“Yeah, he was great about it.Laughed even.”Until they’d brought up his scars.
“And then?Don’t keep me in suspense.”Sandy leaned forward, bouncing up and down on the cushion.
“We went to lunch and had a nice meal.”Allie shrugged as she took a sip of her wine.
Sandy sat back against the arm of the couch like a deflated balloon.“No kiss?”Her lips crinkled.“Handshake?Anything?Youhave to give me something.”Sandy gave her pleading eyes.
“I touched his hand.”It wasn’t much, but it was something, right?
Sandy quirked an eyebrow at her.“An accidental brushing or you placed your hand on his on purpose?”
“I put my hand on his.Our waitress was being rude, so I implied we were together put ownership on him.”Allie wouldn’t look Sandy in the eye.It had been very forward of her and unlike her, but she hadn’t liked how the waitress was staring at him.Carson was a handsome man and shouldn’t be gawked at like he was the star attraction of a freak show.
Sandy gazed at her with an amused look on her face.“Well, well.We went from hating him to coming to his rescue.”
Their dynamic had changed over the past week.He was nothing like the inattentive man she’d met a week ago.
“You like him,” Sandy accused.
She did.“I do.Not at first as you know, but now,” Allie sighed, “He’s kind, sweet, funny.Weactually have a joke now.”
“Do you?”Sandy asked, sounding intrigued.
“About him being a SEAL.I call him the animal kind.”
“And he doesn’t get angry?”Sandy sounded baffled.
“No, he started joking about it.He calls himself a performing seal.He’s everything you first told me about.”Allie pulled her lip between her teeth as she replayed their date in her head.It hadn’t been perfect, but she considered it one of her best dates.
“Well, I’ll be.Allie Sunbright is falling for a guy.And I’m the one that set it up.”Sandy grinned from ear to ear.
Allie just scoffed, not wanting to jinx it.“Sandy, we’re just hanging out.Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Sandy held up her hands in surrender.“I won’t say anything more about it.Are you making plans to see each other again?”
“Yeah, he asked me to go hiking this weekend.”
Sandy tapped her on the leg.“You know what you need to do.”
Did she dare ask?“What?”
“While on your hike, fake an injury.Like stumble a little and pretend you rolled your ankle.”
“What?Why would I do that?”That sounded like a terrible idea.One she’d never be able to pull off, and even if she could, why would she do that?
“Men like to be big strong heroes.He’ll come to your rescue and carry you down the hill.Maybe take you home and nurse you back to health.”Sandy gave her a saucy wink.
“Yeah, no.Not my style.Knowing my luck, I’d try to fake an injury and end up falling down the mountain and really hurting myself.”
“You wouldn’t.You’ve always been sure-footed.Okay, so no injury.The thing is we have time to figure out something to get you twocloser.More than hand touching.Good grief, you’d think you were in middle school.”Sandy shook her head in shame.
Allie wasn’t that kind of woman.Sure, she liked going on adventures and seeing new things, but when it came to relationships, she was cautious and liked to take her time.She didn’t hop in bed with the first man that turned her head.She wasn’t a virgin, but she was far from being a woman of the world.
“Sandy, can I ask you a question about Carson?”Something that had been plaguing her for a while now.
“Of course,” Sandy replied instantly.
“Why is he so sensitive about his scars?”Allie didn’t know if Sandy knew the answer, but since they had known each other so well and for so long, if anyone knew, Allie assumed it was her.
