath. What the hell was that? He had a vague recollection of the movie
The Scent of a Woman
. Wasn’t it a tango Al Pacino did? And he was playing a blind man. And wasn’t his character a Marine? Hmm, if a badass like Pacino could do it…

“I’m not holding a rose between my teeth,” he muttered.

Ellie laughed. “I promise I won’t make you do that.”

He lowered his chin to his chest. “I don’t know how to dance,” he admitted. “Like, at all.”

“I’m a teacher. You’ll be in excellent hands.”

Hey, now
. Dancing with Ellie. Holding Ellie in his arms. How bad could that be?
Yeah, not bad at all, soldier.

“When do we start?” he asked, maybe a bit overexcited at the notion.

“What about tomorrow morning? The studio is empty for a few hours. Can you meet early? Maybe seven?”

“I play hockey in the morning with some buddies,” he said, wondering how he was going to break this kind of news to Jack and Rick. They would never let it go. “But we should be done by then. That’ll also give me a chance to talk to Rick; he’s the one who owns the newspaper.”

“Cool,” Ellie said, her face brightening. “This might be kind of fabulous.”

Other than the tango, Charlie still didn’t know Ellie’s plans; he’d been too preoccupied by her blackberry mouth while she’d been talking.

“So…just so I’ll know
exactly
how to pitch the idea to Rick,” Charlie said, going for subtle, “what
exactly
do you have in mind?”

“A ball. It’ll be formal and elegant; we’ll charge per head and invite everyone. I’ll get some of the other girls at the studio to pitch in with the entertainment, so it won’t be just us.”

Entertainment?
Charlie’s smile wobbled, but he held strong.

“Maybe even a silent auction,” Ellie added. “Though I’ve never planned anything on this scale.”

“I can put you in touch with my sister, Tess,” Charlie said. “I’m pretty sure she’s been involved in fund-raisers before. Something was going on at her high school where she used to teach.” He rubbed his chin, remembering. “Actually, that’s how she met her husband.”

“This is the one who’s having a baby?”

He nodded.

“I would love to meet your sister.”

Charlie smiled, though he couldn’t shake the prickle of uneasiness at the back of his neck. Maybe it was because of the talk he’d had with Tess the other night about Ellie. Maybe it was the fact that—knowing Tess and her BFF Mac—women “talked” about everything. Or maybe it was the slow dread creeping up his throat, knowing he would have to learn to dance. And then do that dance in front of a bunch of people.

How had this happened?

Ellie was still beaming, her light green eyes gazing off into the middle distance, her red hair like a fiery halo.

Yeah, Charlie knew
exactly
how it had happened.

Chapter Seven

Ellie closed Yahoo, opened the music app, then inserted her phone into the jack and scanned to the first playlist. The theme from
Swan Lake
spilled through the studio speakers. Cheesy, yes, but Ellie was in a cheesy mood this morning.

“Why are you here so early?”

Ellie spun around to find Jane holding the glass door open with a foot. “Oh, hey. I want to get my own workout in before Hunter shows up.”

Jane snorted and dropped her purse. “Still can’t believe you talked him into doing a tango.”

“There was no talking him into anything,” she said, turning toward the mirrored wall. “He’s totally willing.”

“Hmm.”

“You’re suspicious of him now?” She rested her heel on the barre and leaned across her leg, stretching out the muscle. “Two days ago you told me to go for it.”

“Oh, I’m still all for that,” Jane said with a smile. “It’s good you’re out there again.”

“No one’s
out
anywhere. Hunter’s great…pretty amazing, actually.” Ellie recalled his expression last night after telling her she had food on her face. She’d never seen a man look so…hungry. At the thought, she couldn’t stop her own smile from pulling at her mouth. After a few seconds, though, she felt her smile dim. “But he’s not…I don’t know, he’s not…”

“Charlie?”

“It’s stupid, but I can’t just
stop
thinking about him, wondering.” She unzipped her warm-up top. “I told Sam yesterday. About the e-mails.”

“Did he freak?”

“Not really. I thought he would; he’s been so protective and bossy lately, I assumed he would blow a gasket. But he didn’t. He seemed kind of confused at first, but then said it was cool and changed the subject back to my volunteer project at the WS.”

