“You look tough. Your body could be a bodybuilder’s although you have definition. You don’t have the large bulk; still, you’re in very good shape. There’s a look about you that says not to mess with you.”
He gave her a faint smile, allowing his gaze to drift past the arguing couple and touch on others. He recognized the three from the bed-and-breakfast who had been in the hallway. The two men were talking about the best place in San Diego to surf, while the woman looked bored. A trio of men in suits with briefcases sat at another table. They’d been at the bed-and-breakfast working in one of the rooms designed for just that purpose.
“That’s implying you think medics can’t be tough. We have to be. We’re doing fieldwork with bullets flying around us. We’re sometimes packing the wounded out by ourselves. Running with them while carrying blood and fluids in bags to helicopters and leaping in as they’re already in flight.”
“That sounds so crazy. I never thought about the men and women who rescue the soldiers when they’re wounded. In my mind, I guess I equated rescues with Rangers and SEALS, teams like that.”
“I’m trying not to be insulted.” He gave her his full attention. “We rescue them.”
The sun shone down on her hair, turning the streaks of colors wheat, caramel and a silvery snow. She even had a little gold mixed in. Her hair color was as intriguing as her eye color. He loved both, but he thought her eyes were just a fraction ahead in the race. The more he looked into them, the less he thought she wore contacts.
She gave him a smile that melted his insides and told him it wasn’t a good idea for him to fall too hard for her because one smile like that and she’d get her way in all things. He’d never hear the end of that shit from his brothers or fellow teammates.
“I wasn’t intending to insult you, it’s just, I never actually thought about it. Medics seemed to be held out of harm’s way, at least in the movies. They come in after all the fighting is over.”
Malichai shrugged. “I never thought about how we’re portrayed in movies, nor does it matter to us. It’s about the soldiers and getting them home in one piece and alive if at all possible.”
He indicated the three businessmen. “I saw those three at the bed-and-breakfast as well as the two men and woman at that table. They were arguing in the hall and they still seem to be arguing. Are they always like that?”
“The three businessmen came in the day before you. They all work for the same company, Lanterns International, but each came in from a different country. One is from Texas, one is from Hong Kong and the third is from India. They apparently meet in person every six months. They’re waiting for a fourth and fifth member, one from Switzerland and the last from Japan. They’ve met here before. The company is called Lantern International because it’s all about bringing together ideas to spread peace and understanding among people of various countries. People with opposing beliefs and politics.”
“That seems like a very unattainable goal,” Malichai stated.
She drew back a little. “But surely you can see all the unrest in the world. Maybe if people weren’t so busy judging one another and tried to be more understanding . . .” She trailed off with a little frown on her face.
Without thinking, he reached across the table and rubbed the pad of his fingers over her lips as if he could erase her frown. “I didn’t say it wasn’t an admirable idea, only that it seems unattainable, which it does. There are peace talks going on all the time, and no one seems to get anywhere.”
Her lips were every bit as soft as they looked. Full, curved like a bow, they gave a man too many fantasies. She didn’t move for a moment, but her eyes went an even deeper shade of blue, taking on that jeweled tone he’d first noticed. Then she pulled back slightly, and he dropped his hand as if just realizing what he was doing.
“Those talks don’t work because every country is out for itself, to strike the best deal. Their idea is people getting together. They’re planning a huge conference in a couple of weeks, at least that’s what Marie told me. It’s been in the works for several years. I haven’t been keeping up, but I do know that’s why the five of them have flown in this time. The San Diego Convention Center isn’t that far from here, and the convention’s sold out.”
“Well, I hope they’re successful. I’ve pulled enough of our young men, dead or dying, without arms or legs, sometimes both . . .” He pressed his fingers to the corners of his eyes, thinking of Tim and Jerry. They were too close. Good men, both, one gone and the other with a very long road ahead of him.
She put her hand on his arm. “Don’t think about it, Malichai. Whatever happened to your leg, whatever is making you sad, don’t think about it.” She looked around the patio. “Half the customers staying at the B and B are attending the conference. You know the three in suits already. The couple at the table across from you are staying on the first floor. This is their first time with us, according to Marie. Bryon and Anna Cooper have been here a week and are staying another week. Both are very nice. They leave good tips and are extremely polite.”
The waiter brought their food out and put it in front of them. Malichai had thought his stomach was going to go into a full mutiny if he didn’t eat soon, so he tried not to look like a starved man when he picked up his hamburger and took a bite. It was delicious, or maybe he was just that hungry, but it could have been the best burger he’d ever eaten.
Amaryllis laughed softly. “You have this look on your face of absolute ecstasy.”
He scowled at her, lowering the hamburger to his chest, but not relinquishing it for a moment. “Woman. You can’t use that word. I would only look like that if I was having sex. The right kind of sex.” He knew it was inappropriate, but he couldn’t help himself. He was a little shocked that she would equate eating food with ecstasy.
She laughed again. “I can’t help how you look. Maybe you get the same look on your face when you’re having sex. Do you like food that much?”
“As much as sex?” He took another bite and chewed thoughtfully, pretending to weigh the two in his mind. “You need to eat to keep up your strength for sex, so food is important, and you may as well enjoy it. Nonny is an amazing cook.”
“Is she attractive?”
Was there just a little hint of jealousy in her voice? He hoped so. “I would say men would always find her attractive. She is eighty, but the woman is a legend in the swamp. Stayed true to one man her entire life though, even long after she lost him.”
She nodded. “I see. Well, on with it. Which wins, sex or food?”
“Depends on who’s cooking and who I’m having sex with.”
“That’s cheating. Totally cheating.”
Malichai grinned at her. “You didn’t state the rules, so I slipped right through the loophole.” He indicated the two men and one woman he knew were staying at the bed-and-breakfast. He had to find something safer than sex to talk about with her. “Who are they?”
She rolled her eyes. “Tania and Tommy Leven are brother and sister. Billy Leven is their cousin. They are difficult. We always have one or two, but it isn’t a big deal.” She took a bite of her own hamburger. She hadn’t gotten the double burger like he had, so hers was a much more delicate bite.