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"I've thought about holding you like this all day. How fortunate there's music here tonight to make it easier for me to do so."
She swallowed the enormous lump in her throat. "You have no idea how many times I've thought about being in your arms." Kinda stupid. Sappy. Reputation ruining. Not really. It was the honest-to-goodness truth.
She heard his ragged breathing. She heard him whisper, "Jesus." She felt him harden against her lower belly and it took monumental strength not to push herself tighter to him. She'd never in her life hear this song again and not think of Henry Delany.
Sadly, the song ended and she'd now have to walk with rubbery knees to the table. She inhaled a deep breath and stepped back slightly. She tilted her head to see Henry looking down at her with the sexiest smile she'd ever seen. S-E-X-Y.
Henry's mom, Roxanne, approached. "Isn't that the sexiest song? We both love it so much."
"It is. Mr. Malloy sings it very well." She managed to say.
Henry walked beside her to the table, his hand holding hers. His aftershave had seeped into her pores as they danced, and she hoped her new dress absorbed as much as it could so she could smell him in her room all night.
Just as they sat, Tate and Lara stopped at their table. "Hi, everyone. All the talk about Porter's at the house got us hungry, so Lara and I decided to have dinner out tonight."
Hawk laughed. "Join us. Please."
Lara chuckled. "We don't want to interrupt."
Lara's eyes darted to hers. She smiled brightly, "It's not an interruption. Please join us."
She scooted her chair over and Henry followed. Tate sat next to Henry and Lara sat across from him. She was quietly grateful for more people at the table to fill in any awkward silences. Not that there had been any. But this felt like a 'meeting the parents' kind of dinner, even though it wasn't an official date. At least not on Henry's part. On hers, it was the first date she'd been on in years. And she liked Henry. Really, liked him. So, in her mind, this was a date.
She should probably not accept any more offers of dinner from Henry. She could feel herself growing attached. She'd be leaving, likely in a week or so, it would only make it harder for her to go.
Lara said, "Everleigh, how do you feel negotiations are going?"
She smiled. "Tomorrow will be a tell. So far, I've only met with one side of the issue. Tomorrow, I meet with Craig and his council."
Tate shook his head. "You should make Craig come down here."
"It won't do any good to put him on further defense by starting out with forcing him to come down to what he considers enemy territory."
Tate shrugged. "He's going to need to learn we're not the enemy down here. At least most of us aren't. More people than not want this nonsense to be over and the sooner he learns that he can come down here and talk to us, the sooner we find a path to peace."
"That may be, but forcing the issue won't start that process. It'll inflame it before it starts."
Roxanne spoke up. "Everleigh's right. Let Craig think her coming to him is a first step. The next conversation with Craig will need to be down here."
Everleigh nodded. "Yes. Thank you."
Henry leaned back and put his arm across the back of her chair. His thumb brushed her shoulder, soothingly. Back and forth. She sat perfectly still as the conversation switched to baby talk and whether or not Tate and Lara had settled on any names. She was happy to sit back and feel Henry's connection to her, though it was hidden from all the others. She could feel his warmth across her shoulders. His thumb brushing slowly against her left shoulder. She'd sit like this as long as he wanted her to.
Hawk looked at her then, a soft smile on his face. "Everleigh, when do you have to leave for your next job?"
There it was. The buzzkill moment. Henry's thumb stilled and she felt his arm stiffen behind her shoulders. "As soon as I'm finished here Casper has another job for me in North Carolina, I believe. He’s still confirming." She said sadly.
Roxanne's eyes darted to Henry. Everleigh didn't look at him. Lara stiffened slightly and, thank god the waitress came with their food.
Henry removed his arm from behind her and the sadness that filled her stomach nearly made her cry. The waitress set her plate before her and the smell of the food didn't smell nearly as enticing as it had last night. Roxanne started the conversation again. "Oh, this smells so good."
Hawk agreed and so did Tate.
She straightened her shoulders, picked up her fork and knife and sliced off a small piece of steak. It was a bad idea for her to come tonight.
19
Henry pulled into the parking lot of the Homeland Guest House and parked at the outer edge of the lot. He backed in so they could see the parking lot and front of the building, but he wanted a few moments alone with Everleigh.
