He hesitated. Something changed in the way he was looking at her.
“It’s perfect,” he said in a low voice. “You’re perfect. One hundred and ten percent perfect.”
Chay could hear his heart beating. What would happen if he pushed back his chair, went around the table to Bianca, asked her to say to hell with dinner…
A hand holding a printed sheet of paper appeared under his nose.
“Did you want to see the wine list, sir?”
“The wine list,” Chay said carefully. He looked up at the hovering waiter and reminded himself that throttling another human being for asking a polite question wasn’t something most people would find appropriate. “Just bring us a bottle of— Sweetheart? Malbec? A chardonnay? Something else?”
“Anything,” Bianca said, “anything is fine.”
He smiled at her answer and handed the list back to the waiter.
“You heard the lady. Bring us a bottle of something you think we’ll like.”
“But, sir…”
“A red. Your choice. Okay? It’ll be fine, whatever it is.”
The waiter smiled. He and the wine list vanished.
Chay leaned forward and took Bianca’s hand again. “This is our very first date.”
Her lips curved in a smile. “I know.”
“And here we are, talking about me and how I’d never read a book and enjoyed it until I was eighteen. What I mean is, here we are, me boring you to death.”
“No! You’re not boring me at all. I want to know all about you. I mean…” She blushed. “I mean, tell me more about that professor in English 101.”
Chay smiled and ran his thumb lightly over her palm.
“You are a very determined woman, Ms. Wilde.”
“Like a dog with a bone, Lieutenant. That’s what my brothers say. So, what book did your professor assign? He did assign one, didn’t he?”
“Yes. The Red Badge of Courage. Do you know it?”
She nodded. “By Stephen Crane. It takes place during the American Civil War. It’s about a man—a boy, actually—who goes into battle without any idea of what war is all about, and how the reality of it changes him.”
“I read the first chapter and I was hooked.”
“Were you like that boy? When you went into your first battle?”
A muscle knotted in his jaw. “I wasn’t quite that naïve, no. I don’t think you can be in today’s world. Still, the first taste of combat is always a shock. It’s nothing like what you expect it to be, no matter what training you’ve had. It’s ten times more brutal, ten times more terrifying…”
“And it’s exhilarating.”
Chay stared at her. “How can you know that?”
“It isn’t difficult to figure out,” she said softly. “Men who are drawn to certain professions love the risk that goes with those professions. Policemen. Firefighters. Warriors. Especially warriors, who believe in duty. In honor. In each other.”
Chay gave a little laugh. “Crap. Do I sound as pretentious as that?”
“No. Oh, no, Chayton. You don’t sound pretentious at all. You sound brave and caring and I love that about you, I—”
Bianca’s eyes widened. Color swept into her face and she fell silent.