“I didn’t want to cook anything in case the smell of eggs or bacon made you sick,” Walker told her, and Gillian inwardly sighed. Fuck, he was perfect. How in the hell could someone be this perfect?
“A plain bagel,” Gillian blurted. “Toasted. Dry. I think maybe I could eat that.”
“Okay, Gilly, then that’s what you’ll have,” he told her.
The sound of him using the nickname her best friends called her felt good.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead, his lips lingering for a long moment. Then he dropped his hands from her head and put his arm around her waist as he led her into the living area. He steered her to the couch and urged her to sit. Once she had, he shook out the blanket she always kept on the back of the couch and covered her with it.
“Stay put. I’ll make your bagel.”
Gillian watched as he strode into her kitchen. He opened her fridge and took out a bottle of water, breaking the seal on the top before walking back toward her. He handed it to her with a smile, then turned and went back into the kitchen.
She took a sip and watched as Walker started making her breakfast…such as it was. He looked completely at ease in her small kitchen. He knew where everything was and acted as if he’d been there hundreds of times before.
Lost in her admiration of Walker’s ass as he moved around her space, she blinked in surprise when he sat next to her, a plain toasted bagel on a plate in his hand. She turned in her seat and gave him a small smile of thanks.
She nibbled a piece of the bread cautiously, happy when it settled and she didn’t feel the need to puke it back up.
“We need to talk.”
His words immediately made her stiffen. It was the same four words he’d used the night before that had sent her into a downward spiral.
“No, don’t tense up,” Walker said, putting a hand on her thigh and leaning into her. “Listen to me, okay?”
The bite of bagel she’d managed to swallow threatened to come back up after all. It seemed to be stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t have said anything if her life depended on it.
“I told you this last night, but I don’t know what you remember and what you don’t.”
“I remember it all,” Gillian admitted softly.
“Right, well then, I’ll repeat this so you hear it again. Yes, I came down here to Georgetown to let you know about the seventh hijacker. But that was just an excuse. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. You impressed me three weeks ago. You were levelheaded and did everything right. You didn’t panic when shit hit the fan. I wanted nothing more than to be there to reassure you and help you navigate the interviews and shit that followed.
“I’ve missed you, Gillian. Which isn’t normal, considering I barely know you. I came down to deliver that message in person hoping that we could talk after. Get to know each other. So I could ask you out and see if you’d go to dinner with me sometime. I wanted to go slow, see if this obsession I seem to have with you is a result of the situation…or more.”
Gillian knew her eyes were huge in her face, but she couldn’t stop staring at Walker in astonishment.
“I knew I’d fucked up somehow when you left. I saw the light go out of your eyes, and it killed that I had done that. I didn’t know how, but it was obvious. So I found out where The Funky Walrus was located and went there with the intention of apologizing for whatever it was I’d said.”
Gillian huffed out a small laugh. “Yeah, and then you found me drunk as hell, saying the most embarrassing things.”
“They weren’t embarrassing,” Walker said earnestly. “They were honest. I hate that you thought for even a second that you were just a job to me. You weren’t. You aren’t.”
“It’s okay,” she told him.
“You’re way too forgiving,” he said with a small head shake, but he didn’t give her time to say anything else. “It was probably creepy and wrong of me to stay last night, but I never would’ve forgiven myself if someone had broken in when you were vulnerable, or if you’d have puked and choked in the middle of the night. But I can’t be sorry, because I got to see you like this…” His eyes dropped, and Gillian knew he could see her hard nipples through her T-shirt.
He cleared his throat and went on. “I want to date you, Gillian. Call you and talk into the wee hours of the night. Send you texts to let you know I’m thinking about you. Take you out to dinner and make out in my car in the parking lot when I drop you off. I want to get to know your friends, and to laugh with you. Eventually, when the time is right for us both, I want to hold you all night as you sleep after we’ve made love. I want to taste every inch of your body and have you explore mine in return. We’ve had a connection from the start, and as much as I want to get to know you intimately right now, I want to savor learning everything about you. Learn who Gillian Romano is. What makes her tick.”
Every word out of his mouth made Gillian fall for him more. She wanted to shake her head, tell him no, that she didn’t want to go slow. That she wanted to feel his hands and tongue on her right that second. But another part of her wanted what he’d described. Wanted the giddy feeling that came with getting to know a man. Wanted the phone calls and texts. Wanted the sexual tension.
She wanted to be wooed. Mostly because she had a feeling Walker would make her feel just like she longed to feel…as if she was wanted. And she had a hunch he’d never make her feel like she came in second.
“I…I’d like that.”
His shoulders dropped as if he’d been afraid she’d turn him down. It was hard to believe that this man, this strong-as-hell, beautiful man, would be worried about her turning him down.
“But you need to know, I’m not a drama queen,” she added.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I’m different from most women. I don’t do drama. Women in general are really bad about that. They get jealous and bitchy and have to be all dramatic about it. They don’t get their way, they cause a scene. They think they should be getting more attention than they are, so some dress more flamboyantly and outrageously. That’s not me. I say it like it is, but don’t do it for any kind of reaction. I prefer honesty to lies because it’s just easier.”
“I like that. It’s a relief.”
“But, Walker, if we do this…don’t cheat on me.”
He looked shocked at her words. “Why would you even say that? I don’t cheat. And I can’t imagine, if we get together the way I want to be with you, that I’d ever be stupid enough to fool around.”
Gillian shrugged. “Others have.”
“Cheated on you? Then they were idiots.”
His words were immediate and heartfelt, and they made Gillian relax a fraction. “They wanted something more than me, I guess. One also hit me. You do either of those things, and I’ll be done with you faster than you can blink.”
Walker sat up straight, and when he spoke, his tone was low and kinda scary. “Someone hit you?”
Gillian realized that she was about to have an extremely pissed-off alpha man on her hands if she didn’t do damage control. Pronto. “Yeah, one guy. Once. It was the last time I saw him. I left his ass that day and pressed charges. My point is that I don’t put up with shit like that. Especially not from someone I’m dating. I’m worth more than that. I’m a damn good girlfriend. Attentive and generous. When I’m with someone, I put them first. If they need me, I’m there, and I want to find someone who feels the same way about me. And cheating, stealing, and knocking me around isn’t looking out for my well-being. It’s not putting me first.”