Page 5 of Keeping Guard

“Care to share the funny?” He couldn’t help grinning at the absurdness of it all, and that in itself was a minor miracle. After what had happened on deployment, he was sure he’d never smile again.

Her hands flew out to her sides, and this time she did hit him, but at least it was on his arm and not his face. “We’ve just shared our life stories, and I don’t even know your name. How weird is that?”

“Pretty weird, and it’s Noah.”

“I like that name.” She glanced at where her hand was still on his arm. “Oh, I hit you. I’m so sorry.”

Well, that was a delayed reaction. “No problem.”

“So, Noah, I’m Peyton. Nice to meet you.” She pushed up, then held out her hand.

“The pleasure is mine.” With a million guesses, when he’d gotten up this morning, he’d never have seen himself sitting on a rock with a barely clothed runaway bride while shaking her hand.

“I brew beer, really great beer.”

“Okaaay.”

“You asked me to tell you something good about myself, and that’s it.”

She was giving him whiplash. “I happen to like beer.”

“That’s good. I couldn’t like a man who didn’t.” Her gaze fell on her left hand, and she frowned. “You want to know something?”

“What’s that?”

“I never liked this ring. Don’t you think it’s gaudy?” She waved her fingers in front of his face.

He supposedgaudywas a good word for it.Flashyworked, too. “Got a lot of diamonds.”

“Go ahead. You can say it. It’s ridiculous.” She pulled it off and without hesitation, tossed it in the pool to join her wedding dress. “Oopsie,” she said, then giggled.

“Did you really just do that?”

“Appears so. Now where’d you hide that bottle?”

The sound of voices coming down the trail caught his attention. “We’re about to get company.” He glanced at the corset that was barely containing her breasts. Whipping his T-shirt over his head, he said, “Put this on.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re next to naked?”

“Is that a question?”

This girl. “Put on my shirt, Peyton.”

“I like how you give orders. Are you that bossy in bed?”

He could be if she wanted. He also needed to stop thinking of her and bed in the same sentence. He was a mess. She was a mess. The two of them combined...he didn’t even want to think of what kind of implosion that would be.

Instead of arguing with her—which would still be going on when whoever was almost at the bottom of the trail arrived—he said, “Arms up.”

Like a good girl, she obeyed. He almost wished she hadn’t since her obeying him went right back to thinking of her in his bed and him giving her orders that got them both hot and bothered.Shut that thought right down, douchebag.

He got his T-shirt on her, the hem thankfully reaching her midthigh when two men walked into view.

“Crap,” she muttered, then grabbed his face and kissed him.

Chapter Three