He tried to go to sleep early to be ready for the next day of set up but found himself to be too restless to sleep. Deacon made a pot of coffee before he showered, drinking two cups before he even left the house. Taking the Range Rover, Deacon met his brother at the new Sports Center that had just been built in the middle of downtown. When he passed Rowan’s college of employment, he looked over at the stoplight as he wondered again how she was doing. Deacon found a parking spot in the back and took the last sip of coffee that was in his travel cup with a sigh.
They did a walk-through of the large warehouse that featured basketball courts, a rock climbing wall, a racquetball court and a small gym area. The brothers decided to wire all of the eye level windows, including offices as well as all of the doors to the building. There was a lot of equipment to protect and in some cases, steal. They started at opposite sides as Deacon focused on the job and tuned out everything else except for the rock music playing over the speakers. It was a tedious job with his perfectionist tendencies and he leaned his head back after an hour to stretch the sore muscles before glancing around to see what James was up to. They’d been communicating via text with small questions and some clarification and he rolled his eyes when he saw his brother talking to one of the female staff members. His eyes wandered to the front desk, seeing a familiar face as Rowan leaned forward to talk to someone, deep in conversation. Deacon watched her for a moment, seeing her nod with relief as she took something back from the guy and headed towards him with a gym bag in her hand. She still looked a little distracted, dropping her gaze to the ground as she walked along the cement walkway with a deep frown on her face.
Rowan glanced up to see him a couple of feet away and recognition flashed in her eyes. “Oh…I met you last night, right?”
“Yes, you did. How are you feeling?” Deacon asked her, watching as she smiled nervously.
“Much better. I ended up with the day off and thought I’d try a small workout.” Rowan told him, tucking some of her soft curls behind her ear as he let his eyes roam over her body for a moment. She was curvy and bigger than some men preferred, but perfect to Deacon. In the sunlight shining through the windows, her skin was a softer tone than the night before, resembling a cup of black coffee with a hint of creamer swirled inside. Her eyes were a brighter green with hints of hazel and taking in his greedy gaze with a challenging look. “Do you like what you see?”
“I’m sorry, Rowan, but you’re beautiful. I can’t help it and I mean no disrespect.” He apologized to her sincerely as she nodded and let a smile cross over her full lips.
“I can tell that just from the look in your eyes. Some guys…” She let her voice drift off as she met his gaze again. “What are you doing here?”
“Installing their new alarm system with my brother.” Deacon nodded to James across the room, just ending his conversation as he looked over at them curiously. “That’s my job.”
“That’s it? You seem to be military or something to me. My dad was in the Army so I get used to seeing the signs.” She eyed his hair slowly as she laughed softly, watching him shrug.
“I was in the Navy. A Seal.” She frowned and nodded as he saw sympathy cross her face, assuring her that it wasn’t a serious injury. “I…hopefully I’ll be done in a few hours. Would you like to have dinner with me?”
Shock passed over her face as she seemed to think about it for few moments. “Really?” There was doubt in her eyes as he nodded and Rowan pressed her lips together. “Sure. Why not?”
“Oh. Okay.” He’d expected her to tell him no with a polite thank you added on and Deacon struggled to regain his composure as something surged through his veins. “Can I have your number just in case you leave before I see you here again? I’ll pick you up later.” She asked him for his phone shyly, making him dig in the pocket of his worn jeans to hand it to her. She searched the screen for a moment with furrowed brows before she smiled and entered something into it. “There you go…Deacon, was it? Deacon and James.” She recalled as he nodded, impressed. “You both seemed so concerned for me and you came all the way there with me when you could’ve stayed behind for supper.”
“It was nothing.” Deacon assured her again as she smiled and looked past him.
“I’m going to head in but I look forward to hearing from you later.” Rowan told him, her voice low as she gazed into his eyes. She walked on down towards the gym as he forced his gaze not to watch her ass as she moved away, getting back to work instead. James texted him to ask what that was all about, making Deacon shake his head.