Free Saved By A Soldier (Love Conquers Life Book 1) by Alison Mello

conversation. “Bella, I’m taking off, but I will text you later.”
    She sees Carter behind me and whispers, “You better.”
    I grin. “Carter, let’s go before my mother tries to stop me.”
    While we’re walking out he says, “I had my father follow me here earlier to drop off my Jeep. We can take that if it’s alright with you.”
    “That’s fine. We took a limo here so my car is at Bella’s house because I was supposed to be spending the night at her house, but I think I’ll just go home after.”
    “I’ll drop you off at your car when we’re done.”
    “Thanks.”
    He takes my hand to help me climb into the passenger's seat of his Jeep. His touch sends goosebumps spreading throughout my body. He gets in on his side and drives off. “Where does Bella live?” he asks.
    When I tell him her address we decide to go to a quiet cafe up the street from her house. Claire’s is great because they have good coffee and they do things like poetry night and standup comedy nights for people who are just starting out and want to practice. I’ve gone there before to write for a change of scenery. I find admiring the people sometimes inspires me.
    We pull up to Claire’s and there are people here but it wasn’t overly packed for a Saturday night. He gets out and walks around to my side, opening my door for me and taking my hand to help me climb out so I won’t fall in my dress. I feel an electric shock flow between us that makes me smile, however, I ignore it, not sure what it is or if he feels it too.
    We walk into the cafe and all eyes are on us because we are dressed in formal attire. We order our coffee and then secure a seat in a far corner.
    “So what’s really up with the loser at the fundraiser?” he asks.
    “Like I said before, he’s my ex. He doesn’t want to accept that we’re done.”
    “That sucks. Hopefully his loss is my gain.” He shows me his gorgeous smile.
    I blush, thinking to myself what a flirt . I want to change the subject so I say, “What’s up with you?”
    “Like I told you at the event, I start working for the Veterans Affairs office on Monday, but I mainly go to the fundraisers to support my parents. As I’m sure you know they own Central Bank, and they go to these events to keep up appearances and get customers for the bank.”
    “That’s sweet.”
    “I owe it to them. They have done a lot to support me since I’ve been home and had to deal with my knee injury. It’s the least I can do.”
    I recall the pained look on his face at the lake house. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that entire situation.”
    “It’s okay, to be honest. I’m sorry I got hurt because I loved my job and miss it. I had my own section of men and we worked well together. We went on some crazy missions but we saved quite a few lives. If it weren’t for my knee I would still be over there and not here having a conversation with you dressed in a tux.” He shrugs. “I guess that makes one good thing to come out of my injury.”
    “Are you trying to make me blush?” I ask, taking another sip of my coffee.
    He laughs. “I wasn’t, but it was cute when you did it the first time, so why not?”
    I slap his hand playfully and the jolt I felt when he helped me out of the car returns.
    I yawn, and he says, “Looks like you need to get home before I put you to sleep.”
    “I’m sorry, Carter. My mother tires me out with all the prepping she makes me do before these events. Besides, it’s getting late and we’ve been sitting here for a while.”
    “No problem. Come on, gorgeous, I’ll take you home as long as you promise I can call you.”
    I giggle as and slip my phone out of my purse. “Text yourself from my phone, that way we’ll have each other’s numbers.”
    He does it and then hands it back to me. He takes my hand and we walk back to his Jeep so he can take me to Bella’s. As he pulls away I give him directions to her house. I pull out the keys to my car, thankful I didn’t