Free A Soldier for Keeps by Jillian Hart Page B

sticks.”
    “As you wish.” He winked. “Anything else?”
    “A cola would be good.”
    “It’s a risky mission, but a worthy one. I’ll be back ASAP.” He left her smiling, striding toward the turnstiles, and disappeared into the food court.
    Was that a sigh? She unzipped her coat, annoyed at herself. So, the guy was dazzling. He wasn’t going to affect her. It was simple behavioral theory. Every time she felt a glitter of affection, she would associate it with something negative—how she felt when Kevin showed his true colors. That ought to work.
    “Lexie.” Cari Paulson slipped into a chair across from her. “Who’s the hunk?”
    “Giselle Granger’s older brother.” She was in research methods and stat with Cari. “Have you started your paper yet?”
    “No. Is he your boyfriend?”
    “What gave you that idea?” If she leaned a little to the right, she could see him standing at the pizza place. He radiated vitality, dressed in a jacket, sweatshirt and jeans. There was something amazing about him. Something that no other guy in the place possessed.
    Wait a minute. There she was, admiring him again. Time to remind herself of what happened when she trusted a man. Disaster. Abandonment. Heartbreak.
    “If that guy was taking me to lunch and he wasn’t my boyfriend, he would be by the time lunch was over.” Cari hopped out of the chair. “Just a little advice. See you in class.”
    “Yeah.” She blinked. She was hardly aware of Cari crossing over to the far side of the dining room where two other students sat at a table heavy with opened textbooks. She could no longer see Pierce. He had stepped out of her sight, leaving an odd sense of loss. Cari’s words sent a shiver of panic through her.
    I have a crush on him, she realized, as she slipped out of her coat and hung it over the back of the empty chair. Pierce was striding toward her carrying two trays. The sight of him filled her like a smile. He walked with unmistakable confidence—she liked that about him. She liked everything she knew about him.
    “Lots of cheesy sticks, as ordered.” He slid the trays on the table. “You’ve got it made here. Everything from cinnamon rolls to deluxe pizza, and it’s all good.”
    “Surely you get that in the Army.”
    “Not that the Army cooks don’t try, but I’ve eaten out of cans for months at a time.” He eased into the chair across from her. “We’ve talked a lot about me lately. It’s your turn.”
    “Uh-oh. I don’t think a guy like you would be interested in me.” She took a straw from the tray and tore off the paper. It gave her something to do so she wouldn’t have to see the truth on his face. She was going to bore the poor man.
    “Why would you say that?”
    “You slide down those ropes out of helicopters and go on nighttime missions, don’t you?” She knew enough about guys to know they liked the pursuit, but once they reached their destinations, many of them moved on. Or, she thought as she poked her straw into the fizzing cola, maybe she simply didn’t want to let him that close to her.
    “Don’t think that because I didn’t choose to go to college I don’t value it.” He ripped the paper off his straw and torpedoed it into his soda. His smile was pure trouble. “Why psychology?”
    “They say you gravitate toward what you need most, which in my case is maybe therapy.” She was more of a complicated mess than she’d realized, because his smile made her spirit brighten like the east at dawn.
    “Therapy? You think you’re dysfunctional? No way.”
    “You don’t know me well enough to make that call, believe me.” It was easier to make light of things and to keep him from getting too close again. “I have abandonment issues. I have trust issues. All that leads to commitment issues. I don’t want to let anyone too close.”
    “Me, too.” He balled up the straw wrapper and flicked it onto his tray. “That’s not dysfunctional, not in my opinion. It’s being