Their server returned at that moment with the drinks they’d ordered just after they’d been seated. “Are you ready to order?” he asked, looking between the two of them, a benign smile on his face.
“I think we need a few more minutes, thank you.” Nadia spoke before he could. “There’s so much to choose from and it all looks so good. Can you recommend anything?” She glanced over at him and winked.
He picked up his water glass and took a sip, hiding his smile.
Their server rattled off quite a few dishes in quick succession and Mitch had difficulty keeping up. When he walked way, Mitch lowered his menu. “Did you get any of that?”
Nadia giggled and he liked the sweet sound of it. “Umm, not really. He was rather fast, wasn’t he?”
“Yep.” He went back to studying the menu, finally settling on the New York Strip. When in doubt, the answer was always a good steak. He laid his menu down at the same time as Nadia. Their eyes met and held for a brief second before she looked away, licking her lips.
Reaching across the table he picked up her hand that was fiddling with the silverware. With his other hand he grabbed the glass of beer the server had set down and raised it in the air. Seeing what he was doing, Nadia copied his action with her wine glass.
Mitch wanted to say something deep as well as witty, but his mind drew a blank. He’d never been one for big long speeches, could be a leftover hang-up from his Army days when instructions had to be fired out. There was no time for long winded discussions when a soldier’s life was in his hands. But he wanted to say something now. Something that Nadia wouldn’t forget.
Once again he trained his gaze onto hers, letting her see the desire he felt for her. Wanting her to know that there wasn’t anywhere else he’d rather be than right at this table with her. “Here’s to you. The woman who helped me when I wasn’t ready to admit I needed it. Thank you for giving me the courage toface my demons. Thank you for being you.” He tapped his glass against hers.
“That’s a beautiful thing to say, Mitch. Thank you. I know you’ve got a lot to give me too. Your courage is inspiring and I want you know,” she paused and licked her lips again. “I will always be here for you if you need me.”
Both of them took sips of their drinks, continuing to hold the look. It was as intimate as a moment could be and one he would never forget. Her fingers squeezed his hand and a breath shuddered through him. He had no idea what he’d done to deserve her, but he was grateful that Nadia had come into his life.
Their server returned to the table and this time they were both ready to place their orders. He popped a basket of bread on the table before retreating again.
Silence descended around them as they both buttered their pieces of bread. Mitch wished he could come up with something witty to say, but his mind was a blank.
“I don’t want to trigger you and you can tell me to keep my nose out of your business, but was it hard to acclimate back into civilian life after being in the Army? Particularly doing what you did.” Nadia smiled hopefully at him.
Talking about his time in the service and out of it, wasn’t something he did. However, with his therapy sessions it was becoming a little easier to talk about it.
“If you’d asked me a few months ago if I was okay with it, I’d shut it down, but now I’m okay with sharing that part of my life with you.” He took another drink to moisten his dry throat. “I’d be lying if I said it’s been easy to adjust, you’ve seen that I’ve struggled with it. But I’m lucky my parents have the ranch, and the work is something I grew up doing so I fell right back into it. It’s physical and exhausts me. If I can’t sleep, I usually watch tv.”
“Anything in particular? Do you have a favorite show you always watch?”
“I watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” He could feel the heat in cheeks. Admitting to watching a teenage show from the nineties.
Nadia looked at him, blinking as if she couldn’t quite comprehend what he’d told her. “You like Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”
“Yeah, Joss Whedon created a fantastic show. Buffy is badass and there’s humor in it too. It’s easy to get lost in. I’ve got the whole series on DVD.”
“Maybe we can watch it sometime.”
Mitch couldn’t think of anything better. “I’d like that a lot.”
Their food arrived at that moment and halted their conversation.
“I think you’d look really good in black jeans and a black leather jacket.” Nadia said after the server had left.
He about choked on his steak. He chased the morsel of meat down with a long sip of his beer. “Give a man a little warning before you crack a joke.”
Nadia lifted one shoulder. “Now where would the fun be in that?”
“Where indeed.”
He had no idea how he deserved it, or why, but Nadia had been placed in his life for a reason and he for one, was very glad about it. Mitch hoped she felt the same way about him.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The night couldn’t get much betteras far as Nadia was concerned. Conversation over dinner had been fun. Finding out Mitch enjoyed Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a highlight for her. She’d wanted to ask circle back to and dig a little deeper into how he assimilated back into civilian life, but they’d been having such a nice time she hadn’t wanted to spoil it. Same for asking about his therapy sessions, they’d talked briefly about them when they’d phoned each other, but she wanted to know a little more. But she wasn’t sure she had the right to ask him those questions.
