“Does that mean I get to hear your name?”
“Not yet,” she redirected. “So what made you want to stay in the military?”
“I found my spot. Like I said, I didn’t love it at first, but then I realized I thrived on the hard work, the discipline, and the honor of it all. Plus, my unit is more my family than my actual family.”
“That’s kind of sad.”
He shrugged. “It is what it is. Now I have shared with you much more than I am comfortable with. Your turn.”
“That was pretty brief for telling me ‘all’ but if you’ll gift me with your name, I’ll then proceed to share much more about myself than you’re comfortable with.” She winked.
He smiled. “Birch Merrill. Your turn, if you please.”
Birch. She liked that name. “It’s a great name. Perfectly for our tough military hero.”
He shook his head. “It was a hippie phrase for my parents I’m sure. My mother bemoans not naming me Charles Benjamin Merrill.”
“You are definitely not a Charles.”
His eyes twinkled. “Tell my mother that. Now I’ve completely exhausted my word supply for the month. It’s your opportunity to speak.”
Allison laughed and kicked at the sand as they went. She liked the anomaly of the tough military hero with the smooth, dark skin and beautiful dark eyes who spoke like an English professor. It was sad to hear about his lack of love from his mother though.
The night was coming on strong and the beach was quiet as she spoke, “Where to start? I grew up in upstate New York, close to Rochester. I have two awesome parents, a fabulous big brother, and a sassy new sister-in-law.”
“I’m willing to bet you and the sister-in-law get along well.” He smiled softly at her.
“Yes, we do. Rachel is the best.”
“And after growing up, what did you do then?”
She grinned. “I’m still growing up.”
“I can relate to that.” He winked and she knew he was teasing. She liked him, a lot. He was not only extremely handsome, impressive with his dedication to the military and his country, but relaxed and fun to tease with.
“So as I wastryingto grow up, I went to Julliard School of Performing Arts.”
“Excuse me?” He stopped walking and whirled to face her. It was getting darker and darker, but she could still see clearly enough to see his dark eyes narrow and a muscle tick in his clamped jaw.
“Julliard,” she repeated. “In New York City. Have you heard of it?” She was proud of her schooling. Julliard was the second-best school in the nation for performing arts. When she’d gotten the acceptance, she’d been ecstatic, but with only a partial scholarship and the ten grand she’d saved cleaning houses every summer since she was twelve, she had no hope of actually going there. Her brother, Abe, hadn’t been a billionaire then, but his company had taken off and he’d surprised her by paying for her schooling. She loved him even more for it.
“Did you go there for dance?” he asked, his eyes were wild and darted around as if grasping for some kind of escape.
“No, for theater. I’m an actress,” she said proudly.
Birch’s gaze settled and he slowly looked her over. There was panic in his eyes, as if she’d morphed from a beautiful, intriguing woman to a monster.
“Did you ever see Men in Black?” she asked quietly.
He blinked at her as if confused by her question. “Yes.”
“You remember how the aliens put on human bodies as disguises? You just looked at me as if I were wearing a human suit to disguise a hideous creature underneath.”
She thought he’d laugh but he pushed out a long breath and jammed a hand through his short hair. “Yes,” he said. “You pretty much explained how I regard all actresses.”
Allison’s eyes widened and she took a step back. “Did you just generalize all actresses as monsters?”
“Monsters, aliens, terrifying creatures, you may take your pick.” His jaw was tight and his eyes were dark and cold. “Growing up here I learned to avoid actresses for my own safety and sanity.”