eyes twinkled. ‘Well, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have blackmail me.’
* * *
Five minutes later they reached a pizza place and slid into a booth. The smell was enough to make him keel over. Food. He needed food.
He clocked a buffet in the corner. ‘Let’s not wait. How about we just go to the buffet?’
He could see the ready-cooked pizzas under the heat lamps. They were practically calling out his name. His hand was poised on the table, ready to get back up again.
Katsuko laughed and shook her head. ‘What do you want to drink?’
He looked around. ‘A beer. I’ll have a beer. I’ll probably sleep for a week.’
She gestured to one of the waitresses. ‘Just make sure you’re ready for your shift tomorrow. If you don’t appear on time, remember—’ she pointed to the key that was still in his hand ‘—I know where you live.’
He couldn’t help the instant grin that appeared. He paused for a second and stared at the key dangling from his hand. ‘Yeah, you do, don’t you?’
He hadn’t quite meant to say it like that. But it had just naturally come out that way. He locked gazes with those dark brown eyes. He wanted to get closer. He wanted to see if they were flecked with gold, or if the dark brown was as intense as it looked from here.
She licked her lips and his feet instantly shifted. The waitress appeared next to them, talking rapidly in Japanese. Avery pulled down his jacket and moved over to the buffet. He couldn’t help but shake his head. He hadn’t slept and had barely eaten in nearly two days. He was flirting with a colleague. No, he was getting fresh with the base commander’s daughter. He was clearly losing his mind.
He picked up a heated plate and put two slices on it.
Katsuko appeared at his side. ‘Did you even look?’ She was smiling and had a glass of wine in her hand.
She picked up a plate and put two slices of pizza and some salad on it. ‘Remember your five a day,’ she whispered, then added a spoonful of salad to his plate.
Avery stared down at his plate. ‘Sorry,’ he murmured. ‘At last count it was around forty-eight hours since I had some proper food.’
She gave a knowing nod. ‘Is it the joys of being an ER doctor, or the joys of being in the air force?’
They returned to the booth and he spent the next few minutes eating. It appeared he’d picked two slices of pepperoni and mushroom pizza and they hit all the right spots. After a few minutes he rested back in the booth and picked up his bottle of beer.
The cold liquid felt like nectar sliding down his throat.
Katsuko was sipping her wine and eating her pizza with a knife and fork. She raised her eyebrows at him. ‘Finally feeling human again?’
He nodded. The horrible churning feeling in his stomach had abated. After the long travel, the working hours and the fast eating, he should be ready to lie down and go straight to sleep.
But there was no way he wanted to sleep when he had the sparkiest woman he’d ever met in front of him.
‘You know, we haven’t even been properly introduced.’
She frowned for a second. ‘Yes, we have.’
He shook his head. ‘Oh, no, we haven’t. You threatened to break my hand.’
The expression on her face softened a little. ‘Yes, I did.’ It was as if she were reliving the memory.
He held out his hand towards her. ‘Captain Avery Flynn, doctor. I’m from Ohio but have been stationed in just about every air force base that’s ever existed. Joined as soon as I qualified. Been in the service now for eight years.’
He held his breath. She waited a few seconds, then wiped her hands on her napkin and reached out her hand for his.
There it was again. That tiny little buzz. He hadn’t been imagining it.
Her hand was cooler than his. But it seemed to fit in his grasp.
‘First Lieutenant Katsuko Williams. I joined when I was eighteen and did my nurse training. I did a few months in Georgia to complete my nurse training. The rest of the time I’ve been based here.’
She gently withdrew her hand from his and took another sip of her wine.
He looked at her carefully. In the brighter lights of the pizza place he could see just how flawless her skin was and just how dark her eyes were. No gold flecks. No trace of another colour. Just pure, deep, dark brown.
‘Katsuko’s a nice name. What does it mean?’
‘You think my name means something?’
He shrugged. ‘Everyone’s name means something. Mine is French—it means wise.’
She let out a laugh and he raised his eyebrows. ‘Or, if you’re a fan of Lord of the Rings, it means ruling with elf wisdom in English.’
She spluttered. ‘You’re joking!’
He shook his head. ‘I’m not.’ He waved his phone at her. ‘Want to check it?’
‘No.’ She waved over the waitress and spoke quickly. The waitress gave him a knowing smile and walked away.
‘What did you say to her?’
‘I ordered more drinks.’
‘Trying to get me drunk?’
‘As if.’ She leaned across the table towards him.
He hesitated. What was she doing? Was she actually flirting with him? No one could deny the electricity in the air around them or the occasional little gleam in her eye. But Katsuko Williams didn’t strike him as a woman to mess with. And that just made him like her all the more. So he couldn’t resist. He leaned forward too.
She looked him straight in the eye. ‘Victorious child.’
‘What?’ He was confused. So not what he’d thought she might say.
She sat back, looking pleased with herself. ‘You asked me what my name meant.’
He blinked. She pulled her shirt a little straighter over the curves of her breasts. From the expression on her face it was clear she knew exactly what she was doing. She was playing him.
He pushed his plate away and pressed his forehead on the table with a sigh.
‘What are you doing?’
He turned his head to the side. ‘I’m done. I’ve travelled too far. I’ve eaten too much. Worked for too long. And now my local tour guide is being mean to me.’
She gave a snort. ‘Mean to you?’
He looked up through the
