meant to sound so harsh when she was so
vulnerable.
He glanced over his shoulder then
continued in a softer tone. “What I mean is you’re my fiancée. I’ll go with
you, and if your father is well enough, perhaps we can share our good news with
him.”
Her face went another shade paler.
He reached out to grip her elbow when she
looked a little wobbly. “Or,” he quickly amended, “we can hold off with our
good news until he’s strong enough to celebrate with us.”
“Right, our good news,” she repeated
woodenly, sounding about as pleased with the arrangement as he was at the
moment.
What the hell had he been thinking when
he’d proposed this ridiculous engagement? How could Xavier actually be
convinced by it? Evan and Cassie had to be the most ill-suited couple, and
their acting couldn’t be that good.
Tugging lightly on her arm, he said,
“Come on, let’s go pack and get out of here.”
He couldn’t wait to get back on his home
turf and get some perspective on this situation with his fake fiancée.
* * * *
“ If your dad
was Navy, why’d you choose Army?” Evan asked Cassie after the airplane had
reached cruising altitude, trying to get her mind off of her worry about her
father’s health condition.
She looked at him, her eyebrows slightly
raised. “I knew since I was five I wanted to fly helicopters, and the Army has
a much greater demand for pilots.”
“What’s the look for?” he asked.
A tiny smile tilted the corners of her
mouth. “I’m surprised you remembered my dad was Navy.”
“You talked about growing up in the Navy
at our first dinner. Did you think I wasn’t listening?” he asked, getting a
little annoyed that she would think so little of him.
She shook her head. “I’m just worried
about my dad.”
Evan wanted to grab her hand and give her
a reassuring squeeze, but he didn’t know how she’d respond. Ever since the
fiasco in the bedroom last night, she’d been acting friendly and considerate
towards him, but he couldn’t predict what would change her attitude. It was
going to make this sham engagement even more difficult if he had to watch his
every step with her. It was a strange new territory for him to tread, and he
didn’t like it at all.
Deciding to keep his hands to himself, he
returned to his original topic. “Did choosing Army over Navy cause problems
between you and your dad?”
“Just the fact I enlisted caused
conflict.” Sadness tinged her words. “He wanted me to stay out of the services
altogether and go to college like most young women. That was the tipping point
of our relationship.” She stared at her lap as she smoothed her palms over her
skirt.
Evan wished he could see her expressive
eyes. He didn’t know how far he should take this conversation, but he was
genuinely curious about her. He’d never known any women who’d enlisted. She was
a perplexing mix of strength and vulnerability.
“You fought with him because he wanted
you to get an education?” he asked.
Glancing up at him, she said, “No, it
wasn’t about the value of a higher education. He thought…he thought I should
act more like a girl, even though he’d always seemed proud of me when I kept up
with the boys.”
Evan could picture Cassie running with a
pack of boys, climbing trees and shooting a BB gun at tin cans. “Sounds like
your father redefined his standards and switched his expectations of you.”
She nodded and her eyes clouded over. “He
did, and his hypocrisy hurt badly. After my mother died, he raised me in his
shadow, but as I got older, he wanted me to change my entire being to fit a
more feminine role.”
“Wasn’t he proud of you for serving your
country?”
“He was scared for me to serve my
country.” She paused. “After 9/11 happened, it was obvious we were going to
war. He knew from firsthand experience he didn’t want me anywhere near it, even
though I’d been telling him for years I was planning to enlist so I could learn
to
vulnerable.
He glanced over his shoulder then
continued in a softer tone. “What I mean is you’re my fiancée. I’ll go with
you, and if your father is well enough, perhaps we can share our good news with
him.”
Her face went another shade paler.
He reached out to grip her elbow when she
looked a little wobbly. “Or,” he quickly amended, “we can hold off with our
good news until he’s strong enough to celebrate with us.”
“Right, our good news,” she repeated
woodenly, sounding about as pleased with the arrangement as he was at the
moment.
What the hell had he been thinking when
he’d proposed this ridiculous engagement? How could Xavier actually be
convinced by it? Evan and Cassie had to be the most ill-suited couple, and
their acting couldn’t be that good.
Tugging lightly on her arm, he said,
“Come on, let’s go pack and get out of here.”
He couldn’t wait to get back on his home
turf and get some perspective on this situation with his fake fiancée.
* * * *
“ If your dad
was Navy, why’d you choose Army?” Evan asked Cassie after the airplane had
reached cruising altitude, trying to get her mind off of her worry about her
father’s health condition.
She looked at him, her eyebrows slightly
raised. “I knew since I was five I wanted to fly helicopters, and the Army has
a much greater demand for pilots.”
“What’s the look for?” he asked.
A tiny smile tilted the corners of her
mouth. “I’m surprised you remembered my dad was Navy.”
“You talked about growing up in the Navy
at our first dinner. Did you think I wasn’t listening?” he asked, getting a
little annoyed that she would think so little of him.
She shook her head. “I’m just worried
about my dad.”
Evan wanted to grab her hand and give her
a reassuring squeeze, but he didn’t know how she’d respond. Ever since the
fiasco in the bedroom last night, she’d been acting friendly and considerate
towards him, but he couldn’t predict what would change her attitude. It was
going to make this sham engagement even more difficult if he had to watch his
every step with her. It was a strange new territory for him to tread, and he
didn’t like it at all.
Deciding to keep his hands to himself, he
returned to his original topic. “Did choosing Army over Navy cause problems
between you and your dad?”
“Just the fact I enlisted caused
conflict.” Sadness tinged her words. “He wanted me to stay out of the services
altogether and go to college like most young women. That was the tipping point
of our relationship.” She stared at her lap as she smoothed her palms over her
skirt.
Evan wished he could see her expressive
eyes. He didn’t know how far he should take this conversation, but he was
genuinely curious about her. He’d never known any women who’d enlisted. She was
a perplexing mix of strength and vulnerability.
“You fought with him because he wanted
you to get an education?” he asked.
Glancing up at him, she said, “No, it
wasn’t about the value of a higher education. He thought…he thought I should
act more like a girl, even though he’d always seemed proud of me when I kept up
with the boys.”
Evan could picture Cassie running with a
pack of boys, climbing trees and shooting a BB gun at tin cans. “Sounds like
your father redefined his standards and switched his expectations of you.”
She nodded and her eyes clouded over. “He
did, and his hypocrisy hurt badly. After my mother died, he raised me in his
shadow, but as I got older, he wanted me to change my entire being to fit a
more feminine role.”
“Wasn’t he proud of you for serving your
country?”
“He was scared for me to serve my
country.” She paused. “After 9/11 happened, it was obvious we were going to
war. He knew from firsthand experience he didn’t want me anywhere near it, even
though I’d been telling him for years I was planning to enlist so I could learn
to
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