"You've lived here your whole life then?"
"Yep. We took vacations pretty often, and I've been all over the world, but this has always been home," he told her. "Has it been for you?"
"Yeah. I grew up in that same house we had dinner in with my parents tonight. But after my oldest brother went into business and made a lot of money, he had the place remodeled to make it a lot bigger. My mother told him she didn't need all that space with the kids almost grown, but he told her she would have grandbabies someday and might want the extra rooms. Once he said that, she told him to make it even bigger. She wanted a house full of screaming kids on Christmas morning," Lindsey shared.
"My mom would probably like the same. Our home was strict, so there wasn't much screaming, but my brothers and I got into some loud fights once in a while. We'd get in trouble pretty quickly, though, so we learned to keep it outside as much as possible. Ace was the worst at that. He had a quick temper. I guess we all did, but he was the youngest so he'd get the blame most of the time," Mav told her.
"You sure miss him a lot, don't you?" she said as she finished her dessert and turned to look at him.
"Every single day. I know he'll come back, I just don't know if I'll recognize the man he's turned into."
Maverick said this with so much sadness she couldn't help but reach across the seat and pat his hand.
"I'm sure he's turning into a great man, Maverick. I've always heard that it takes guys a whole lot longer to mature than it does women. So by the time he comes home, he should be just as perfect as you are," she said before she could take the words back.
"You think I'm perfect, huh?" he said as he tugged on her hand.
She was both grateful for and a bit irritated by the divider between them. At the moment she was embarrassed, but oh how she wouldn't mind being in his arms.
"You're close to perfect. I'm sure there are a lot of flaws you've kept hidden from me, though," she told him with a nervous laugh.
"You can't take back something like that once you've already said it," he told her.
"Well, tell me more about yourself, and I'll be the judge on whether you fit the ‘perfect' profile or not."
"I'm an open book. What do you want to know?"
So much! But a lot of the things she wanted to ask him were personal questions about his past relationships, and she wasn't going to go there. It wasn't her business how many women he'd dated, or if he was dating anyone else besides her right now.
Not once had he tried to deceive her or tell her that they were in a relationship. She just wasn't that dating-a-new-guy-every-week kind of girl. Before the attack, she had been busy a lot and didn't go out with too many men, but when she did, she normally was in a committed relationship. Having an undefined relationship status was all very new to her.
"Are you where you want to be in life?" she finally asked, knowing she had to say something.
"What do you mean?" he responded.
"I know you love your career, but back when you were in high school and pictured where you would be right now, is this even close to where you imagined yourself?"
His head tilted as if he were really thinking about the question.
"No. I was too selfish back then to picture anything beyond the moment. We had money, so I never thought twice about needing to make any of my own. I was arrogant, self-centered, and didn't really care about the next day, let alone ten or twenty years down the road."
That hadn't been at all what she was expecting.
"What about you, sug? Are you where you wanted to be?"
"Yes." She didn't even have to hesitate. "I wanted to be a nurse from the time I was very young. Then after doing it for a while, I wanted the challenge of being a nurse practitioner. Any one of my brothers would have paid for med school if I had wanted to be a doctor, but I love being a nurse. Don't get me wrong, I have total respect for doctors, but I wanted to be able to really spend time with patients in a way I'd never be able to as a doctor," she added.
"Yeah, I understand loving a tough job. Even if I sort of fell into the military, it's something that shaped me."
"How long will you be in?"
"Don't know," he said. Maybe he really was planning on leaving. Before she could ask, he continued. "My turn again to ask something about you." He paused as he looked at her in a way that had her a bit worried. Then he smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not going to delve too deeply."
"The grin doesn't inspire confidence," she told him.
"I thought my grin was my best feature," he countered.
"Oh no. Your eyes are your best feature, especially the way they sparkle with a touch of humor and a whole lot of heat," she said. Then she clamped her mouth closed.
Why was it that she often spouted exactly what was on her mind? It wasn't an endearing quality in her humble opinion.
"Heat, huh?" he said as his brows rose and he wiggled them.
"I just meant . . . um . . . that they are bright," she said, hating that her cheeks gave her away every time she was mortified.
"This is a good time for me to ask about your most embarrassing moment," he said with a laugh.
"Oh, that's so easy. Just about any time I'm with you and I open my mouth without letting my brain catch up," she said with a laugh.
"You can open your mouth around me anytime without letting your brain stop you," he told her as he tugged again on her hand. "I really need a new truck," he grumbled when she didn't fall into his lap.
"Saved by the console," she told him, though the atmosphere in the truck was a heck of a lot hotter now, with or without the heater running.
His eyes-those eyes she'd been talking about-took on a whole new level of heat as he gazed over at her. Just when she thought he was going to lean across the divider and kiss her, he smiled that beautiful smile that took her breath away.
"Saved for now," he said. "We'd better get back."
If his voice hadn't sounded so disappointed, she might have been worried. But they continued chatting as they came down the mountain and headed for home.
She learned about every pet he'd ever owned, his dream vacation spot, and the stupidest pranks he and his brothers had pulled. By the time they arrived at her cottage, her side hurt from laughing so much.
Again, though, he walked her to her door, and then barely brushed her lips before disappearing into the night. She was beginning to want to punch the man as much as she wanted to kiss him.
The anticipation of waiting for him to take her into his arms again was killing her. If he didn't do something about it soon, then . . . well, pretty much then nothing. She just wasn't brave enough to initiate. Not yet, at least.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Another meeting down. The fund-raiser was shaping up nicely. Lindsey was also noticing that Maverick used the meetings as an excuse to then take her to outrageous places afterward. Their current spot was a place she never would have come to on her own.
The noise in the bar they were at was nearly deafening, but the sweet taste of Lindsey's drink was beginning to drown it out. It wasn't quite a dive bar, but close enough. She both liked it and was a little horrified.
Never would she have found herself alone in a place like this, but she knew she was safe with Maverick by her side. No one would dare approach her while the six-feet-plus giant of a man was near. He was just too dang intimidating for anyone to even think about coming too close.
Lindsey wondered why she wasn't afraid of him. He could easily subdue her. Maybe she felt secure because she knew there was no way he would do that. He wasn't that type of man.
"Are you ready for the real fun now?" Mav asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't really think I brought you to this bar for drinks and fried food, did you?" he asked with a wicked smile that had her lifting her glass and taking another big chug. She had a feeling she was going to need the liquid courage.
Before she could ask him to explain, a man stood up on the stage and the crowd cheered. She looked at the man and then back at Maverick with suspicion.
"Are you all ready to karaoke?" the man called out. Lindsey's face drained of color.
"You can't possibly think I'm getting up on that stage and singing, can you?" she gasped.
His eyes were glowing.
"Trust me, it's a healing experience. When you learn not to care about what other people think and just live for the moment and for your own happiness, your worries will fade away. These are strangers, people you most likely will never see again, and they are all here to have a great time," he said as he tugged on her hand.
"No way, Mav. There's no way I'm going up there. Not even with the buzz I have," she threatened.
"Too late," he told her.