“That’s good, right? You didn’t
want
him to get mad.”

“I know.” She looked down, making sure the long ribbons of her pointe shoes were tied properly. “I guess I was hoping to talk about it—about him. I wanted to find out more about Charlie, but I came up empty-handed.”

“That’s a bummer,” Jane said. “No good to dwell on it.”

Easier said than done
.

“Anyway, didn’t mean to disturb you.” Jane slid her purse strap over her shoulder. “I just popped in to grab stuff for the cleaners. Be back before first class.”

“See ya,” Ellie said, and waved good-bye.

By then,
Swan Lake
had advanced to
Sleeping Beauty
, so Ellie continued her warm-up, doing more stretches and reaches and a series of body rolls at the barre. Down on the floor, she stretched out her feet, ankles, and hamstrings, finishing with a few extra minutes on her needy knee.

She was on her feet—or rather, the tips of her toes—by the time the first movement of Chopin’s
Nocturne B-Moll
filled the room. Already in the zone.

Her movements felt natural and safe, like coming home. Every
pirouette
, every
arabesque
transported her further into a world she loved.

Ballet
was
love. Like falling in love. The weightlessness and breathlessness, the soaring, the fluid and sweeping movements. The way she could close her eyes and let her body go. Let everything drop away and just feel love.

When the tempo of the nocturne built, Ellie went with it, spinning with more speed, not worrying about making the perfect landings, just pointing from end to end, extending up and out, reaching for the love, lost in a heavenly whirl.

But even within the ecstatic transcend, thoughts pushed into her mind…

She’d promised she would not read the e-mail again, and she was glad Jane hadn’t shown up two minutes earlier and walked in on her doing just that. But after last night’s dinner with Hunter—how amazing he’d been, how willing to help…how
unlike
the infamous Big Game Hunter—Ellie needed
to read it. It was the last message Charlie had sent: her favorite one, and also the one when he’d said good-bye.

This morning started out pretty hectic,
Charlie had written toward the end of the message.
No need to bore you with details, but suffice it to say that my day took an upswing once I read your e-mail. Thank you, Ellie, for the gifts I find in my inbox. Seeing “ladyellie” on an e-mail instantly brings a smile to my face and makes me happy, and I say happy because it’s the only word I can use to describe why there is a grin on my face at the end of this very, very long day. But I do need to thank you now, for everything, in case this is my last chance to say it properly.

It had to have meant good-bye. After all this time, there was no other way to read it. She couldn’t help being disappointed. Despite everything, she wasn’t ready to let it go.

If only she could see him.

She closed her eyes and tipped her chin, spinning faster and faster until she was dizzy, trying like mad to picture his face.

…

Charlie had never seen anything like it. He’d heard the term before, but hadn’t been able to comprehend what it meant until now. Ellie was a swan. Graceful and fair and perfectly elegant. Her long legs and arms bent and moved in ways he couldn’t understand.

He remained outside the glass doors of the dance studio, not wanting to disturb her. Charlie knew what it was like to be in the zone; he got like that while running laps or lifting at the gym. You could lose yourself in the cadence. Ellie looked lost. Beautiful and lost. And he couldn’t pull his eyes away.

He’d kind of blown off ballet as something silly because he didn’t understand it. But watching her graceful movements, he appreciated the passion and the beauty. His chest ached with longing while he watched.

Her long red hair was down, and it flew every time she twirled, spilling over her shoulders as she dipped forward, exposing her long neck whenever she tipped her chin to the sky. She looked completely at peace.

Charlie didn’t think he’d ever felt that kind of tranquility before. Certainly not since his last mission. Come to think of it, the only times he felt anything close to that was when he’d read one of her e-mails.

Ellie took a few running steps, spun, then flew through the air. Recalling her knee injury, Charlie held his breath and gripped the door handle. But she landed perfectly, strong and sure, like any other athlete. When she lifted up on those pointy shoes and balanced on her toes, new muscles appeared.

Without thinking, he passed through the open door and into the studio.

Ellie didn’t notice him, still locked inside her head. As she curved her long arm then extended it his way, their eyes locked over the tips of her fingers. For a moment, neither of them moved.

