felt his gaze as a gentle touch all over her body, and as she did, she discovered that gentleness from Nick was a powerful thing. It liquefied her bones. It made her want things for which she had neither the time nor the inclination. Even more remarkable, he wasn’t even touching her.
“You’ve made your position abundantly clear,” he said softly. “And as to the question of whether or not this will be a social evening, it’s my hope that it will be.”
He was saying all the right words, yet she wasn’t sure she believed him. Then again, why shouldn’t she? To her knowledge, he hadn’t lied to her. Last night and this morning, he’d been completely up-front about what he wanted. She’d told him no, and now he was telling her that he hoped their evening would be a social one. Her hopes matched his exactly.
She couldn’t remember the last real date she’d been on, probably because it had been years. And Nick Trejo was the most intriguing man she’d ever met. Chances were their paths wouldn’t cross again, yet tonight would be an opportunity for her to spend an interesting evening with an extremely interesting man.
And if his gaze burned or liquefied, and if his touch raised emotions that made her remember for the first time in a long time that she was a woman with normal wants and desires, so be it. Being with him made her forget, if only for a little while, the pressure that was her life.
With a smile, she reached for his hand.
“The airport? Nick, what are we doing at the airport?”
As he steered his car toward one of the outlying hangars, he glanced at her. “I’ve borrowed a friend’s plane to take us to dinner.”
Panic rose in her throat, yet there was no real reason. “Look, it’s very nice of you to go to all this trouble for our dinner, but it’s not necessary.”
“I wanted to.”
She shook her head, still fighting the mysterious panic. “I’ve had a rough day, and I’d just as soon stay in town.”
He pulled the car into a parking space and switched it off. Turning toward her, he angled his arm along the top of her seat. “This isn’t going to require any effort for you, Tess. I promise. All you have to do is sit beside me and relax.”
Sit beside him and relax. That was the problem. Relaxing while she was sitting beside him in the close confines of a car had turned out to be harder than she had thought it would be. She’d been much too aware of him. She’d found herself mesmerized as she’d watched the confident way his hands had held the wheel and the quick, instinctive way he’d responded to every bump and curve in the road. Around his wrist he wore a slim, stainless steel watch that subtly spoke of masculinity as well as competency.
“If it’s your safety you’re concerned about, don’t be. I’m an excellent pilot. As for the plane, it’s the newest in Cessna’s fleet and is serviced regularly after every flight. If those two things weren’t true, I wouldn’t have considered this trip.”
“It’s not that.”
His tone lightened. “Well, it can’t be that I’m the first man to ask you to fly to a special place for dinner.”
She let out a pent-up breath. “No, you’re not the first.”
“When you were asked, did you go?”
“Yes.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“No problem.” She rubbed her forehead. There was no pain, but she felt a growing tension in her scalp, and Nick was the cause. In the short time she’d known him, he’d surprised her, but he hadn’t made one move or said one thing to hurt her. Why, then, was her scalp tightening? And why did her instincts tell her to remain on guard? “Mostly I’ve gone with groups of friends.”
“And not one particular man?”
“Once or twice. Look—”
“Please, Tess. This is important to me, and I’ve already made special arrangements.”
Damn it, he’d said please again. Plus, she really did want to spend this evening with him. Most likely it would be the only one she’d ever get. Their objectives were so diametrically opposed that she could see no future for them. But for tonight, she really wanted to forget their differences and see if she could find any similarities. If she could find even one, she would consider the evening a success.
“Tess?”
She nodded. “Let’s go.”
Minutes later, she was buckling herself into the passenger seat beside him. And she couldn’t help but notice as they took off that they were flying directly into the sun.
“Uvalde? This restaurant that you love so much is in Uvalde, Texas?”
The plane glided to a stop. Then and only then did Nick look at her. “Trust me. You’re going to love dinner.”
She mentally shrugged. He’d engaged her in pleasant small talk for most of the trip, and she’d actually enjoyed the flight. He had a quick mind that she appreciated, and not once had he mentioned anything about the Águila or her drilling.
But as soon as they’d touched down, her original uneasiness had returned. Stupid, really. He certainly hadn’t dragged her here, kicking and screaming. She’d wanted to come. Still…
As she came down the stairs of the plane, he offered her a steadying hand. An unnecessary gesture, but definitely a nice one, and after she reached the ground, he continued to hold her hand. “I’m really hoping you’ll like what I’ve planned.”
His suddenly serious expression took her aback. “I’m sure I will.”
“Good.” He stared at her as if he were searching for something in her, or maybe even in himself, but in the end he shook his head.
“Nick? Is there something wrong?”
“Not a thing.” He lightly tugged her hand. “Come on. The car is just around the corner.”
The car he guided her to was a spotlessly clean, beautifully preserved 1975 Cadillac.
“Is this car a rental?” she asked.
“No. It belongs to my family.”
“Your family?”
“My grandparents.”
“Oh. So they live in Uvalde?”
“That’s right.”
Everything was beginning to make sense. “I wondered how a restaurant in Uvalde could have become such a special place to you. You were raised here, right?”
For some reason her remark
