“Are you authorized to ride this motorcycle, signora?” asked the older guy.
“No, but…”
“Then we’ll arrange to have it removed,” he said.
Shit! My CO was not going to be happy about having to bail me out of jail a couple of weeks before we deployed. But I hadn’t figured on Caro, either.
“Please don’t arrest him!” she begged. “He’s only on leave for two more weeks, then he’s going back to Afghanistan.”
The two men looked at each other and I kept my mouth clamped shut. There was a chance that the military/police solidarity that existed back home also held true in Europe. It hadn’t so far, in my experience, but Caro was my lucky mascot. When she showed them my military ID, the older officer looked more sympathetic.
“My son-in-law is serving out there,” he said, shaking his head. “Very well, we will let you go, but this one time only. Obey the speed limits.”
He signaled for me to stand up, and the younger officer put his gun away. Thank fuck for that!
“Thank you so much,” Caro said quickly, throwing me an angry look that I didn’t understand.
“Make him obey the speed limits, signora,” said the older officer, wagging his finger at her.
“I will. Thank you!” she gasped out.
“I will pray for you both,” he said.
We watched as they wandered back to their car, relaxed and at ease.
“You were great, Caro,” I grinned at her.
She slapped my arm hard. “No more speeding!”
“I don’t know … I’ve got my own Caro-shaped ‘get out of jail free’ card.”
“Yes, well, do that again, and you might be finding out what Italian jails are like,” she snapped.
“You wouldn’t let that happen to me, baby.”
“Don’t bet on it, Marine! I’ve got enough gray hairs without you giving me anymore.”
I pulled her in for a hug.
“Nope, can’t see any,” I said, kissing her hair.
She pushed me away—I guess I wasn’t entirely forgiven yet.
“Another two weeks with you and I’ll have to color my grays,” she snorted.
I laughed, which was probably another mistake.
“It’s not funny!”
“God, you’re beautiful, Caro!”
She climbed onto the bike, and I drove back to the campsite like a Sunday-afternoon granny-driver—nothing she could complain about there.
While I locked up our helmets, Caro stomped off to the cabin. I was confident that she’d chill out, or hopefully want to work off the calories we’d just eaten. But when I walked into the room, she looked like she was ransacking the place, every drawer hanging open. Yeah, that didn’t look too good.
If I knew my girl—which I did—she was building up a good head of steam. I suspected that when I was in firing range she’d launch her attack. I stood back and watched her for a moment.
“I can’t open the fucking wine!” she snarled, her eyes shooting darts at me.
Wow, she really was pissed.
“What’s the matter, Caro?” I asked warily.
“I just told you!” she yelled. “I can’t open the wine!”
I used my Swiss Army knife to pry out the cork, frowning at the furious energy that was radiating from Caro.
“I think some of the cork fell in,” I said mildly, placing the wine on the table.
“Thank you,” she muttered.
“Caro…”
“What, Sebastian?” she grit out. “You could have got arrested back there? That was so stupid and reckless!”
Is that this was all about? “Nothing happened…” I started to point out.
“It could have!” she yelled. “And if you take chances like that out in…”
Finally, I understood what was upsetting her. That little speeding stunt had made her think that I was reckless. It was only partly true.
“Hey, come here,” I said softly. “It’s okay.”
I pulled her into a hug, but her body was still unresponsive and stiff as a plank of wood.
“Caro, tonight was just dumb, I admit that, okay. I’m just enjoying being … free, here and now, with you. Don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying!” she yelled. “I’m mad at you!”
“Yeah, got that message, baby.”
She pushed me away and grabbed the wine bottle, taking another long slug. Then she threw herself on the bed, piled the pillows behind her and tipped another large quantity of wine into her mouth, scrubbing the back of her hand across her face to catch the drips.
“Are you going to share that?” I asked carefully.
“No. You drink too much.”
“You’re just going to sit there and finish the whole bottle by yourself?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t like drinking,” I pointed out reasonably.
“I do tonight.”
“It’ll make you sick.”
“I’m being reckless. You do it all the time.”
Ah, shit.
“Caro,” I said, rubbing my forehead, “come on, that’s enough.”
I hated seeing her like this. I knew it was hypocritical, but her getting wasted wasn’t going to solve our problems. I pulled the bottle out of her hands and put it on the other side of the bed.
“Give me my goddamn wine, Sebastian,” she snapped.
“No,” I said, sitting next to her.
She tried to reach over me to get it, but I blocked her.
“Fine!”
She leapt off the bed and stormed out of the room. I hoped she’d come to her senses and turn around, but she didn’t. This relationship crap was hard.
Sighing, I picked up the bottle of wine and followed her.
I could see her silhouette on the beach, her arms pulled around her knees, shivering slightly, but too stubborn to go inside. I saw her tense when she heard my footsteps, but she didn’t pull away as I wrapped my jacket around her shoulders. She didn’t look at me either.
“Want some wine?” I asked. “It tastes great straight from the bottle.”
I was trying for a smile, but instead she sighed and leaned against my shoulder.
“Sebastian, promise me you won’t be reckless. I couldn’t stand it if anything happened to you now.”
“Caro, I’m never reckless when I’m working,” I said seriously. “Well, maybe some of the off duty stuff, but not when I’m working, I promise. I’d never have gotten promoted if I was a complete fuck-up. Don’t worry about me. Besides, I’ve got a reason to come home now, okay?”
“I will worry,” she whispered.
“And I’ll worry about you, too. You’ve still got a chance to go home where I know you’ll be safe, Caro. Please?”
She sat up stiffly.
“Don’t even think about screwing up my papers again, Hunter!”
“Whoa! Slow down!” I wrapped my arms around her, trying to calm her with my body. “I promised I wouldn’t, Caro, even though I really fucking want to.” I felt her relax slightly. “So, have you finished stomping all over me with your boots?”
“For now, unless you ask me to, nicely,” she grumbled, making me laugh.
“I’ll bear that in mind. Can I kiss you, or am I risking serious injury?”
She didn’t reply, instead pushing me flat onto the sand and situating herself across my chest. I shivered when she ran the tip of her finger along my cheeks and nose and chin, then leaned down to kiss me softly.
“This brings back memories,” she said, her voice calm.
I smiled up at her. “Yeah! Sex on the beach was one of those things that everyone at school used to brag about, and then I got to do it with you. That first time, that was one of the best nights of my life.”
“The first time we ever spent a whole night together.”
“You want to relive good times, Caro?” I suggested, shifting my hips into her.
“Can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I left our one and only condom in the room.”
Crap.
“Besides,” she continued, “I’ve kind of got a thing for beds these days. Call me old-fashioned.”