He chuckled. “Seeing you again didn’t go as I’d imagined it would in my head. I said something wrong and didn’t know what. I thought maybe I could try again.”
Gillian blinked.
“You came to see her only because of a seventh hijacker,” Ann said helpfully.
“She thought you wanted to see her, but instead you were there for work,” Clarissa added.
“Not cool,” Wendy scolded.
“That’s what you thought?” Walker asked, gaze locked on Gillian.
She couldn’t look away from him, lost in the emotion she saw in his eyes, and nodded.
“I really did fuck up,” he muttered. Then he came around the booth and squatted next to where Gillian was sitting. He put a hand on her leg, and she swore she could feel tingles shoot down her thigh. “I didn’t come to see you tonight out of obligation, Di. The FBI could’ve sent someone to inform you about the seventh hijacker. I used it as an excuse to see you again. And I didn’t call you before now because I wasn’t sure you’d want to be reminded about what you went through. I thought maybe I’d be a bad memory for you.”
“You were the best memory about that whole situation,” Gillian blurted.
“Can we start again?” he asked, not looking away from her eyes for a second.
Gillian wanted to say yes. Wanted to jump at the chance. But she’d had just enough alcohol to be completely honest. She shook her head sadly. “I can’t.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“Yeah, why not?” Clarissa echoed. “Gilly, you were just sitting here telling us that you had a feeling he was—”
“I know what I told you,” she said quickly, cutting Clarissa off then looking back at Walker. “I just…if I hurt this bad after a misunderstanding, and I don’t even know you, if we start dating and you decide you’re tired of me, or I’m too annoying, or too type A, too romantic and needy…it’ll kill me.” The last three words were whispered.
“I’ve thought about nothing but you for the last three weeks,” Walker told her without hesitation. “I’ve wondered what you were doing and how you were dealing with what happened. Until I knew for sure you and the others had left Venezuela, I worried that you might get stuck there somehow. You can ask any of my friends; I’ve been distracted and a huge pain in their asses. And when I heard that you might be in danger, my first thought was getting to you and making sure you were safe. I’m the one who has to worry that you’ll get sick of dating a soldier like me. You’ll get tired of the not knowing where I am or when I’ll be home. Believe me, Di, I know who the lucky one is here, and it’s not you. It’s me. It’s definitely me.”
Wendy nudged her shoulder when she didn’t say anything.
Gillian looked at her friend, then back to Walker. He hadn’t moved. Was still crouched next to her. His eyes hadn’t left her face. He was wholly concentrated on her. It felt weird…and good.
“I’m drunk,” she informed him.
His lips quirked upward. “I can see.”
“I’ll worry about you when you’re gone, but I’m not going to sit at home and boo-hoo all day and night until you get back. I have a business to run. I have friends.”
“Good,” he said calmly.
“I haven’t had a guy go down on me, so I actually don’t know if I’ll like it or not.”
His smile got bigger. “You’ll like it.”
Gillian rolled her eyes and looked at Ann and Clarissa. “He’s arrogant.”
Clarissa shrugged. “Gotta love confidence in a guy.”
“You always said you wanted an alpha man,” Ann added.
Gillian looked back down at Walker. “Don’t hurt me,” she pleaded.
“I won’t.”
The two words were said with such confidence, Gillian couldn’t help but believe him. “Okay.”
Walker immediately stood and held out his hand. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
“But I’m out with my girls.”
“Go,” Wendy said, pushing at Gillian’s shoulder. “I think we can survive the rest of the night without you. Besides, after all this hot talk, I think I’m gonna get home and call Wyatt…see if he wants to come over.”
“I’ll make sure she gets home all right,” Walker told her friends, and Gillian couldn’t help but shiver at his tone. It was commanding and warm at the same time…and made her think about what they might do together when they got back to her apartment.
“Oh, but my car is here,” she said with a shake of her head.
“You’re not driving,” Walker growled.
Gillian rolled her eyes again. “Of course I’m not. I’d never drink and drive. That would be the stupidest thing ever. I was gonna take an Uber.”
“You’re not taking an Uber either,” Walker said.
“Why not?”
“One, because I’m here, and I’m taking you home. Two, because it’s not safe to go on the internet and arrange to meet with a stranger in their car. Haven’t you seen all the crime shows? Once you’re in a car with someone who wants to do you harm, the likelihood that you’ll end up dead in a cornfield somewhere is ninety percent or more.”
Gillian narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you making that up?” Then, not giving him time to answer, she turned to her friends. “Is he making that up?”
“I have no idea,” Ann said. “But now I’m going to think twice about getting into an Uber again. I’m not sure there are any cornfields around here, but the next time I see one, the only thing I’m going to be able to think about is whether there are any poor women in there who’d just wanted a ride.”
“Good,” Walker said. “Are you ladies all right to drive? I can call you a cab, or take you home if you prefer.”
Clarissa smiled huge. “We’re good. We all had our customary one margarita,” she looked at her watch, “two hours ago. And we all ate. It’s only Gillian here who decided she needed to get shit-faced and wasn’t hungry.”
Gillian saw the look of regret cross Walker’s face, and she couldn’t deny it sent shivers through her.
“Come on, Di. Let’s get you home.”
“What about my car?”
“We’ll figure it out.”
We’ll. She liked that. A lot.
She stood up from the booth and would’ve face planted if Walker hadn’t been there and put an arm around her waist.
“Walker?” Clarissa said when they were about to leave.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t fuck with her. We might be women, and you might be some sort of super-soldier who can kick hijacker ass, but we’ll find a way to make your life a living hell if you do anything to hurt Gilly.”
Gillian was embarrassed, but when she looked up at Walker, strangely, he was smiling.
“Got it,” he said. “And for the record, I’m not going to hurt her. I’m glad she’s got friends like you three to have her back.”
“Just don’t forget it,” Ann warned.
He nodded at them then looked down at Gillian. “Ready?”