Page 65 of The Soldier's Homecoming

Daniel’s arm encircled her waist. A voice of doubt in her head told her to shrug it away, to move sideways slightly to force his arm to fall, but she ignored those instincts.

She braved a look up at him. He remembered alright.

Pushing him away now was hardly being fair to what she’d promised.

“You remember when we first came here?” he asked.

“How could I forget?”

They passed the security on the door and she let herself be led inside.

“The only difference is that last time we were both asked for identification at the door.”

Daniel pulled her closer again as they made their way forward the bar. A band was playing and the music was loud, so his mouth moved close to her ear so he could be heard.

She could feel the heat of his breath against her cheek.

‘And the music was a little different, too.”

She laughed. “Are we that old?”

He shook his head, “Nope. We were just really young back then.”

People surrounded them, and Penny hated it. Her role in the army had made her suspicious, made her look at situations differently. It would take a long time for her to become a civilian again, in the truest sense of the word.

“Wasn’t the night we came here…” Oh. She’d spoken before she’d thought it through.

Daniel’s fingers moved against her waist, enough for her to know that he’d heard her.

She braved a look up at him and saw the look in his eyes.

He remembered all right.

“If I recall correctly, you stayed over at my place.”

Heat hit her cheeks. That was a polite way of putting it.

He tugged her a bit closer as he secured a place at the bar, ready to order their drinks.

“And we didn’t spend a night apart until you had to leave for training.”

Amazing. “I can’t believe you remember, she said.

He touched the back of his finger to her cheek before answering. “I can’t believe you thought I’d forget.”

The bartender leaned toward them and Daniel ordered them champagne.

“I thought you only drank beer?” Penny nudged him in the ribs.

“What, you think I’m some Neanderthal who can’t drink anything but lager?”

Penny had forgotten how good it felt to have sore cheeks from smiling too much. “Yeah, actually I did.”

He gave her what she guessed was his fiercest look. “We had it the other night to celebrate your homecoming,

“Only because your mother would have killed you for saying no to it.”

He paid for their drinks and passed her one, before holding his little finger out at an angle and taking a sip of his.

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