“Now give it back,” she teased. “I can’t spare any more.”
“I like watching you drink it anyway,” he said, his eyes twinkling as he pushed it back to her.
A few minutes later, Nana and Charles appeared with steaming bowls of chicken soup with rice and the two of them dug in, enjoying the delicious food and the cozy atmosphere without having to say a word.
As nervous as she had been about this night, Willow felt so comfortable now that it was happening. She was excited to be here and share a meal with Jensen, but she didn’t feel any need to try to be more sophisticated thanusual, and she didn’t worry too much about whether her lip gloss had survived the soup.
After Charles came to clear their bowls, Nana returned with her famous pumpkin ravioli accompanied by a crisp salad and a basket of fragrant, fresh-baked bread and honey butter. They enjoyed their feast while reminiscing about the past and trying to imagine what activities Captain Anderson would dream up next for the vets at the center.
“Really though, I think he’s going to take it easy until after the wedding,” Willow guessed. “He’s been talking about his fiancée so much that I can’t imagine him throwing himself into any other big projects until they come back from their honeymoon.”
“That could be,” Jensen agreed thoughtfully. “I just can’t picture the man slowing down for any reason. He’s so excited about how things are going.”
When their meal was finished, Jensen paid and pulled out Willow’s chair for her.
“You’re so old-fashioned,” she teased him lightly.
“I am,” he said, his deep voice dead serious. “Does that bother you?”
She shook her head.
He took her hand, and they headed through the dining room and toward the entrance.
But before they reached it, the front door opened, and in walked Chris Bell, his wife, Grace, and their little girl, Izzy, along with Chris’s service dog, Molly.
For a split second, Willow panicked. Chris and her brother had always been close. If he spotted them here, there was no way Ransom wouldn’t hear about it. Beforeshe had a chance to react, Jensen tugged her hand,pulling them both down the hallway that led to the bathrooms, and behind the bookcase with the plants.
Jensen pressed her against the wall, practically covering her with his big body.
With her cheek pinned to his chest, Willow could hear his heart pounding.
A wave of shame washed over her, and it was all she could do not to burst into tears.
“I don’t think they saw us,” Jensen murmured in her ear.
She hated her heart for the silly little shiver that went through her at the feeling of being in his arms with him whispering to her, no matter the reason.
He doesn’t want to be seen with me. And if I had any shame, I wouldn’t be out with him either.
13
JENSEN
Jensen held Willow to the wall, his heart pounding so hard that he was surprised the whole restaurant couldn’t hear it. Willow trembled against him, the light vanilla scent of her hair teasing his senses. Every instinct told him to grab her and march her back out to the restaurant to let the whole world know she was his girl.
But he had no right to think those kinds of thoughts. Tonight was wonderful, but falling for Willow without Ransom’s blessing wasn’t. And he was definitely falling for her—there was no denying that.
Which meant it was time to be honest with his best friend.
I’ll tell him how much I respect her and how much I adore her…
Willow wiggled out of his hold, moving back down the hallway toward the door. He realized that Chris and his family had already followed Nana into the maindining room while Jensen held Willow, dreaming about a future he hadn’t yet earned.
He jogged to catch up with Willow, wincing when she opened the front door to Nana’s herself, and headed down the front steps toward the parking area.
“I’m sorry about that,” he heard himself say. “I hope I didn’t startle you.”
She shook her head, but didn’t say a word.