“Sorry,” Charlie said over the classical music. “I didn’t mean to…”

Ellie dropped her arm and lowered from her toes to flat-footed, still gazing at him. Her expression was unreadable, but she almost looked disappointed that it was him. Who had she been hoping would walk through the door?

“Am I interrupting?” He was about to follow up with asking if she wanted to be alone, but he couldn’t imagine leaving.

“No,” Ellie said, her cheeks rosy from her workout. “I was just thinking…about…”

“Me?” he asked hopefully, but then added a self-deprecating smile.

“No.” Her answer came almost too quickly. “Not you.”

“Do I know the guy? I’ll kill him.”

Ellie laughed softly, tugging at the ends of her red hair. “You probably do. He’s in your unit, with you and Sam.”

A gust of coldness blasted through his body.
Charlie, she was thinking about damn Staff Sergeant Johansson
… He’d never been so jealous of himself before. It was weird, but very real. He opened his mouth, dying to tell her, but remembering his promise to Sam.

“Forget it,” Ellie said. “I shouldn’t have said anything.” She trotted to a corner of the room and grabbed a towel hanging over the long bar. She blotted her forehead and neck. Charlie could see her face in the mirrors. Every wall was a mirror of endless Ellies.

“So, you finished hockey early?” she asked as she sat on a folding chair, still slightly winded. She untied her pink ballet shoe and slid it off. What Charlie noticed first was the sexy red nail polish. What he noticed next made his stomach clench. The color wasn’t on just the nails. Her first two toes were a bright, angry red. Little bandages circled the bottom three toes, and gauze was wrapped around the ball of her foot.

“How long have you been playing hockey?” he heard her ask, as he continued to stare at her injury. “What’s the matter?”

“Ellie, you need a doctor. Can you walk? No—I’ll carry you.” He made it to her in three long strides. “Put your arm around my neck.”

Her wide eyes stared up at him. “What are you… Hunter, this is nothing.”

“Nothing?” he echoed. “
That’s
nothing?” He gestured at her foot.

“Yes.” She extended her leg and wiggled her toes. “See, I’m fine, I swear.”

Gingerly, Charlie reached out and cupped her heel, performing his own assessment. In the few seconds the shoe had been off, her foot wasn’t nearly as red. “Oh,” he said, feeling calmer. Then he couldn’t help it, he reached out his other hand and held the back of her calf. Her skin was smooth and soft. Without realizing it, he ran his hand up its length and over her knee.

“Um, it’s the other one.”

Charlie blinked and looked at her.

“My bad knee,” Ellie said with a smile. “It’s the other one.”

“Oh. Right.” Reluctantly, he removed his hands from her leg and stepped back. “Just being thorough.”

Ellie laughed as she pulled off her other shoe. “Didn’t know you were also a doctor.”

“I don’t like to brag.” He shrugged. “You’re pretty tough. Some of the guys I play hockey with would call it quits after something like that.”

She reached under her chair and pulled out a pair of black leather flats. “How long have you been playing?” she asked, sliding them on, then hopping to her feet without the slightest twinge of discomfort. The woman was resilient, all right.

“About a year. We have a three-on-three a few times a week.”

“Sounds like you catch on quick.” She moved to the mirror, her eyes giving him a sly up-down before she turned to her reflection, combing her fingers through her long hair. “Before we begin…” she added. But Charlie was doing his own up-down, his gaze getting hung up where her bodysuit curved in at the waist. “I guess I need to know your previous experiences.”

Charlie glanced at her face in the mirror, doing a double take. “E-experiences?”

“Yeah.” She was adjusting the skinny strap of her top. “Do you want to show me?”

His jaw went slack as he stared at her reflection. “You…want me to…”

“Or you can tell me about it. I need to know.”

He shook his head, incredulous, but when her steady gaze didn’t waver, he exhaled a groan of confused surrender. “Well, uh, okay.” He rubbed his chin. “My first time was when I was fifteen, she was seventeen, it was after a football game in the—”
The words stopped mid-sentence when Ellie whirled around.

“Your experience with
dancing
.”