Oh, he was pretty sure Lilah would argue with anyone about anything, but that wasn’t the point here, was it?
His grip tightened on the soda bottle until he wouldn’t have been surprised if the glass had shattered in his hand. Why was it women talked around something instead of simply spitting out what they wanted to say? Now a man would have stepped up to him, said what needed saying and been on his way.
Much simpler.
The woman in front of him was still talking and to dam up the flow of words, he held up a hand. When her voice trailed off, he asked one question. “What exactly are you thanking her for?”
The older woman blinked up at him. “She didn’t tell you? Isn’t that just like her? Such a sweet girl. The Colonel can be proud of that one, I’ll tell you. So thoughtful and she didn’t have to do it, frankly I don’t even know how she did it, though Lord knows—”
“Ma’am,” Kevin interrupted the flow again and smiled to take the sting out of his cutting her off. “Just what exactly did Lilah do?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she said, shaking her head, “didn’t I tell you? She went to a local children’s store and somehow convinced them to donate new winter jackets for the children. All of the children. Most of their parents are enlisted and don’t make much money.” The older woman beamed at him. “She really is a wonder, isn’t she?”
Before he could answer, Mrs. Holden was off, leaving him standing there wondering what else he didn’t know about Lilah Forrest.
Chapter Six
“Do you know I’ve never seen you out of that uniform?” Lilah said, giving him a quick look up and down while he stood on the front porch.
His eyebrows shot straight up and she realized just how that had sounded. And though she was intrigued by the notion, she had the feeling he was not.
“I meant,” she said, stepping out of the house and closing the door behind her, “I’ve never seen you in civvies.”
He took her arm and led her down the short flight of steps to the path leading to the driveway. “Yeah, well, I’m more comfortable in the uniform.”
Lilah shot him a look from the corner of her eye. She didn’t believe him one bit. She’d never met a Marine who didn’t wear civvies off the base if he could. A uniform always attracted attention and most Marines would rather blend in than stand out. So it wasn’t comfort Kevin was looking for, here.
It was a barrier.
A fabric wall standing between them.
He probably figured that if he wore that uniform, it would serve as a reminder that he wasn’t with her by choice, but because her father had asked him to be there. As if she needed reminding.
Heck, Lilah’d never exactly been at the top of the dating food chain. Even in high school, she’d been just a little too weird in a world where everyone else was trying to fit in. College had been no better. She’d actually gone to class rather than the latest fraternity bash, so she’d pretty much been on the outs there, too.
Which really explained the whole “virgin” issue.
Hard to lose something nobody wants.
A brisk wind shot across the base and tugged at the hem of her sapphire blue skirt, rippling it around her calves. She wore a knee-length blue sweater atop the white cotton blouse that was tucked into the waistband of her skirt. Pulling the edges of that sweater around her more tightly, she glanced at Kevin and asked, “Don’t you ever get cold?”
“Nope,” he said, his grip on her elbow firm, but gentle. “But if I ever do, you suppose you’ll be able to find me a jacket?”
“Huh?” she asked, watching him instead of where she was going. She didn’t see the rise in the sidewalk and the toe of her boot caught it just right. She stumbled and would have fallen except for the strength of his hold on her. Once she had her feet steady beneath her again, Lilah asked, “What are you talking about?”
He led her to the car, released her and opened the door. Then leaning both forearms atop it, he kept his gaze on her and said, “I just ran into Mrs. Holden at the PX.”
“Ah…”
“She said to say thank you again.”
Lilah smiled. “Tell her she’s welcome.” She gathered up her skirt, preparing to slide onto the front seat.
“Why’d you do it?” he asked.
She stopped and stared up at him. “Do what? Get the jackets for the kids?”
“No,” he said dryly. “Invent penicillin.”
“Funny.”
“Thanks. So…why?”
Lilah shrugged, trying, unsuccessfully, to make light of the situation. “The kids needed the jackets and it was a good deal for both sides. The store gets a tax write-off and is able to do something for the community and the kids get new winter jackets. Everybody wins. Why wouldn’t I do it?”
“Most people wouldn’t have gone out of their way to go and talk some department store into donating clothes.”
She smiled at him. “As you’ve already pointed out more than once, I’m not ‘most people.’”
“Point taken,” he said and watched her as she sat on the seat and swung her legs inside. He closed the door, walked to the driver’s side and got in himself before looking at her again and saying, “All I wanted to say was, it was a nice thing to do.”
Just a little uncomfortable, as she always was when being thanked for something, Lilah pulled her head back and stared at him in mock amazement. “Gee…is this a compliment I hear?”
“Could be.”
“And me without my journal again.”
“You keep surprising me,” he said.
“Good. I do hate being predictable.”
“I like predictable,” he said and fired up the engine.
“Now why doesn’t that surprise me?” she murmured. Quickly, she hooked the seat belt then turned her head to look out the side window. He put the car into gear and backed out of the drive onto the road.
Lilah barely paid attention to the passing scene. Instead, her mind rattled along at its own pace, dredging up one thought after another. She’d been happy to arrange for the new jackets for the kids. It hadn’t taken much effort—if there was one thing Lilah was good at, it was talking to people—and after all, it had worked out well for both sides.
But she never had been comfortable with compliments. She preferred doing her volunteering and then slipping away into the mist—like the Lone Ranger, she thought with an inward smile.
They drove through the main gate, and waited for a break in the cars to join the traffic. Once they were a part of the streaming line of lemmings, Kevin spoke up, breaking the silence in the car.
“At least Sea World shouldn’t be crowded. This time of year and all, there aren’t many tourists.”
Grateful that he’d apparently decided to drop their earlier conversational thread, Lilah looked at him and smiled.
He was right. When they pulled into the parking lot twenty minutes later, they had their choice of slots. The weather probably had something to do with that, she thought. Leaden skies and a cold, wintry wind would keep even the locals away from the park. It was almost as if they’d been given the place to themselves for the day.
Kevin watched her as she studied the pamphlet and decided