“I thought we were on the point of getting engaged. But after I was injured, things changed. She changed. I changed. She stuck around long enough to make sure I wasn’t going to die. Then she decided she couldn’t handle being with someone who wasn’t the same man she’d fallen in love with.”
“What happened? How were you injured?”
“IED. Afghanistan. I caught some shrapnel in my leg and had to have multiple surgeries. It too me months to walk properly again.” I touched my thigh unconsciously, where the scars were hidden under my jeans. “She said she still loved me, but I could see it in her eyes. I wasn’t the man she wanted anymore.”
“She was an idiot.”
The blunt assessment startled a laugh out of me. “She was practical. Smart, even. Why stick around for the damaged version when you could find someone whole?”
“You keep thinking love is about finding someone flawless,” she said softly, still holding my gaze. “But maybe it’s about finding someone who’s still standing—even after everything. Someone who doesn’t flinch when it gets hard. Someone who’s trying.”
Her words hit harder than any blast ever had. Because she saw me. Not the version I used to be. Not the scarred man I tried to hide. She saw this version—bitter, quiet, bruised—and she still looked at me like I mattered.
I couldn’t say what I wanted to. That I knew everything she was saying was true. She was her for a moment. Not staying.
And I was not falling.
Or at least that’s what I told myself.
The rain pounded harder against the rocks, but all I could hear was the sound of my own heartbeat and the quiet certainty in her voice. And before I could stop myself, before I could remember all the reasons this was a bad idea, I was kissing her again.
This time, she was ready for me. Her hands tangled in my hair, pulling me closer, and when she opened her mouth under mine, I was lost. Completely, utterly lost.
Her taste was sweet and she made small sounds against my mouth that drove me crazy. When I pulled her closer, she came willingly, pressing herself against me like she couldn’t get close enough.
Her softness. Her warmth. Her trust.
I wanted to touch her everywhere. Wanted to strip away the layers between us and show her exactly how much I wanted her. Wanted to forget every rule I’d ever made about keeping people at a distance.
But this wasn’t the place. She deserved better than being taken against a rock wall during a thunderstorm.
I forced myself to pull back, resting my forehead against hers while we both tried to catch our breath. “We should stop,” I said, though it was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Should we?” She placed a kiss on my jaw.
“If we don’t stop now, I’m not going to be able to.”
She looked at me with those clear brown eyes, and I saw my own want reflected back at me. “Maybe I don’t want you to stop.”
“Ellie...”
“I know what I’m saying, Nate. I know what I want.”
The rain was starting to lighten, and I knew we’d have to head back soon. But for now, in this small space with this incredible woman looking at me like I hung the moon, I let myself believe that maybe she was right.
And maybe I didn’t have to spend the rest of my life alone after all.
CHAPTER FIVE
Ellie
I came to Montana to honor my grandfather. Find a little perspective. Take a photo with a fish I’d catch with my new fishing skills. Okay, and maybe the opportunity to meet a man who’d I’d want to get close to.
And I found one. A six-foot-two, brooding-as-hell mountain man who kissed like I was his favorite shot of whiskey. I’d found Nate.
And I wanted him. I wanted him to be the first man I slept with. The first man I’d fall in love with.
And the last.
