Navy Justice (Whidbey Island, Book 5) by Geri Krotow

Author:Geri Krotow [Krotow, Geri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781474036832
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2015-09-17T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“YOU DIDN’T NEED to drive me home, but thank you.” Emily sat in Ben’s small fuel-efficient car as he maneuvered across Deception Pass onto Fidalgo Island.

“It’s my pleasure, and the least I could do since you wouldn’t let me buy you dinner.”

“I told you, no dates. We’re colleagues, and we can be friends.”

“That’s right, friends. I know I take all my work friends out hoping they’ll let me spring for a meal.”

“You’re not being fair, Ben.”

“Tell me how you got interested in knitting.” She admired the way he didn’t hold grudges, the way he changed the topic as smoothly as she’d seen him care for a newborn who needed extra attention. He was the senior pediatrician at Naval Hospital Oak Harbor, and the scuttlebutt was that he was also the Navy’s best. It was only a matter of time before he got transferred to a bigger base, a teaching hospital, where he’d be able to reach more patients and instruct residents.

At least, that was what Emily thought.

“I learned to knit as a child. My grandmother taught me. I picked it up again after my husband died. It gave me something to do with my hands and kept me from going crazy those first couple of years after he got sick and then died. After a while I realized it’s truly a passion of mine, and I started making my own designs.”

“I find it impressive that you’re as accomplished at knitting as you are at nursing.”

“Thank you.” She was grateful for the dark interior of the car; she hated when anyone saw her blush. Her pale skin made her look like a beet when she did.

“You’re taking the next left.” She didn’t want him to miss the awkward turnoff.

“I remember.” His profile was strong, but his mouth curved into a smile and she found herself wondering just how soft those lips of his were.

Was this how she was finally going to break her decade-long mourning period?

“You’re not the first man I’ve dated, you know.”

“I didn’t think I was. And we’re not dating, remember?”

“I’ve tried to date other guys, and I’ve gotten as far as a few weeks, but it never worked out.”

He pulled into her long drive. “I don’t need your history tonight, Emily.”

“It’s just that a lot of people assume I’m gun-shy because my husband died when we were still newlyweds. I loved Peter, but I’ve done my grieving and moved on. My life is full.”

Ben didn’t respond as he put the car in Park and turned off the ignition. His windows were down and his moonroof open. The sound of the wind as it rustled across the grass in the fields surrounding her subdivision, the distant sound of waves hitting West Beach, the occasional hoot of a great horned owl—they all soothed her and helped her feel not quite as foolish as she supposed she should.

“Ben, I don’t want you to think it’s you. But I’m not ready—”

She stopped as he unbuckled first his belt and then hers. And reached over the console to grasp her face in his hands.

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