Part 23 (2/2)

But his face wasn't the only thing that gave her a jolt upon seeing him again.

He was tall-taller than most men-and powerfully built, with upper arms that were probably wider in circ.u.mference than Ben's thighs, which okay, wasn't really saying that much because Ben was such a twig, but still. When Izzy wore a T-s.h.i.+rt like the one he was wearing now, it really emphasized how muscular he was. And the shorts...He always wore the style that went all the way down to his knees and had plenty of pockets of all kinds that he kept filled with Lord knows what, yet the cut still managed to showcase the rather ridiculously nice b.u.t.t that Eden knew was beneath. Although seriously? A man who looked the way Izzy did when he was naked should've been required to never wear clothes. His legs were long and tan, his calves covered with sun-bleached hair. He was wearing sandals-the kind with a tread on the bottom, that he could run in-and even his feet looked big and strong.

But it was Izzy's eyes that Eden found herself transfixed by-as lovely as the rest of him was to look at, even while unclad. It was his eyes-and the life and humor and heat she found within them-that amplified his smile and took her breath away.

”What,” he said now as he gazed back at her, and she realized that she was staring again. He wiped his mouth with his hand. ”Do I have pizza on me? I have to confess that I stopped to get a slice. I got one for you, but I kind of ate it, too.” He made a face. ”Sorry. I'm an a.s.s. Say the word, and I'll go back-”

”No, that's okay,” she said. ”I'm not really hungry and...I'm going to make Ben dinner when we get home, so...”

”Two slices is just an appetizer,” he said. ”I'm completely up for dinner, too.”

”Or maybe we should stop somewhere,” Eden said, ”so we don't bother Danny and Jenn. Did you get them set up okay?”

”Done and done,” Izzy told her. ”I put them in your bedroom and I didn't have to wrestle Dan to the death to do it. Oh, and I found the clean sheets where you said they were, no problem. I also got the pullout bed made up for us-well, sort of. The mattress is pretty c.r.a.ppy and the metal frame wasn't...Whatever. It's fine. Long story short, Jenn helped me put the mattress directly on the living-room floor. We also got the air mattress inflated for Ben. Jenn put sheets on it, too-it's all ready to go.”

”Thank you so much,” she said.

”Danny's still hurting pretty badly. Plus, he's running on empty after all the travel,” Izzy told her, ”which is frustrating the s.h.i.+t out of him. By the time I left, he was already in bed. I was glad Jenn was there, to babysit him.”

Eden glanced at Izzy's watch, which she was wearing on her wrist. Even at the tightest setting of the strap, it was still loose and she had to turn it to see the time.

It was barely 6:30, which meant it was barely 9:30 eastern time. Which was very very wimpy for Dan, who often went for days without more than a nap, even with jet lag. wimpy for Dan, who often went for days without more than a nap, even with jet lag.

”Oh, good,” Izzy said as he saw his watch. ”You have it. I was wondering where...”

”Dan picked it up,” Eden said as she unfastened it and handed it back to him. ”He, um, gave it to me with a disapproving glare before he and Jenn left.”

Izzy met her eyes. ”Awkward,” he said in a singsongy voice, which made her laugh, despite her embarra.s.sment. ”Although, to be fair, sweetheart, we are are married. He's the one who's carrying on outside the bonds of holy matrimony. A million-to-one odds says that fireworks married. He's the one who's carrying on outside the bonds of holy matrimony. A million-to-one odds says that fireworks and and rainbows are exploding over your apartment complex right about...” He glanced at his watch. ”Now. That Jennilyn LeMay is no idiot. She negotiated their alone time like a pro-and not because she and Dan wanted the privacy to sing Michael Jackson's greatest hits.” rainbows are exploding over your apartment complex right about...” He glanced at his watch. ”Now. That Jennilyn LeMay is no idiot. She negotiated their alone time like a pro-and not because she and Dan wanted the privacy to sing Michael Jackson's greatest hits.”

Eden laughed and let the struggles and problems of the day fall away from her. And yet, at the same time, she suddenly, desperately wanted to cry. Izzy was being Izzy, but he still wasn't quite the same Izzy that he'd been last summer, when he'd married her. Now there was an edge to him, as if he didn't give a c.r.a.p about anything but getting with her again. And again. And again again.

Although, really, what did she expect?

