Page 2 of Finding English

“I can’t believe we live in a time when a sweet, beautiful girl like that falls into your lap, and you don’t ask her out.”

Henry had thought his seatmate had been sleeping like she had most of the flight. They’d barely said anything to each other once seated except for when she’d offered him a boiled sweet for the take-off.

Henry thought about his encounter with Cassie again and frowned. What did it say about him that he hadn’t even considered it? She’d been sweet, funny, sexy, the whole package, although he suspected was a few years younger than his thirty-eight. He was so out of practice he hadn’t considered it. His work had been his life for so long that a personal life seemed alien to him now.

He’d never had any problem getting a date, he wasn’t ugly or anything, but his job kept him busy. By the time he walked into his home at night all he wanted was food, a shower, and sleep. The rare occasions when he had a need for female company, he could have it, no problem. That was just sex though; easy come easy go. Dating and relationships took a whole different level of commitment he hadn’t been sure he wanted.

Lately, though, he wondered if he’d regret it, that making his job his sole focus was a mistake. It was one of the reasons for this sabbatical, that, and the fact he was bone-tired. All the comings and goings in his small city lately regarding that insane cult probably added to the feeling of needing a change. He was glad Fortis Security was handling all that now. He had enough to deal with without international terror threats.

“I’m out of practice, Nelly,” he said to his companion, who huffed out another breath.

“Youth of today have no idea how to woo a woman.”

Henry pursed his lips and nodded, wondering if perhaps Nelly was right. Maybe on this trip he’d see if he could rectify that. Maybe he could catch up with Cassie in the baggage claim and ask her out for a drink.

As the plane bumped down on the warm tarmac of San Antonio International Airport, Henry felt more positive and excited for the future than he had for a long time, and all because of a stunning woman who was cute as hell when she was flustered and talked a mile a minute.

Once the plane stopped and the seatbelt signs turned off he stood, and although impatient to get off and find Cassie, he helped Nelly with her carry-on. He could see her further down the plane but had no hope in hell of getting to her, so he had to wait. As the passengers shuffled off, he finally saw a gap, and with a grin from Nelly, he ran to catch up with Cassie.

“Hey.” He stopped beside her, and she looked up at him in surprise, but not disappointment.

“Hi, Henry.”

He walked beside her, surprised by how fast the woman walked for someone with such little legs. “I was wondering if you fancied going for a drink?” he asked, blowing out a breath of nerves after he’d said the words.

Cassie’s step stuttered and her face fell, and Henry wondered what he’d said wrong. Was she married? Had he interpreted this thing completely wrong?

He grasped her elbow lightly to stop her step and pull her to face him as people walked past him. “Did I misread this? I thought we had a connection.”

Her scent, which was floral and yet somehow held a citrus undertone, invaded his nose distracting him. She smelled like sensual innocence, and he wondered if she tasted as good.

“You didn’t misread it, Henry. You’re a very handsome man. You dress well, you smell divine, you have the whole British thing going on including the accent, and you have a great job to go with it. It’s too dangerous.”

Henry frowned. “What, why?”

“Because I’ve been here before. You’ll be sweet, wine me, dine me, make me fall in love with you and then when you find out I have more baggage than you can handle, you’ll leave me bleeding while you move on.”

“Cassie, I don’t know what kind of man you’re used to, but that isn’t me. Look, I’m not suggesting marriage, just a drink.”

He saw her hesitate and knew she wanted to give in to temptation, but a second later her phone rang, and he’d missed his chance.

Her dark eyes were shining with something different now, yet no less important. “If things were different, Henry English, I’d jump at the chance to go on a date with a man like you, but they aren’t, and I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Leaning up on tiptoes, she feathered a light kiss over his cheek, then she was rushing away. He stood in one place and watched her go, regret a pit in his belly. He hadn’t wanted anyone for a long time, and the first time he did, she blew him off. Maybe he needed to get some tips from his buddies. At the thought of his friends, his spirits lifted. He was home in his beloved Texas. Not the place he was born and raised but the place his parents now lived after moving here when his grandparents could no longer handle the Ranch.

His father was Texan through and through but had moved when he’d met Henry’s mum. Now they had retired here, and he felt the pull of it in his blood. His family lived here, and so did his friends. Was it time to make it more permanent?

He glanced in the direction Cassie had gone, regret a bitter taste on his tongue. It was time to see if San Antonio had what he was looking for, even if he wasn’t sure what that was. A few beers with his friends—Calder, TJ, and Dax—might help him decide. They’d been on at him for years to move to Texas. Maybe now was the time.

With a final glance around to see if he could catch sight of the woman who’d spurred his interest, he grabbed his bags and headed for the exit. The big hot orb of the Texas sun instantly warmed him, melting the ice and cold of the UK rain.