She nodded and waited for him to continue, her heart beating faster and faster with each tick of time. With the anticipation of hearing his story, of knowing him.
Joe let out a big sigh and sat back into the plush sofa cushions, relaxing as if he was at home, probably because hewasat home. He took the glass of wine from her and took a sip, then put it down on the coffee table in front of them.
“I was a test pilot with the same ambitions of all test pilots, whether they admit it or not. To be admitted into NASA’s manned space program.” He seemed to study her and she wondered if he was reading everything inside her based on her too-expressive face. Too late to worry about that now. Besides, she had nothing to hide, did she?
She hadn’t made her attraction a secret. In fact, she wished she’d been more demure. But that wasn’t Mae Monday.
“I don’t know if you’re aware or not, but NASA’s demand for astronauts is a shrinking these days. Manned space flights are rare now and private space programs are taking over the Wild West of the universe.” He shrugged. “Besides, I don’t have a college degree, so my application went nowhere.” He turned away, but before he did, she saw the flash of regret in his eyes, that profound sadness born of loss. She felt bad knowing she had caused him to open up the wound, sensed it was still fairly fresh.
“I’m sorry.” She said it the way you do when someone’s died. But a dead dream is the same thing as losing someone you love. She ought to know. She had loved Cal. And he was gone. Along with all her girlish dreams of that happy-ever-after romance.
He said nothing, continued to avoid her eyes, and picked up the glass of wine again. He took a sip then handed it to her.
“How about you finish this up and we get some sleep. The alarm will go off early.”
“You don’t really want to be here, do you?” She waved an arm and let her hand come to rest on his. “I mean, you don’t really want to be protecting ditzy damsels.”
His eyes snapped to life, either from the contact of her hand or her words, she wasn’t sure, but she felt the spark.
“You’re no ditzy damsel, Mae. You handled the intrusion of gunmen and the escape like a trained professional, keeping your cool, not falling apart like you had every right to do.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t think what else to say, her voice and everything else was caught up in the swirling elation of his admiration, her heart thudding away like a marching band on speed.
That was when he gifted her with his smile, the full monty version she’d been waiting for. And it was glorious, dimpled and heartmelting. With her tummy feeling like she had a million champagne bubbles popping inside, she was glad she’d been sitting because she would have collapsed in a dizzy faint if she’d been standing. Her knees felt weak even as she sat and she found herself swaying, leaning forward toward him, moving her hand from his arm to his shoulder.
“Don’t sound so surprised. I’m quiet, not blind.”
“Stoic. You’re stoic.”
If possible, his smile deepened. “I try.”
“But?” her heart stammered with her own boldness and almost stopped for a beat, waiting for his response, the excitement heating her as if her blood had been electrified, making her jumpy with sparks of thrill.
“But you make it damned hard.” The smile reached the corners of his eyes and he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen, his blue eyes dazzling between his dark lashes.
Desire tightened her muscles, making her gut clench, starting the throb between her thighs and making it difficult for her to concentrate on anything but him. Somehow she found her voice, long practice making her flirtation response automatic.
“I’m glad you’re not an astronaut. I’m glad you’re with the Zero Go Team. Here. Protecting me.”
“Right.” He cleared his throat, seeming to snap himself from their hyper awareness of each other. It was a subtle move, but she felt him separate himself from her, moving a miniscule amount, changing his posture to more upright. “I finished my stint with the Air Force and came back to Boston. Later the general asked me to join Zero Go Team. I haven’t been with the team long. Haven’t been in this apartment long. The general had wanted me to live closer to HQ, but Boston is my home—as the song says.”
“Where is HQ?”
“It’s a secret.” Smile. Not the full monty, but she felt the flutter and leaned closer whether it was wise or not.
“ZGT is a contract job on an as-needed basis, so I have a day job too. Here in Boston.”
“Really? What do you do when you’re playing Bruce Wayne and not Batman?”
He laughed. Maybe it was the wine that had loosened him, but she was glad to hear it, glad he had a sense of humor about himself.
“I own a chain of coffee shops called Cuppa Joe’s.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Pinky swear it’s true.” He held up his hand with his pinky out and she didn’t hesitate a blink to hook her pinky around his. The connection of their pinkies should have been innocent, playful, but it was anything but. At least to Mae.
The shock of the gesture, the feel of his strong finger, warm and powerful, winding around hers felt intimate. Especially accompanied by the suddenly serious blue gaze locked with hers. If she’d thought her heart was beating fast before, she’d been mistaken. Now the beating was so frantic that she put her other hand to her chest automatically as if to calm her heart.