My newest Blaze will be on shelves June 1st, 
and I’m super excited because FEVERED NIGHTS is about Neil the SEAL. Some of you may remember Neil from NIGHT MANEUVERS
In Night Maneuvers, Neil DOESN’T get the girl. And if you haven’t read Night Maneuvers, or even if it’s just been a while, I thought I might post the last time we saw Neil.
Below is the scene where he gets rejected by Air Force Captain Alexandria Hughes because she’s in love with Captain Mitch McCabe. Poor Neil. But Alex wasn’t right for him. He will meet the woman he needs to love and who needs HIS love in Fevered Nights. But before that, THIS happened…
The doorbell rang and Alex jumped, her heart racing. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her hands down her jeans and went to get the door.
As soon as she swung it open, Neil’s classy cologne hit her senses. But as expensive as she knew it was, it didn’t do a thing for her. “Hey.” She smiled and offered her cheek as he bent down to hug her and kissed the corner of her mouth.
“Hi.” He wore his service dress uniform, shiny shoes, and ribbons covering his suit coat pocket. “Housewarming gift.” Bowing slightly from the waist, he presented her with an expensive bottle of wine, mimicking a maître d’ at an expensive restaurant.
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.” She took the wine and stepped back, gesturing him inside. “I thought I’d make tuna salad. You want a sandwich?”
“Whatever you make is great.” He followed her into the kitchen and stood at the counter while she pulled out a can of tuna.
He was taller than Mitch, broader. At five feet, three inches, she felt like a dwarf next to him. He made her nervous just standing there watching her. Did he notice the awkwardness between them like she did?
“Your house is nice,” he finally said.
“Thanks. It’s just an old fixer-upper, but I like the classic fifties details, like the built-in shelf in the hallway for the phone.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, and the original wood trim along the front gable? They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.” Oh, god, she was rambling. She glanced over at him and smiled.
He returned it. “Hey, can I help with anything?”
“Oh, nah. Not much to do.” She pulled mayo from the fridge. “You like celery or pickles in your tuna salad?” She wouldn’t have had to ask Mitch that. She knew already. To be fair, she’d known him longer. But she’d dated Neil almost two years. She’d slept with the man, for chrissakes. She should know how he liked his tuna.
“Either is fine.” He just stood there and watched her.
“Have a seat and tell me how the hell—how are you? You’re shipping out, huh?” She knew not to ask him where. He probably couldn’t say.
As she chopped an onion, boiled a couple of eggs, and mixed everything in a bowl, he sat, crossed his legs in that upper-class elegant way of his, and talked.
He kept the conversation light, filling her in on all of their mutual friends in D.C. He talked of his father and mother, and their works, and told her of a lady, a young lobbyist, he’d been dating a few months.
Alex made the sandwiches, set his on a plate before him with some sliced apples, and pulled out a bag of potato chips.
“This looks wonderful.” He smiled down at the food and then back up at her. “I think that’s what I’ve always liked about you. You’re so down to earth.” He picked up the sandwich and took a man-sized bite.
She blinked. Down to earth? Was that code for unsophisticated? Uncouth? “Gee, you really know how to flatter a girl, Neil.”
His eyes widened and he stopped chewing. Swallowing quickly, he shook his head. “No, I— That came out wrong. I meant it as a compliment. Truly.”
Feeling bad for the poor guy, she smiled. “I know. Don’t worry about it.”
He cleared his throat, scooted back in the chair, and stood. “Restroom?”
“Uh…” She scrambled up from her seat and motioned him out of the kitchen and to the right. Oh, crud, had she straightened up the bathroom? “The door on the right.”
She busied herself searching the pantry for anything she could offer for dessert besides a half-eaten bag of Oreos. As she heard the water running, she poured them both a glass of iced tea, and then paced the kitchen. Why the hell was he really here? Maybe he was marrying that lobbyist and wanted to let Alex know personally. But she’d made it clear when she left D.C. that she was breaking up with him. Maybe—
She spun on her heel as he appeared in the kitchen. “Want some tea?” She held out the glass to him.
