happening here? He knew in his line of work, traveling from country to country, that he shouldn’t get involved with anyone. Constantly under fire during combat, everyone knew he had to keep his head in the game, or lose it. He didn’t have time to be worried about anyone else other than himself. This was his life. He had always been afraid he would be like his father and alienate those around him, never showing any signs of love or affection. His mother never seemed happy and was always alone. He swore to himself he would never do that to another human being. The army helped him keep that promise to himself, buthe was drawn to this girl. He couldn’t get the image of her face from his mind. Her coconut smell was still lingering on his arms where he held her throughout the night. It was a scent he could definitely get used to.
Returning to the room, he saw Dusty and the girls out on the balcony smoking, a habithe was glad he never picked up. The beach was gorgeous, with shades of emerald and sapphire water with white sands. There were half naked girls everywhere, but there was only one girl on his mind. He gathered his things to take a cold shower and shake this feeling he had growing deep in the pit of his stomach.
When he got out of the shower, the girls were gone, but Dustywas still on the balcony. He had gotten the attention of a few of those half naked girls and had talked them into showing him what was under their bikini tops. Logan smiled and shook his head. Dusty would never change, at least he hadn’t in all the years Logan had known him. He had always been a rambunctious kid, always getting Logan involved in something stupid.
“Damn boy. You know how to pick ‘em don’t you,” Dusty said, sliding the glass doors shut behind him. They could still hear the girls giggling outside.
“Me? You better check those girls ID’s brother, they looked a little on the young side.”
“Hell, you know, get ’em young and raise ’em right,” he slapped Logan on the back. “Nothing like the women you picked last night. Good lord help me. Can’t wait for a repeat of that. Becky is hot, and knows how to treat a man right.”
“Never knew of you goingback for seconds before, partner. What’s up with that?
“Got to finish what I started,” he winked at Logan and disappeared into the bathroom. Before long Logan heard the water running and Dusty singing in the shower.
Laughing, he went on the balcony to enjoy the ocean view. Hoping that he might get a glimpse of Alana, but not sure if seeing her was a good idea. The thought of not seeing her again made him cringe. They hadn’t said much by way of conversation, and yet he felt so connected to her. Last night he thought it might have been all the alcohol they drank, but he had the same feelings this morning when he woke to find her still there. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when he had woken up earlier while she was still sleeping in his arms. She was so beautiful. All he knew about her was that she was a nurse in a critical care unit because he heard thegirls discussing work. Knowing nursing wasn’t an easy job, he respected her for her career decision. He couldn’t get her out of his mind. It was going to be a long day.
CHAPTER FOUR
By noon, Becky had called and they planned on meeting up at The Striped Cabana Beach Club on the strip. Aunt Penny had stopped in to check on the reservation list, and Alana had asked her if she could cover the last two hours of her shift. Aunt Penny was thrilled to know Alana was doing something besides work. Penny was wonderful. She was the sweetest person Alana had ever known. Beautiful inside and out, she was tall and slender with platinum blonde hair. Alana loved her aunt. She was lucky to have someone so loving step up when her mother had died and father had been arrested.
Alana had even managed to avoid Uncle James all day. Every time he had gotten close to her, she picked up the phone and pretended to be