”Plus, think about it,” Izzy continued. ”Do you really think Danny-Danny-bo-banny could snag a woman as cla.s.sy as Jenn, based purely on his witty charm and sunny personality?” He answered his own question. ”Not a chance. Girlfriend's hooked up with him to get some of that first-cla.s.s Gillman boo-tay.”

Jenn wasn't the only one.

And he echoed Eden's very thought by leaning close and lowering his voice. ”I, too, am fond of fireworks and rainbows. I'm thinking we can have that dinner, bring Ben home, get him set up with some popcorn in front of the TV, and then? After it's nice and dark? Find a reason to run that errand, maybe go in search of a twenty-four-hour pharmacy. Fill a fictional prescription or pick up some of that shampoo that you just ran out of that you absolutely must have...?”

”Not fictional,” Eden said, loving the feel of his body next to hers. He was so solid, she just wanted to lean against him and lose herself in his arms. ”The prescription. Ben needs to get more glucagon. He used some recently and...Kids with diabetes use it when they have a sudden severe low-low blood sugar. It's kind of like the opposite of insulin. He's supposed to have two doses on hand at all times, and we should should get that refilled, so...” get that refilled, so...”

”Two is one and one is none,” Izzy murmured. ”It's a Navy SEAL philosophy.”

”A Navy SEAL and a gay, diabetic kid,” she said. ”Who knew you'd have so much in common.”

”You know, one of the guys in our team is,” Izzy said. ”Gay. Not diabetic. You can't be a SEAL if you're diabetic. But you can if you're gay.”

”Seriously?” Eden asked.

He nodded. ”Don't ask, don't tell-so I'm not going to tell you his name, but...Yeah.”

”And...Danny knows?”

Izzy nodded again, his eyes on her mouth, like he was thinking about kissing her.

Eden moistened her lips-she couldn't help herself. But she wasn't ready for this conversation to be over, so she leaned back a little. Just a little. ”Do you think that's why he's so okay about Ben? Because he knows this other guy who's...?”

”I do,” Izzy said.

”I was a little worried,” she confessed, ”that Danny was going to side with Greg, and then I'd have to fight them both. If I could've, I would've just taken Ben and disappeared. But you can't go off the grid with a kid who needs insulin shots.”

”I'm really glad you didn't,” Izzy said, using one finger to push her hair behind her ear. It was the slightest of touches and yet it sent a clear message that was echoed in the heat in his eyes.

Ben's glucagon prescription wasn't the only thing that was going to be filled tonight. The antic.i.p.ation was almost unbearable.

”Fireworks and rainbows,” Eden said, wanting him to laugh, ”and marching bands. Personally, I like it when there's a marching band.”

And he did laugh at that, his smile softening his face, but in no way eliminating the heat in his eyes. If anything, his eyes grew hotter.

He s.h.i.+fted even closer so that their thighs touched, so that her b.r.e.a.s.t.s brushed his chest, and G.o.d, she wanted to run out to the drugstore right then and there. ”I can deliver a marching band,” he promised her. ”And...? A tiny car filled with clowns.”

Now she was the one who was laughing. ”I think that's probably more scary than romantic. I mean, in the cosmic scheme of things.”

”Hmm,” he said. ”So you think marching bands are romantic. Interesting.”

”Romantic's the wrong word,” she said. ”Maybe...pa.s.sionate. Marching bands are like fireworks-pa.s.sionate and...Well, not at all subtle.”

”Pa.s.sionate and not at all subtle can be delivered at a moment's notice,” he murmured, pulling her face up to finally give her that kiss.

And oh, Lord, he was, absolutely, delivering pa.s.sionate and not at all subtle, and it was impossible not to melt against him, to all but beg him to devour her, her hands in his hair, her body tight against him.

”And why am I not surprised, missy,” a reedy and all too familiar voice interrupted, ”to find you behaving wantonly in a public corridor.”

Eden pulled away even as Izzy let her go and there he was.

Greg.

Her mother's latest husband-Eden was loath to call him her stepfather-was coming down the hall with the nurse who'd gone to get Ben's discharge papers.

His face was pinched from the effort of walking farther than from the couch to the kitchen, and his limp was p.r.o.nounced. Which could well have been an act, because in the years that Eden had lived with him, he'd frequently played the pity card while out in public.

But there was a big difference between making people feel sorry and making them feel repulsed-and he was definitely in danger of the second. And not just to Eden.

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