Page 3 of Deadly Conflicts

Mandy Avery-Hardy was blond, fair and feisty. She had eyes blue enough James got to set sail on them every evening. He loved every single thing about his wife. Even he had to admit she possessed a lazy side when it came to domestic work, though.

“I would help – no, I really would – but Ally needs someone to talk to so I thought I would go out with her while you guys paint,” Mandy explained, her face reflecting worry even as she failed to maintain eye contact. “She is my best friend, after all.”

“You’re a terrible liar, wife,” James said, opening the freezer and returning with a bag of ice. “You don’t like painting and neither does Ally. You both cooked up the need to emotionally support one another as a way to get out of work.”

Mandy narrowed her eyes. “That is a horrible thing to say about the woman you supposedly love more than anything.”

“I do love you more than anything,” James confirmed. “I love you more than I’ll ever love anything else, too. I can promise you that.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re still full of crap,” James said, upending the bag of ice and dumping it over the beers in the cooler. “You and Ally hate doing housework so you’ve decided to go shopping and leave us with all of the work. Admit it.”

“I have no problem admitting it,” Mandy replied, her tone taking James by surprise. “It’s not my basement and it’s not my chore. I didn’t agree to paint anything. You agreed for both of us.”

“Ally is your best friend,” James reminded her. “I thought you would want to help.”

“You’ve tasted my cooking, right?”

The conversational shift was enough to give James pause. “Yes.”

“I paint worse than I cook,” Mandy said. “Do you want to risk having to fix everything I do or just let me do my own thing this afternoon?”

James grinned. He couldn’t help himself. There were times love overwhelmed him when he looked at her. She was everything he never knew he wanted … and so much more. “Do your own thing,” James said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. “As long as you know the thing you’re going to be doing tonight is me, we’re good.”

“Oh, smooth talker,” Mandy teased, smirking as she ran her index finger over James’ cheek. She’d fallen in love with him when she was fourteen and he was eighteen – not that he noticed her at the time. When he left to join the military, she figured she would never see him again. Life is funny, though, and when they met as adults things tilted for both of them. There was no looking back, not that either of them wanted to change anything about their world. “I’ll gladly do you later.”

“Oh, you’re so sweet,” James deadpanned. “Such lady talk … I swear.”

Mandy giggled as he pulled her in for a hug. They were used to spending their weekend days together. Family members teased that they were tragically co-dependent, a charge neither of them denied. Now faced with the fact that they would be separated for the rest of the day, Mandy felt strangely sad at the prospect. “I’ll miss you.”

James cupped the back of her head. “You’ll live. We’ll make up for lost time tonight.”

“Then I’ll really miss you.” Mandy rolled up to the balls of her feet and pressed a smacking kiss to his cheek. “I’ll miss you so much my heart might die without you.”

“Cute,” James muttered, tightening his arms around her small frame. “What are you going to do while I’m slaving away painting?”

“We’re going to the mall.”

James frowned. “You have no idea how much those words frighten me,” he said. “Those are the scariest words in the English language.”

Mandy knit her eyebrows together. “Can I ask you a question?”

James groaned. “Oh, you did it, wife! You managed to get the two scariest sentences ever invented wedged into the same sixty seconds of time. I bow down to you. You’re surely an evil wizard.”

Mandy chuckled as she grabbed the sides of James’ cheeks and held his face steady so she could kiss him senseless. The exchange went on for a long time. If they hadn’t shared a late morning in bed, it would’ve ended in a different manner – with neither of them getting to their proposed outings – but they were both satiated and looking forward to the evening for a repeat so they ultimately separated.

“I love you,” Mandy murmured, her eyes momentarily serious.

“I love you more.” James caressed her soft cheek with his thumb. “In fact, I love you most.”

Mandy smiled. “You love me most? I think that’s wrong. I think I love you most.”

“Oh, no. I love you most.”

“No, me.”

“Me.”