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I smile at how easily the kid could win over a crowd. He has that same charismatic energy that his mother has.
“You’ve got it!” The server turns and gets busy shouting our order over to the cook.
“Gina, this is Andre. Andre, this is Gina and Lucas.”
“Nice to meet you.” Andre shakes her hand and then Lucas.
“Lucas, honey, this is Mr. Jamie and Mr. Andre.”
“Are you in the military too, Mr. Jamie?”
“I am.” I pull my tags from beneath my shirt and show them to him. “What’s up with this waffle sandwich?” I ask him.
“Well, if you put the syrup on it like mommy does, it tastes like my cereal.”
Gina leans over and whispers, “I put honey on it instead of syrup, but he thinks I have magic cause it doesn’t taste the same as when he does it.” She giggles.
I chuckled, liking the relationship between the two of them. “He’ll be an adult before he figures it out.”
“I can live with that.” Gina nods reassuringly. It is more for herself than for me.
We stay at the table talking and having a good time for a couple of hours. Andre pays the bill, and we all walk outside to the parking lot, where Lucas gives Andre his tags while he shows him the toys he has in the back seat of Gina’s car.
“Thanks for breakfast.” Gina stands, nervously looking up at me.
“It was my pleasure… Why’d you sneak out this morning?” I ask before I chicken out.
I remember the agreement I’d made with myself about taking opportunities. Plus, Andre had talked me into reason.
“I didn’t want to disturb you, and I had to pick Lucas up from my friend’s house.” Gina pauses before she speaks again. “Are you going to make me dinner again since you burned it last night? Or should I never ask you to step foot in the kitchen again?”
She grins and winks.
Tease. “We can do that. When would you like dinner?”
“How about tomorrow night?” Her eyes are hopeful. I know this look. It is the one she gives when she is weaving her web around me to get what she wants.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to date me.” I raise a hand to her face, smoothing the skin across her cheek with the pad of my thumb.
Gina closes her eyes for a few beats. “I don’t know how to do that. It’s been so long, and well, I’ve only had one dating experience.” She rakes a hand through her dark hair. “I don’t know, I just think we have unfinished business, and I’d like to see where this goes. I didn’t want to leave you all that time. And this couldn’t just be fate laughing at us in some cruel way. Even if we’re just friends, I want a chance to explore the possibilities. I understand if you don’t—”
I stop all the words coming from her mouth with a kiss. I go in for a short and sweet one, but once I’ve had a taste of her, it is too difficult to pull away. She tastes familiar and new at the same time. Maturity and time are the two reasons I feel like this Gina differs from the old one.
I lift her head to the right angle to explore more of her mouth. She tastes sweet, and not just from the waffle she’d eaten. And I can smell that mango scent of hers that always drove me crazy.
Her hands go around my waist as she holds on to me. Slowing the rhythm of the kiss to slow drags from her lips, poking the fire that simmers between us. Breathless, I pull away from her lips and kiss the top of her head before looking into her eyes, begging me for something she hadn’t voiced.
“Until tomorrow?” I ask.
It will be a long-ass wait until then. I don’t know how to start this thing between us without moving too quickly. Sitting beside her during breakfast had made me itch to touch her. I thought I could hold out, but that didn’t last long when she started talking about unfinished business.
“Yes,” she whispers. “Jamie, we don’t have to do this if—”
I press a finger to her lips, quieting her again. If I use my mouth this time, I’ll give everybody around us a show and a reason to get us arrested for public indecency. Plus, I don’t know how much longer Andre can keep the kid busy without going crazy.
“Make sure you look real pretty for me,” I say the line, but want to take it back immediately.
“You used to say that to me all the time when you took me out.”
