Free More Than Friends (The Warriors) by Laura Taylor

I recognized one of them."
    "What about now?" He took care to keep his voice even and his emotions under wraps. He wasn’t ready to talk about their son, and he knew it would serve no purpose other than to cause Leah additional anxiety.
    She shook her head. "It wasn’t a clear memory… just the nagging feeling that I should know them, especially the little boy with the dark hair and eyes."
    Brett felt his heart stop beating for a moment. "It won’t be long before you’re able to put names to all of their faces, so don’t torture yourself."
    "I have every intention of figuring it all out," she informed him before she made a tidy stack of the photographs and reclaimed her coffee cup. "What do I do?"
    Relieved to be off the subject of children, Brett answered, "You’re the co–owner of a flower shop in Monterey, you do volunteer work with a veterans group, and you own an old Victorian house that you’ve spent the last four years restoring."
    She looked startled. "All that? When do I sleep?"
    He smiled. "I’ve often asked myself the same question. You’ve always had more energy than any ten people I know."
    "Is the flower shop successful? Who’s my partner?"
    "Very successful. Sarah Kelly’s your partner. She was your roommate at college. She’s a widow. Her husband was an Army Ranger. He died on a mission six months after their wedding. You and Sarah have made quite a success of the business, even in spite of the downturn in the economy in recent years. You have contracts with some of the major hotels, resorts, and restaurants in the Monterey area, in addition to the normal walk–in business any flower shop does."
    Brett spoke with the ease of a man who’d devoured and memorized every detail about the life of the woman he loved. Thanks to Micah’s close relationship with his younger sister, he read the emails she frequently sent to her big brother. He also saw every photograph and video of their son, and he listened to recordings of the weekly conversation the two siblings routinely shared whenever Micah wasn’t involved in a covert mission.
    He knew Micah’s loyalty was primarily to Leah and her child. Despite the temporary rift caused between the two men when he’d learned of her pregnancy, Micah had accepted Brett’s decision to remain apart from her, and he had become the conduit that allowed Brett to know his son and to assure Leah’s ability to raise him without any financial worries. Not the ideal situation, by any means, but it helped him to feel like less of a bastard.
    "I don’t remember Sarah Kelly," she admitted.
    "Give it time. You will."
    She sighed. "Let’s hope so."
    "What else?" he prompted.
    She focused on his face. "I assume I have a cell phone. Do you have it?"
    "No."
    "It’s not in my purse."
    "Probably misplaced somewhere between your house and the clinic last night." He tried to sound casual when he asked, "Any address or email contact data in your phone?"
    She shrugged. "I don’t have a clue."
    He made mental note to have one of his people check her property. With luck, her cell phone might still be in the house.
    "Is there a man in my life? I mean, a man in Monterey?" she clarified.
    "No, there isn’t."
    "I wonder why." She pinned him with a probing stare. "Do you know why?"
    He shifted in his chair, trying to figure out a way in which to answer her. He knew better than to say,
I hurt you when I walked out on you. You haven’t trusted anyone with your emotions since then. Part of me’s glad, because maybe I’ll get another chance with you, but another part of me’s sad that you’ve had to face so much on your own.
    "Do you, Brett?"
    "That’s not a question I can answer. You’ve never said why you don’t date, and I’ve never asked because I felt I’d be intruding on your privacy." He paused for a moment, carefully considering his next comment. "You’re very independent, Leah. You always have been. You also have a lot of responsibilities. I can only assume you’ve