Chapter 6

Harry had been thinking about Rory all week, but real life didn’t compare with his memory. She was better than he remembered. Inviting her to the picnic at the park would be risky, but they weren’t dating. No matter how often he told himself that, he still got tingles when she touched his arm or accidentally bumped into him.

They’d both ordered breakfast sandwiches and coffee. He grabbed two packets of sugar for her and handed them over. She flashed him a smile as she took them. There was an empty two-top outside, and they settled into the seats with their food.

After the first bite, she moaned. “These are great.”

“Yeah, I like them a lot. I don’t come here often, but this is one of the guilty pleasures I treat myself with.”

“I understand the desire to get food here. I don’t know what’s in this bread, but it’s amazing.”

They didn’t talk much as they ate. It was nice just to sit and eat without the pressure to fill every second with conversation. It was like they just fit together.

After he finished his sandwich, he sat back and glanced around. He didn’t think anyone out here was military, but he wasn’t positive. He wasn’t asking her on a date, so it didn’t really matter, anyway.

“Tomorrow, we’re having a picnic. I was wondering if you’d like to go. It’s just the guys on my team. Nothing big, just getting the kids out to let them run around while we hang out.”

She’d lifted her sandwich halfway to her mouth and froze. “Just as friends, right?”

He nodded, though he was lying to himself. He saw the promise that whatever he had with Rory would become much more than friendship. He didn’t doubt for a minute that they would hook up before the end of the year.

“If you give me the address, I’ll show up. Do I need to bring any food?”

“Heck no. They have the food covered.”

She narrowed her eyes and then shook her head. “Okay. I’ll be there.”

Excitement buzzed through him. He was thankful she would be at the park. The guys could meet her, and they could give him their thoughts on how he should handle moving forward with her. Maybe nothing would happen, but he hoped it would.

The next day, he was nervous when he got to the park. While he was driving, Rory texted that she was on her way. The idea of her showing up made him even more nervous. He wanted her there but knew his buddies would see straight through his bullshit of only being friends with her. He had to keep this from going deeper. Staying friends was best.

He heard her car before he saw it. He needed to fix the engine. Maybe there wouldn’t be an easy fix, but he would try to make it run better .

“So who is this?” Wild asked as Rory pulled into a parking spot.

“A friend.” Harry fought to keep his voice even. The thrill he got just from seeing her wove through him, making him excited. Judging by Wild’s raised eyebrows, he’d failed to keep his excitement low-key.

“Really? Just a friend?” Wild asked.

Harry met Wild’s gaze. “She really is just a friend. We’re hanging out, that’s all.”

Wild shot him a look, then moved over to the car Rory had just arrived in. Harry knew he would catch hell for this, but he wanted to spend more time with Rory.

Ava came over to Harry and made a motion to the car that had just arrived. “What’s this?”

Harry blew out a huge breath. Ava would see through him, too. She naturally saw through most of their bullshit. Wild couldn’t get away with anything.

“A friend,” Harry said, trying to make his voice sound even so he didn’t give away the fact that he wanted Rory as more than a friend.

“Really?” Ava said as she moved toward where Wild was introducing himself to Rory.

Harry followed close behind her, knowing they were all going to embarrass the hell out of him today. He could take it. He would stand by the statement that Rory was only his friend. They didn’t need the aggravation of going to the brass and begging for special permission to date. They weren’t at that stage yet, and who knew if they were going to get there. They might decide that there wasn’t anything between them other than their love for running. He doubted it because even now, just seeing her set something off inside.

He made it to Rory when Ava was introducing herself, and sure enough, Ava was going to make him pay .

“I’m Ava, Wild’s wife. Harry is a doll, but he has told us nothing about you. When did you meet him?”

She shrugged, which Rory took as a silent apology as Ava took her arm and dragged her over to meet Jessica and Ingrid. He should have given Wild and the guys a heads-up, but he didn’t know exactly how to handle this since they weren’t dating, and he didn’t want to make a big deal over this.

“So, who is the woman?” Andy asked.

“She’s just a friend,” Harry said as he rejoined the guys.

“Really. And that’s why you told us nothing about her before she showed up,” Peach said.

Peach was young but very astute. He met Peach’s gaze as he tried to hold it together. There was an urge to yell at them and tell them that, yes, they were just friends, but that would probably tell them all they needed to know about his growing feelings for Rory. He had to play this cool.

“We’ve gone on a few runs together. That’s it. And we’ve eaten breakfast after those runs.”

“Interesting,” Bear said. “I find that very interesting. What’s so wrong that you haven’t taken her to bed?”

Harry sucked in a breath as Rory looked his way. Had she heard Bear? God, he hoped not.

“Behave,” Harry said under his breath. “She’s a nice person, and we really are just friends.”

“Not for long,” Jax tossed over his shoulder as he headed over to meet Rory.

He had no doubt that the guys were seeing through his lies. It was painfully obvious to the guys who knew him so well that he wanted Rory. Maybe he could hide the desire from others, but with his team, they saw the truth. He just hoped the truth wouldn’t cause problems because he really wanted to have something with Rory.