He heard a soft sound emerge, the perfect replica of a field sparrow, the little female singing her song. Looking up, Rory was singing the notes as she made several drinks at once.
Gideon looked down at the ice-cold beer she’d sent to his table and responded by sending back the notes of the male field sparrow. The song was short and to the point, asking the little female if she wanted to meet him later.
She sang the notes again as she worked, and he answered her a second time. Startled, Rory looked up, her eyes meeting his. A small smile lit her face. Her nod was nearly imperceptible. But he didn’t miss it.
3
Gideon had to be the most fascinating man Rory had ever met. She had no idea what compelled her to agree to meet with him after the bar closed, and truthfully, right up until the moment she stepped out the back door and saw him waiting for her, she considered calling it off. She opened her mouth to tell him she’d thought better of it, but a thousand butterflies took flight in her stomach, and not a single sound emerged.
He stood draped against a column in the parking lot, looking so much a part of the night, she could barely make him out, and there were lights scattered throughout the lot. He had dark hair with a few streaks of silver in it. She knew his eyes were blue because she’d secretly studied him in the bar. At night they appeared darker, but then if the light caught his gaze just right, he’d have an odd glow, much like an animal that could see in the dark.
He straightened to his full height, and she realized he towered over her. That might have intimidated her, but she realizedimmediately that he had covered a slight wince. Not an outward one. There was no change of expression, but somehow she read more of him than she expected, as if they were connected.
When he’d left the bar after last call, she’d noticed he’d been cautious when standing and that his friend had hovered. Again, Gideon hadn’t shown annoyance, but she’dfeltthat he hadn’t wanted his friend to call attention to him.
Rory smiled at him. “I’m Laurel Chappel. My friends call me Rory.”
“Gideon Carpenter. Thanks for taking a chance on meeting with me. Especially so late.” He nodded his head toward her apartment building. “I thought we could talk in the Koi Garden. I’m not sure why they named it the Koi Garden when the koi were eaten the first month they were ever put in the pond and never restocked, but the name remains.”
The garden was situated right next to her apartment building, but she’d never gone into it. She’d always intended to. It looked peaceful and inviting, but when she had a day off, she nearly always went to Golden Gate Park and hiked around.
“I’d like that. I’ve always wanted to go inside and look around.”
She was a little shocked she could manage to speak. Up close, he took her breath away. He really was a gorgeous man. Fit. He moved with fluid grace, although she did have that strange sensation that it wasn’t as easy for him as he made it look.
They walked together down the sidewalk, Rory setting a slow pace, thankful she had thought to use her inhaler before she left the bar. As she continued along the sidewalk, Gideon suddenly halted and indicated a narrower pathway that cut between two buildings.
“Don’t you walk this way? It cuts your time in half.” He frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry. Of course, youwouldn’t. It isn’t as well lit. I’m used to not worrying about my safety. That was a really ridiculous question to ask you.”
Rory could tell he was genuinely upset with himself that he’d made the inquiry. She peered into the narrow pathway between the buildings. It wasn’t a dirt alleyway. Normally, she felt confident that she could defend herself against any attacks, but danger clung to Gideon like a second skin. The feeling of threat wasn’t directed toward her; in fact, she felt safe with him. Safe wasn’t something she was used to feeling.
“I haven’t explored much around the apartments yet. I intended to, but I’ve been working extra hours for Brad. Brad Fitzpatrick is my boss. He’s a really good man, and he’s been trying to get his business off the ground.”
Rory took a deep breath and decided to take another leap of faith. She had no idea why she had such a strong compulsion to meet him after work when she didn’t date and was never attracted to any of the men who asked her out. Or why she would risk walking home alone with him. Or why she would ever agree to walk down a narrow pathway between buildings in the dark, which was the epitome of stupidity, but she was going to do it.
“You’re safe with me, Rory,” Gideon said. “Do you want to text your family or one of your friends and let them know who you’re with and what we’re doing? Take my picture and send it to them. If you don’t want to bother them this late, you can send it to your boss. You know he’s still up.”
Gideon wassucha good man. Who offered to let their just-getting-to-know-each-other date do something like that? He knew she was nervous and he’d made the offer. “You really don’t mind?”
“I think it’s a smart idea.”
She did too. She took his photograph. He didn’t smile, but then she could see he wasn’t given to smiles. It didn’t matter. Shethought he was hot as hell anyway. She group-texted her five friends that she was out with Gideon Carpenter, taking a shortcut from the bar to the Koi Garden, where they were going to be getting to know one another.
“Thank you, Gideon. I should have thought of that.” She had relied on herself for so long, she never considered letting anyone else know where she was or who she was with.
Gideon took her hand and stepped ahead of her onto the path between the two buildings. The moment his much larger hand enveloped hers, her heart went crazy, and she concentrated on slowing her heartbeat. She felt like a silly teenager. The moment her heart lurched so insanely, her breathing followed, getting out of control.
Rory did her best to block out everything around her and tried to get a natural rhythm going, breathing in and out.Please don’t wheeze. Please don’t wheeze.
Something had happened to Gideon. She knew he’d been injured, maybe a major car accident, but he had volunteered to walk her to the Koi Garden, and he was maintaining despite his injury. The last thing she wanted was for Gideon to see that she couldn’t walk two blocks without a problem. She detested that she would look weak next to him.
In her next breath, she was angry with herself for caring that it mattered to her. She didn’t have low self-esteem—at least not most of the time. She thought of herself as a confident woman until it came to her lung issues and sometimes her size, and only when she considered being around someone like Gideon. She was fit, but there was a voice in her head telling her she would never be good enough.
Gideon stopped in front of the double iron gates of the Koi Garden. “Rory, do you have an inhaler with you?”
She cursed inwardly and refused to look up at him as she fishedin her jacket pocket for it. Naturally he would hear her struggling to breathe.
He waited for her to use it before he opened the gates. She went through before embarrassment had her turning around. She refused to be a coward. If he didn’t make an excuse to end their first meeting, neither would she.
