Page 15 of Protecting Talia

“If you’re going to stay living here, you need to have a peephole. I’ll put it in this afternoon.”

“The landlord?—”

“They can shut up. It’s California. They have to provide one for you, but they haven’t. I’ll put it in so you can see who is at your door.”

She stared at him, shocked that he cared. No one had ever cared this much about her.

“You okay with that?” His question seemed ridiculous after telling her what he was going to do.

She shrugged. “Yes. Thank you. I’m surprised.”

“Don’t be. How about we stop by a bagel place I know and grab some coffee and something to eat? Then we can head out to the beach.”

“Sure. Sounds good. It has been ages since I’ve been at the beach before noon.”

“I like it better. Fewer people. Lots more space to have conversations without someone encroaching.”

She nodded and stepped outside. He took her key and locked up for her, testing the door before he stepped away. They were on the way in minutes and the stop to get bagels didn’t take long.

When they stepped out of the car at the beach, he led her over to one of the park benches. It was nearly magical being here with him, the low light bouncing off the waves, a few people jogging, and one family about fifty yards away with kids playing in the sand. It wasn’t anywhere near as crazy as the crowds were when she usually showed up.

They munched on their food, sitting quietly. She enjoyed his company. It was nice that neither of them felt any need to talk.

She turned to him, wondering if this was what being together with someone was supposed to feel like.

“I guess you like the food and coffee.”

She nodded. “Yes. It’s good. I’ve never been there before. I usually work late and don’t go out in the morning.”

“You know I’m in the Navy. What do you do?”

She shrugged. “Nothing impressive.”

“Why don’t you tell me, and I’ll decide for myself.”

“Jesus, you’re annoying.”

His shoulders shook as he laughed. She liked the way his lips spread in a smile, too. “Yeah. I’m annoying. So spill. What do you do for work?”

“I clean buildings three nights a week. Then I deliver food the other days. Sometimes I work late, sometimes early. It just depends.”

“So, cleaning buildings, you mean inside or outside?”

“Inside. Like picking up trash, cleaning the bathrooms, and vacuuming, though a lot of companies are using robot vacuums, so we don’t have to spend hours moving the vacuum.”

“That’s impressive. Do you know how filthy places would be if you didn’t do that? When I was in boot camp, we learned why cleaning was necessary. Let me tell you, people are disgusting.”

“Oh, I know.”

“So yeah, your job is impressive.”

She didn’t know what to say about his reaction. He’d surprised her when he didn’t care that she’d done porn, and now he was impressed that she was a cleaner. He wasn’t at all what she expected.

“What do you do with the Navy? Most Navy guys have short hair and none of this stuff.” Talia patted the fuzz on his cheek.

He shrugged. “I’m not regular Navy.”

She narrowed her gaze as confusion swirled. “Oh. What does that mean?”

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