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He wasn’t going to be put off with her short answers. By this point, he was almost walking backwards, keeping his gaze on her the whole time.
‘So how have you managed it?’
He was so busy watching her face that he wasn’t paying attention to the road. She reached out and grabbed him just as his foot hit a small rut.
His reaction was automatic. As his balance tipped he grabbed her hand that was clutching the front of his jacket. The warm skin of the palm of his hand wrapped firmly around her wrist. It was like slow motion. A flood of electricity shot up her arm towards her chest. If she could have snatched her hand back she would have.
But he hadn’t let go. His pale green eyes fixed on hers. Nothing was said. Neither of them moved again. Her breath caught some way in her throat and all of a sudden she felt the desperate urge to find something to drink. Preferably alcohol.
‘Can’t have you falling for me twice in one day.’
It was meant to come out as a quip—a joke. But the intensity of his gaze made her normally firm voice turn into a whisper.
He responded instantly. ‘Oh, I think we can.’ There was an edge to his voice, a raspiness she hadn’t noticed before, that sent a shiver straight down her spine.
Her fingers slowly let go of his jacket. Avery stared at his hand for a few seconds before finally letting go of her wrist.
There was a tiny shake of his head, as if he was trying to process what had just happened.
‘Over here.’ She spoke quickly, pointing to an office block. ‘That’s where we’ll get your keys.’ She strode ahead. It was crazy. But this guy was unsettling her. Touching her. Giving her glimpses of a whole other world out there.
She buzzed them into the block and picked up his keys and a map of the base from the reception desk. She glanced at the key fob and circled a place on the map with a pen.
‘Look, we’re here. And we’ll probably go and eat in this street here. Your house is over here. It’s about ten minutes from where we’ll eat.’
She was conscious of him leaning over the map beside her. Even though they’d been close up earlier in the ER she hadn’t noticed the woody smell of his aftershave. Maybe he’d just put some on? Just like she had...
And that darned bit of hair at the front fell over his forehead. Her fingers itched to push it back.
He picked up the map and turned towards her, their noses almost touching. As it was night-time the reception area wasn’t brightly lit. There was no one else around. It was almost...intimate.
She stepped back and sucked in a breath. His head tilted to the side a little, as if he was surprised by her sudden movement. What was he used to? Women falling at his feet?
‘There’s a courtyard five minutes away.’ She moved over towards the door again. ‘What is that you want to eat?’
As if on cue his stomach gave a loud growl and he put his hand over his belly and laughed. ‘Something that no doctor would approve of.’
She pushed open the door. ‘Like what? You’ve just arrived in Japan. Don’t you want to try some local cuisine?’
He shook his head. ‘Not tonight. Tonight I’m ravenous. If I’m sampling genuine Japanese food I want to savour every mouthful. Think of me as a horse.’
She turned to face him. ‘Are you crazy?’
‘Yes, I am. It’s called low blood sugar. I just want to stick my head in a bucket and eat and eat until I’m ready to collapse in a corner. I want calorie-laden carbs. Can you find me some?’
She wagged her finger at him. ‘Sure I can. But I’m warning you, this is blackmail material.’
His eyes twinkled. ‘Well, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have blackmail me.’
* * *
Five minutes later they reached a pizza place and slid into a booth. The smell was enough to make him keel over. Food. He needed food.
He clocked a buffet in the corner. ‘Let’s not wait. How about we just go to the buffet?’
He could see the ready-cooked pizzas under the heat lamps. They were practically calling out his name. His hand was poised on the table, ready to get back up again.
Katsuko laughed and shook her head. ‘What do you want to drink?’
He looked around. ‘A beer. I’ll have a beer. I’ll probably sleep for a week.’
She gestured to one of the waitresses. ‘Just make sure you’re ready for your shift tomorrow. If you don’t appear on time, remember—’ she pointed to the key that was still in his hand ‘—I know where you live.’
He couldn’t help the instant grin that appeared. He paused for a second and stared at the key dangling from his hand. ‘Yeah, you do, don’t you?’
He hadn’t quite meant to say it like that. But it had just naturally come out that way. He locked gazes with those dark brown eyes. He wanted to get closer. He wanted to see if they were flecked with gold, or if the dark brown was as intense as it looked from here.
She licked her lips and his feet instantly shifted. The waitress appeared next to them, talking rapidly in Japanese. Avery pulled down his jacket and moved over to the buffet. He couldn’t help but shake his head. He hadn’t slept and had barely eaten in nearly two days. He was flirting with a colleague. No, he was getting fresh with the base commander’s daughter. He was clearly losing his mind.
He picked up a heated plate and put two slices on it.
Katsuko appeared at his side. ‘Did you even look?’ She was smiling and had a glass of wine in her hand.
She picked up a plate and put two slices of pizza and some salad on it. ‘Remember your five a day,’ she whispered, then added a spoonful of salad to his plate.
Avery stared down at his plate. ‘Sorry,’ he murmured. ‘At last count it was around forty-eight hours since I had some proper food.’
She gave a knowing nod. ‘Is it the joys of being an ER doctor, or the joys of being in the air force?’
They returned to the booth and he spent the next few minutes eating. It appeared he’d picked two slices of pepperoni and mushroom pizza and they hit all the right spots. After a few minutes he rested back in the booth and picked up his bottle of beer.
The cold liquid felt like nectar sliding down his throat.
Katsuko was sipping her wine and eating her pizza with a knife and fork. She raised her eyebrows at him. ‘Finally feeling human again?’
He nodded. The horrible churning feeling in his stomach had abated. After the long travel, the working
hours and the fast eating, he should be ready to lie down and go straight to sleep.
But there was no way he wanted to sleep when he had the sparkiest woman he’d ever met in front of him.
‘You know, we haven’t even been properly introduced.’
She frowned for a second. ‘Yes, we have.’
He shook his head. ‘Oh, no, we haven’t. You threatened to break my hand.’
The expression on her face softened a little. ‘Yes, I did.’ It was as if she were reliving the memory.
He held out his hand towards her. ‘Captain Avery Flynn, doctor. I’m from Ohio but have been stationed in just about every air force base that’s ever existed. Joined as soon as I qualified. Been in the service now for eight years.’
He held his breath. She waited a few seconds, then wiped her hands on her napkin and reached out her hand for his.
There it was again. That tiny little buzz. He hadn’t been imagining it.
Her hand was cooler than his. But it seemed to fit in his grasp.
‘First Lieutenant Katsuko Williams. I joined when I was eighteen and did my nurse training. I did a few months in Georgia to complete my nurse training. The rest of the time I’ve been based here.’
She gently withdrew her hand from his and took another sip of her wine.
He looked at her carefully. In the brighter lights of the pizza place he could see just how flawless her skin was and just how dark her eyes were. No gold flecks. No trace of another colour. Just pure, deep, dark brown.
‘Katsuko’s a nice name. What does it mean?’
‘You think my name means something?’
He shrugged. ‘Everyone’s name means something. Mine is French—it means wise.’
She let out a laugh and he raised his eyebrows. ‘Or, if you’re a fan of Lord of the Rings, it means ruling with elf wisdom in English.’
She spluttered. ‘You’re joking!’
He shook his head. ‘I’m not.’ He waved his phone at her. ‘Want to check it?’
‘No.’ She waved over the waitress and spoke quickly. The waitress gave him a knowing smile and walked away.
