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Troy let out a laugh and brought his after-dinner coffee to his lips. “Like what details?”
“Like how much is a pinch anyway? How brown is golden-brown?”
She flicked her hair behind her, showing off the jewel-encrusted peacock pin on her black dress. Just like everything else about her, it was understated and elegant. Her whole demeanor had a gentleness and poise that he hadn’t seen before. Most women he had dated loved to be the one to do the talking, but Megan let him lead and seemed to relax when he continued to speak.
“With cooking, there’s no right or wrong answers. It’s whatever you want to do.”
“I always second-guess myself.” Her eyes glanced down as she ran her finger along the smooth stem of the martini glass on the table.
“You just have to see where it goes, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Her eyes met his. “Are you talking about cooking or something else? “
Troy’s smile widened to a full grin, and he fought the urge to slide over to her in the booth.
“Both. I like to live my life like that. I mean, what else can we do but live in the moment? Enjoy what’s in front of us.” He tilted his head to one side.
“I’ve heard that before, but I have a hard time letting go.”
“Of what?”
Megan paused, trying to find the correct word. “Fear.”
Troy sucked in a breath and leaned forward on the table. “That’s understandable. I remember the first time I went to Airborne school. I’m afraid of heights. Well, I used to be.”
Her puzzled expression nearly undid him with her genuine concern. “That doesn’t sound like a good fit.”
“Well, the army has a pretty good system of beating it down and making everything idiot proof.”
“How did they fix it? The fear, that is?”
Troy looked up at the ceiling and let out a laugh. “My drill sergeant had us get up on this pole, and it was crazy high, but basically it was a test and we were all strapped in, to get us to trust our gear, you know? Also, we scaled up. So first was rappelling, then it was jumping out of a fake plane with the gear, and then a helicopter, until the big day.”
“I wish there was training like that for other fears.”
“My sergeant major told me that we all have fear, but it’s what we do with that fear that matters.” He looked at her again. “I’m sure you know all about that in your line of work.”
Megan pulled a tight smile and shrugged.
“You’re right. Training helps. We’re also never alone.”
“The army is the same way.”
“Like a family,” they both said at the same time.
“Your dad told me you joined right out of school.” Her spine straightened a little as she spoke, and she tilted her head to the side, considering his response.
He nodded. “I wanted a change and something to call my own. After my brother died, I had a lot of anger. I had lost my mom already, and it didn’t seem fair.”
“You still had your dad.”
“That’s true, but at eighteen I needed a fresh start. Dad and I talked it over after the recruiter came to school. At first, he wasn’t that big of a fan, but after we talked it over he said it might be good for me.”
“You didn’t feel bad leaving him alone?”
“We talk regularly on the phone.”
“Not regularly enough these days,” she said without attitude, but the truth of her words stung.
