Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
She looked back at him and sent him another small smile, reaching for the bread. He pushed the butter closer to her, and she didn’t hesitate to slather the salted garlic butter onto the warm slice of freshly made bread. He liked that about her too. She ate real food and enjoyed it. He liked watching her enjoy eating.
The wind tugged at her hair as if trying to pull at those dark cherry strands she’d insisted on taming. She’d gathered her hair into a knot and then twisted it, tried her best to flatten it with two decorative combs against her scalp at the back of her head so that only the top of the knot showed the waves of cherry red shining in the sun. The more the tendrils escaped, the more he found he liked it.
“I’m going to have to bring my friends here,” Rory said. “Cindy was just telling me the other day that she couldn’t find anywhere close with decent food the boys would eat. She’s a single mom with two children. She would love this restaurant, and it could be a place she could occasionally bring the kids when she was too tired to cook. It isn’t that far from the apartments either. Thank you so much, Gideon.”
He’d been concerned that she might expect him to bring her to a nicer place, an expensive place, but she hadn’t batted an eyelash when he’d brought her to what appeared to be a dive from the outside. She’d looked up at him with that killer smile that had the potential for giving him a heart attack and had gone right on in with him.
“How bad were you injured on the last mission—or whatever you want to call it—you went on before you took your leave?”
She asked the question quietly, almost casually. She pushed food around on her plate, but her green eyes were steady on his face. He didn’t want to start off their relationship by lying to her.
“Was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Got tagged in a couple of places.” He moved to ease his body and realized he’d probably done so a couple of times, just as he’d done in the bar and when they talked together in the Koi Garden. He gave her a self-deprecating smile. “I told you I wasn’t good at this. Give me a little time. I’ll get better at it. You weren’t supposed to notice. I’m not healed yet. Everything’s tight. I would normally hole up on my rooftop, but I wasn’t taking the chance that someone else was going to swoop in behind my back and steal you out from under me.”
She laughed. He loved that sound, could listen to it for the rest of his life. “Because so many men are rushing to take me out that you had to worry. In all honesty, Gideon, I’m glad you came in when you did and asked me out. But you didn’t answer my question, as sweet as that is. I’m persistent when I want to know something. ‘Tagged in a couple of places’ tells me nothing at all.”
“I suppose it doesn’t.” Deliberately, he looked around the room as if on a covert mission. He lowered his voice, so she had to bend her head to his. “This is our first official date. You come out with me again, I can give you that information; otherwise, it’s classified, and I can get into a lot of trouble divulging that to you.”
She burst out laughing again, just as he knew she would. “You are so full of bullshit. But since I really want to know and I want to see your rooftop, I’m committing to another date.”
“On my rooftop?”
She hesitated the slightest bit, but he was aware of it. She nodded her head. “I’ll bring a picnic.”
“Would you prefer to bring someone with you rather than coming alone? It’s a big step coming alone to my place on a second date,” Gideon said, giving her an out.
“Technically, it can be considered our third date. And since you gave me the idea in the first place, I’ll just send pictures and the address to all my friends. If you’re a nutjob, they’ll all know you were the last one to see me.”
“I can live with that.” He took another slice of bread. “How many friends do you have?”
She laughed again, and Gideon found himself laughing with her. He’d never felt so relaxed in his life. He wanted to know everything there was to know about her. Everything. The expressions chasing across her face, what each meant. The little shifts in her moods, what those signaled. Why she didn’t have the confidence she should in herself. Why she moved around so much. He wanted to unlock every mystery for himself. He wanted her to stay.