Fiancé by Friday

The fact he used her full name made her question her doubt.

She glanced at the gun and decided to own up to her lack of knowledge. “I’ve forgotten how to open and load it.”

Neil brushed against her and picked it up. He pressed a button and swiveled out the round chamber in the middle. “There are six shots.” He picked up the bullets, one at a time, and added them. “Once it’s loaded, it’s live. You don’t have to pull this hammer back to shoot, but if you do, it helps with accuracy.”

“How does it help?”

“It takes more pressure on the trigger to fire the weapon than one of these guns.” He pointed to the guns with clips. “The added pressure messes with your aim, unless you’re a good shot.”

He handed her the weapon and nodded toward the targets on the field. Unlike the paper targets she’d used before, this range was full of swiveling metal that made clanging noises when hit.

The gun felt heavy in her hand. Heavier than the others.

Neil hesitated before moving into position behind her. He wrapped his arms around hers, holding her hands in his over the gun as he positioned them to his liking.

She swallowed. The thick feel of him holding her, even like this, made her breathless. The desire to lean into him made her dizzy. But she refrained. Every other time he’d been close to her, she’d practically jumped in his lap.

Not anymore. It was Neil’s turn to make the moves. That is, if he wanted to.

She wasn’t sure why he brought her to the range, outside of his instruction. Of course he could have suggested an instructor if he wanted to keep his distance.

But that wouldn’t have been Neil. He didn’t allow anyone to do what he did better.

“Ready?” His voice was muffled.

“What?”

“Are you ready?”

She nodded and closed one eye to see the target at the end of the barrel.

Neil cocked the gun and released her hands. He inched back, but she still felt his body against hers.

She focused on the beat-up red rotating triangle, sucked in a breath, and squeezed the trigger.

The blast kicked her back into Neil, but it wasn’t that bad. In fact, it was better than what she remembered about Eliza’s weapon.

“Did I hit it?” She hadn’t paid attention.

“No.”

Now that she knew what the gun would do, she cocked the hammer herself, took aim, and fired.

The triangle zipped in a circle.

She glanced up at Neil, whose eyes smiled even if his lips didn’t.

She fired again and hit the same target twice.

Neil pointed farther out on the range. “Shoot there.”

The second set of targets took a couple of extra shots to hit. But soon she found herself plucking away at them as if she’d done so for years. Excitement shot up her spine.

One corner of Neil’s lips lifted.

You really are sexy when you smile.

“Try it again. Without cocking the hammer.”

She concentrated harder, her tongue poked through her teeth as she fired the weapon. Sure enough, she missed her target, but at least it wasn’t off in the bushes, which made her feel good.

They went through several rounds with both revolvers before Neil moved to the pistols. The smaller one felt like Eliza’s but Gwen’s accuracy wasn’t as good. After a few shots, Neil took the gun in his hand, narrowed his eyes, and squeezed. His arms didn’t so much as move with the kick. He missed his target.

He readjusted his aim and fired again.

Gwen watched as he fired six shots, all hitting their targets at the far end of the range.

“The sights are off. I’ll have to adjust them at home. It’s shooting to the left of what you’re aiming.” He handed her the gun again. “Try and adjust for the gun’s issue and hit something close.”

She managed one out of five targets.

They finished with the gun she’d nearly taken home. Neil warned her about the kick and braced her body with his. She did her best to ignore the warm feel of him at her back and shot.

The gun tilted her back, into his arms.

“Wow.” Her arms vibrated with the force of the gun.

“I told you.”

She set the weapon down, not willing to shoot it again.

“Giving up?”

She narrowed her eyes and found him smiling down at her.

“You’re taunting me.”

“Maybe. But if you needed to use it, I don’t want you unprepared.”

He wrapped his arms around her again and picked up the gun. He held on to her as she shot the gun two more times, helping absorb the impact. The following rounds came close to their targets, but missed. When the clip was empty, Neil stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. For a moment she stood still, enjoying the feel and scent of the man she’d fantasized about relentlessly since they’d met.

The range had emptied out, leaving only the two of them.

“Not bad, Harrison.”

She laughed. He’d never addressed her by her last name. “Harrison?”

His hands softened on her shoulders. “In the military, we often called each other by our last names. Seemed appropriate with you out here lighting up the place.”

He’d never, not once, said a thing about his military days. That he did so now felt intimate somehow.

“So they called you MacBain?” she asked, removing the plastic glasses she wore to protect her eyes.

“Mac. They called me Mac.” His voice had softened, making it difficult to hear him. She tugged the earmuffs away and twisted in his arms.

He offered a smile, one seldom seen.

“Well, Mac, thanks for the lesson.”

He hadn’t moved away. His hands rested on her forearms. This close, she could see his eyes even through the dark sunglasses. They stared directly into hers.

Her heart kicked in her chest, firing signals throughout her body. Neil lifted his hand to her face, traced his thumb alongside her jaw.

She wanted his kiss so much she could taste it. For one brief moment, she felt him move into her. Then something snapped, and he moved away. His gaze, his body, his hand.

“We should go.”

Gwen wanted to call him out. He wanted her; Lord knew she wanted him. So why did he hesitate?

What was so broken inside of him that made him pull away?

Chapter Nine

The silent ride back to Malibu ate at him.

His gut ached. The floral scent of the shampoo she used found a comfortable place inside his head and took root. He’d never again look at the froufrou shampoo section in the store and not think of Gwen.