was a teacher. She was happy on her own. Satisfied on her own.
And the last man she’d want if she did decide to let someone in was a Navy SEAL. Even a former one. Because his height, the breadth of his shoulders, the darkness of his eyes … it told her enough.
He just wasn’t her type. Period.
It took Tom a moment to kick into gear, but it was a moment of hesitation that took him by surprise.
He never hesitated.
But the look on Caitlin’s face had been like a blade through his stomach, had repulsed him. Because he wasn’t that guy.
He never snapped at women. Never let his emotions get the better of him.
But ever since he’d been back, he hardly even recognized himself. If it weren’t for Gabby he’d have sunk into a darkness that was still lingering on the edge of his mind.
Because all he could think of whenever anyone called him a hero or made him remember his last days as a SEAL was that he’d failed. That he’d turned into a man he’d never wanted to become.
Never leave a man behind. That was their motto, words that were so true to him they were like the beat of his own heart.
And not only had he been forced to leave one of their own behind, he’d left his career behind, too. Because he’d put himself in the line of fire and it was a risk he should never have taken. Something he’d pay for for the rest of his life.
The acrid smell swirled around him, made him drift back to consciousness. He tried to lift his head, tried to shake it, wanted to know why there was a high-pitched scream echoing through his head.
His hand shook, but his head wouldn’t move. When it did, when he regained control of his body, what he saw made him wish he’d stopped breathing and never had to witness the carnage that surrounded him.
Tom shuddered.
He hated the word hero more than a tomboy hated a dress.
Even when it came from the lips of a woman so beautiful, so obviously genuine and all things good.
Tom whirled around and stormed down the hallway, back the way he’d come in. Right now, he had to get back to work. Had to do something. Because the busier he kept himself, the easier it was to forget.
CHAPTER TWO
CAITLIN stretched, watching herself in the mirror as she went through her routine. The movements were as natural to her as walking, but she never tired of them. In less than ten minutes her class would arrive, tiny girls full of chatter and squeals, but for now the studio was quiet and she could indulge in a moment of silence.
There had been a time when she’d imagined ballet would be her life, but now it was like a long-lost love. Movements her muscles would never forget, a craft she’d always respect for the self-discipline it had taught her.
“Sorry we’re a little early.”
Caitlin turned, her stretches forgotten. A mom was standing with her perfectly attired daughter beside her. “No problem, I was only warming up.”
She ushered her student in and took a deep breath as she glanced out the window and saw the other cars pulling up. But the outline of one parent made her fingers curl around the blind, holding it in place so she could keep watching the road.
Only he wasn’t technically a parent.
Mr. Navy SEAL himself was leaning against the hood of a large 4x4. Long denim-clad legs stretched out, arms folded to show off golden skin and eye-raising biceps protruding from a crisp white T-shirt. She could see Gabby jumping up and down, holding hands with a little friend.
Caitlin let the blind go and stepped back. What the hell was she doing ogling him?
“Miss Rose?”
A shy voice made her turn, distracted her, but her eyes were still begging to flick back to the window, no matter how much her brain tried to argue.
“Miss Rose?”
“Two minutes class, then we’ll start,” she instructed, beaming smile locked in place as she addressed the girls. “You may start your stretches.”
Caitlin surveyed the room and touched a child on the back as she passed, trying to keep herself busy. She didn’t know why she was giving the man even a second thought, but something about him was pulling her like a magnet to metal. The flicker of kindness in his eye when he looked at his niece, the determined fix of his jaw as he’d stood listening in class today.
But there was a very valid reason she didn’t date tough guys, and he definitely fell into that category. Because she knew firsthand that physical strength didn’t necessarily mean the guy was built only to protect you. She’d already learned that the hard way.
Tom ran his hands over his hair, still surprised to feel the length of it. He’d always kept it close to buzzed off, but now that he wasn’t on active duty, he’d let it grow out.
“Are you going to stay?” Gabby’s face was turned up to him.
He dropped his hand to her hair, stroking her forehead with his thumb. “Sure thing, kiddo.”
She skipped off and into the building, and Tom was left walking on his own. There weren’t many other parents there, just a few moms standing in clusters inside, no doubt gossiping, so he headed for the door. Thought he might watch for a …
Wow.
The tiny ballerinas in a sea of pink surrounded their teacher. She was dressed in skintight black leggings and the palest of pink tops crossed over her breasts and tied at the back. She was pointing her toes, asking the giggling girls to do the same.
He’d had no idea that she was the schoolteacher and the dance teacher.
And he might have sat in the waiting area and kept his eyes off her had he known.
“I haven’t seen you here before.”
Tom turned, dragged his gaze from the all too distracting Miss Rose. “Sorry?”
He locked eyes with a middle-aged mom sipping from a paper coffee cup. “I just said that I haven’t seen you here before, and we don’t get many dads, so I’m sure I’d remember.”
“Ah, I’m Tom,” he introduced himself, still fighting the pull to glance back into the studio. “I’m looking after my niece.”
The woman held out her hand and clasped his warmly. “Then that’s why I didn’t recognize you.”
He rocked back on his heels, wished he’d dropped Gabby off and come back to collect her instead of waiting. He didn’t exactly enjoy small talk.
“Not married, or do you just not like to wear a ring?”
Oh, hell. This was definitely the kind of small talk he didn’t like to engage in.
“Single,”
