“Really?”
Sierra huffed out an amused breath. “I can’t imagine that’s ever happened to you.”
“Actually, it did. But I didn’t realize what was happening at the time,” Grover said.
“Oh my God, seriously? What happened? Why would someone want to ditch you?” she asked.
“Well, first, thanks for the vote of confidence, but your vision of me being mobbed by women anytime I go somewhere is seriously whacked. I’m awkward, and I put my foot in my mouth all the time…as evidenced by my inelegant question a moment ago. We were at dinner—I’d brought her to a steak house—and while we were looking at the menu, I found out she was vegan.”
“Ouch,” Sierra said with a chuckle.
“Yeah. We were set up by a friend of a friend of a friend. Apparently, she didn’t know I was in the military either. And she was vehemently opposed to any kind of violence. She was a pacifist.”
“Strike two,” Sierra quipped.
“Yup. I thought I could still salvage the date though. She was pretty and nice. I thought we were getting along pretty well, even with the other stuff. The third strike was my sister.”
“Devyn? That’s her name, right?”
“I actually have three sisters, but that night it was Devyn who did me in. She was out at a bar with her friends, still living in Missouri at the time. There was some guy who was pretending to be a military veteran. She knew enough about the Army to know he was full of shit. So she kept texting me with the stuff he was saying to one of her friends, as he was trying to pick her up. It was ridiculous and over-the-top, but every time my phone vibrated with a text, my date frowned. I think maybe she thought I had a woman, or women, on the side and was a player. Anyway, not too long after that, she used the restroom. Right when she got back to the table, her phone rang. It was her neighbor saying that when she’d let my date’s dog out, he ran away. I offered to go with her to help look for the pup, but she declined and left.”
Sierra choked on a laugh, and Grover would’ve given anything to be able to see her right about now. “I take it you never went on a second date.”
“Nope,” Grover said.
“Wow, okay, so yeah, you were pretty clueless. Anything you’d do differently if that situation happened again?” she asked.
“Yeah, when I found out she was vegan, I’d have taken her somewhere else.”
“That probably would’ve been smart.”
“I couldn’t’ve done anything about my job, but I should’ve kept my damn phone in my pocket instead of having it on the table.”
“A man who learns from his mistakes. Amazing,” Sierra joked.
“I still put my foot in my mouth all the time though,” Grover told her.
“I think our situation transcends society’s rules for what’s okay to talk about and what’s not when you first meet someone. Besides, technically, we’ve known each other for a year,” Sierra said.
Grover ran his thumb back and forth over her hand. His shoulder hurt from his arm being over his head, but he refused to move. He needed this connection with someone else, as much as he thought she did too. “I want to know everything about you,” Grover admitted.
“The answer to your earlier question about children is…I don’t know. I haven’t thought too much about kids. I mean, I know I’m almost thirty and my parents keep reminding me that I’m getting older, but honestly, I like being on my own. I was able to take the job over here in Afghanistan without having to worry about any children. And now that I’ve said it out loud, that sounds selfish as hell,” she said softly.
“Not at all. Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean you have to have kids,” Grover reassured her.
“I guess. I suppose I might think differently once I fall in love.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But I don’t think not wanting kids makes you selfish.”
“What about you?” Sierra asked, turning the tables on him.
“I’m like you, I’m not sure. I love being around Logan and Bria, but they’re not babies. Logan is eleven going on twenty-five, and Bria is almost seven. They aren’t infants, which for me, makes it more enjoyable to be around them.”
“Most people wouldn’t admit that,” Sierra told him.
“Maybe not. You ready to call in that phone-a-friend to end this date yet?” Grover joked.
As he hoped, she laughed.
“You think it would work? If so, I’d do it in a heartbeat. This date kinda sucks, Grover. The food’s terrible, the restaurant’s dirty as hell, and the lighting is shit.”
Without thought, Grover burst out laughing, then moaned as the movement made his aches and pains known.
“You all right?” Sierra asked gently.
“Yeah. Forgot about the love taps Shahzada gave me for a second.”
Her hand gripped his tightly. “When he comes again, I’m gonna see if I can turn his attention to me, give you a break,” Sierra said.
“No!” Grover barked more harshly than he’d intended. He took a breath and said a little calmer, “No. I’m okay. I know what my body can take. If he follows his pattern, he’ll leave us alone tomorrow. That gives my team another day to get to us. But if they don’t get here before Shahzada decides he wants to play some more, you need to do just what you’ve done before. Pretend I don’t exist. Hear me?”
“I feel as if you being hurt is my fault,” she admitted quietly.
“It’s not. I’m being hurt because Shahzada is a bully. A power-hungry asshole. A man who desperately wants to make people believe he’s a badass when in reality, he’s just another coward who’s only brave when he’s the one holding the stick,” Grover told her, making a mental note to never let another moan or groan pass his lips while Sierra could hear him. The last thing he wanted was to add to her anguish. She’d been through enough in the last year, he wouldn’t add to the burden on her psyche.
“You’re right,” she said after a few moments.
“I know.”
“Right, there’s that confidence thing again,” she teased.
“You’d rather I be indecisive?” Grover asked.
“No!” she exclaimed immediately. “I’m just making an observation.”
They lay in silence for a minute or two before Grover said, “It’s late. We need to get some sleep.”
“I know.”
When neither of them moved, Grover chuckled. “Someone has to make the first move and let go first.”
Sierra’s hand tightened on his once more. “Not it.”
“They’re comin’,” Grover said. “And that’s me being confident again. They are. I know my friends, they’re gonna want to ream my ass that I went and got myself kidnapped. They won’t be able to let that go. So they’ll be here.”
He heard Sierra give a little laugh under her breath. “I believe you. If you want, I’ll even stand between you and them and protect you from their wrath.”
“Oh, now that I want to see,” Grover said, envisioning it in his mind.
“Thanks for not forgetting about me. Sitting here in the dark day after day, for so long, I kinda thought I wasn’t worth anyone trying to get me out.”