Chapter 12
The date was off to a rocky start, but Jack was determined it ended on a high note—and he wasn’t talking about sex.
Though if he were honest with himself, he wouldn’t say no if it was offered.
Andrea was a beautiful woman. Her baggy clothes were good at concealing the goddess frame underneath, but this black dress did nothing to hide from the imagination.
Several times he had stumbled over a crack as her slim leg peeked out through the slit of her dress with every step she took. If she had planned this dress to distract him, she was succeeding.
She’s the enemy, he had to keep reminding himself. He couldn’t let himself forget that for a moment. Millions of lives were at stake if he didn’t get her to start trusting him and start talking.
Hopefully, this dinner would go well and give him a step up in her good graces, inspiring her to divulge the secrets within her gorgeous mind.
“Good evening,” the ma?tre d greeted them.
He was a portly little man whose head probably came up to the middle of Jack’s chest. He had a thick black mustache and beard.
Jack wasn’t a fan of facial hair, so he always made it a point to shave every day if not twice a day.
He’d grown it out once for an assignment.
It itched, and things were always getting caught in it.
He’d hated it and was thankful when he could finally shave it off.
“Hi, reservations for two. Burns,” Andrea told him.
The ma?tre d checked his book. “Ah yes, here we are. Come this way.” He collected two menus and led them into the restaurant. Even for six-thirty, it was packed. Good thing she had reserved a table.
They were led to a booth; Jack made sure to take the seat at the back so he could face the front of the restaurant. “Please enjoy,” the ma?tre d said before leaving.
“So what’s good here?” Jack asked.
“Everything,” Andrea responded, not looking up from her menu.
“Wow, that’s pretty broad.”
Andrea shrugged. “Well, it’s true. I’ve tried several things on the menu, and everything is amazing.”
“Alright…” Jack scanned through the menu and picked his dish.
The waiter came by a few minutes later. He did a double take when he saw Andrea. Jack couldn’t say he blamed the man. “Andrea, back already?”
Andrea’s face lit up; Jack didn’t like it. “What can I say, Ben, I love the gyros here.”
“Are you sure that’s all that brings you here?
” Ben asked with a teasing grin. Andrea’s face flushed.
She did that a lot when men paid attention to her.
He’d thought he was the only one who had that effect on her, but apparently not.
There was a twisting in his gut that he had never felt before, and he didn’t know what to make of it.
“It’s just the food, Ben.”
Ben’s eyes drifted to Jack’s and must have noticed the murderous look in his eyes. “Can I get you anything to drink?”
“Water for me,” Jack ordered. He wasn’t one to drink and drive even if it was just one. Besides, he wanted to keep his wits about him around Andrea.
“I’ll have the same.”
“Alright, are you ready to order, or do you still need a few minutes?”
Andrea looked at Jack, silently asking for his answer. “I’m ready if you are.”
Andrea nodded. “I’ll have my usual. The beef gyros with the tzatziki sauce.”
“Sounds good and you, sir?” Ben asked, looking more professional.
“I’ll have the kleftiko.”
“Very good. I’ll get that order in, and I’ll be back with your water in a moment.” Ben all but left a vapor trail behind.
“I think I scared your admirer,” Jack remarked.
Andrea’s eyes widened in shock. “Admirer? Ben? No, he’s just a guy I talk to whenever I come in.”
“Andrea, the man is infatuated by you. He was flirting right in front of me as if I wasn’t even here.”
Andrea shook her head. “No, you’re wrong.”
Ben returned a moment later with their waters. He didn’t stay to chat, but Jack saw the look of longing in the kid’s eyes. Andrea glared at him when Ben left, which made Jack laugh.
“It’s not funny,” Andrea hissed.
“Come on, it’s a little funny.”
“No, now I can never look at him the same.”
“You mean, you never had any feelings toward him?”
“No,” she venomously denied. “I just always thought he was friendly, so I was just being polite back.”
“Oh, he wants to be friendly that’s for sure.”
“Stop.” Andrea gave him a pleading look.
“Alright,” Jack conceded. He wanted to stay on Andrea’s good side, so he dropped the issue.
“Thank you.”
“Do you have any other admirers I should be on the lookout for?”
“You said you’d stop,” she scolded, but there was still a hint of humor in her eyes, telling him she wasn’t mad.
“I said I would about him. I’m just curious how much competition I have.”
“There is no competition.”
“So you’re saying I’ve already won? Well, that’s good to know.”
“No,” she stressed the word. “I didn’t say you won, just that there is no competition for me.”
“Is there a particular reason for that?”
Andrea’s eyes narrowed into slits.
“I meant, why are you single?”
“I like being alone.”
Jack snorted.
“What?”
“No one likes being alone.”
“What about you?” she sputtered, trying to think of a snappy comeback but failing.
“What about me?” he questioned, his head cocking to the side.
“I don’t see you with a woman.”
“I am in fact with you at the moment, but as far as female company, I don’t date, but that’s not to say I don’t see women.”
“You’re more of a casual man, aren’t you?”
“You make it sound like a bad thing.” He preferred casual. There were no expectations. No feelings to get hurt. Just scratching an itch when the need arose. Both partners were willing, so why not?
“Going from bed to bed with strings of women whose names you can’t recall is a bad thing to me.”
“If you have such a low opinion of me, why did you agree to go out with me?” He didn’t know why he felt so defensive about his life choices. They were his and had never bothered him before.
“So you would stop asking me out.”
