Breaking Through (Book 2 of the SEAL TEAM Heartbreakers) by Teresa Reasor

the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
    His snide tone sounded so much like Gloria’s, Russell fought the urge to punch something. “She brought the pudding for you. She thought it might help your medications go down easier.”
    Evan’s eyes widened. “You told her?”
    “No. But she isn’t blind.” He shook his head. “How could you be cruel to someone who was showing you an act of kindness?”
    “It didn’t look as though she were here to see me.” Conflicting emotions raced across Evan’s face, anger, frustration, and something more until his features took on a sulky look. “I didn’t want her here.”
    “You made that clear enough, and she’s gone.” Clara wouldn’t be back. Regret lay like a weight inside his chest. He raked both hands through his hair.
    They had been making a connection. She had been uncertain, shy. And he had been more attracted than he’d been in … ever.
    And his son had purposely hurt her.
    “You called her one of my women. You know nothing about my life. You’ve never wanted to. What kind of bullshit did your mother serve up to you to make you think I was running around acting like a wartime lothario? If that’s the tripe she’s fed you, she’s a fucking liar.”
    Evan flinched and looked away.
    Russell had taken enough of Gloria’s vicious punishment to last a lifetime. It had made him gun-shy in his other relationships, what few there had been. No more, damn her. “Was I supposed to pine for her for the rest of my days while she moved on with her life?’
    Evan tugged at the belt of his robe. “Yeah, I guess you were.”
    The sudden acquiescence to his accusations brought Russell up short.
    Evan shuffled to the overstuffed sofa and sat down. “I read the legal file last night. She was involved with Carl before your first deployment to Iraq. She remarried the day after the divorce was final. Yet she harped on your being unfaithful.”
    “Never.” He sat down in a chair across from Evan. “I’m not perfect. I was a neglectful husband. I had med school, my internship, and residency. Then you were born. The Navy paid for my education and training. I owed them.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “I can understand your mother’s reasons for looking elsewhere for what she needed. I can understand her seeking a divorce. But I was never unfaithful.”
    “What about Valerie?” Evan asked. “I remember her.”
    “I’m surprised. You only saw her once. I met her eighteen months after the divorce. You were almost ten by then.”
    “What happened to her?”
    Old pain jabbed him with the sharpness of a scalpel and twisted. “She died in a car accident.” After nearly a year of dating, they’d been talking about marriage versus living together. Just a few days later she was gone.
    “I was in my mid-thirties when Valerie died.” His voice sounded rusty. He cleared his throat. “I’ve dated my share of women since, but none—” He shrugged. “Now, I’m racing toward the end of my fifties, and I’m alone. That wasn’t what I planned for myself.”
    “No, I don’t guess so,” Evan looked away again. “This isn’t exactly what I planned for myself either.” He gestured to his scrawny frame. “It seems we’ve both been unlucky in love.”
    Though he’d worked hard to accept who his son was, there were times Evan’s openness about his lifestyle made him uncomfortable. “How is Simon?”
    “Still healthy. I’m trying hard not to hate his guts.”
    “How about I hate him enough for both of us,” Russell said.
    Evan laughed. “That’s the closest thing you’ve ever come to saying something that even remotely sounded gay.”
    “So glad I’m finally picking up some of the nuances,” Russell said, his tone dry.
    Evan’s smile was brief. He swallowed. “I’m sorry I pulled the pissy gay guy thing.”
    “I’m not the one you owe an apology to.”It would do no good for him to harp on it. Evan was an intelligent