Chapter 10
Over the next few days, they didn’t venture far from the house.
Rhys managed to persuade his principal to go shopping a couple of times, but she claimed to have changed her mind about the beach.
She seemed to be happy reading by the pool, and while it made his job considerably easier, he wasn’t comfortable with the restrictions of what amounted to a self-imposed house arrest.
At one time, he’d have taken that as a win, but now he’d gotten to know Taylor better, he didn’t like it. He needed to do something about it, and to do that, he needed to consult someone with local knowledge.
Rather than contact Wolf, Rhys went straight to the main source of all things social—and that was Wolf’s wife, Caroline.
Having heard the story of how the couple had met, he had to admit he was a little in awe of the self-effacing but charming young woman.
As he’d hoped, she came up with the goods, and another phone call later, he’d managed to secure a reservation for that evening.
Keen to share the good news, he headed for the pool.
At the doorway, he stopped in his tracks, brought to a halt by the sight of Taylor, lying on her stomach and soaking up the sun in her new bikini.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen her in swimwear before, but she’d now traded the one-piece for something that just about covered what it needed to.
His imagination was already working overtime, but thanks to her new preference, it had gone into overdrive. His attraction to her was spiraling.
“Hey.” He pushed away from the door frame and closed the distance between himself and Taylor. “I think it’s time we broadened our horizons and started sampling the local cuisine. I’ve booked a table for us at a place that comes highly recommended.”
Taylor rolled onto her side and propped herself up on one elbow. She looked at him over the top of her sunglasses. “You have? Whose recommendation?”
“Caroline,” he shrugged. “We already know she has great taste, so I thought she’d be a good source.”
Taylor swung her legs off the chaise lounge. “Do you think it’s wise? To go out, I mean.”
“I think it’s necessary,” Rhys responded, putting emphasis on the last word. “You’ll go stir crazy if we stay here for another evening.”
“But we’ve been out.” She stood and padded barefoot towards him, until she was only a couple of feet away from him.
He couldn’t argue with that, but in his book, shopping—no matter what they’d set out to purchase—was a chore and did not equate to going out. “True as far as it goes, but it’s not what I’d call a recreational activity.”
Taylor’s eyes narrowed. “Typical male. Okay, then—where are we going? And when?”
“A restaurant. Not too far away.” That was the first thing he’d checked after his call with Caroline—had it not been within a reasonable driving distance, he’d have probably needed high explosives to persuade Taylor into going. “And we’re going this evening.”
“What? How did you manage to get a table at such short notice?” Her expression became suspicious. “It’s not going to be any good, isn’t it?”
He could see where she was trying to steer this, and he was not going to let her get away with it.
“We’re going this evening, and the availability of a table at short notice is not a reflection of the quality.
It’s called good timing. The person I spoke to told me they’d just had a cancellation.
And if what Caroline told me about the place is accurate, it will be good—if you’re prepared to expand your horizons beyond barbecue. ”
He’d already browsed the menu on his cell phone, and from his point of view, eating there wasn’t going to be anything remotely like the kind of culinary hardship that had kept him alive while on deployment.
The provenance of some of that food—if it could be called that in the first place—was at best questionable.
Taylor lifted her chin. “My horizons are fully expanded, thank you very much. I used to live in New York, if you recall?”
She had a point; he conceded it with a respectful nod. “I recall very well. We’ll be leaving at six—make sure you’re ready in time.”
And with that, he pivoted and walked away before Taylor could make any further protest.
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The blue-and-white décor of the restaurant was a perfect reflection of its coastal location, and its open frontage beneath a cool veranda afforded patrons the pleasure of al fresco dining without exposing them to the full glare of the California sun.
An abundance of greenery added freshness, while framed black-and-white photographs from probably the Fifties or Sixties provided character.
Taylor glanced up from her menu and caught Rhys carrying out another visual sweep of their surroundings. His vigilance was impressive, and probably something he did on autopilot when working—which, she reminded herself severely, he was, because this wasn’t a date.
Nope. Not. A. Date.
“Are you sure this was a good idea?” she asked quietly. “It can’t be very relaxing for you.”
His gaze returned to rest on her. “I’m not here to relax, remember?”
She remembered—it was difficult not to, given his insistence on sitting with his back to the wall and his discreet inquiry about alternative exits when they’d first arrived.
