Sea of Dreams (The American Heroes Series Book 2) (10 page)

Blakesley put her compact back in her purse and caught him looking at her.  She softened when their eyes met, a smile on her face.

“What are you thinking?” she asked softly. Before he could answer, she put her hand up to silence him. “Forget I asked that. Come on; let’s get going. Do you want to drive this time?”

He opened his mouth but she turned around and tossed him the keys before he could get a word out.  He caught the keys. “Sure, baby. Whatever you say.”

“Don’t wreck my car,“ she teased.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

He followed her out of the house, pausing to watch her wrestle with locking the front door.  He took the keys from her again and locked it himself.   They went back over to the other wing to make sure it was locked, too, and he handed her back the house keys.  She took the keys, put them in her purse, and smiled at him.

“Are you hungry?”

“A little.”

“Then let’s go get some lunch before we meet the real estate agent.”

“Sure,” he paused as she took a step towards the car. “Can… can I hold your hand? I mean, are you okay with that?”

She smiled and reached out her hand, clutching his big fingers. “Completely.”

He held her hand tightly as they headed towards the car. “How about putting my arm around you in public?”

“Okay.”

“Kissing you in public?”

She lifted an eyebrow at him as he unlocked the car and opened the door for her. “That depends,” she said. “If it’s anything like that back in the kitchen, then….”

He grinned, somewhat devilishly, which she found extremely sexy. “I’d never do that in public,” he assured her. “Only in private with no audience, I promise. I wouldn’t disrespect you that way.”

She softened. “I know you wouldn’t,” she assured him softly. “Kissing in public is fine, so long as it’s appropriate.”

“Good,” he held the door as she climbed in. “I can do that. I’m sure if I don’t, you’ll let me know.”

“You bet I will.”

“I never had any doubt.”

He could hear her giggling even after he shut the door.

Chapter Five

Beck took Blakesley to a restaurant down in the Gas Light District of San Diego, one of the most popular tourist spots in town that had street after street of restaurants and shops.   It was set in the older part of town, with gas light streetlights, hence the name, and it was always overflowing with people because of its location to the major hotels, convention center, and docks. 

Beck drove the BMW perhaps a bit more carefully than he did his own truck, thinking the car cost more than he made in a year.  It had ever amenity known to Man, from the inboard navigation to the heated and cooled seats to the chilled glove box for drinks.  He was actually a little nervous driving down to the Gas Light District as it started to dawn on him that Blakesley was fairly well off and probably used to the finer things in life.  She’d never made any secret of it but it had never really occurred to him until now what might be financially expected of him. 

The incident in the kitchen seemed to change everything and he was taking everything more seriously now, including his ability to treat her the way she was accustomed.  By the time they entered Brian’s 24 Restaurant, Bar and Grille, he was beginning to feel distinctly nervous about it. But Blakesley was oblivious to his mental dilemma as they were seated, smiling at the décor of the place.

“This is really cute,” she said, looking around as the hostess handed her a menu. “Have you been here before?”

He nodded, picking up his own menu. “A couple of times to watch football.”

“You and your friends?”

He flipped the page of the menu. “We come here to drink, watch the game and pick up women,” he looked up at her, grinning, when she laughed. “I’m just kidding about the last part.  I’ve never picked up a woman in a bar in my life.”

“Me, either,” she teased. “Seriously, I’d like to meet your friends. Well, that is, if you want me to. You may not want me to.”

He looked at her as if she was insane. “Are you kidding?” he snorted. “I’ll be lucky if they don’t try to steal you away from me.  In fact, you met a couple of them yesterday but you didn’t know it. Some of the guys that helped pull you and Cadee out of the water.”

She looked at him, the smile fading from her face.  She closed the menu and grew serious. “You guys were lifesavers, literally,” she said. “But I was wondering something.”

“What?”

She shrugged, fingering her water glass. “I know you’ve been a S.E.A.L. for a lot of years, but I was wondering if you’ve ever been injured?”

He suspected these questions would come at some point, but he didn’t think they’d come so soon.  He closed his menu.

“That depends on what you mean by injured,” he said evenly. “What I do… well, it’s not safe sometimes.  There’s always the risk if injury or death.”

