Page 25 of Need Me
His fingers tightened on their plates as he played that kiss through his mind again. The way she’d sagged against him a little and responded to him so eagerly had threatened his control. He’d hung onto it, not wanting to get a hard-on before dinner. He was nervous enough without being distracted by desire. There would be time for thatlater.
Not wanting their food to get cold, he went out onto the porch and put a plate in front of her. “Dinner is served,madam.”
Her smile made her eyes shine. “Where did you learn to be sodashing?”
“Dashing, huh? My grandfather taught me some stuff,” Robert replied. “Be rightback.”
He hurried inside, grabbed a tray laden with condiments, and returned toher.
Sitting down, he said, “Okay. Dig in. Here goesnothing.”
Brooke twirled some noodles on her fork and took a bite. Her eyes widened. “This is delicious,Robert.”
Robert took a bite and had to agree. “That turned out reallywell.”
“It sure did.” She sprinkled some parmesan cheese on her spaghetti and cut up her meatballs. “Oh, my God. Sogood.”
“Okay. Confession time. I had some guidance from Chase,” Robertsaid.
Brooke took a sip of wine. “You’re a good student,Superman.”
“I knew that nickname was going tostick.”
Her giggle warmed his heart. “I didn’t intend for it to. It was just a spur of the momentthing.”
“Yeah, but you have a knack for picking something that suits the person—except in my case,” heresponded.
She gave him a sidelong glance. “Yes, it does. You don’t think so, but you really are like a superhero. How many people have you saved by scaling cliffs andmountains?”
Robert shrugged, uncomfortable with the subject. “I don’t know. I guess I don’t keep count. I’m just doing what I’m trained todo.”
Brooke swallowed a piece of garlic bread. “That may be, but there has to be a reason that you wanted to do it in the first place. Not many people wake up one day thinking that they want to hang off mountains and save people from certaindeath.”
A shard of pain pierced Robert’s heart as a dark memory surfaced. He didn’t want to think about that right now, didn’t want to talk about it and ruin dinner. “I took a rock climbing class once and really liked it. I was good at it and decided to use my skills for good. Sort of like you with nursing. We both want to help people. We just do it in differentways.”
He’d hoped to distract Brooke from that subject, but her expression told him that he’d failed. However, she didn’t comment further, for which he wasthankful.
“We do have that in common,” she said. “I guess you love animals too. You work for a vet. So, what got you interested in being an administrativeprofessional?”
Robert hated that the job he loved also made him feel a little inadequate because it wasn’t an exciting career that would impress anyone. “I actually have a business degree, but I’ve never been interested in being in a boardroom like Tyler or Ric. I’ve also never wanted to be in the limelight, like Chase. I like the grunt work, the behind scenes stuff, but I’m not really surewhy.”
Brook said, “Grunt work is important. No business would be a success without it. Nurses, orderlies, and nursing assistants are all part of the grunt work force, so I get it. We like being down in the trenches instead of sitting with the generals, and there’s not a damn thing wrong withthat.”
“No, there’s not. I like knowing that I keep everything humming along, but I don’t want attention drawn to me forit.”
Brooke wagged her index finger at him. “That’s because you’re truly modest. I saw how you were at the hospital with Davey’s parents. Some guys would’ve been high-fiving themselves, but not you. You, Mr. Chambers, are the very definition of ahero.”
Having a woman feel that way about him was a heady experience, and Robert could be forgiven for feeling just a little prideful. “Thank you. Would you likemore?”
She wiped her mouth with a napkin and shook her head. “No, thankyou.”
“Are you sure? There’s plenty,” hecoaxed.
“I’msure.”
Robert said, “Okay, but I’m going to send some home with you. I can’t eat it allmyself.”
She put her hands up in surrender. “Fine by me. I loveleftovers.”
