“Probably not.”
“Why probably?”
“Well, for one, I don’t want to go back overseas and put Mom and Dad through worrying about me again. Plus, that seems like a huge slap in the face to you and the guys from Titan. And two, I haven’t had time to figure out what I’m going to do. I didn’t even have shoes until an hour ago.”
She squirmed in her seat. God, when he smiled…everything in her twisted and flipped like an Olympic gymnast.
Their food arrived and Jordan poked at the square chunks of grilled lamb on his plate. “What is it?”
“It’s meat. Put it in your mouth.”
He coughed and choked on the piece he’d taken. “Jesus, Emme.” He took a drink of water. “Warn a guy.”
She grinned and scooped tabouleh onto a piece of flat bread. “What about you? What happens for you when we get back to the real world?”
“I catch up with my unit.”
“Where are they?”
“Horn of Africa,” he said. “This is really good. What is it?”
“Shish.” He was deploying in two weeks. She knew enough about world events to know the Horn of Africa was dangerous. It wasn’t Iraq, but it wasn’t exactly a garden spot either.
“Emme.”
Her gaze flew to his. “You’re deploying?” Her voice sounded shrill and she cringed inwardly.
“Well, yeah. It’s what I do.”
“For how long?”
“It’ll be close to six months.”
“When do you leave?”
He cocked his head and a crease formed between his brows. “As soon as I get back. I need to get in touch with the sergeant major to make arrangements.”
The bottom dropped out of her stomach.It’s too soon. I just found him again.
It felt like something she’d always wanted was slipping through her fingers — again. Her reaction was out of proportion to the situation, but it felt significant. Like a moment in time that could determine the rest of her life.
The backs of his fingers on the side of her neck sent a jolt of longing through her.
“Emme, you’re worrying me. Are you hot? Should we go inside?”
She grasped his palm. “No. I’m just surprised they’re making you deploy as soon as you get back.”
“I need to get back to my guys.” His voice was soft.
She got it. She did. That didn’t mean she liked it. She gave him a tight smile and pulled his hand away from her neck.
