She laughed. He loved that sound, could listen to it for the rest of his life. “Because so many men are rushing to take me out that you had to worry. In all honesty, Gideon, I’m glad you came in when you did and asked me out. But you didn’t answer my question, as sweet as that is. I’m persistent when I want to know something. ‘Tagged in a couple of places’ tells me nothing at all.”
“I suppose it doesn’t.” Deliberately, he looked around the room as if on a covert mission. He lowered his voice, so she had to bend her head to his. “This is our first official date. You come out with me again, I can give you that information; otherwise, it’s classified, and I can get into a lot of trouble divulging that to you.”
She burst out laughing again, just as he knew she would. “You are so full of bullshit. But since I really want to know and I want to see your rooftop, I’m committing to another date.”
“On my rooftop?”
She hesitated the slightest bit, but he was aware of it. She nodded her head. “I’ll bring a picnic.”
“Would you prefer to bring someone with you rather than coming alone? It’s a big step coming alone to my place on a second date,” Gideon said, giving her an out.
“Technically, it can be considered our third date. And since you gave me the idea in the first place, I’ll just send pictures and the address to all my friends. If you’re a nutjob, they’ll all know you were the last one to see me.”
“I can live with that.” He took another slice of bread. “How many friends do you have?”
She laughed again, and Gideon found himself laughing with her. He’d never felt so relaxed in his life. He wanted to know everything there was to know about her. Everything. The expressions chasing across her face, what each meant. The little shifts in her moods, what those signaled. Why she didn’t have the confidence she should in herself. Why she moved around so much. He wanted to unlock every mystery for himself. He wanted her to stay.
The women were waiting for Rory in the lounge, all five of them. Her friends. They were eager to hear every word. She could see the hope on their faces that Gideon really was a good man. The minute they saw her face, all five of theirs lit up. Janice’s and Pam’s expressions held more caution than the others, but they still looked happy.
“He continues to be awesome,” Rory announced as she threw herself into the chair opposite Lydia. “He couldn’t have beenbetter. I looked for flaws, really looked for them, but he was so nice, in fact even nicer than he was the first time.”
“Are you going to see him again?” Sally asked, handing her a coffee. “I’m coming to the bar. If you can meet men like him there, I’m totally going to hang out with you.”
“I’m definitely going to see him again,” Rory said. “As for meeting men like him at the bar, I think he’s a fluke, entirely one of a kind.” The smile faded. “Having said that, I’m not certain Ishouldsee him again.”
Cindy scowled at her. “Why in the world would you even hesitate, Rory? You’re clearly attracted to him. You say he’s nice. What’s wrong with him that you’d worry you shouldn’t see him?”
“I knew it.” Janice jumped on her hesitation. “He doesn’t work, does he?”
“Probably a total con artist,” Pam concluded.
“Are your alarm bells ringing like crazy?” Lydia asked.
Rory shook her head, feeling guiltier than ever. “No, he has a good job, and my alarm bells aren’t ringing, but his should be. I can tell he’s looking for a relationship, not a one-night stand. He wants something permanent.”
“And?” Cindy prompted.
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Sally asked.
Rory shook her head. “I move around all the time. I don’t think I’ve been in the same place for longer than four months, maybe five at the most.” She’d considered staying longer, but she hadn’t yet found somewhere she wanted to stay that long. This might be her first. She’d been here past that five-month mark already, something unheard-of for her. She should have been restless, but she found herself wanting to stay.
“It wouldn’t be fair to lead him to believe we could have a long-term relationship when I know I’m going to pick up and move.”
There was a short silence while the others thought about what she’d said.
It was Janice who responded. “Why do you have to move around, Rory? Why do you feel it’s so necessary?”
The question hit her hard, a punch that landed in her stomach and even made her hunch. She hadn’t allowed those doors to creak open. She’d just kept moving, never looking back. She didn’t want to look back now. The nightmares were getting worse. She didn’t seem to be able to outrun them.
“After I lost everyone, I decided to visit the places that intrigued me and see as much of the country as I could take in,” she admitted. “Once I made that decision to map out the places I wanted to go, I just kept moving forward and never really stopped.”
“But you could stop if you really wanted to,” Sally said, drawing her feet under her and reaching for her coffee. “Here. With all of us. You could stay, couldn’t you, Rory?”
“You have a good job,” Lydia pointed out. “And you like all the people you work with.”
“With the exception of Harvey, Ret and Jarrod, everyone living in the apartment building is nice,” Pam said. “Well,” she qualified, “the ones we’ve met.”
“And Harvey, Ret and Jarrod haven’t actually done anything to us,” Sally was quick to point out.
