Page 53 of Promise of a New Beginning
“The mountains?” Aida asked.
“I have a cabin there.” He squeezed Savannah’s shoulder.
“You do?” Savannah asked. “I grew up in Weston, Colorado.”
“I do. When you told me that, I remember thinking we might have been fated to meet,” Jack said, touching her cheek.
Fated to meet. There goes another piece of my heart.
He returned his attention to Aida, and Savannah thought she was witnessing a flash of the confident, efficient, and intense man Jack probably had been in his Special Forces days. That much hadn’t changed, but the guarded man she’d met in the woods seemed very far removed from the open book sitting beside her. She wondered what could have changed so quickly, and as she listened to Aida rattle off more questions and Jack fire back answers, her attorney brain clicked into gear and she realized why he’d spurred this interrogation forward.The quicker you answer her questions, the quicker we’ll be alone. Aren’t you clever?
“Favorite movie?”
“Aida, really?” Savannah asked.
The waitress brought a bottle of wine, and Jack filled their glasses while he answered. “I haven’t watched a movie in years.” He smiled at Savannah. “But I’m looking forward to doing it again.”
Aida sat back and crossed her arms over her chest.
Jack grinned and lifted his chin. “Did I pass?” he asked.
Aida sighed. “You didn’t crack, that’s for sure. And you look at Savannah like every second you’re looking away is a second too long, so yeah, you’re doing okay.” She picked up her drink and raised her glass. “That was so fun. I never get to interrogate people just for the heck of it. Thanks, Jack. You’re a good sport.”
Jack lifted his glass. “My turn?”
Aida downed her wine and rose to her feet. “I have to get back to my walk. Rain check?”
Savannah stood and hugged Aida. “You’re such a pain,” she whispered.
“I like him.” Aida smiled at Jack. “Nice to meet you, Jack. Have fun ravishing.”
JACK HAD NOTICED the way Savannah’s body had tensed when Aida met them outside the restaurant, and now, as she settled into her seat beside him, the smile returned to her lips and she let out a relieved sigh. He leaned over and kissed her, glad to have her all to himself again.
“She seems nice,” Jack said.
“I love her to death, but she’s a little pushy.” Savannah finished her wine, and the waitress refilled their glasses and took their dinner orders.
“She’s watching out for you. I like knowing that you have friends like that. I hope you didn’t mind that I sort of got things going.”
Savannah shook her head, and as the light caught her eyes, she looked radiant and happy. “How could I mind? I knew you were just hurrying her along.”
He slid his hand beneath her hair and put his cheek beside hers. “I meant what I said about ravishing you,” he whispered.
Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed. Jack was beginning to recognize the difference between Savannah’s embarrassed blush and her wanting blush. When she was embarrassed, her eyes narrowed slightly, and when she was turned on, the green in her eyes darkened, she grazed her lower lip with her teeth, and she breathed a little harder. As her teeth slid over her lip, Jack suppressed the urge to run his tongue on the pink trail they left behind.
The waitress brought their meals, but Jack’s mind was no longer on dinner. Savannah’s leg had been pressed against his for the past hour, and he’d done well ignoring the desire that mounted in his body, but he knew there was no way he’d be able to put anything solid in his mouth—besides any number of Savannah’s body parts. Savannah never looked down at her plate. Their eyes were locked on each other.
She licked her lower lip, and he could tell she was trying just as hard as he was to act appropriately. He wondered if the other patrons could see their secret intentions, too. He had to get control of his emotions. What kind of man couldn’t make it through a meal with his girlfriend?Girlfriend.He felt a smile spread across his cheeks.
“What?” Savannah asked.
“Everything,” was all he could think to say.
Savannah touched his cheek again. Everything she did turned him on.Focus, Jack.He needed a distraction to quell his desires.
“So, that was an interesting way to start our first real date.”
“Connor or Aida?”
