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“Girlfriend?” I questioned before I could think better of it.

“Army. I'm a helicopter pilot.”

Wow. And bam, Brenton Graves somehow got hotter. Images of him in uniform flashed in my mind, shooting a spicy heat straight to my gut.

“Wow, we have a lot to catch up on,” I said, somewhat out of breath. Damn, Beka, pull it together. “I'll help you, but I do have conditions.”

“Conditions?”

“Yeah. Like it or not, I'm still pissed and need answers too. Maybe me helping you will help me too.”

“Closure.” He said it like the word was bitter in his mouth.

“Right. Which means we do this as friends.”

“Friends as in...?”

“As in no sex.”

“Not gonna happen. Hell, it's amazing that I haven't kissed you yet looking like you do.”

I didn't try to hide my happy smile. “Looking irresistible was part of the plan to get back at you today.”

“Does it make you feel better knowing you succeeded?” Brenton grumbled.

“Tons. And the no-sex thing is to protect me. You just made it clear that you're heading back to Kentucky. After you're gone, I'll go back to my practice—”

“Practice? You're a doctor now?”

“Vet. Focus, B. No sex, no touching, no instigating. I know you. I'm the one with the memory of us, and I don't think I could take having you to lose it all over again.”

“Will you tell me what I did?”

“I'll help you remember, how’s that? Do we have a deal?”

Looking up from the quiet pool, I found him stargazing. “How about this. I'll take it into consideration.”

My smile grew. It was nice knowing Brenton wanted me like that again. I did too, badly, but I needed to play this smart. No giving up my heart again when he'd admitted to leaving. At least now I knew ahead of time instead of being blindsided.

“No touching,” I insisted.

A minuscule nod was all I received in return.

Rolling my eyes, I moved to the next part of the negotiations. “And no one can know what we're doing. No one can see us together, see us talking or hanging out. We do everything on the down low.”

Those furrowed brows came back in full force as he said, “I'm confused. You don't want people to see you with me?”

“I'm sure you are.”

“What does that mean?” he said through clenched teeth.

“That you have no memories of how you left things, of who you hurt and left behind. Until you do, until you understand the stakes, we keep this between us.”

“How in the hell will we do that?”

I shrugged and withdrew my fingers from his. “Do we have a deal?”

“Not yet.” Faster than I could react, he gripped my hand and yanked me flush against his solid chest. Lips parted, heart hammering, I became lost in his green eyes as we lay nose-to-nose. “Just one taste.” His soft lips brushed against mine.