He didn’t know her name, but he hadn’t forgotten her face. They’d shared a brief kiss. A fraction of time in the grand scheme of things, but sometimes, when he was in the midst of an attack, memories of her voice. Her touch. Her mouth pressed against his would jolt him enough that he could pull himself out of the dark recesses of his attack.
The second she spied him at the bar the smile on her face froze and her eyes widened. She wasn’t decked out in western wear like she had been that day. The pink cowboy hat he’d foundendearing on her that day was missing. So were the cowboy boots and the flirty black sparkly dress. Tonight, she wore jeans that didn’t look like they’d come from Walmart. They fit her long legs like a second skin. Her pink blouse looked silky and highlighted her dark tresses. She looked vibrant and alive, and he should stay away from her, yet he found himself sliding off the bar stool and striding toward her before he could really think.
He stopped in front of her and inhaled. Like when she’d stormed away from him at the barbeque, coconut assailed his senses. He wouldn’t be able to look at an Almond Joy bar again and not think of her. “Hi.”
Her eyes widened when he spoke, as if that was the last thing she expected from him. “Hello, Mitch. How are you?”
Without the dregs of an attack lingering around his consciousness he was able to detect that her accent definitely wasn’t southern. Her words were rounded and proper. “Where are you from?” he blurted out.
Fuck, he really needed to work on his social skills. Before his last deployment he’d had some smooth lines and moves. Although the woman standing in front of him didn’t look like she’d fall for his usual pick-up lines.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I grew up in Boston. It was good to see you, Mitch, but I need to get back to my friends.”
Mitch glanced over to where she pointed and the group she walked in were watching them avidly. The last thing he wanted, and he suspected the woman in front of him wanted, was to be the center of attention. Yet he couldn’t let her go, just yet.
“You have me at a disadvantage. You’ve seen me at my worst and yet I don’t know your name.”
Her hand curled some hair behind her ear in an almost nervous gesture. Her pink tongue came out and moistened her lower lip. Mitch bit back a groan as his body reacted to thesmall motion. It had been a long time since he’d a reaction that instantaneous to a person he was meeting for the second time.
“Nadia. My name’s Nadia and I really need to go. Have a good night, Mitch.”
She walked away before he could say anything else, the action cut deep, more than the girls he’d gone on first dates with never wanting another one. Mitch didn’t understand how a woman he’d met twice could have such an impact on him. But she did.
Nadia.
He let the name roll around in his mind. He liked the sound of it and it suited her. Suited her demeanor.
A loud clap of thunder boomed overhead, almost shaking the building. Surprisingly, thunder or even loud booms rarely triggered him in to having an attack. He still had no idea what triggered them. All he knew was that he could be fine one minute and the next he was coming to thirty feet away from where he last remembered standing, sweat running down the side of his face. He probably should get help. There was a VA Center in Kerrville. Gene had given him information about it, but yet he still refused to go.
I also recognize a fool when I see one and that’s you, Mitch.
The snippet of the conversation he’d had with Nadia all those weeks ago came rushing back. Perhaps she was right and he was a fool, but he wasn’t ready to talk to anyone yet. He wasn’t sure he ever would be.
CHAPTER FOUR
Nadia sippedon her diet Coke as she watched Mitch stride out of the bar. He’d remained standing where they’d had their brief conversation for a while. He’d been oblivious to all that was going on around him. Had he been having another attack? But as she watched, she’d been able to see that he hadn’t had the vacant look on his face like he’d had when she walked up to him at the community celebration.
“So you like Mitchell Alexander, huh?” Cerise asked as she jabbed her lightly in the side.
Nadia winced. “Who?”
Cerise canted her head toward the door Mitch had just exited. “Mitchell, the guy who just left. The one who stopped you in your tracks when you walked in tonight. You know the guy you had a conversation with.”
“Oh, him.” Mitch was the last person she wanted to talk about. “When will trivia start?”
“Soon. But you won’t distract me.” Cerise picked up the plastic bag Nadia put on the ground. “I’m taking your leftovers hostage until you dish the dirt on the conversation you had with Mitchell.”
“There was nothing to it, he stopped to say hello because we had a brief chat at the barbeque back in April. That’s all there was.” Nadia wasn’t one to pray, but she said a silent prayer to God to forgive her for her little white lie. She didn’t think the big guy would mind, considering she was protecting Mitch and what he’d gone through.
Another loud clap of thunder reverberated around the room and the sound of big fat raindrops pinged against the metal roof. “Whoa, I guess you were right, Cerise, we are in for a big storm. Should we think about leaving?”
“I’m often right,” she said with a laugh. “Don’t worry, it’ll pass in about five minutes. A little thunder and rain aren’t a reason for you to get out of taking part in trivia night.”
“Fine.” Nadia grumbled, but a sense of unease prickled over her skin. Boston used to have bad thunderstorms and it never bothered her. If she’d thought the air was oppressive as they’d left the hospital, prior to them stepping into the bar it had felt like the sky was about to collapse. The clouds were a dark gray and rolled around the sky in a way she’d never witnessed before.
Cerise had assured her that everything would be fine, but now, Nadia was wishing she’d foregone having the best mac ‘n’ cheese she’d ever had in her life and stayed home where she’d be feeling safe from the rain.
Over the next twenty minutes, the rain eased off but the thunder still rumbled and the lightning flashed almost non-stop.
