“Love is worth it.”
“Love would be worth it even more if I could fall for someone who’s a pharmacist or an accountant or a—” I cut myself off, struck dumb by the image approaching me.
Dax.
Dax in his uniform.
Merciful heaven.
“Ava, I, uh, I gotta go.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s just—”
“He’s there, isn’t he?” she asks, the wisdom of the ages in her tone.
“Yep.”
“Have funnotfalling in love,” she closes with a snicker.
Dax approaches me, his warm expression dripping with a Southern charm that just seems to fit this setting, surrounded by Savannah’s old, intricate architecture and ancient live oaks draped in Spanish moss.
I had told him where my interview was, but I hadn’t expected he’d be here waiting for me…
… and in his uniform, no less.
“Dax, what are you doing here?”
He shrugs and gives me a sheepish, almost boyish grin.
“My commander set me free a little early. Thought I’d come see how it went.”
“It went well. And… I’m loving the uniform,” I can’t help adding. When I swore off dating military guys, it was on Tybee, where I never see just how sexy they are, dressed like this. By the time they visit the diner on Tybee, they’re in shorts and t-shirts like all the other guys I see.
Dax’s uniform is different from Harris’s and all my brother’s Navy friends I’ve met over the years. So I haven’t built up an immunity to this dark green and how it seems to make Dax look even sexier than when he’s shirtless on a run or even naked in my bed.
Holy crap. Go Army, indeed!
“Thought I’d wear a step up from my camos since I knew you’d be dressed up. This is our Class A uniform. I didn’t want to look like a slacker standing next to you.” He gives me a slow once-over and seems to enjoy what he sees. “You look amazing.”
I laugh. “I was scared I wouldn’t fit into any of my old suits. All that pie I’ve been eating these past years. My skirt’s a little snugger than it should be.”
“And it’s never looked better, from where I’m standing.” He gives me a seductive smile as he offers me his arm. “So, tell me everything.”
“I will, but… where are we going?”
“I got reservations for dinner.”
My insides go soft. “You didn’t have to do that. We could have waited till this weekend.”
“No way. We’re celebrating.”
“I haven’t even gotten the job yet.”
“You should celebrate the process, not the end goal. You’ll have more fun in life.”
“True enough.”