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I reached across the table, catching her hand with mine. “What are you worried about?”
Her eyes whipped up to mine. “Everything. I know you’re not purposely being cavalier, but introducing anyone to my daughter is filled with landmines. I don’t want to hurt her. I don’t want her to think we’re rushing into things, but then I also don’t want her to think this is just something casual for me.”
I took it as a win that Sasha didn’t yank her hand away. I brushed my thumb over the back of her palm before turning her hand over and lifting it to press a kiss in the center. When I looked back toward her, pink was cresting on her cheeks. I was grateful for the subtle clue that perhaps I affected her even a little bit as much as she affected me.
Maybe I’d lost my mind, but I wanted Sasha, and I was already committed. My heart was hers. By nature, I was skeptical. If anyone had told me I would go up to Haven’s Bay for a week and fall in love, I would’ve scoffed.
But I knew Sasha, even if it had been years since we’d seen each other. The kind of passion we shared was like catching lightning in a bottle. We couldn’t capture it. All you could do was hope, and maybe you’d get a taste of it. For us, I knew it wasn’t going to be fleeting.
The emotions between us ran deep. I knew I couldn’t rush her, not just because she was Sasha and perhaps more cynical than me, but because everything she said about Quinn was true. It would be confusing for Quinn if I instantly planted myself in her life. So I would take it slow, even though that wouldn’t be easy.
“I understand. I’m not a single parent, but I get that you have to somehow find a balance between not rushing it yet not being too casual. We’ll take it slow. I promise.” My heart was kicking hard in my chest with every word.
At that moment, a server arrived at our table, his alert gaze bouncing between us. “Shall I give you a few more minutes?” he inquired.
Sasha shook her head, her eyes shifting toward him. “I already know what I want.”
After ordering, I made sure to request Quinn’s calzone to go for when we were ready to leave.
Sasha interjected, “Noah, she doesn’t need a large.”
“Calzones make excellent leftovers,” I pointed out.
Sasha rolled her eyes and smiled. “She’ll appreciate it.”
“I missed you,” I said as soon as the server was out of earshot.
Her cheeks went pink again, and she took a sip of her water. “It’s only been four days.”
“I don’t care how many days it’s been. I still missed you.”
Her lips twitched into a smile. “I missed you too,” she said under her breath in a rush.
“Good to know. How was work?” I asked, thinking it would be best to focus on something mundane.
Even if I knew I had fallen for Sasha, I was a realistic man. We’d started this in a place of nostalgia for both of us, and now it was back to real life, back to the grind.
Sasha brightened at that, relaxing back into her chair. “Busy. I’m sure it’s the same for you, or perhaps not, but whenever I’m gone, which isn’t often, I feel like I’m playing catch-up when I get back. There’s a price to pay for taking a vacation.”
I nodded. “Always. You’ve told me that you work as a paralegal for an attorney, but what’s the focus of the practice?”
“Mostly family law. That’s her passion. She also does some drier things like will preparation and so on. Nothing as eventful as the attorneys you deal with, I’m sure.”
I shrugged. “No matter the focus, when it’s what you do all day, it can seem repetitive at times.”
“What’s your job at the FBI like?”
“Sometimes exciting, usually stressful, and occasionally boring. We’re always working on cases, but we only have what I call TV events every once in a while.”
“TV events?” she prompted.
“Most of our cases are dry. Most people plead down. Every so often, we get big cases that involve news interviews.”
“You and Dallas were a part of the case against your father, weren’t you?”
“Only in the beginning. Then we became witnesses. Dallas and I both work in the financial fraud section. We weren’t looking to investigate our father, but threads in another investigation brought us to him. As soon as that happened, we both had to be taken off the case.”
I was used to telling the story, but Sasha’s face pinched. “That sucks.”
