The Military Wife (A Heart of a Hero, #1)(47)

God, she’d told him about walking into the bathroom and interrupting her roommate and her boyfriend mid-coitus. And the time she’d woken up late for class and run across campus still in her penguin pajama pants. A sudden burst of embarrassment had her patting her forehead and turning the air down in the car.

She cleared her throat and clutched the steering wheel so tight her palms squeaked against the plastic. “By the way, I’m not as crazy as my emails might have implied.”

“Crazy? You kept me sane.”

“I did?”

“Knowing I might have one of your stories waiting on me kept me from giving up more than once.”

“They weren’t actually made up. All that stuff happened.”

He slipped his hand onto her leg, and her foot jerked, sending the Honda ten miles over the speed limit to match her heart rate. “I know, but it was the way you told it that was so entertaining. Everyone thought so.”

Her foot eased off the accelerator. She wasn’t thrilled at the prospect of other men reading what she’d thought was for Noah’s eyes only. “What do you mean ‘everyone’?”

“Just the guys in my room. One in particular doesn’t have anyone.”

“No girlfriend, you mean?”

“No girlfriend, no family. No one.” Uncertainty replaced his newfound confidence. “You’re not mad, are you?”

“I don’t appreciate being made fun of. Did you read them everything?” While she wasn’t explicit in her emails, she had expressed her feelings in a way she didn’t feel comfortable doing face-to-face yet.

“Of course not. Just the funny stuff. And no one was making fun. In fact, one of the guys, Hollis, wanted me to give you his number in case you got tired of me.” His laugh contained an apologetic twist. “I’ll stop. I’m sorry. I just wanted them to know how awesome you are.”

How could she stay upset when he said stuff like that? “That’s okay. I didn’t realize how hard up you guys were out there.”

“Hard up? Women crawl all over us as soon as we step off base. It’s the uniform.”

Harper pumped the brakes hard enough to lock their seat belts. “Are they all over you?”

Noah seemed to recognize his major misstep. Red burnished his face as if the cold wind had come inside. “I don’t want any of those women. Why would I when I have someone like you? More than anything, I want to make you proud, Harper. Do you believe me?”

Her head talked her heart from off the ledge. He wouldn’t have brought it up if he’d been messing around with base bunnies. Trust was easy to come by with him next to her, his hand still on her leg, his blue eyes aimed in her direction, and his smile veering toward adorable. “Of course I do. Now, what do you want to do while you’re home besides eat fried chicken?”

They made general plans, but it didn’t really matter what they did as long as they were together. They only had four days. Noah had to be back for his final phase of BUD/S right after New Year’s.

She parked along the street in front of her house. Her mom had been accommodating but hardly enthusiastic to find out Noah would be staying with them for a few days over break. A warm reception was not guaranteed. All Harper could do was cross her fingers and hope how important Noah was to her had sunk in.

Noah had met her mom over the summer, but Harper and Noah had only wanted to be around each other. Her mom’s protective lectures and opinions had been ignored.

“I’m nervous.” Noah ran his hands down the front of his jeans.

“She doesn’t bite. Usually.” Harper tossed a grin over her shoulder as she jogged up the steps. The front door swung open before she even made it to the top.

“Hello, darling. Noah. It’s wonderful to see you again.” While her mom’s voice wouldn’t classify as excited, it was welcoming.

Harper breathed a sigh of relief. Her mom held out her hand for Noah to shake.

“Nice to see you again, Ms. Frazier. I really appreciate you putting me up. In fact, before I forget…” He swung his rucksack off his shoulder and dug his hand inside, pulling out a rectangular object in a brown bag. “This is for you.”

“You shouldn’t have.” Her mom took the present and pulled out a book with a gasp. She opened the cover of a hardback version of To Kill a Mockingbird. “It’s a first edition. And in excellent condition. I love it. Thank you. And call me Gail.”

Her mom shepherded him into the house and sent Harper a virtual fist bump with a look over her shoulder. Harper couldn’t stem her grin, not shocked Noah had won her mom over, but surprised at how quickly it had happened. Although Noah had won her over in a single afternoon.

The smells of fried chicken drew them into the kitchen. The table was set and the food was ready for an early dinner. After Noah’s fourth piece of chicken, Harper laughed and her mom joked about making another run to the grocery store.

Noah wiped his sheepish grin with his napkin. “I relish good food whenever I can get it.”

“They’re obviously not starving you,” Harper said.

“No, but it’s like being back in school. Cafeteria-style. Quantity over quality.”

The longer they lingered over the meal, the more impatient Harper grew to get Noah alone. As soon as the dishes were cleared, Harper backed out of the kitchen and grabbed Noah’s hand on the way.