A Secret Between Friends: A New Zealand Sexy Beach Romance (Treats to Tempt You Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page B

wasn’t mad at her.
    She rubbed her thigh, above the new joint. “A dull ache. I’m still on meds so it’s not as bad as it could be.”
    “What did you have done?”
    “A total knee replacement. A bullet completely shattered the joint.”
    Niall winced. “Ouch. So what’s the recovery time?”
    “I was told I should be walking without the cane at six weeks, but I don’t feel confident without it at the moment.” She rubbed her thigh again. “It’s not healing as well as it should, to be honest. I think it’s psychological.” Her lips twisted, and she accepted the cocktail from Beck and gratefully took a sip.
    “Are you seeing someone?” Niall tipped his head to the side.
    She blinked in surprise. “Um, no.” As long as it wasn’t with someone directly in your chain of command, relationships were allowed in the Army, and she’d dated several guys over the years. Since their latest posting to Afghanistan, there hadn’t been anyone who’d taken her interest. “Young, free, and single, that’s me.”
    Humor lit Niall’s eyes. “I meant a therapist.”
    “Ah.” She fought against embarrassment. If he saw her blush, she’d never hear the end of it. “In that case yes, I did in the hospital. They want me to find someone while I’m home, too. I’ll see.” The truth was that she didn’t enjoy the therapy sessions. Talking about what had happened made her feel uncomfortable. It stopped the negative emotions and memories fading, like constantly refreshing a browser page.
    Niall nodded, but the light in his pale green eyes told her he wasn’t going to let her comment slide. “Still single?” he said. “I would have thought you’d have every soldier in the Army under your spell by now.”
    “Not quite.” She smiled. “I’ve missed you.”
    It was partially true. Ultimately, it had been easier for her not to be near him. As she’d moved through her teenage years and her crush on him had deepened, it had made it more difficult to see him with other women, especially once he’d met Tamsin. The red-haired Aussie had been two years older than him. It had been hard watching them together, but deep down Genie had understood that her infatuation would never be reciprocated, and she’d been glad he’d found someone who’d treated him well and made him happy. She’d been waiting for them to announce their engagement, or even for Tamsin to say she was pregnant—neither would have surprised her. Instead, they’d broken up.
    She opened her mouth to ask what had happened, but at that moment Beck slid the final drink across the bar to Jonah and raised his own glass. “To Ciara.”
    Genie lifted her cocktail. “To Ciara.” She sipped it as everyone echoed the words, conscious of emotion tightening her throat. All these people had loved Ciara, and now she was gone. For a moment, she couldn’t swallow, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the wave of grief to pass.
    Someone’s hand rested on her upper arm and squeezed. “You okay?”
    Opening her eyes, she expected to see everyone staring at her in concern, but only Niall was aware of the brief swell of sorrow that had gripped her.
    She nodded. “Sorry. It gets me like that occasionally.”
    “Yeah, me too. I’ll be thinking about something completely normal like the rugby, and then I’ll suddenly remember, and I’ll feel sad, and guilty that I forgot for a moment.”
    Niall hardly ever talked about feelings. He was a typical Kiwi guy—down-to-earth, practical—a doer, not a thinker. Well, not a discusser of his thoughts, anyway. She’d once overheard him having a quarrel with Tamsin, and Tamsin had yelled at him, “For Christ’s sake, will you tell me what’s going on in your head? I haven’t got a fucking crystal ball!”
    So it was odd to hear him describe how he felt, and it echoed her own feelings so much that her eyes widened. “That’s it exactly. I know we can’t grieve every minute of every day, but it does feel like