She nodded. “I realize that,” she said. “I’ve already admitted I really don’t know a lot about S.E.A.L.’s other than what I saw in a movie once, but even if that movie exaggerated, it looked like it was really dangerous stuff.”

He nodded faintly. “I told you that it can be.”

“How dangerous?”

He sighed and reached across the table, grasping her hand. “Do you really want to talk about that right now?” he asked softly. “Baby, it’s dangerous. I carry weapons. I’ve been shot at. I’ve been shot. It’s pretty hairy sometimes. But it hasn’t killed me yet and I don’t expect it to. I expect to retire in a few years and grow old with a beautiful woman by my side.”

The waitress interrupted to take their order. Blakesley ordered a Cobb Salad and Beck ordered a Monte Cristo sandwich. When the waitress walked away, Beck picked up Blakesley’s hand and kissed her fingers.

“It’s too soon for you to start worrying about this,” he told her softly. “Let’s just enjoy getting to know each other, okay?  We’ll worry about the rest of it as it comes.”

She looked at him pointedly. “It wasn’t too soon for us to sleep together,” she said. “Why is it too soon to worry about what you do for a living? You’ve already roped me in hook, line and sinker and if I’m going to fall for a guy, I want to know what I’m getting in to.”

He held her hand, toying with her fingers, gazing at her steadily from across the table.  After a moment, he let go of her hand and stood up, coming over to her side of the booth and sitting down next to her.  He put his arm around her shoulders and she laid her head on his big shoulder, feeling him kiss her forehead.

 “What do you want me to tell you?” he whispered.

“I want to know if you’ve ever been seriously injured.”

“Yes.”

“How seriously?”

He sighed faintly, his arm tightening around her. “I took a bullet to the groin and another to the abdomen,” he said softly. “Because of the situation, it was six hours before they could airlift me to a carrier for medical attention.  They weren’t sure if I was going to make it, but I did.”

She was quiet a moment. “When did this happen?”

“Four years ago. Sharon divorced me while I was recovering. It was the last nail in the coffin as far as she was concerned.”

She leaned against him, her arm going across his chest to hold him just as he was holding her.

“Have there been any other times?” she asked quietly.

“I was wounded twice before, but nothing critical.  I survived.”

She sighed faintly, hearing his heart beating strong and steady in her right ear. “Well,” she said after a moment. “Thanks for being honest with me.”

“Does it change your mind about me?”

She shook her head and lifted it, looking at him. “No,” she said honestly. “But it does worry me. I guess I’m just going to have to learn to deal with it.”

He smiled faintly at her, kissing the tip of her nose. “I want you to listen to me and listen closely, because it’s important,” his green eyes were intense. “I really love what I do. I make a difference and that means a lot to me. Most people can’t say that.  But with you… you’ve been such an unexpected piece of heaven that for the first time in my life, I find myself thinking of something other than my career and myself.   Does that make any sense?”

She nodded seriously. “It does,” she said. “But you’ve only known me a day, Beck. You can’t make a big life-changing declaration. It’s too soon.”

“Is it?” he fired back softly.  “Someone just told me she’s been roped in hook, line and sinker.”

Her eyes narrowed at him, but it was good-natured. “Ah ha,” she muttered. “I can see he is using my own words against me, clever boy.”

He laughed softly at her sense of humor.  “So have I,” he admitted. “By you. I feel like you’re what I’ve been waiting for my entire life, Blakesley. I’m sorry if that freaks you out, but it’s the truth. I want you to hear it.”

She hugged him, not staying a word, but the waitress came with the food and she was forced to let him go.  They ate in relative silence, although he was on her right side and, being right handed, she jabbed him with her elbow a couple of times as she ate, playfully, knocking the fork out of his hand at one point. 

Beck sighed heavily, fighting off a smirk, and picked up his sandwich with his hands.  She dropped a piece of avocado on it and he responded by throwing a French fry in the middle of her salad.  She ate the French fry and made sure to put a piece of lettuce in his maple syrup cup.  On and on it went, with giggles and soft laughter, until the meal was over.  When all was said and done, Beck had eaten about a quarter of her salad and she’d had about half his French fries.  But lunchtime had never been so fun.

