He hummed. “I heard you get in about an hour ago. Your shift usually ends three hours earlier.”
“Emergency with a big pile-up on the highway.” His eyes scanned my scrubs for evidence. “I showered and changed at work.”
He nodded. “I’ll join you for breakfast, if that’s okay.”
I pursed my lips and waved him on. We walked in silence together down the hallway. This was the Dante I remembered, the quiet appeasing man who smiled and nodded at about five other guests who walked by. He murmured hellos and a thank you to a man who opened the restaurant door for us. Then he put his hand on my lower back, like we were comfortable with each other’s touch but just in a friendly manner.
My body wasn’t. I felt the heat immediately, my nipples tightened, and I gasped. His light eyes met mine, but he didn’t call attention to the spark between us.
That was for the best.
The buffet wasn’t very busy, but families buzzed around with kids, and a couple of pilots ate in the corner, probably only here for a day or two before they had to jet out again. I went to grab some fruit, and two little girls dressed in red-striped pajamas pointed at my scrubs. When I caught them looking, I did a little twirl and they glanced up to find me smiling.
We all giggled, and one tilted her head to the side and said, “I want to be a doctor when I grow up.”
“I like your red pajamas.” I nodded to them both, not correcting them and telling them I was a nurse.
“We’re twins!” They grabbed each other’s hands.
Their mother arrived and put her hands on their shoulders, smiling at me. “Sorry.”
“No worries.” I waved her off. “We’re just admiring one another’s clothing, and I have to tell them, I have a twin too.”
Their eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Yep.”
“Is she pretty like you?” asked the one who hadn’t talked yet. She reminded me of myself, standing back while Izzy shined.
“Well, we’re both pretty in our own ways. Just like you both are amazing in your own ways.”
They giggled, and the mom shooed them away. The love in the way they looked at one another must have drained all the happiness out of my stare.
“You want kids,” Dante said from behind me, and I jumped, my plate of food slipping from my hands.
The reflexes on the man would have rivaled a superhero’s because he caught my plate before it hit the ground without dropping a single morsel of food.
“Jesus, you scared me,” I murmured as he pushed the plate back into my hands. “Thank you.”
“No worries.” Then his hand was on the small of my back again, leading me to our table. This time, he hovered closer, so close I could feel his warmth. Like we were together. Like we knew each other intimately. And my heart couldn’t help but race toward the idea.
He pulled the seat out for me, then rounded the table.
I bit my lip and tried not to focus on how accommodating he was. Yet, considering how my body was reacting to a single touch from him, I wondered if I needed to set clear boundaries or keep avoiding him.
He smiled, all cool, calm, and collected, as he sat down across from me and continued his questioning like we were old friends. “Your mom would love you bringing home a bunch of babies with a nice man.”
“Why are we talking about this?” I grumbled and grabbed my fork to eat.
“Because you looked at those little girls like you wanted them about as bad as you wanted your own car in high school.”
I groaned, knowing where this was going. “I deserved a car, okay? My brothers were hellions, and they ruined that car before it ever got to me and Izzy.”
We got the hand-me-down station wagon that barely ran, and Izzy always took it everywhere. I was stuck catching rides with whoever I could.
Dante waved me off. “At least it gave us time to catch up when I was home on leave.” He caught my stare, and I shifted uncomfortably. I’d treasured those car rides but wasn’t sure he had too.
I took a bite of the pineapple I’d grabbed and sought neutral ground. “They were nice.”