he said as they got into her car. “The last time I was here, I never got an opportunity to do any sightseeing.”
“So you haven’t seen the beautiful beaches or the mountains.”
“The only things I’ve seen while here are the military base, Ramsey Enterprises and a certain hotel room.” He gazed at her meaningfully.
“Then you must find time to see the island,” she said, once again refusing to rise to his obvious baiting.
“Perhaps I can persuade you to give me an island tour when we have a little extra time.”
She smiled dryly and started her car. “Your powers of persuasion aren’t that good.”
He laughed, that wonderful deep rumble that seemed to resonate from his chest. “Could I persuade you to stop and get something to eat right now? I am absolutely starving.”
The request seemed innocent enough, and she thought of several drive-through fast-food places she could hit on the way back to his apartment. She would get herself something as well; that way she wouldn’t have to cook and could just go home and relax.
“All right,” she agreed as they drove away from the base. “I’m pretty hungry myself.”
“Great, I know a terrific little place not far from here that serves the best Mediterranean food.”
Joanna frowned. “I was thinking more of something like a drive-through.”
She felt his gaze warm on her face. “What’s the matter, Joanna? Afraid of being seen with me in public?”
“Of course not,” she scoffed, inwardly chiding herself for her uneasiness. How difficult could it be to sit across from him and eat a meal in a public restaurant? “Mediterranean sounds great to me.”
“Good.” He sat back in the seat and looked inordinately pleased with himself.
He gave her directions to the restaurant, one she’d never eaten at but had heard had excellent food. It took them only minutes to reach it.
The interior was dark and atmospheric, with small round tables set in tiny alcoves, allowing the utmost in intimacy.
Joanna’s first impulse was to back out, to tell him to forget it, but the scents of savory food wafted in the air and again she told herself it was ridiculous to be worried about a simple meal shared with Kyle Ramsey.
There were just a few diners there. It was too late for the lunch crowd and far too early for the dinner rush. Joanna and Kyle were led to a table near the back of the restaurant, where the lighting was dim and the soft strains of exotic lute music could be heard drifting in the air.
They were handed menus, then left alone. Joanna studied hers with determined concentration, far too aware of the man sitting across the table from her.
The table was so small that she knew if she stretched her legs out just a little bit, she would encounter the long, lanky length of his. She consciously kept her arms bent, the menu close to her chest, not wanting their hands to accidentally touch, or her arms to inadvertently brush his.
“If you wind yourself up any tighter, you might just disappear altogether.”
She looked up to meet his teasing gray eyes. She relaxed her arms slightly and sighed. “It’s…it’s just been a long day.”
“Any day I get to spend airborne is a terrific day.”
She closed her menu, but kept it tight against her chest. “You love flying.” It was a statement rather than a question.
He didn’t get an opportunity to reply before the waiter appeared to take their orders. Joanna asked for a vegetable pita sandwich and a soft drink. Kyle ordered as if he hadn’t eaten for months, starting with a salad, a hot appetizer and an entré of lamb chops.
He finished by asking for a bottle of wine. When the waiter took their menus, Joanna felt naked without the large laminated book to hide behind.
Kyle grinned at her as the waiter departed. “Flying always makes me hungry. It’s like all of my senses go into overdrive. Food tastes better, scents smell better…” His gaze held hers intently. “Everything is more intense.”
There was a power in those slate eyes, they held an intimate knowledge coupled with a touch of arrogance. It was impossible for her to look into his eyes and not remember that he knew every inch of her naked skin, had kissed and caressed her more intimately than anyone ever had in her life.
The waiter reappeared with the wine. “Would you like a glass?” Kyle asked, and raised the bottle to pour.
“No, thank you. None for me.” Her head was dizzy enough without the additional effects of a glass of wine. Besides, even though the doctor had told her an occasional glass of wine was all right, she wasn’t taking any chances with the baby.
“Would you prefer a mixed drink? A Tom Collins?”
It surprised her that he remembered what she’d been drinking the night they had met. “No thanks, I’m fine.” She took a sip of her water and watched as he poured himself a glass of the wine.
He had nice hands—large and oddly graceful despite their masculinity. “So, you’ve always enjoyed flying?” She desperately grappled for a neutral topic of conversation.
He nodded. “Always. When I was a young boy, everything about flying and planes fascinated me. I had a collection of model airplanes that hung from my ceiling no matter where we were stationed. If I’d had my way, I’d have joined the navy and become a pilot when I was seventeen, but my father refused to sign for me.”
“Why? Was it because he thought you were too young?”
Kyle paused a moment to take a sip of his wine. “No. He wanted me to go to college, get a business degree and take over the reins of Ramsey Enterprises. So I went to college, got my degree, then joined the navy anyway.”
Although his words came easily and without emotion, there was a new tension in his body that let her know this had been a source of great conflict between father and son.
“And you’ve never regretted your decision? Never wished you’d gone to work for Ramsey Enterprises?” she asked.
“Never. In fact, in less than a month my current tour of duty is over and I have every intention of reenlisting. Unlike my father, I have no desire to dabble in corporate America. I’m a career military man.”
A career military man. Just as her father had been. Kyle’s life would follow the same path as her father’s had taken. He’d leave at a moment’s notice, drop everything to fight wars in distant lands. And, like her father, his wars would be more important than his family.
His proud words merely confirmed to her what she had instinctively known after that single night with him—that there would never, ever be a future for the two of them. She had been absolutely right to sneak out and leave him sleeping in that hotel room.
Again the waiter interrupted their conversation, this time to deliver their meals. When he had once again left their table, Kyle leaned forward, his metal-flecked eyes gleaming with more than a touch of
