Turning, she held out the picture. “It looks like you and your wife were very young when you got together.”
“We were sixteen.” Hooking his thumbs into the pockets of his faded jeans, he leaned against the doorjamb.
Sixteen…Jasmine returned the picture to its place on the dresser. “You’re lucky.”
He seemed surprised by the comment. “Until she died and any question like it would be in extremely bad taste, most people asked me if I was sorry I’d committed myself at such a young age.”
“Were you?”
“No.”
“Then she was lucky, too.”
His eyes lingered on the picture but he didn’t comment.
“Have you ever been with anyone else?” she asked.
He gave her a boyish grin. “This morning.”
“You’re saying you’ve made love to only two women?”
“Pam and I were married right after high school. That didn’t leave a lot of time for fooling around.”
“What did she do when you went to the Gulf in 1991?”
“Worked as a secretary and lived at home. I couldn’t offer her much back then.
Fortunately, she hung on.”
“What made you go into the military?”
“Some friends of her parents moved to town. They had a son our age. Her mom and dad didn’t want her to marry the only guy she’d ever dated, so they pressured her into seeing him, and she broke up with me. My parents were nagging me, too. They wanted me to do something with my life before settling down, but I already knew I needed a more hands-on challenge than college, so I joined the marines.” He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “The breakup didn’t last and we ended up getting married just after we graduated, at which point I regretted joining the military.”
“Do you still regret it?”
“Not really. Those years were hard for us, but the discipline and experience I gained made me a better husband.”
She nodded toward the medals. “I guess the pilot you saved is happy you chose the military, too.”
“Any of us would’ve done it,” he said, and she knew he wasn’t being modest.
He truly believed it.
“Well, it’s still impressive.”
“What about you?” he asked.
She tucked her hair behind her ears. “I’ve never saved anyone.”
“Considering the kind of work you do, I’m sure you’re wrong about that. You save all the people who’d be hurt if you weren’t on the front lines, right?”
She’d never really thought of it that way. She did what she did because she could. And, indirectly, it felt like her efforts somehow made up for her inability to protect Kimberly. “Maybe.”
“But that wasn’t what I meant,” he said.
“You’ve lost me.”
He came into the room, grabbed a football Susan’s boys must’ve left behind and tossed it from hand to hand. “Your surprise that I’ve been with only two women makes me curious about how many men you’ve been with.”
“A lot.” She grinned. “Obviously, I’ll sleep with anyone.”
“Which puts the number somewhere around…five hundred?” he teased.
“Closer to four hundred. I’ve kept close count. I have some morals, you know.”
“Getting involved with that many guys is quite a feat for a woman who’s afraid to take off her clothes.”
“They were all very persuasive, like you.”
“You took some time off when you were married, didn’t you?”
“My marriage only lasted two years, remember?”
“Two years,” he repeated. “Did you love him?”
“I loved him. But I wasn’t in love with him. I learned there’s a rather meaningful difference.”
He flopped onto the bed, still tossing the ball. “Have you ever been in love?”
“No.”
“Never?”
“No.”
He stopped throwing the ball and met her eyes. “Maybe you’re too cautious.”
“Maybe I haven’t met the right person,” she retorted.
“What came between you and your husband?” The ball was going back and forth again. It made a thumping sound as it landed in each palm.
“I realized I wasn’t doing him any favors by pretending to feel something I didn’t.”
A wry grin curved Romain’s mouth. “I’ll bet he was glad to be rid of you.”
If the grin hadn’t been enough, the flash of straight, white teeth would’ve told her he was joking. It was a side of Romain she hadn’t seen before. He’d been dark, brooding, passionate, intense. But not playful. Until now.
“He handled it well.” Surprisingly well. His generosity in letting her go made it that much harder to leave him. But she’d grown beyond the need to have a father figure who approved of her, and Harvey wasn’t what she wanted in a husband.
“We’re still friends,” she said. She told herself that whenever she recalled the disappointment she’d caused him. “I have good relationships with all three of the men I slept with before you.”
She thought he’d capitalize on the truth—that she’d been with only three men besides him. But he didn’t. He chucked the ball onto the pile of sleeping bags and sat up. “You’re proud of being friends?”
The challenge in his voice startled her. “I guess I am. Why?”
“That’s pathetic.”
She propped a hand on her hip. “What’s pathetic about it?”
“It’s easy to walk away friends if there’s no passion to begin with, no real commitment, no real…joining.”
“Not everyone can have the kind of relationship you had with Pam, Romain.”
“I realize that, but…are you really so in control of how you feel?”
Not with him. She’d already proven that. But she did what any smart girl would do and lied. “Always.”
He shook his head. “No, last night wasn’t a calculated decision.”
“Last night didn’t mean anything. We’ve been over that.”
He studied her for a moment. “How could I forget?”
“I guess we’d better get back to the others,” she said, but he didn’t get up.
“What did Tom have to say?” he asked instead.
Jasmine knew he wasn’t pleased that they’d had a private conversation. But she’d been hoping to wait until after they left to tell him about the messages sent to his family. She had no idea how upset he’d be and didn’t want to ruin Christmas for everyone by creating a scene or causing him to become any more remote than he already was. “Tom’s in love with your sister.”