I gave her a surprised look. “Really? How did you figure it out?”
She motioned with her head toward a path that led through a garden—honestly, an oasis that really should have been featured on some home and garden show. “Walk with me, and I’ll fill you in.”
My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. “I’d love to.”
“Earlier I overheard someone ask him about his girlfriend and how she was doing. He told them they had recently gotten engaged.”
“Oh.” It was all I could say.
She laughed again and wrapped her arm around mine, nearly making me trip over my own feet.
“So, another piece of the puzzle has surfaced,” she said as she looked up at me.
“What do you mean?”
This time she stopped and faced me. She crossed her arms over her chest as she slowly shook her head like she couldn’t believe I hadn’t figured it out. “You…were jealous.”
I laughed, but there was zero humor in the sound. “What!?”
“Don’t even try to act like you weren’t. I saw the way you speared poor Mitchel with those lethal eyes of yours.”
“Lethal?” I asked with a bark of laughter. There was still zero humor in it but one-hundred-percent intent.
Linnzi walked again as she went on. “Well, the way you were looking at him was pretty darn lethal.”
“How is that a piece of the puzzle? And what puzzle are you talking about?”
She remained quiet for a few moments before answering. “The puzzle about us.”
“Us?”
“Yes, Nolan, us.” Her voice held the slightest bit of frustration in it.
She stopped once we got to a gazebo and then stepped up into it. She turned around and sat down as I leaned against it and watched her every move. “I may be out of practice with this, but I feel something between us. It’s not a love-at-first-sight kind of thing. It’s something else entirely.”
I placed my hands over my heart and looked wounded.
She smiled and I felt my knees give out slightly. “But…but…” she said as she pointed a finger at me. “There is something there. Do you deny it?”
I drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled. I was so tired of hiding from this. “No, I don’t deny it.”
She chewed on her lip. “Did we date, Nolan?”
“Do you think we dated, Linz?”
Her breathing picked up, and I watched her chest move up and down. One part of me wanted her to remember—the greedy side of me—so that I could kiss her. The other part was scared to death she’d remember. Because if she did, she would surely hate me. It was a fine line I was teetering. on right now.
She abused her bottom lip, catching it with her teeth as she stared at me. “I don’t know.”
A part of me deflated. But what could I expect when she hadn’t remembered me in eight years?
“Would you do something crazy, Nolan?”
I tossed my head back and laughed before I settled my gaze back onto her. She grinned and tilted her head, waiting for me to explain my laughter. “I just jumped out of a helicopter last week for the fun of it, Linnzi. Crazy is my middle name.”
Her cheeks flushed as she looked down and then back up at me. “Would you ask me out on a date?”
That was not what I was expecting. I swallowed hard. “Um…”
“If you’re dating someone, I…”
“No!” Shit, that sounded like I was desperate. “No, that’s not it at all. I’m only on leave for a few days. I go back on Tuesday.”
“Oh.” Her mouth tilted up ever so slightly. “Tomorrow, then?”
I drew my brows in and pushed off the gazebo. “Are you asking me out now?”
She nodded. “Clearly you’re not going to ask me, so yes, I am. Tomorrow. Do you have any plans?”
Slowly, I shook my head. Knowing that this was probably the best and worst turn of events.
Linnzi stood and clapped her hands together once as she walked over to me. She was still standing on the steps of the gazebo, so she stood directly at my eye level. Our eyes locked on one another. “Good. Then, it’s a date. Do you need my number?”
My eyes were transfixed on her lips, and I nodded—even though I already had her number.
A wide smile broke out on her face as she reached up and slid her fingers through my hair. Again, it was the best and worst turn of events, but I wouldn’t change a thing right now. Instead, I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh. She would never know how amazing it felt to have her touch me again.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Linnzi’s tongue sweep over her lips. “I want to kiss you,” I whispered.
Her hand moved down and she stepped closer, wrapping both arms around my neck. “Then maybe you should kiss me, because I don’t make it a habit to kiss strangers.”