Blakesley was drinking the rest of his Coke when the bill came and she snatched it from the waitress before he could get his hands on it.  His brow furrowed.

“Hey,” he snapped his fingers, softly demanding she turn the check over to him. “Give me that.”

She shook her head and pulled out her wallet. “No way,” she said. “I’m buying.”

He lifted an eyebrow, making his displeasure obvious. “I can afford to pay for lunch, you know.”

She pulled out her credit card. “I know,” she said. “But I’d like to pay if that’s okay with you.”

He couldn’t help but notice all of the credit cards she had in her wallet and it reminded him of the paranoid delusions he had on the way to the restaurant.  He scratched his head, watching her hand the check and the credit card over to the waitress. When the woman left to run the card, he looked at Blakesley.

“Uh… can I say something?” he asked.

She nodded. “Of course.”

He shifted uncomfortably. “Well,” he began. “For a Naval officer, my pay isn’t too bad. Hazard pay is like double overtime, so I don’t do too poorly.  I mean, I own my own home and I live comfortably.   But I noticed… well, to be honest, I noticed that you seem to have expensive tastes. You drive an expensive car.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “What’s wrong with a woman being able to support herself like that?”

“Nothing,” he said quickly. “Nothing at all. But I just want you to know that I don’t live like that.  I live, well, averagely.”

“So what are you saying?”

He was losing control of the conversation. “I don’t know,” he shook his head. “I guess I’m saying that although I would like to spend all the money in the world on you, the truth is that I can’t.  I’d love to buy you cars and expensive clothes and expensive trips, but I don’t have the funds for that.  I’ll do whatever I can, but I hope it doesn’t become an issue that I can’t spend like a king.”

She frowned. “Am I coming across like super high-maintenance?”

“Not at all,” he assured her. “But it’s obvious that you have money and I really don’t.”

She cocked her head, not quite sure how to take him. “So… if I pay for lunch, or take us on a trip to Vegas, do you feel like that’s emasculating you?”

He sighed faintly, his hand on her shoulder. “No, honey, that’s not what I’m saying,” he shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know what I’m saying. I guess I was just trying to make it clear that I’m not rich.”

She took pity on him, snuggling up against him because he looked depressed. “Neither am I, by a lot of standards,” she assured him softly. “But I do have a little money and I’m not ashamed of that.  I sold my cleaning company for several million dollars, but some of that was sucked up in taxes, I invested a big chunk of it, and the rest of it is mine to do with as I please.  If I pay for lunch, or take us on a trip to Las Vegas, I’m really happy to do it, okay? I’m not trying to show you up, I promise.”

He smiled at her and kissed her cheek. “And if I want to pay for a trip to Vegas?”

“Then I go first class and stay in a suite at the Venetian.”

His face fell. “Seriously?”

She laughed at him. “No, of course not,” she said. “If you want to pay for a trip to Vegas, I’m thrilled to go, even if we go on Greyhound.”

He rubbed her back affectionately and kissed her cheek again as the waitress brought the credit card and receipt back to the table.

  “I wouldn’t do that to you,” he said. “But I do like to drive.”

She threw up her hands like she was at a rock concert. “Woo hoo!” she exclaimed happily. “Road trip!”

He smirked at her as she signed the slip and put the credit card back in her wallet. Lunch had been an enlightening and joyful experience. In fact, the entire day had been hugely eventful, something he wasn’t sorry about in the least. He was quite happy to be swept along with it.

Climbing out of the booth, he pulled her out after him, holding her hand as they left the restaurant. Heading down the street in the bright California sunshine, he couldn’t ever recalling feeling so happy. He was falling for a beautiful woman who seemed to feel the same way about him and he was thrilled.  As they neared her car, his cell phone rang.  He paused to answer it as Blakesley hit the remote and unlocked the car.

Blakesley climbed into the driver’s seat and turned on the car, rolling down the windows and opening up the sun roof as Beck stood on the sidewalk and talked on his cell phone. She was thinking about the real estate agent she had to meet in fifteen minutes, looking on her inboard navigation to find the best route to the real estate office, when Beck opened up the door and climbed in to the car.  She looked up at him to ask him if he knew the neighborhood they were heading in to but he cut her off.