Touching Ghost (SEALs On Fire) by Regina Carlysle Page A

found his throat and jaw. “Hey, Beautiful.”
    Sadie stepped back, took his face in her hands, and just stared at him. “You look good. No, no let me rephrase that. You look incredible. Different but incredible.”
    “I’ve packed on a few pounds in the past ten years or so.”
    “Pounds of solid muscle maybe,” she teased. But Ren noticed the slight darkening of her eyes when she sent her gaze down and then up his body. His cock twitched behind the fly of his jeans, and, no siree, that wasn’t a good thing. They were just friends. Right? Finally, she grinned and reached for his hand. “Come on. Let’s have wine and dinner and talk. Oh lordy, how I want to talk with you. You have to tell me everything.”
    There was no way he could tell her everything because so much of what he did was clandestine but sit with her? Hell, yeah. Sudden curiosity about her life since he’d last seen her consumed him and he wondered if he’d get a peek at those deep dimples that popped out each time she grinned or if her laughter would be as he remembered. There had been many a lonely night, camped in the rocky hills of Afghanistan, when memories of her had kept him alive and hoping to regain the brightness he’d known so long ago.
    Ren allowed her to lead the way to their table. He settled her into her chair, unable to miss the way the silky little skirt she wore clung to the perfect curves of her ass.
    Hooyah.
    Yep, that was his cock twitching again.
    This might shape up to be an exercise in torture, but he was game to see it through. Once he’d taken his place across from her, he reached out to take her hands but was immediately interrupted when a young waiter approached with water, menus, and a welcoming smile. He ordered another glass of white for the lady and a cold beer for himself then pushed the menu aside. “So how are you, Doc?”
    “Your mom told you that I finished med school and started a practice, huh?”
    Clair Ramsey lived in Arizona now but kept up with the gossip network, and she’d wasted no time in telling him that Sadie had opened a pediatric practice with several other doctors. It hadn’t surprised him she’d chosen that field, and he knew she loved kids. Damn, he was proud of her. “I’m happy for you, Sadie. You’re living the dream. From the time you were just a little squirt you’ve wanted to be a doctor. Do you like it?”
    He knew that her affluent parents had expected no less than for their only child to excel in all aspects of her life and, being a dutiful daughter, she had accommodated them and then some. Ever the realist, Ren never planned to have kids of his own but suspected that, if he’d ever had a daughter, he would want the same as Mr. and Mrs. Ballew.
    She nodded, smiling. “Yes, I love it. The practice is small but growing.”
    “Heard you got married.”
    “And divorced.”
    “He’s a damn fool.”
    Sadie shook her head. “Naw, he’s not. Not really. Tom and I are still the best of friends. It wasn’t his fault that I lacked a particular body part that he happened to need.”
    Ren’s brows shot up. Thanks to his mom, he was aware of the marriage, but this was a new twist. “Too bad he didn’t tell you about that before the wedding.”
    She laughed. “No truer words, Ren. For a few years after the divorce, I found myself asking every guy I went out with if he was gay. Not a positive thing in the dating world. Good way to find yourself labeled a little nuts.” Sadie shrugged. “Stuff happens, and if nothing else, I’ve learned that things aren’t always what they seem. I’m more careful, sure, but I’m happy.”
    Once dinner was served and they dug into their meal of grilled shrimp with all the trimmings, Ren continued to ply her with more wine and some questions, too. As always, what you saw with Sadie was what you got. She was honest and endearing in every way, and he couldn’t help thinking that it would forever be this way between them. Honest. Open. Real.
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