FIVE

The next afternoon, Zane sat in front of the engine that ran the old Ferris wheel and knew that making Olivia's dream come true wouldn't be easy. He wiped the sweat off his face, studied the gears, and decided the only answer was to take the whole thing apart and start from scratch.

Hearing the slap of a screen door, he looked up and admired his neighbor's legs as she headed in his direction. Then immediately told himself a couple of lies about her not being the most irresistible woman he'd ever encountered.

When none of them stuck, he let out a breath and reluctantly accepted there wasn't a part of her that he didn't want to run his mouth over or a crevice he didn't want to explore. Olivia Bennett was nothing less than the Devil's own candy, and his ability to resist was diminishing with every minute spent in her company.

Was it because she was an open book and let every thought spill from her pretty lips without reservation?

Probably.

He'd long been a fan of people who spoke their truth and couldn't help but appreciate that if a thought missed her mouth, it made it to her face. The tilt of her lips, the width of her eyes, and the very unladylike snort she let out whenever she disagreed told him everything he needed to know.

The word charming was quickly replacing annoying, and if he weren't careful, she would have him spun up in her web of magic, and he'd never be free.

Something he couldn't allow to happen because he wasn't ready to take a woman like that on. Half-assing it would never be tolerated. Nor would faking it until he made it. She was the real deal, and pretending otherwise would only result in the inevitable knife being plunged into his heart.

"Where's Asher?" Olivia called out as she got closer. "I made him a sandwich."

Pulling himself out of his dark thoughts, he cleared his throat. "He had to return to the house for a conference call."

"That sounds ominous."

"Not really. He's just trying to decide his next career move."

Olivia set down the basket, unzipped her sweatshirt, and tied it around her waist. "Any chance of me hearing why he left JAG?"

"Possible. If you bribe him with food and alcohol, you'll have a halfway decent chance of getting him to spill."

Olivia rubbed her hands together. "Thanks for the intel. I'll be sure to use it for only nefarious purposes."

"You should have some shame, woman, and pretend to have only honorable intentions."

"Sorry, no can do." She closed one eye in a wink and then snorted. "No one would believe me if I tried, so it's not worth the bother."

He shook his head as she collapsed near him and watched her pull a towel off the basket"s contents. "What have you got there?"

"Lunch." She pulled out two wet wipes and handed them over. "And what exactly will make you spill your secret desires and dreams? Food, booze, sexual favors? Tell me so I know what kind of strategy I need to craft."

He blew out a raspberry and wiped his hands. "And what would you do with that kind of info?"

"Nothing too horrible."

He raised an eyebrow. "Don't hold back now, woman."

"I'm not…"

"Your mouth twisting into a smile is not selling your innocence."

"Fine." She closed the plastic bag and looked up. "I might use the information when and if I came up with a spell."

"A what?"

"Nothing." She dropped her eyes and dug into the basket. "Never mind, forget I ever mentioned it."

"There's no way I can never mind the word spell." Seeing her fingers twist together let him know she was nervous—a condition he would've sworn she was immune to.

Olivia let out a gust of air. "If you must know, it would be more of a plan of seduction than a spell, per se." She flapped her hands in front of her face. "Don't make me say more."

He leaned in, taking her hands. "The truth will set you free."

"I doubt it."

He pressed their joined hands against his chest. "You gotta tell me what you're cooking up in that twisty mind, Liv."

She tilted her head. "But do I, though?"

Sucked into the vortex of her smile, he found himself ready to make a dozen promises he likely wouldn't be able to keep. "About that spell…"

Pulling her hands away, she folded them in her lap. "We both know I have a crush, so I might've entertained a few ideas of how to make myself less objectionable…to you."

"You're not objectionable." He snorted. "You're the exact opposite."

"Really?"

"Of course. You're sexy as hell, smart, kind, and…"

"Annoying?"

"A little. But not in a bad way."

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Because there's a good side to annoying?"

"Apparently," he replied quietly. Leaning back on his hands, he looked across the yard and didn't know what he could say that wouldn't be cheesy. He'd never had a ton of game when it came to women, and now that he was a scarred vet with more than one mental health issue, he had even less.

But he had to come up with something because having an incredible woman confess to a crush was as close as he'd come to a miracle in a long time. "Liv, it's just that…"

"You're not into relationships and don't want to make our neighbor thing awkward by having a delicious, dirty tryst and would just like to be friends?"

Of all the words that came out of her mouth, the only three that stuck were delicious, dirty, and tryst. A hive of killer hornets buzzed in his head, and all he could visualize was him and Liv doing filthy things to one another…again and again. Tryst his ass. He'd need a good long while to slake his need for the woman whose knee was touching his.

"Turkey with brie or roast beef and arugula?"

"What?" he asked as he lifted his eyes and tried to untangle the lustful thoughts twisting his brain into a knot.

Olivia held up two sandwiches. "Which one would you like?"

"Whatever you don't want."

"I like them both, so you choose."

He took the sandwich in her right hand, knowing he owed her some kind of response. Leaving her words without acknowledgment was cowardly, and that was one thing he wasn't. "Liv, about what you said earlier…"

"Let's just leave it be." She handed him a bottle of iced tea. "Friends. That's what we'll be."

