How could one woman bring such mayhem and peace at the same time? She scared the hell out of him. Given the look on her face, he suspected she’d just scared the hell out of herself, as well. “Just friends going to the diner?”
They’d hidden out at the diner more than once when the prospect of all those motel beds waiting to be used had overpowered them.
She shrugged, but didn’t agree. He looked deeper in her eyes and saw exactly what he’d feared—and hoped—to find over the past few days. They were becoming more than friends. He wanted this woman to be more than his friend. He wanted to be her lover.
How many more empty police reports would it take before he could act on that? His body jolted in response at the mere thought.
Not five seconds ago he’d told himself he wasn’t right for her—regardless.
Well, dinner wasn’t a raging affair.
He could take her to supper. They’d eaten together every night like some old married couple, except without dessert sex.
Jacob stifled a groan.
Dee ducked her head and picked at her cuff again. “Never mind. Forget I said it. You don’t owe me for helping out. If anything, I owe you. Watching the desk for a few hours won’t even put a dent in my debt.”
There were those soulful, hurt eyes again, stabbing right through him. He didn’t stand a chance. “We could hunt down a restaurant in Tacoma that would serve you a bottle of Merlot.”
The invitation fell out of Jacob’s mouth before he could give himself time to think. And regret.
She tipped her chin with that Dee spirit he’d come to admire. She recovered quickly, he’d grant her that.
Dee pulled free a McChord base newspaper from beside the computer and plopped it on the counter. She pointed to an ad. “Or we could go to the base and have dinner at the NCO Club.”
Jacob walked toward her, slowly, and traced a finger along the edges of the paper. A paper that had been neatly folded to the page in advance, as if she’d been planning this. Another curve. “You’d like to go to the NCO Club?”
He’d noticed how often she flinched when the military airplanes flew overhead, how she went quiet whenever friends from the base showed up. Had the man who fathered her child been in the service?
“I can honestly say I can’t recall ever having been to one before,” she rambled nervously, her cheeks pinkening to match the flowers on her shirt. “I’m sure they have Merlot there. We can save Tacoma for another night.”
Another night. Another date. But not a date. Surely spending his last few evenings away from the intimacy of the motel would be wise.
He ignored the niggling sense that he was deluding himself and making a mistake, a big one. They were about to take a step forward that couldn’t be backtracked if the bottom fell out later. “All right then. Dinner at the base.”
Dee smiled, another curve of hers he’d come to enjoy viewing.
Just a simple night away from the Lodge, Jacob reminded himself.
He backed up a step. “Give Chase’s mom a call if he doesn’t show soon.”
“I will. And, Jacob?”
“Yeah?”
“Be careful.”
Jacob nodded and bolted out the door, wondering how a tiny scrap of a woman had him on the run when he’d faced down enemy threats twice her size.
Dee settled in for a slow night. No tour buses were scheduled, and the weather forecast would deter most impulsive travelers. Which left her with all night to think about what she’d asked Jacob.
Man, she had the munchies.
The vending machines called to her. At least she could feed one hunger without risking more than a couple of extra pounds. She scrounged in her pockets for loose change. After coming up with nothing but two quarters, she hit pay dirt with a one-dollar bill.
She still couldn’t believe she’d actually asked Jacob out, not that it qualified as a date, really. Just a friendly evening out. A nice, safe step toward starting a new life for herself. She didn’t plan to give up on the old one, but it could be years before she remembered. Meanwhile, she needed to create a life for herself outside the constant wondering and worrying, or she truly would lose her mind. Then she would be of no use to her child or herself.
After she’d bought a bag of sour cream and onion chips, Dee fed the dollar into the soda machine. It disappeared…and rolled back out. She flattened the bill and tried again.