“My mom. In spite of her putting me in martial arts early on, she actually loathed the idea. Especially after she married my stepfather. Neither one of them saw the need for it, so she started to put me in other extracurriculars.
“She wanted me to become a nurse or a doctor. In high school, I started taking EMT classes. When I turned eighteen and went away to college, I majored in biology and worked part-time as an EMT, eventually earning my credentials as a ‘medic.
I paused as Luke moved in closer resting his arms on the table, listening intently.
“Go on,” he insisted when I stopped talking for too long.
“It only took me until my sophomore year to realize med school wasn’t for me. I didn’t want to spend the next decade of my life in school and working as an intern and residency in a hospital. So, I opted to get my MBA instead.
“And your friend? The one who runs the company with you?”
“Tanisha and I became friends in college. One night, we started talking. She complained about her job at the city’s health department, per usual. I loathed the idea of going into hospital administration. That night, we put our heads together and the concept for ParaSquad came up.”
I shrugged at the same time the waitress brought our food to the table. My stomach growled as soon as I smelled my dish. I’d hardly eaten any of the hummus and chips, since I’d gotten so wrapped up in the conversation with Luke.
“How long have you been in business?”
“Almost five years now.”
He nodded, taking a bite of his burger, which had been cut in half.
“How is it?” I questioned.
He nodded, staring at the burger. Thankfully, he swallowed and wiped his mouth before answering. “Not bad.”
“In Luke speak, that means it’s damn good.”
He hesitated on the bite he was about to take, staring across the table at me.
Damn, he’s sexy as hell.
I squirmed in my chair.
“Luke speak,” he repeated before snorting and then parting his lips to take another bite. It was my turn to watch the movement of his lips as he chewed.
“You’re not hungry?” He nudged his head in the direction of my uneaten plate.
Shit!I’d done it again, forgetting I was actually very hungry. Picking up my knife and fork, I cut into my medium-well done steak, taking a small piece into my mouth. Admittedly, the steak was good, great even, but it still didn’t compare to the previous thoughts I had about the man sitting across from me.
“You know, you still haven’t answered my question,” I finally said after a few minutes of eating in silence.
“I wouldn’t plan on waiting for me to answer it, either,” he quickly retorted.
I sagged my shoulders. It was on the tip of my tongue to beg him to tell me something, anything about his past. Something that I couldn’t find in any of the articles or write ups online about him.
“Where’d you go to college?”
“You don’t give up, do you?”
“These are simple questions. It’s not like I’m asking for your social security or credit card numbers.”
“You’d have a better shot at getting those.”
“Come on, Luke.”
He rolled his eyes, huffing. “Vander University.”
“Really? That’s a great school.”
