He agreed. Having this time with her was a gift he’d cherish. “Thank you for coming here with me.”
“Has anyone ever told you, Gunnar, that you are awesome at picking out what to do on dates?” She took his hand, and when he tugged her to her feet, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “If they haven’t, then they are idiots.”
Pleasure at her praise swept through him, warming him from the inside out as he paid the bill and walked her back tothe truck. Thankfully the smart cars had already left, and he didn’t have to move one out of the way to get out of the tight spot.
As he turned off the restaurant’s private road, he smiled at her when she folded her fingers into his free hand. Holding hands as they drove back down the mountain to the compound, he congratulated himself on how happy and relaxed she was. He’d give anything to be able to bottle this moment in time. To have it as a living memory which he could pull out anytime the world got rough and war chased him through his nightmares. Because this feeling, he knew was the cure to his demons.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
JJorja didn’t wantthis evening to end. Who knew Gunnar McKinley had a romantic soul behind all the badassery vibes he showed most of the world? She certainly hadn’t. This evening had been a curveball out of the left field which she hadn’t seen coming, and she enjoyed every second of it. This time, when he pulled into the underground parking lot, he led her to a different elevator than the one they’d taken before.
“This one is straight to my house,” he explained. “The door Marco used the other day.” He called the elevator. “Unless you want to see the guys…”
The awesome secret door hidden in the table; it was a little silly to be excited at using it. But she still was. “No, I don’t need to see your brothers.” Did he not realize she just wanted to keep the bubble they’d somehow created around them intact? His brothers, awesome and annoying as they were, had no place in their happy bubble. “Just you.”
He linked their fingers and raised her hand, dropping a kiss on her palm. “I like it being just us too.” Using his otherhand, he unlocked the door and let them into the house. “And voilà.”
“It’s so cool.” She ran her hand around his waist as she moved out of the way so the table could slide back into place, securing it. “How on earth did you think of doing this? Is there some kind of spy school which gives you plans for these kinds of things?”
He barked out a laugh. “Nope. Remi saw it somewhere when we started the reno and put it in without telling me. I’m sure the commune had a shitfit over the plans. It was his birthday present to me that year.”
“Your family has weird ideas about what gifts are,” she told him. “What happened to cake or something that’s just for you?”
“It is just for me. None of the others have secret doors into their places.”
Now that they were back from the date, she could already feel the awkward building between them. For the record, Jorja would like it noted that she didn’t like it at all.
He hovered near her for a moment as if he couldn’t decide what the next steps were, and Jorja sighed in frustration when he stepped away from her.
“I’ll just go change my clothes and get out of your way so you can sleep.” He disappeared into the bedroom before she could respond.
“I swear, men are the densest creatures on the fricking planet,” she muttered to herself and went to the kitchen area to make some coffee, as they’d skipped that course in favor of spending time together in the garden.
“Did you say something?”
“Just talking to myself,” she called back. “Sometimes I need expert advice.”
And the other person in this house is either totally oblivious, or I’m an idiot, and I can’t decide which.
“Do you want some coffee?” She reached for the mugs from the cupboard over her head, but of course, short girl problems, and she couldn’t quite reach the top shelf for the mug she’d seen him use both times they’d had coffee here.
“Let me get that for you.” He reached over her head and plucked down the mug, placing it on the counter beside her.
Jorja bit her lip to stop the screech of surprise when she felt him against her back, but wasn’t fast enough to stop herself from jumping. He chuckled in her ear. The bastard knew exactly what he’d done. “You did that on purpose.”
“Maybe.” He dragged out the word and turned to lean against the counter, watching her as she made coffee.
Shit, had she overstepped by making herself at home? “It’s okay?—”
“Don’t finish that sentence,” he interrupted. “If you want to make coffee, make coffee. If you want to watch TV, then if the remote isn’t on the table, it’s probably down the back of the couch. The wine’s in the fridge, and speaking of, eat anything you want in there, because if you don’t and you’re hungry, it will piss me off.” He leaned in and surprised the crap out of her when he pressed a swift kiss to the tip of her nose. “You have free rein to everything but my weapons which are in the safe. Got it?”
“Yes, bossy, I got it.” She smiled up at him. “Will you grab me the milk from the fridge, please?”
“Sure.” He did as she asked. Once she’d added sugar to her coffee, he poured in milk until the color was correct and stopped just before she could tell him to.
It was stupid to find it ridiculously sweet that he knew just the right amount of milk she took in her coffee, but she loved it anyway. “Thank you.” She carried both mugs to the couch and settled in on the side where she’d sat before. “You know, the bed is bigger than the couch. We can both fit in thebed. It will be more comfortable than you sleeping here every night.”
Gunnar watched her from under hooded eyes as he took a sip of coffee before answering. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
