Once A Hero…. Jillian Burns
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I’ve always been a photo bug and it would be a dream job to work for Geographic Universe. But I’ve only got a few more weeks left before the submission deadline and I haven’t shot anything extraordinary enough.”
He’d been nodding, absorbed in learning about her until her expression took on a dawning horror. “Oh, God, I’ve been totally talking about myself this whole time. I’m so sorry. So, tell me about you, where are you from? What do you do?” She scooped up a forkful of lobster and watched him expectantly.
Luke felt as if he’d been suddenly shoved onto center stage with a spotlight trained on him, while an audience waited breathlessly for him to perform. But how could he tell this young, carefree woman anything about what his life was like?
BEING A CITY GIRL, Kristen had never actually seen a deer caught in her headlights. But if she had, she imagined the deer would look something like Luke Andrews did right now.
Was he in the Witness Protection Program? An international spy? Maybe he had amnesia and he didn’t remember where he was from or what he did for a living? That would explain the haggard look to his features and the dark circles under his eyes. She hadn’t noticed those until she’d seen him in the daylight earlier. And what about his being awake at two in the morning the past few nights?
Nah. She’d watched too many soap operas in college.
She waited another half a minute—which seemed like a long time with an awkward silence hanging in the air—and then put her fork down and cleared her throat. “Luke?”
At least he met her gaze. “Sorry.” Then he looked back down at his plate and took another bite.
“Is it one of those you-could-tell-me-but-then-you’d-have-to-kill-me kind of jobs?” She tried to smile and make light of it, but he was beginning to scare her. A girl could only equate mysterious with sexy up to a point.
“What?” His gaze flew back up to her and he scowled. “No. It’s just … nothing you’d want to hear about.”
Okay. Kristen jabbed at a shrimp.
And Luke ate.
And she ate.
Every bite or so he would look up at her. She fished around in her mind for a subject to bring up that they could discuss, but why should she? He seemed perfectly content to sit in silence.
For this she’d spent fifty-five dollars on a dress she didn’t need and endured an hour with the curling iron? Maybe he regretted saying yes? Maybe he felt trapped into going out with her for politeness’ sake? How depressing. That probably meant the connection she thought she’d felt between them was only in her imagination.
She jabbed at the last of her lobster, finished off her cola and came to a decision. Pulling cash from her purse, she laid enough on the table to cover the bill plus tip and scooted back in her chair. “Well, it’s been, uh, interesting.”
Just as she stood to go, he blurted out, “I’m a doctor in the Army medical corps, a captain.”
She hesitated. “Look, you don’t have to—”
“I’m here on leave.” He snatched the cash off the table, held it out to her and motioned the waiter over. “And I just didn’t want to ruin a nice dinner talking about it.” Reaching into his back jeans pocket, he pulled out his wallet and handed the waiter a credit card.
Kristen took her cash from him and sat down. “So … you were overseas?”
“Afghanistan.”
Geez. No wonder he didn’t want to talk about it. It explained the things she’d seen in his eyes last night.
The waiter returned with the check and Luke signed it and stuck the card back in his wallet. Then he met her gaze, his expression serious. “I think we passed an ice cream stand on the way here.”
She smiled. “I never say no to ice cream.” She started to get to her feet and he jumped up and pulled her chair out. “Thank you.”
His lips compressed as he gave a slow nod and indicated she should lead the way.
It had grown dark while they’d eaten dinner. Neon signs flashed from the bars, lighting the street with a multitude of colors. Foot and car traffic was heavy, but this was a tourist town and it was whale season, so Sunday nights weren’t any quieter than other nights.
Kristen strolled down the street with him in silence for a while, but now the silence was comfortable. She was curious about his time served in Afghanistan, but she wouldn’t pester him with questions anymore. Everyone dealt with death and dying in their own way.
She should know.
So, he was a captain in the Army. She smiled to herself, suppressed a giggle. Captain Mysterious really was a captain. And he was a doctor. That explained the Heimlich and CPR knowledge.
He stopped at the ice cream stand and bought her a dip of chocolate on a cone, but nothing for himself. As they continued down the sidewalk a dozen or more questions came to her lips, only to be stifled. He’d said he didn’t want to talk about his life, and she should respect that. So she ate her ice cream and waited.
And waited. Okay, this guy took brooding to a whole new level.
“So, tell me—”
“Maybe this—”
They spoke at the same time.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“Go ahead,” she said at the same time as his apology.
Kristen cringed. As far as first dates went, this one ranked right up there with the seventh-grade Sadie Hawkins dance when she’d asked John Bannister to be her date and he’d said yes and then spent the whole evening dancing with Charlene Lefavre.
Coming to a halt, Luke grimaced and rubbed the back of his neck. “I think I’ve been around army grunts too long.”
“No, it’s me. I … haven’t dated much.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
At her sudden surprise he squeezed his eyes closed and grimaced again. “I didn’t mean it like—I just meant you’re so pretty—”
“No worries.” She put her hand on his arm. “I didn’t take it the wrong way. You just caught me off guard because you’ve been so quiet, I thought maybe I’d cornered you into coming to dinner when you didn’t really want to.”
“No.” He cupped her jaw in his palm and ran a thumb across her cheek. His eyes blazed into hers. And his touch heated her skin and tingled. She understood the cliché now. She really did feel as if she could fall into the deep chocolate of his eyes.
As if he suddenly realized he was caressing her cheek, he dropped his hand and stepped back.
Kristen blinked and glanced at her surroundings. The street traffic, the ocean waves crashing, the breeze riffling palm leaves all returned. When she looked back at Luke, she got the feeling he was as shocked by his action as she. Had he felt the same shivering magnetism she had? If so, his expression revealed nothing of it.
Searching for something to say, she faced forward and resumed walking. “So, did you book a tour to see the humpbacks yet?
He fell into step beside her. “Uh, no.”
“Oh, you really should while you’re here.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
Would he really? She remembered Amy’s crazy suggestion about bringing the mystery man along on Kekoa’s boat for a double date. Should she?
“You want to come out with me while I dive sometime?” Okay, that was possibly the shortest amount of time she’d ever thought something through.
“Um.”
“I mean, I’d have to ask my boat driver