CHAPTER 2

Her -

He was spectacular. A tanned, ripped-beyond-belief, god. She was tall, but he would still tower over her. He was lean, with gleaming, sweaty muscles. His dark hair was sweaty and slicked and spiky. His eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses. His black bathing suit hung low on his hips, and he held the volleyball at his right hip after he scooped it up.

"Hey," he said.

She mentally shook herself, and responded with what she hoped was a nice, normal smile.

"Hi," she said.

"You okay?"

Ugh, she thought. So much for the nice, normal smile. She probably looked like a crazy person!

"Yes, thanks. I was just thinking."

He gave her a small nod, and looked like he was going to turn to go. He hesitated, and asked, "You play volleyball?"

She snorted. "Exercise and I don't generally get along."

He raised an eyebrow and stared at her. "Babe," he said.

Babe? Is that like sweetheart, she wondered. Honey? A name to save him when he couldn't remember a woman's name the next day? Because she was guessing this guy saw a lot of action.

"My name is Stephanie."

"I'm Carlos." Hmm, light accent, she thought.

"Are you on vacation, Carlos?"

"My buddies," nodding towards the other guys on the beach, "and I are on leave for the weekend."

"Leave? Military?"

He nodded. Before he could speak, they heard, "Ranger! Ranger, come on!"

He looked back at them, and threw the ball towards them.

"Well, Ranger, I thought your name was Carlos."

His quick grin was hot. "Well, Stephanie, I'm going to call you Babe. My name is Carlos, but my work nickname is Ranger."

"Army Ranger?"

At his nod, she asked, "All of you?" That earned her another nod.

"Talkative, aren't you?" she quipped back.

Ignoring that, he sat down on the end of her lounge chair, and asked her, "What were you thinking about?"

She leaned forward and took off his sunglasses. She looked at him for a few seconds, studied his dark eyes, and decided - what the hell. "I broke off my engagement this morning."

"Why?"

"I don't want to get married."

"Sounds like a good decision then, Babe."

"I think so. But it's a long story, and it took me a long time to get to this point."

"I've got a few minutes."

She said, "I think your friends are waiting for you." When he just continued to stare at her, she started, "Okay, but stop me when you've had enough." She gave him the five-minute version of her last few years.

Him -

What was wrong with him? She snorted - snorted! - and then he called her babe? He generally avoided personal situations that put him near conflict, because his job kept him right in the middle of conflict.

He and his friends had come to Point Pleasant for a few days over the 4th of July weekend to blow off some steam and let loose a little. They'd just returned from a 12-week assignment overseas, and needed a break. His goal was to swim, hang out, drink some beer, and maybe find a hot, willing woman for a night.

He was surprised at himself when he sat down, and voluntarily talked to a stranger about her personal problems. He listened without interrupting. Finally, he said, "Life can be short, Babe. You have to do what makes you happy. Your mom will get over it, and it sounds like you and Dickie already have."

She took her glasses off and smiled at him, and he felt his heart stutter. What the fuck, he thought. Her eyes were deep blue, and her smile was wide showing perfect white teeth. She told him, "Yeah, it's just going to take a little while to fully sink in, I think."

He couldn't help himself; he tugged her hat down a little, teasing her, and said, "You were going to marry a guy named Dickie?"

She rolled her eyes, but finally gave in to the laughter.

The guys were calling for him again a few minutes later, so he stood to leave. "You sure you don't play volleyball?"

"Yep. Positive. I'll be lucky if I don't trip standing up from this chair."

He shook his head. "Don't leave without coming over there first, okay?"

She studied him a little more, and agreed.

Her -

She watched him jog back to his friends. Huh, she thought. So the god is a nice guy - go figure. He gave her a full-body tingle (something Dickie had never done) and, at the same time, was easy to be around.

She put her glasses back on, grabbed a bottle of water out of her beach bag, and watched the ocean while mentally sorting out her thoughts. Okay, maybe she also discreetly peaked over at the volleyball game a few times.