“You clearly need to be married for some reason, and I’m pretty damn sure it’s not because you’ve always dreamed of marrying me.”
“Well, that’s where you’re dead fucking wrong, Kynslee.”
My hands wrung together under the table as I looked at the menu. I hadn’t read one word on it. My mind was too busy spinning around, not sure if it should be celebrating or worrying.
“Have y’all been to Tycoon Flats before?”
The waitress’s voice pulled me back to reality. I glanced up her.
“Um, no, I haven’t.”
She smiled at Miles who looked up from the menu. “Nope, never been here, but a buddy of mine I served with in the Marines has nothing but good things to say about this place.”
“That’s wonderful. As you can see, we have our famous burgers, as well as the rest of the menu. If you would like a recommendation on something, just let me know.”
“Which burger is your favorite?” Miles asked, smiling that smile that could melt the panties off of women in an old folks’ home.
“I like the feta, cranberry, and candied bacon burger.”
With a raise of his eyebrows and an even sexier smile, he replied, “That does sound good, doesn’t it, Kynslee?”
I snarled and shook my head. “No, it doesn’t.”
The poor waitress let her smile slip away. Why was I being such a bitch to this stranger?
She offered another suggestion. “Well, the fried avocado burger is amazing.”
Miles pulled his gaze away from me and focused on the waitress again. “I think I’m going to get the feta, cranberry burger. Well done, please.”
She wrote down his order. “Chips or fries?”
“Fries,” Miles replied.
Then they both looked at me, and I realized I had been watching Miles and not reading the menu…again.
I looked down and said the first thing that I saw. “I’ll take the pineapple bacon burger, well done.”
The waitress nodded. “Chips or fries?”
“Chips, please.”
I quickly glanced back down to see what in the hell I had just ordered.
“Ma’am, did you want to keep the menu?” the waitress asked.
“What? No, I’m sorry. Here ya go,” I said, handing her the menu. She gave me a polite smile and headed off to put in our order. I looked around the beer garden. The long picnic tables held everyone from men in business suits, to San Antonio police officers, to a small group of moms with their kids playing on the playground.
“Does your friend know the owner of this place?” I asked, looking at the bartender giving someone a pint of beer.
Miles looked around also. “No. He’s from here and loves this place. I’ve been wanting to try it but never find myself in San Antonio.”
“Would be hard to do since you were in the jungles of South America shooting at people.”
Miles looked at me. “That’s not all I did, Kynslee, and it wasn’t the only place I was on missions. I traveled all over the world.”
I nodded. “Did you have any place you went that you’d like to go back to someday?”
With a half shrug, he replied, “A few places. Italy was beautiful. Turkey was, as well. I don’t think the CIA wants me going back to most of the places I went.”
He winked, and I swallowed hard.
“Oh.” It was all I could say. I had no idea if he was being serious or not, and I was afraid to ask.
“Did you ever travel anywhere with anyone else?” The moment the question was out I regretted it.
Miles smirked. “Are you asking me if I met anyone and dated them?”
With a shrug that I hoped said I didn’t really care, I replied, “Just curious is all.”
“If I was going to be flying to some country for fun with someone, it would be with you.”
“Me?” I asked in a shocked voice.
The waitress came back to our table, and my foot tapped anxiously as I waited for her to give Miles his beer and move on. That was twice he had said something that nearly made my heart stop. Miles was sending such mixed signals, and it was confusing. None of it made any sense, and I was going to get the bottom of it. Right here. Right now.
Once the waitress was gone, I quickly asked my next question. “Why didn’t you ever ask me to meet you somewhere? I would have.”
Without looking at me, Miles took a drink of his beer and glanced around as he said, “You were with Jack. I didn’t think he would appreciate it. I also didn’t think you would want to meet me anywhere.”
My jaw fell open. “You’re kidding, right? I haven’t been with Jack this whole time. These last three years I have been blissfully single.”
This time his eyes met mine. “Would you have come, Kynslee? If I had called you up and asked you to meet me in France or Italy, would you have dropped everything and everyone to see me?”