Just then the entrees were served.
“Is there anything else I can get for you?” the waiter asked.
“Another basket of bread would be good,” Law answered. He loved seeing Jill’s eyes light up.
“This looks wonderful, how did you find this place?” she asked as she cut into her halibut.
“Clancy told me about it.”
“He comes up a lot. I take it he’s a good friend?”
“He’s one of the best. Almost like a brother.” He took a big bite out of his steak, the better way not to talk about brothers.
Jill gave him a wry look. Apparently she realized why his mouth was suddenly full. He watched her take a bite of her fish, and swallow. And savor. And damn near moan her pleasure.
Law grabbed for his water so he could choke down his filet. She was killing him.
“Lawson?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you sure you’re not in Navy Intelligence, instead of being a Marine Raider?”
“Huh?”
“You sure do know how to evade a question.” She took a sip of wine.
“You sure do know how to pause for an answer,” he grinned. “I like it.”
“You’re reminding me of my brother’s fiancée. She doesn’t pull any punches either. Doesn’t let him get away with a damn thing.” Lawson pictured Eden and smiled.
“It sounds like you admire her.”
“I do.”
“Then I’m happy,” Jill held up her wine glass in salute.
“So Clancy, he and I were in boot camp together. He didn’t come in as a college grad, but he had gone to a trade school to become an electrician, but they found out he made a better manager on construction sites. According to him, the only thing he learned was how to herd cats and keep people from being killed. So voilà, he was perfect to join special forces.”
“And your degree?”
“Sports and health sciences. I really thought I wanted to coach at a collegiate or professional level.”
“What changed?”
“Listening to Asher and Xavier. Really understanding the value of service. I wanted to serve my country, to coach and lead men in the field, and know that I was making this world safer and better.”
He watched as Jill set down her glass of wine and sat back in her chair. He felt a tad bit uncomfortable at the way she focused on him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard that put any better. I’ve worked with a few former military men and women back in Houston. They all served for different reasons. A lot of them signed up just after nine-eleven. Some later. But I like your reason the best.”
Law gritted his teeth as his cheeks heated. “This is just ingrained. Hell, I was just following in Dad and my brother’s footsteps.”
Jill immediately gave him a frivolous grin. “Okay, have it your way, you just blindly followed others into your current job,” she laughed. “How was your steak?”
Lawson relaxed. “Good. Normally I would want some dessert, but I’ve got cookies at home. I might just share a couple with you before I follow you home tonight.”
“Follow me home?” She looked delightfully confused.
“Yeah, you come to my house for an hour, have a cookie or two. Then you leave to go to your house and I drive behind you to make sure you get home safely.”
While he’d been talking she had taken a sip of water, and she choked on it at the last part of his sentence.
“Law, you’re not serious, are you? I’ve been seeing myself home for years. Normally from downtown Houston. We’re talking from the Pendleton area to Laguna Niguel.” She set down the water and stared at him like he’d lost his mind.
“It’s what I do,” he explained patiently. “Ready for some cookies? The woman who bakes them is really talented.”
Chapter 5
Despite three crises at work and having to bring home two PowerPoint presentations that needed to be redone to cover for the East Coast trainer, Jill was still in a good mood. That means Lawson Thorne has at least a forty-eight-hour residual effect! However, knowing what’s on my plate for tomorrow, the big question is, can the good feelings last for seventy-two hours?
Jill got up from the floor in front of her computer and headed to the kitchen. She was hungry and there was a hot pocket with her name on it.
Her phone rang and she went back to the living room to see if she wanted to answer it. If it was the East Coast trainer again, there wasn’t a chance in Hades. When she realized it was her boss, she answered it and plopped back down on the floor so she could pull up the files that Natalie wanted to go over. When Jill finally hung up, she looked around the coffee table for her hot pocket. Had she eaten it all?
Darn it, she was losing it. She pushed back up and headed toward the kitchen again. When she finally had dinner humming along in the microwave, she growled when the doorbell rang.
“Didn’t I make myself clear? I’m hungry.” She set her bottle of sparkling water down on the kitchen island and made her way down the long tiled hall to the front door. She frowned when she considered the fact that the guard at the community gate hadn’t called her. That was weird. Must be some kind of general maintenance or someone from the homeowners association.
She looked through
