“Here,” he said, taking my hand. “Let’s find a quiet place and unwind.”
The touch was electrifying, both comforting and scary. I didn’t know how to feel about being safe with this man. If something hideous jumped out of the shadows, I had no doubt he would fight it for me.
I let him be my guide to a quiet corner behind the building. “I’m sorry. I should have known better.”
“It’s okay,” he murmured, pushing me against the brick. He pressed his thumb against my wrist. “Just breathe. In and out. Four seconds in, four seconds out.”
I nodded and did as directed, the wall anchoring me. I hated the jumpy feeling in my heart. Luckily, the precursor to a panic attack eased and my body calmed. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop apologizing,” he said and touched my shoulder.
A little smile played on my lips. “At least I can say that I’ve visited a haunted house now.”
He didn’t say anything, just ran his warm palm up and down my shoulder. The sensation was comforting and with the day growing late, the chill had tightened its grip. I looked at him, noting the worry and maybe a bit of curiosity.
“I have a lot of issues,” I said in an effort to sum up the existence of my shitty life. “But I’m okay. I just needed a few minutes. For future reference, if I do have a panic attack, don’t call an ambulance. I just need to work through it.”
“There is a story behind this, isn’t there?” He inquired. He moved closer and caged me in with his big body. He exuded nothing but caring strength and warmth, the kind I wanted to wrap myself in like a freshly dried towel.
I rubbed my face as the rush of adrenaline receded, leaving me tired. “I freaked out in a farmer’s market once. Caused a scene. It was embarrassing. Even worse, I encountered an astronomical hospital bill. But enough about that. I’ll be okay. I hope you had fun.”
“Are you kidding? Getting my ass kicked at everything today has been surprisingly arousing,” he said, a naughty glint entering his eyes. “Come on, let’s get back to the car. I’m hungry.”
“But our tickets. We didn’t get to pick a prize.”
“Let’s hold onto them for now. We can come back another time.”
As we made our way to his car, I said, “You realize we will end up paying $100 for a $10 teddy bear?”
“Yeah, but it’s the fun that counts.” He disarmed the alarm and opened the door for me. “Go on and admit it. You had fun kicking my ass.”
A rush of warmth raced through me, and I chuckled uneasily. It was rather amusing this gorgeous and confident guy sucked at arcade games. “I had fun. Period.”
He rushed around the car and hopped in. “Okay, King of Skee-Ball and demolisher of coin-pushers, what do you have the taste for?”
I wasn’t feeling all that hot, but I couldn’t help grinning. He had a way of making me smile. “You pick.”
“Hm,” he murmured and dug his phone out. “I’m not too familiar with the area, but I’m sure there is a decent family restaurant around here somewhere.”
Ten minutes later he pulled us into the parking lot of The View. As we got out of the car, the world swirled for a moment, but he was right by my side. The hostess showed us to a corner booth, and we took up our menus.
“I don’t think I want to eat too much,” I said as I surveyed their salad selection.
“Just eat a little bit and take the rest home,” he suggested.
“The Caesar salad looks good.”
“I think I’m going to go with the summer salad plate.”
The simple chit-chat was weird to me. Besides Maria and the kids, I didn’t partake in conversation much. Certainly not about weather or food choices or how the Chicago Bears might be doing this year. Not that I followed sports at all. It was nice and it made me feel normal.
Feeling a bit better, I said, “An excellent choice, sir.”
The grin on his face was beautiful. He put his menu down and ran his eyes all over me. “Doing okay?”
“Yeah. I’m a little jumpy, but I’ll be okay.”
“Good,” he said, his gaze growing distant. “I want to do something for you after dinner. Will you let me?”
