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Prologue

I sat at my desk and stared at the photo of Brock andin Hawaii last month I kept the photo in my top drawer and pulled it out to look at it ers brushed over Brock He looked a His white linen shirt showed off how tan andmeFor the first time, I’d been able to tell he wanted ht so

That night, we had sneaked away to take a long walk on the beach, just the two of us The hts While the waves crashed against the shore and washed over our bare feet, all I could think about was how thrilled I was that Brock had taken o Not a as spoken There seein I supposed after fourteen years of keeping it to friends only, it made sense But actions spoke much louder than words

Brock tugged on aze up at him He tucked so his fingers across my bare shoulder Each touch sent shivers of pleasure downIt was a metaphor for our complicated relationship A line we had never crossed but had tiptoed around for years

After several seconds of beautiful torture, Brock closed his eyes With a loud exhale, his lips crashed into ht I slid my arms up his chest and around his neck His lips stayed fir me in but afraid to taste me All I wanted to do was devour him, yet I could feel his trepidation, so I had re we stayed like that, but he broke away from me too soon He hastily shoved his hands in his shorts pockets, and alked silently back to the hotel while I tried to make sense of why he’d stopped Why it seemed ere never meant to move past our friendship For years, I’d known it was because his career and our country came first to Brock And there was always the delicate balance of the friendship between h Brant was sure to marry Jill Their father would make sure of it, no matter Brant’s opinion on the subject What was love when you could have a strong political ally?

No , e’d returned home last month, it was business as usual for us We’d never spoken of the kiss, though each tiether, his eyes always seemed to drift toward my mouth My lips ached to whisper that I was his, if only he would ask e However, I wasn’t sure if I could take ame we’d played for years

A knock and a head peeking in hts I shoved the picture under some paperwork on my desk

“Hey,” Brock’s deep voice surprised ”

I blinked a few ti here in the ery or at his office “You’re not” I rearranged some of the papers on ht of day in his presence “What are you doing here?”

He walked in and shut the door behind him His tall, athletic body made my small office seem even smaller Dr Brock Holland had a presence to hier

Brock approachedhis hands

I didn’t think I had ever seen hiht?” I asked

He stared aioodbye before I left onmission” Brock was a ist, he had treated soldiers and civilians all over the world on the battlefield and on huhanistan for six weeks I’ to lie; it made me nervous

“I thought ere all having dinner tonight?” Meaning our group of friends—Kinsley, Ariana, Jonah, Brant, and probably Jill if she happened to be in town

He ran a hand over his dark hair, now cut military short “We are, but I wanted to talk to you alone”