“No, thanks.” He shoved his hands in his slacks pockets and gazed out the window above her sink to the back yard. “Is that a pool?”
“Yes!” She seized on the topic for conversation. “It’s small but it comes in handy in this desert heat.”
He was still gazing out the window. “It’s nice out today. Not too hot, not too cold.”
No way he came here just to talk about the weather. “Would you like to sit outside?”
“Yes.” His smile looked relieved as he swung his gaze back to her.
She stepped around the table, opened the back door and led him out to the patio.
“It’s beautiful out here,” Neil said from behind her. “You’ve done a great job on the landscaping.”
“Well, I had help.” Sipping her tea, she surveyed the flowerbeds and remembered the day Mitch had helped her plant them all. What a great time they’d had that day.
“Alexandria.” He caught her gaze. “I didn’t come here just to catch up on old times.”
Oh no. She wanted to run back in the house, but she made herself stay put. “You didn’t?”
He shook his head. “No.”
She opened her mouth, but he stopped her. “Look. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. The truth is, I still have feelings for you, and I came here to see if there was any way, before I shipped out, that you’d want to give us another try.”
As much as she should’ve seen this coming, she was still stunned into silence. To camouflage her surprise, she turned and set her tea down on the table, then forced herself to face him. “Did you know I snore so loud it rivals an F-16 buzzing the house?”
Neil frowned. “You never snored when we were together.”
“That’s because I never let myself fall asleep after…” She waved a hand. “You know.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, and I never let you see my apartment unless I’d cleaned it first. I’m a horrible slob.”
He shrugged. “Well, nobody’s perfect.”
“And did you know I’ve assaulted two fellow officers in the past month? I have a wicked temper. When I get really mad, I don’t care about the consequences.”
Neil frowned. “You’re deliberately trying to scare me off. Why?”
“Not scare you off. Just show you the real me. I made the mistake of not doing that with you, Neil. You’re such a great guy. And I wanted things to work out between us so badly. I…needed to be in a normal relationship.” She stuck her hands in her back pockets and studied her unpainted toenails. “I thought I was being honest with you when we met. Telling you I’d requested the transfer to get away from a guy who didn’t return my love. I thought with sheer will I could make myself love someone else and be happy.”
Looking back up, she stared into his serious, dark brown eyes. “I didn’t realize I was only fooling myself. You’ve heard the saying, ‘The heart wants what the heart wants.’?” She gave a one-shouldered shrug.
“So,” he stepped close, brought his hand up and ran a thumb over her cheek. “Did things work out with this guy? Are you happy now?”
She made herself smile and covered his hand with hers. “After everything I told you, you’re worried about me?”
He returned her smile. “I love you, Alexandria. I want you to be happy.”
“Oh, Neil.” She slid her arms around his waist and hugged him, her cheek flattened against his chest. “Why couldn’t I have loved you?” she mumbled to herself.
Neil squeezed her to him a moment then pulled away and held her shoulders. “So, the idiot came to his senses?”
She couldn’t meet his gaze. “I don’t know.”
He crooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face to him. “If he doesn’t, and you change your mind…” He slowly bent down and touched his lips to hers. His kiss was achingly sweet, and then he raised his head. “Contact me through my dad. Okay?”
She nodded. He was such a nice g—
The front door slammed shut and she jerked her gaze to the back door. Neil hadn’t closed it behind him. Anyone standing in the shadow of the kitchen would’ve seen Neil kiss her.
She heard the familiar roar of Mitch’s Jeep’s engine firing up and cursed long and loudly. As tires screeched in her driveway, she ran for the front door and out into the front yard just in time to see Mitch’s Jeep careen around the corner in a spray of gravel.
Suddenly she remembered Lily’s warning about sea animals. A seal was a sea animal.
If the whole thing weren’t so disastrous, she’d have chuckled.
And after that, Neil is never seen again in this story.
So, if you read Night Maneuvers, did you worry about Neil? Did you hope he eventually found his own Happy Ever After?
I’ll draw three names from all the commenters to win a copy of FEVERED NIGHTS or anything from my backlist.