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“Sweet tea. Thank you,” Ryker said.
“Oooh same, thanks,” Jade said.
“You’ve got it.”
He led Jade past several other customers to a table in the back corner. He pulled her chair out for her and got her seated, then took the seat across from her — in the corner with his back to the wall.
“Very specific seating choice,” Jade said. She opened her menu and looked it over.
“Correct. This table is not located beside a window so the only possibility for danger might come from inside. From here, I can monitor the entire room.”
“Wow. I guess I never thought about it before.”
“It’s not something you ever had to worry about. I never thought about it until I joined the Navy.” He opened his menu.
“Oh yeah, what was that about jumping out of airplanes? Is that something SEALs do?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. SEAL stands for SEa, Air, Land. We did it all.”
“How many times have you jumped out of a plane?”
“A lot. I’ve lost count. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I still try to go skydiving at least once a year.”
She looked up from her menu and met his eyes. “That’s awesome. I’ve never been.”
“It’s a rush you’ve never felt before. You should definitely go sometime.”
“I will if you go with me.”
He smiled. “Deal.”
Their waitress arrived with their sweet teas and took their order. They handed her their menus and she headed to the kitchen to put in their order.
Jade poked his leg under the table with her foot. “So you never told me. What did you mean back at the hotel when you said my morning look made me seem more real?”
His bright eyes leveled on hers. “Your presence onstage is almost... magical, I guess. I know you’re real and you’re very down-to-earth, but watching you onstage with the lights and music — it’s almost otherworldly watching you perform. Your natural look — your morning look — makes you more real to me. More of-this-world. Approachable.”
Jade’s heart melted.
“I didn’t know you were a poet.”
He laughed. “I’m not.”
“That was pretty damn poetic.”
“If it was, it was an accident.”
Jade laughed. “Thank you for the nice day out. It’s a nice change to the routine.”
“You’re welcome. I think it went pretty well. Maybe we can do this more often since the new look seems effective.”
“I’d love that.” She beamed at him.
The waitress arrived with their food. A burger and fries for her; steak and a loaded baked potato for him. It all looked delicious.
“Thank you,” Ryker said to her.
“You’re welcome. I’ll check on you in a little bit. Yell if you need anything in the meantime.” She topped off their sweet teas from a pitcher.
