“Is that where you’re from?”
He gave a head shake as he ate another nacho. “I’ve lived there on and off over the past decade, but I’m originally from Cunningham Falls, Montana.”
That explained the accent, and it gave her pictures of him on horseback, a cowboy hat on his head. And she did not mind those images one bit. “I’ve never been.”
His gaze went distant. “I haven’t been back in a long time.”
“Still have family there?” she asked, immediately regretting the question when his jaw went tight, making her feel like she’d veered into territory he didn’t want to cover.
“Yeah.”
The shortness of his answer made it clear she’d read him right, so Tara changed the topic. “What brought you to DC?”
“A new job.” He took a drink of his whiskey, then stared for a long moment at their reflection in the bar’s mirror. “How ’bout you? DC home for you?”
The water was always where she’d felt most at home. Right up until a broken cable had sliced through the ocean and nearly garroted her. Other than that, she wasn’t sure. Her dad had been in the navy, so they’d moved around a lot when she’d been a kid, and then her own naval career had meant more of the same. “It has been for the past year. Before that, a little bit of everywhere.”
Jesse slanted her a grin. “Citizen of the world, then?”
Omigod, she was never going to survive this sexy man quoting Casablanca to her. Never. A ripple of delighted excitement ran through her belly. “Yeah. Exactly.”
He gave her a crooked grin and winked. Freaking winked! If Tara hadn’t been sitting on that bar stool, her panties might’ve dropped to her ankles.
“I hear that,” he said as he raised his glass to her. “To putting down new roots.”
“Um, I’ll drink to that,” she managed as they clinked. “So what else do you like?”
“Let’s see,” he continued. “I like anything to do with the water. Swimming, boating, surfing, scuba.” So she’d been right about that swimmer’s physique then. “I used to do a lot of skiing, too. There was great skiing near where I grew up.” Something dark and distant passed over his expression. For just a moment, she was sure of it. But then it was gone as fast as it’d appeared. “Haven’t done much of it in years now, though.”
She wasn’t touching the Montana topic again, so she sipped her rum and Coke and just enjoyed the unexpected companionship. On the juke box, the song changed, and Tara grinned. “Oh, my God. I danced to this at prom,” she said as an old Journey power ballad played.
He smirked at her. “What was the guy’s name?”
Tara snorted. “Curtis Miles. We were just friends. Or so I thought, until he started crooning ‘When You Love a Woman’ in my ear as we danced. Except he changed the you to I. It was super awkward.”
Jesse chuckled. “Poor guy.”
“Don’t feel bad for him. He ended up hooking up with one of my friends later that night.”
“Damn. Sorry.”
&nbs
p; Tara shook her head. “No need. I didn’t mind and the two of them have been married for twelve years and have three kids. They were clearly meant to be.”
“You believe in that?” He signaled to Matt for a refill of whiskey.
“What?”
Jesse slanted her a look. “Meant to be.”
Twisting her lips, Tara shrugged. “It sure seems to be true for some people.” She thought of her coupled WFC friends. Noah and Kristina had been best friends since childhood and were now together. That sure seemed meant to be. And Billy and Shayna had also known one another since she was a teenager and had been roommates before dating, so that seemed like it might’ve been meant to be, too.
Jesse’s expression grew thoughtful as he reached for his fresh drink. “Maybe for some people it is.”
A weighted silence settled between them. It wasn’t uncomfortable, exactly, but the exchange had definitely held up in front of her eyes that there didn’t seem to be a meant to be for her. Or else she wouldn’t be nearly thirty-two with only one long-term relationship under her belt—one that hadn’t survived her injuries and medical discharge from the navy.
Tara mentally pushed the thoughts away as she wiped her mouth and dropped the napkin on her plate. “The more important question is, do you like dessert?”