do that,” he said.
For a long moment, she stared into his eyes, trying to read the emotion behind them. But she couldn’t find even a tiny crack in his icy blue gaze. “Take care,” she finally said.
As she turned to leave, she felt her knees go weak. He wasn’t the boy she remembered. Back then, they’d been playing at passion, pretending to understand the desire that moved them. But now she understood the dangers, and there was no doubt—Will MacIntyre was a dangerous man. Though he resembled her teenage sweetheart, there was a hard edge to him, as if all the warmth and affection were now hidden behind an impenetrable facade.
There’d been many times over the past nine years when Olivia had wished she’d ripped up that Dear John letter and changed the course of their history. He would have come home after one tour. They would have been together and made a life and a family. Instead, he’d put a half a world between them and she’d had to find other dreams.
She pushed open the door and stepped out into the cold. Snow had begun to fall, dusting the cars in the parking lot in a soft blanket of white. She found her SUV and circled it, brushing the snow off the windows with her hand.
When she came back around to the driver’s side, Olivia stopped short. Will stood next to her car, blocking her way. He had such a pained look on his face, she was afraid to say anything. And then, without speaking, he crossed the distance between them, pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
This kiss was filled with every emotion she could imagine—anger, desire, regret, affection. Olivia couldn’t tell what it was supposed to mean, but when he pressed her back against the driver’s-side door, she stopped wondering and simply surrendered.
No, he definitely wasn’t a boy anymore. This was a man, sure of what he wanted and determined to take it. A man who was testing the limits of her passion with the heat of his mouth on hers.
He ravaged her with his lips and his tongue, as if searching for a deeper connection. He held her face between his gloved hands and molded her mouth against his until the last shred of Olivia’s resistance melted.
How could it still be this way? So much time had passed. But this wasn’t the same passion they’d shared so many years before. This was new and frightening in its power and intensity. He was a stranger and yet she knew him intimately.
As suddenly as the kiss had begun, it ended. He stumbled away and shoved his hands in his pockets, his breath clouding in front of his face. Olivia waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. Instead, he spun on his heel and strode back toward the front doors of the ice arena.
She collapsed against the car and pressed her hand to her chest.
Mild tachycardia and disequilibrium. Early symptoms of hyperventilation.
It had been over a year since a man had kissed her and even longer since she’d had sex. Her strong physical reaction shouldn’t have come as a surprise. And yet it had.
For years, she’d looked back on her breakup with Will and felt nothing but regret. It had plagued her in those moments when she’d tried to imagine the life he lived, the dangers that surrounded him daily. And she’d sworn to herself that if she ever had the chance to set things right between the two of them, she would. She’d apologize and find a way to make him understand what had driven her to write the Dear John letter. And then she’d be able to finally let him go.
Before she could start after him, she heard a shout.
“Dr. Eklund!” Marcy Mackie was running toward her. “Thank God I caught you. Can you come back inside? One of the boys has been hurt.”
“Let me grab my bag,” Olivia said, wiping an errant tear from her cheek. She unlocked the car and pulled her bag from its spot behind the driver’s seat, then hurried inside.
The hockey game had come to a halt and both teams were gathered near the bench. When she reached the rink, she found Benny sitting on the ice, tears streaming down his cheeks. He was holding his arm, and his left hand dangled at an awkward angle.
“Oh, Benny. Again?” He nodded and she squatted down next to him. “You might want to take up soccer. You don’t need your arms for that.”
Benny laughed, his nose runny and his eyes red. “My mom is going to kill me,” he said.
“No, she isn’t,” Olivia said. She glanced over her shoulder at Marcy. “Is his mom here?”
“She’s on her way,” the coach said.
“Let’s get him off the ice and I’ll splint his wrist before we take him over to the emergency room. Can someone—”
“I’ve got him.”
Will appeared out of the crowd of kids and bent down to scoop Benny up in his arms. Olivia followed them off the ice, and when they reached the locker room, Will set the boy down on a counter next to the sinks.
“It doesn’t hurt as much as the last time,” Benny said. “Maybe it’s not broken after all.”
“Do this,” Olivia said, flexing her wrist. Benny tried and failed. “It’s broken.”
“How long will it take to heal?”
“We’re going to take an X-ray and see about that. But I don’t think you’re going to be playing hockey this winter.”
Benny turned to Will, who was watching them both from a distance. “Did you ever break your arm?”
“I did,” he said. “And my leg. I’ve even been shot. Twice.”
Benny’s eyes went wide. “You’re the army guy. Kyle’s uncle. Kyle is my best friend. One of my best friends. He said you got blown up in the war. Is that true?”
“Not exactly. And I’m a marine. That’s different than army.”
“Cool,” Benny said. “Can I see your bullet hole?”
“It’s in a place that I can’t really show right now,” he said. “I’d have to take my clothes off.” Will nodded his head at Olivia. “And there’s a girl in the room.”
“Oh, right,” Benny said, grinning.
They continued to chat about Will’s military career, Benny asking Will brutally direct questions and Will answering as best as he could. By the time Benny’s mother arrived, Olivia had splinted Benny’s wrist and given him a grape Tootsie Pop to keep the boy from dwelling on the pain.
“Take him to the emergency room,” Olivia said to Benny’s mother. “I want to take X-rays and then we’ll probably put a cast on it.”
“Another cast?” Benny asked.
“It’s the only way to fix it,” she said. “Sorry.”
“Yeah, I know,” the boy said, nodding.
“All right. I’ll meet you there, buddy.” She watched as Benny walked out with his mother, then she glanced over at Will. “Thanks for the help. And for distracting him.”
“No