"Okay. That'll probably be best." He popped the top off the cold drink and wished that he were in a better place. Because if he were, there would be no stopping him from sweeping Olivia off her pretty feet. "You didn't have to make all this food."

"Of course I did. You and your brother freed the Ferris wheel this morning, and feeding you is the least I can do."

Before he could respond, he heard a phone chirp and watched Olivia slide hers out of the basket and read something with a smile. "Good news?"

"My sister confirmed I can bring Bella to book club." Unwrapping her sandwich, she plucked out a piece of brie. "Which, for the record, is very generous because my sweet dog hasn't had the best manners when we've been to the bookstore."

"Does your sister own the one in town?"

"She sure does and has an impressive online business. Many people in the know consider her to be an expert on almost every romance genre." She popped the cheese into her mouth. "If you ever want a tour of our lovely hamlet, I'd be happy to introduce you around."

He winced, thinking of all the curious stares he'd have to endure. "I'll keep that in mind.

"Which is man-speak for a big fat no."

"I've only been in residence for two months; it's not like I need to rush into anything."

Olivia narrowed her eyes. "I thought you'd only moved in a month ago; how did you evade my superior spy skills for thirty days?"

"Came in the dead of night with enough supplies to make going to town unnecessary."

"How creepy and disturbing."

"Thanks," Zane replied. "I do what I can." He unwrapped his sandwich, took a big bite, and moaned. The roast beef was rare, the arugula spicy, and the generous layer of mayo was perfection. Maybe bringing the Ferris wheel back to life wouldn't be a chore after all. "This is damn good."

"Thanks," she replied. "I got the idea from Phyllis. She and her wife, Grace, run the coffee shop in town." She passed over a napkin. "It's just down from my mom's health food store and has a red awning."

"Haven't spent much time on Main Street," he commented before wiping his mouth. "The shops look perfect and make me think I've stumbled onto a movie set."

"Haven certainly has all the charm of town featured in a Hallmark movie."

"A what?"

"Hallmark movies, surely you've heard of them."

"Guess I missed that particular piece of American culture when I was OCONUS for the last several years."

"O-what?"

"Outside Continental United States Overseas."

"Very impressive military speak, Mr. Hawker."

He took a handful of chips out of the bag she offered. "Don't even realize when I'm using it since I grew up in a Navy family. All four of my brothers and I have served in a military branch, and it's no small miracle that we can speak civilian at all."

"I'll want the full story of the Hawker family history at some point. My goodness, how did your mom survive five boys?"

"With a will of steel and a healthy sense of humor. May Hawker is a force to be reckoned with and never let any of us get away with a thing."

"You're kind of your own force, so it makes sense that you've got a genetic marker for it."

Biting back a smile, he concentrated on his sandwich and knew the real force was her. Olivia and a block of C12 had a lot in common, and he would be wise to use the same care with the woman as the deadly explosive.

"So, give me the highlights of the Hawker brothers."

"Okay, but I'll give you the abbreviated version." He brushed his hands off. "Rorke is the oldest and is retired from the Teams. He's running the SAI office in Virginia Beach. Asher is next and, as you've heard, is about to retire from the Navy. Birch is the third in line. He was a PJ for many years and is currently involved with black ops for an off-the-books agency."

"Wait, what kind of agency?"

"The kind we don't talk about."

"That's disappointing." She leaned in. "I'm an excellent secret keeper, so if you ever…"

"I won't," he finished, telling himself he didn't want to know how her lips tasted. "Anyway, I'm next, and Colt is the family"s baby. He's on the Teams in San Diego and, by all accounts, having the time of his life."

"Wow, too bad you're all such underachievers."

"Yeah, we're all waiting for the second act to do something worthwhile."

"Clearly," she said, covering his hand.

He coughed and then picked up his sandwich.

Not a big deal. Even if her touch lit up a part of him, he would've sworn was non-existent.

Olivia slipped her hand away and lifted a book out of the basket. "I have one more chapter to read before our book club meeting tonight, so I hope you don't mind if I do that while you fiddle with the," she waved her finger toward the metal box, "disaster."

"You don't have to keep me company, Liv."

"But I want to. Unless having me nearby will be annoying."

"Not annoying, but certainly distracting."

She swayed back and forth and smiled widely. "Whoop, whoop. I'm wearing you down and think that big-dick energy might soon be set free."

Choking, he sat forward. "What did you say?"

She patted him on the back. "Not going to repeat it."

Straightening, he took several deep breaths. "Oh, yes, you are. What in the hell is big-dick energy?"

"It's what you've got." She batted her hand around his body. "It combines alpha cool, swagga, and quiet confidence."

"And apparently a big dick."

"That's just a euphemism. It's not literal."

He watched her eyes travel to his hands and then his boot-clad feet. He rolled his eyes when they remained there, and her cheeks flushed pink. "Size fourteen, babe."

"Really?"

"Yeah, not a thing to lie about."

"Oh, well, I wasn't…"

He leaned down so they were looking into one another's eyes. "Anything else you want to ask before I dive into this sandwich?"

"Nope." She shook her head vigorously. "Not a thing."

"Good." Not able to hold back a smile, he watched her eyes travel back to his hands and decided that if she was going to be the death of him, it might not be the worst way to go.