She frowned. "Not really sure. Joey just swooped into Savannah and picked me up. There was never a discussion of when I would return."
"That's Joey Santini for you," he said with admiration coloring his voice. He was a pretty man, but when he smiled … he could probably get a saint to sin. Those dark blue eyes, edged with the most fascinating set of eye lashes on a man … well, it made her sigh. A lot.
"But, I figure I'll go back soon."
"There's no danger, is there?"
She studied him for a second, then said, "Thank you."
"For what?"
"You are the only person who doesn't tip toe around the incident."
"I wasn't really sure what happened. I was in … damn, I forgot where they sent me that week. Anyway, I was out of town when it happened."
"There is no danger anymore, at least. Thankfully, it didn't take long for the cops to round up the guys he was investigating. They've already been charged and are being held without bail."
"And that's that?"
She nodded. "Cut and dry according to the police."
"Did you do something to piss them off?"
She sighed knowing that at some point, someone in the families would tell him. "A guy I was living with worked undercover in Narcotics in Savannah. They found out and killed him. They were convinced I knew more, but the truth is, I had no idea what the hell was going on. Nick stayed true to his character in that at least. Right up until the end."
And she was still hurt by that. She knew that he couldn't tell her everything, but now, she wasn't sure if any of the time they spent together had been real. And that made her sad.
"And he was with you because … "
It took her a second to figure out what he was insinuating. "I wasn't dealing nor have I ever had any use for drugs." She sighed. "We met because he worked in one of the studios where I had a showing. Savannah is a really small town, and the art society is even smaller."
"And everyone knows everyone else. I get that. The military can be like that to an extent."
"Really?"
He jerked a shoulder as a shrug. She picked up that there was something bothering him. Whenever she mentioned work, he changed the subject. The fact that he brought up the military surprised her.
"Depends on the service and your job. The further up in rank you go, the number of people on your level gets smaller and smaller."
As if to prove the point, she heard someone yell out his last name. She turned and found another huge man, buzz cut and all, heading their way.
"Well, crap."
"Not a friend," she said laughing at him.
"Not really."
"Hey, Johnson," the man said again as he looked at her with interest. Jesse had already risen from his chair to greet the newcomer. Up close, she realized the man was a bit older than Jesse.
"Sir, how are you doing today?"
"Oh, doing okay. Have the kids with me today, seeing the sights. My wife is out of town."
She followed his line of vision and found two kids at their own table. The little boy and girl seemed to be preoccupied with their meals.
Then she noticed a man staring at her. She turned to Jesse with a smirk.
"Sorry," Jesse said. "Zoe Jones, this is Colonel McWilliams. Sir, this is Zoe Jones."
She offered her hand and the older man accepted it easily. "It's nice to meet you, Colonel."
"Please, call me Mac, Ms. Jones."
She smiled. "Only if you call me Zoe."
He released her hand and stood there. Jesse did nothing to smooth over the awkward moment, so she said, "Are the kids having a good time?"
"Yeah, they love to come here and see all the movie stuff."
Another brief pause. Thankfully, one of the kids called for him. He smiled and shook his head. "See you back in the office next week. It was nice to meet you, Zoe."
He walked back to the kids as Jesse sat back into his chair.
"What was that about?"
Jesse blinked. "What?"
"Don't give me that vague look, Marine. You're not fooling me. You didn't want to introduce me to your boss."
"That's not true."
"Yes, it is."
"No, it was more I didn't want you to meet him."
It was her turn to blink. "That's what I said."
Jesse sighed. "I try and keep a lot of my work and personal life separate."
She snorted. "I know for a fact that has to be impossible. Especially after seeing what goes on with Kee and Gee."
He gave her one of those long blinks again and she realized he did that when he was trying to come up with another answer, something else to deflect. She cocked her head to the side and studied him while sipping on her drink.
"What?" he asked.
Two could play at his game. "Nothing."
"I can tell by the way you are looking at me it is something."
He was kind of cute when he got irritated. It made her want to mess with him a little more, but she figured it wasn't a good idea.
"Listen, Jesse, this isn't a date, we are not looking to learn that much more about each other. If you don't want to share more of your life with me, I'm cool with that."
"Really?"
His tone told her he wasn't buying it. She did want to know more about the Marine, but if he didn't want to share, she refused to push for more. Zoe had learned a long time ago that wanting things that were just not going to happen only ended in heartache.
Jesse glanced over in the direction where his boss had been sitting with his kids. They were gone now.
"Okay, since it sort of involves you, I will explain. I don't like my supervisor."
"Don't you mean superior officer?"
"I refuse to call the man my superior."
It was said with enough arrogance that she smiled. "You got a set, Marine, I'll give you that."
"And, I don't like him because there are rumors. There always have been about his personal life."
"Rumors?"
"He's unfaithful." He jerked a shoulder again. "I have a problem trusting a man who can't keep it in his pants."
She laughed. "It isn't only that."
"He thinks having me work for him is going to help his career."
And that got under his skin. "Ahh, so that is the thing that bothers you the most."
"Actually, no. I take infidelity very seriously. It shows that he can't be trusted. Not to mention, I think if you say you are going to be faithful, you should be. If not, just get divorced."
"Oh, my, you are the romantic."
He gave her an exasperated look. "You think it's romantic staying together while he cheats on her? Everyone knows. You can see the pitying glances from others and the snickering that goes on behind her back. It's just not right."
And that summed up Jesse Johnson. He was kind of stuffy for her tastes, but she couldn't help but admire him for his ethics. Other guys wouldn't be bothered working for a man who cheated, but for Jesse, it was a problem.
"And now I realize I sound like I am preaching. I'm sorry about that."
"No, that's fine." It also made him more attractive. Sure, he was hot. Six-four of muscled Marine with those longer than long eyelashes, which made her want to swoon. But faithfulness … that was hard to come by. What she wouldn't give to have a man who thought like him.
She brushed those thoughts away. "So, what ya gonna show me next, Marine?"
His half scowl seemed to clear and his lips curved slightly. Hot damn the man was dangerous. Her heart did a little jig. Not good at all. She just needed to remember she wasn't ready for him or any man right now. She needed her life back in order and her head screwed on straight.
"How about I show you a little art?"
Chapter Four
Jesse sat in his office a few days later looking over a report when there was a sharp knock at the door. Colonel McWilliams opened the door without waiting for an invitation and stuck his head in.
"Hey, Johnson, did you get that one report looked over for me?"
He didn't fool Jesse. He wanted to get into his personal business. One of the things he hated the most about the colonel was the fact that he thought if he became a friend, then Jesse would put in a good word with the old man. McWilliams could have just called down and asked, but he wanted to know about Zoe. Because if his boss thought he could use her for leverage, he would.
"Just about done. I'll email it over to you when I'm done."
There, that was not as nice as he should have been, but it made him sound at least professional. It was about all McWilliams would get from him today.
It wasn't all his boss' fault. The fact that Jesse hadn't had a good night's sleep since his day off wore at him. Who would have thought spending the day with Zoe would leave him hot and bothered at night? They hadn't even kissed, just said goodbye and went their separate ways. Still, he kept waking from dreams involving her and how his name sounded when she moaned.