She longed to let him know how much she wished he were there to relax with her.
Instead, she made a joke of it. “Oh, I don’t know.
I persuaded you to use the pool, didn’t I? ”
Unblinking, he studied her for a few very long moments. “Have you decided what you want yet?”
She gave him a sweet smile. “Almost there.”
The menu made her stomach rumble. All the dishes sounded delicious, but by the time the server came to take their order, she’d chosen her appetizer and narrowed it down to two entrées.
At the last second, she opted for the tuna.
Rhys gave the server his choices, and after the young woman left, he reached over for the carafe, to top up Taylor’s water glass.
“I was going to say something about it not being that difficult, but the look on your face said otherwise. What was the other possibility?”
Taylor sat up straight and attempted to take the high ground. “Whatever makes you think it was difficult?”
“The deer-in-the-headlights look. Let me guess—the braised short rib?”
How could he possibly know? “Maybe,” she admitted cautiously. “You can’t blame me, though—it all sounds so good.”
“I’m reliably informed it all tastes good, too. Starting to relax a little now?”
He was too, too observant. Taylor hadn’t truly realized how on edge this whole situation had made her until they’d ventured out this evening. “Some.”
“Good, because that was the idea. Are you sure you don’t want some wine to go with your guacamole and tuna?”
The avocado appetizer, with roasted chili pepper, toasted seeds, and cheese had been something of a no-brainer, unlike her dilemma with the entrée.
While a glass of a chilled California Chardonnay might have been a pleasing complement to the meal, she had her reasons for wanting to remain stone-cold sober.
Most of them were wrapped up in the man seated opposite her.
Taylor met and held her protector’s gaze. “It wouldn’t be fair—you can’t drink because you’re on duty, so I’m not going to do it in front of you. And I don’t like drinking alone anyway.”
The first course arrived and it tasted as delicious as she’d hoped—the peppers were relatively mild, adding just enough heat to the dish to stimulate her taste buds, while the toasted seeds added a hint of crunch.
The saltiness of the cheese could have overwhelmed all of it, but was balanced to perfection.
“You look as if you’re enjoying that,” Rhys commented once they were both a few mouthfuls in.
“It’s amazing. How are the potstickers?”
She’d been tempted by the beef short rib-stuffed delicacies herself, and having watched Rhys devour three of them, she was pretty sure he was happy with his choice.
“Good. Caroline was right about this place. Are you glad we came out now?”
Taylor feigned ambivalence for a moment, then capitulated. “Yes. I mean, the chances of anything happening here have to be slim to none, right?”
“The odds are in our favor, yes. Coming all the way here could be viewed as overkill, but then again, there are backup resources here that we don’t have access to back home.”
His phrasing aroused her curiosity. “You think of Texas as home already?”
Rhys shrugged. “Yes—and no. My real home is and always will be in Wales, but for now, I’m happy to call Texas home. I’ve called a lot of places home over the years.”
She could imagine—he’d been in the military, after all. “You’ve traveled a lot then?”
“Wherever they saw fit to send me. I’ve seen a fair amount of the world; not all of it would have been by choice, but orders are orders. Unlike Texas. Coming here was my decision.”
And Taylor was deeply glad he’d made it. Had he not, someone else would be sitting opposite her, and she wouldn’t be anywhere near as contented as she was right now.
“Now what’s brought that smile on?” he asked, one eyebrow raised. “Can’t be anything to do with my decision to come here, surely?”
“Of course not,” she dismissed, hoping the little lie wouldn’t add an undue amount of color her cheeks. “You’ve been here, what? Two months now?”
“Neat sidestep. Thereabouts,” he replied easily.
“Do you think you’ll stay?”
More invested in the answer than she would have thought possible, she blurted out the question without thinking.
His eyes narrowed a touch, accompanying a brief crease between his brows, as if puzzled by her interest. “Too soon to say. Besides, there’s staying… and there’s staying.”
Now it was her turn to be mystified. “What does that mean?”
“Nosy.” He chuckled. “It means I’m staying for now. I’ve no plans to return to the UK for the short-to-medium term.”
“And the long-term?”
“Who knows?” He shrugged. “The future is notoriously difficult to predict. What’s the matter? Trying to find out when I’ll be out of your hair?”