“No salmon where you were?” I sat across from him, depositing the wine on the table.
He reached for the bottle and poured a glass for each of us. The slow glug sound of the wine echoed in the glasses.
“No. I’m used to eating a lot of MREs. Not the best tasting meal. That’s for sure. I stopped thinking about food.”
“Oh, are those things that Elliot used to take camping?”
“Probably so.” He stuffed the salmon into his mouth, grinning as he chewed. “This is the best meal I’ve had in years.”
I blushed. “No need to exaggerate.”
He shook his head. “I’m not. I’m serious. I forgot how much I missed food. Real food. This is delicious.”
I blushed. “It’s nice to cook again.”
“You don’t cook much by yourself?” He stopped eating and focused his incredible eyes on me.
“No. I used to, but ever since I’ve been here I’ve lived on canned soup and sandwiches.” I swore I wasn’t going to get into it, but I could feel how I was lowering the wall.
“You sound like a bachelor.” He held up his wine glass.
I laughed. “I guess so.” I swallowed a bite of the salmon. “How long have you been back in the US?”
“Only two weeks.” He took a big gulp of wine and I watched as he swallowed. The muscles in his neck were smooth and firm.
“Did you go see your family?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
I stared at him. “What have you been doing for two weeks?”
He loaded his fork with vegetables. “I had to do some in-processing. Debriefing. I can’t really share the details. Once that was complete I came straight here.”
“Oh.” I saw the look in his eye. The blue hues darkened and the gold flecks disappeared.
“How long is your leave?”
“I’m waiting on my next set of orders.” His eyes lifted to mine, and I felt my knees tremble. It was as if he could look right into my thoughts. “But I’ll make sure you have everything you need before I go. I can work quickly.”
“If you need to go see your family, you should do that. I’ll be fine. The porch is enough. More than enough. Now I don’t have to worry about anyone toppling over. I’m sure Elliot would agree your free of your promise now.”
“No. I need to be here.”
It was the way he said it, that made my heart stop. His words were powerful and confident.
“Thank you for dinner.” He stood to clear the table. “Let me help you clean up.”
I sat while he shuttled the plates from the table to the sink.
“Are you real?” I blurted the question.
He turned toward me. “What do you mean?” He refilled her glass.
“You fix things and clean the kitchen?” I giggled, inhaling half of the second glass of wine faster than I intended. I had to admit it was starting to feel like a blind date after all.
“It’s a nice reminder.” He wedged the plates in the dishwasher.
“Reminder of what?”