He didn’t believe that. Telling him no enough times would have gotten him to stop, and he would have changed tactics to friends instead of lovers. “Or was it because you found me interesting and wondered what it was all those other women found fascinating?”
“No,” she replied softly, unable to meet his eyes.
“Well, that’s too bad. I’m a pretty interesting guy.”
“Oh yeah, and why’s that?”
“See, I knew you were interested.” He pointed his finger at her, looking triumphant.
Andrea rolled her eyes. “Just teasing. I’m interesting because I’ve travelled the world over. I’ve experienced and seen much of what life has to offer.”
“And why would you think I would find that interesting?” Andrea didn’t look so convinced.
“Because I’ve met fascinating people painting pictures in town squares all in order to feed their families because their government took everything from them. I’ve seen sights that would make the most stoic person cry.”
“Bullshit.”
“It was cow shit actually. A whole pile of it stacked up to there.” He held up his hand to mid chest to give her a visual demonstration. “That stuff really stinks. It would make anyone’s eyes water.”
Andrea spat out the sip of water she had just taken and laughed so hard several people around them turned in their seats to stare at her as if she were crazy. Jack could have cared less about them. For all he knew, they were the only two in the restaurant.
“You’re terrible,” she stated, wiping the water from her face, though there was no heat behind her words.
“Maybe, but it makes for a good joke.”
“That it does. So have you done any traveling, or was the whole story made up?”
“No, I’ve actually travelled quite a bit in my life.” He’d been to places he could never tell her about. In some places, he had seen unspeakable horrors, while other places had been quite nice.
“Did your family move around a lot?”
Jack didn’t like talking about his family, but if he wanted Andrea to open up to him and trust him, he was going to have to reciprocate. “No, we never moved. In fact, my parents still live in the same house my sibling and I grew up in.”
“You mean there’s more out there like you?”
“There’s no one else like me, I can assure you.” One of him in the world was more than enough. He’d hate to compete with other versions of himself.
“I don’t know if I should say that’s a good thing or that you have a very overinflated ego.”
“It has nothing to do with ego, simply a statement of fact. There aren’t many people like me.”
“And what makes you so special from the other womanizing men who smooth talk women into their beds and discard them when they’re done?”
Ouch, was that really how she saw him? “Because I actually care what my partners have to say. I put them first.”
“How lucky for them,” Andrea mumbled, not looking impressed by his boasting. He was going to have to tread carefully before he insulted her.
“I’ve never heard them complain. But to answer your question, I have a younger sibling. A brother named Ethan.”
“Is he a Casanova like yourself?” Andrea asked before taking another sip of her water.
“No, he’s quiet, shy even. The complete opposite of me.” A hint of bitterness slipped out in that statement, so Jack changed the subject. “So I left as soon as I was old enough and that’s that. I’ve traveled the world and experienced life’s different pleasures.”
“You mean women?”
“I meant life’s pleasures. Wine, art, different cultures. Experiences I couldn’t get at home.”
“I didn’t realize IT supervisors could take so many vacations.”
Jack shook his head, forgetting for a moment that was his cover. He needed to keep his wits up around her. She was sharp and paid attention to details. “Most of my travels were before that.”
“Recreationally or for work?”
“Work, though when I had downtime, I went out for pleasure. To learn, not the other thing,” he felt the need to clarify.
That earned him a smile as if to say she didn’t necessarily believe him, but it was nice of him to try.
Okay, so it hadn’t all been about sightseeing in his travels, though he did see many sights.
Big, beautiful, bountiful women who were all too happy to show him the sights.
“What kind of work did you do before IT?”
Now this was a tricky thing to answer. He could go with the truth, and it might scare her off, or use the lie he had used while actively serving.
It wasn’t something he liked to go around advertising.
Like the SEALs and Delta Force operatives, they didn’t go around announcing their job qualifications and making themselves a target.
A SARC (special amphibious reconnaissance corpsman) was definitely not something one went around announcing.
He had already let it slip to Maya; if he lied now, he could be found out, and then she would go back to distrusting him. “I was in the Navy. I did field operations.” Jack studied Andrea’s body for any signs of stress at his bombshell.
She didn’t even bat an eye. Either she didn’t care, or she was an incredible actress. “So you were a seaman.”
“Ha-ha, like I’ve never heard that one before.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”
“I’m sure. Enough about me; how about yourself? Are you much of a traveler?”
Andrea stiffened when he suggested talking about herself but relaxed at his question. He remembered his promise not to bring up her past. He had to ease her into that conversation. “No.”
“There’s no place in the world you wish you could see? Stand on top of the Eiffel Tower, have tea in Buckingham Palace, marvel at the great pyramids, or even here in the states, see Mount Rushmore, the Empire State Building?”
“No.” Jack could only gape at her. What person didn’t dream of travelling and seeing the world? “I’m not typical, remember? I don’t care about landmarks and such. One day they’ll be gone. I’d rather see botanical gardens or the rain forests.”
Jack didn’t want to be Captain Negative and point out that those things too could be gone one day. “So if a person close to you suggested going for a walk through the Brazilian rain forest, you’d go?”
“Maybe. Though that’s a dangerous place. Lots of things to kill you.”
“You are a difficult woman to please, Andrea Burns, but I’m up for the challenge.” She was more into nature than manmade, but she was afraid of the dangers in nature. She was a conundrum.
“That wasn’t a challenge.”
“No, but one I’m determined to take just the same.”
“You are an odd man, Michael Cawley.”
Their food arrived and was set down in front of them. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
“I don’t know if I should be worried by that statement or not.”
“Stick around and find out.”