“She didn’t want them?”
“Oh, she wanted them. I did, too. A whole houseful.”
“For the record, that would scare off a lot of women.”
“What can I say?” Roman grinned. “I’m an only child.”
“And the unknown is always more appealing than the known. So AF—”
“AF?”
“Almost Fiancée. She bolted at the idea?”
“She made it clear she wasn’t about to have a family with a man who might not come home at the end of his shift.”
Frankie glanced away. “I imagine that crosses a lot of people’s minds when it comes to our jobs.”
“Does it cross yours?”
“It does, actually. I know what it’s like when a parent doesn’t come home. No one’s ever the same. The grief never goes away. It settles. Here.” She pressed a hand over her heart. “I’d never want that for my child.” Now she met his gaze and didn’t waver. “I don’t want it for myself.”
“Life’s not worth living without taking a few chances.” It was all he could do not to reach out and stroke a finger down her cheek. “Living in fear of what might happen robs you of any happiness you might find in the meantime.”
“That’s a pretty serious statement to come out of a fortune cookie.”
“My mom married a firefighter, and that turned out pretty well.” He hesitated, but then decided to dive in. “Your mom married one, too.”
“I don’t think Roxie is the best example to use in this discussion.” Frankie’s eyes clouded with disinterest. “She married the uniform, not the man. Something that was made very obvious when he died.”
“Oh?”
“Let’s just say my mother clutched the flag she was given harder than she ever hugged me or Monty.” She waved away the comment. “That’s neither here nor there.”
Oh, but it was there. He could feel the pain she was carefully trying to conceal. “So...kids of your own?”
Frankie looked at him. “I’d like them. At least one. But there’s a lot of life I have to figure out before I make that decision. What about your AF? Did she ever have kids?”
Roman nodded. “Four. All under seven.”
“Ugh. Ouch.” Frankie winced. “What’s her husband do? Let me guess. He’s a nice safe accountant.”
“He’s a Navy SEAL.”
Frankie blinked. “A...huh.”
“Yep.” Roman gave that slow nod of disbelief. “Seems she changed her mind once she met the right guy.”
“Sorry about that.”
“I’m not.” And he wasn’t. Because he was just now realizing that if he’d taken that path, he never would have come to Butterfly Harbor. Or met Frankie. “I’m glad she was honest and saved me the embarrassment of actually asking her. We wouldn’t have lasted. Obviously we weren’t the other’s one.”
“Do you believe in that? People having ‘the one’?” She air-quoted it.
He was beginning to. But no way would Frankie ever believe him. “Who’s to say? But it does remind me of something I’ve been wanting to do.”
“What’s that?”
“This.” Before she could say another word, he reached out, cupped his hand against the back of her neck and brought her closer to him. He’d needed to know if what he’d felt on the beach was real or simply an effect of a moon working its magic. Kissing her, feeling her mouth under his, hearing her gentle sigh as she sank into him erased any doubt and had his meticulously mapped-out future taking an unplanned turn into the unknown. “You’re something, Frankie, you know that?” he murmured against her lips when she leaned back. “Everything all rolled into one amazing, beautiful, infuriating package.”
“Roman...” She shook her head. “Whatever it is you think is happening—”
“I know what’s happening. And I don’t want to stop it. I like you. A lot.”
He heard her breath catch in hope, but when she raised her head, he saw sadness shimmering in her eyes. “Don’t say that.”
“Why not?” He stroked a finger down her cheek and felt oddly alone when she turned away from his touch and stood up.
“Because.” She looked over her shoulder. “You’re not staying.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“HEY, LUKE.” FRANKIE stopped at the booth where Sheriff Saxon was seated at the Butterfly Diner the next morning. Exactly the person she was hoping to find here now that her shift had ended.
She’d managed to avoid speaking with Roman about anything other than work for the rest of the night, which had consisted of only two calls, one of which turned out to be, ironically enough, a new young mother having a panic attack over her baby boy’s first fever. She and Jasper had managed to get both mom and baby calmed down and walk the mom through running a steam bath in the shower to help with the infant’s discomfort. A suggestion from the pediatrician, the mom told them.