She laughed and enjoyed the brief flash of a smile that he gave her before starting the engine. His blue eyes were sparkling, alert. Amy wondered what he was so happy about. Maybe he had a hot date later on tonight or something. Yeah right. It was already nine. And she’d never seen him with anyone before, come to think of it. “Well, I am sorry for messing up your dinner. But thanks again for the ride.”
“Do you want me to call a locksmith?” he asked, his voice deep. “I’m not sure how long they’d take to get here on a Saturday night. Of course, you’re welcome to wait over at my place until they arrive.”
“I think my next-door neighbor still has a spare key. I hope so at least. I can’t imagine what a locksmith would charge at this hour.”
“You’ve got some great neighbors, huh?” Jason asked, a hint of humor in his voice. He didn’t look over at her, but Amy thought she detected the hint of a smile in his profile as he stared ahead while driving.
“Pretty much,” Amy replied with a laugh. “They drive me around, haul TVs inside my house for me. You know—all the usual neighborly stuff. Comes with the territory.”
“The usual stuff, huh? So, I guess I fit right in.”
“Well, I don’t know if I could’ve relied on Mrs. Jones for all that heavy lifting,” Amy replied, referring to the elderly widow that lived next door to her.
“Is that the sweet little old lady that bakes pies all the time?”
“The very one,” Amy said with a smile. Although Jason hadn’t been around much, he had made a brief appearance at the annual end-of-summer neighborhood block party. She’d been with Ben then, spending the evening drinking beers and snuggled under his arm. They’d made love on her deck under the stars that night—under the town fireworks, as well. Although they’d been much too busy creating their own fireworks to pay much attention to the town’s festivities.
“She made a killer blackberry pie for that barbeque. Man—that made me miss my mom’s cooking.”
“Where are you from?”
“All over the place—military brat. My parents are out in California. So is the rest of my family, actually.”
“Ah, a west-coast guy. I’m from Maryland, just outside of DC.”
“Is your family still there?”
“My parents yes, my sister no. It’s nice having them relatively close by. I can drive home in a few hours.”
Jason drove down the main road she’d jogged along yesterday afternoon and swung a left back into their neighborhood. The cozy houses were warmly lit up in the cool night, and Amy felt a sudden pang of sadness that she was returning to her darkened house alone. It had been a while since a man had driven her home, she realized. She hadn’t dated anyone since Ben, and he’d practically lived at her place anyway.
Now she’d had a fun evening with her girlfriends and a surprisingly enjoyable time with Jason, despite the fact that they were searching for her missing keys. It was almost a little disappointing to be spending the rest of the evening alone.
Amy hoped her neighbor Mrs. Jones would actually be home and awake at this hour. It was unlikely she’d be out unless she was gone for real—as in out of town. Bed was a different possibility though. Amy hated to wake her if unnecessary, but what choice did she have? A locksmith would probably charge an arm and a leg on a Saturday night.
As Jason pulled into her driveway, she was relieved to see the kitchen light on at Mrs. Jones’s house. She also realized that Jason had parked in her driveway, not his own, even though she could easily have just walked across the street from his house.
“I’ll wait here,” Jason said, leaning against the driver side door after they’d both gotten out of the car.
“Okay, back in a sec!” Amy jogged across the yard to her neighbor’s house to ring the doorbell. Mrs. Jones opened the door wearing her robe and nightgown. She seemed surprised to see Amy and immediately asked what was wrong. After Amy explained that she needed her spare key, the woman went to retrieve it and returned a moment later. She glanced across the yard at Jason and his car in the driveway, and then handed the key to Amy with a smile.
“I won’t keep you two young people. He’s such a nice boy.”
Amy laughed and realized she was starting to flush slightly at the woman’s knowing gaze. “Oh, no. He just gave me a ride home. I lost my keys at a restaurant tonight when I was out with some girlfriends.”
“All right, dear. Well you have a nice evening anyway.”
“Thanks again Mrs. Jones. Goodnight!”
“Bye, dear,” she said sweetly.
Amy turned and hurried back over to Jason. Only then did she realize she was still wearing his leather jacket. No wonder the older woman was suspecting that the two of them were together. “Got it,” she said, holding the spare key up for him to see.
“Do you want to get your extra car key? I’ll drive you back to the restaurant to pick up your car so it’s not sitting in the lot all night.”
“I’m afraid I need to hunt for it,” she said sheepishly. “I’m not exactly sure where it is.”
Jason chuckled. “All right, well tomorrow then. Or later on tonight, if you find it. I’ll be up for a while, so let me know if you need a lift.”
Amy nodded. “Thanks again for your help. I’d probably still be stranded out in the parking lot if it weren’t for you.” She shrugged out of his jacket and handed it back to him.
“It was my pleasure,” Jason replied, carefully taking it back from her. She wondered the reason for his unhurried movements and realized that he seemed to be studying her features in the moonlight.
“Well, goodnight,” she finally said, turning to go.
“Have a good night, ma’am,” he replied.
“Ma’am?” she asked in surprise, glancing back before she started to walk away. “Well now I feel old.”
“Honey, if there’s one thing you’re not, it’s old,” he replied in a low voice. He had that certain gleam in his eye again, and Amy wondered if she was somehow misreading him. He was so polite and careful not to accidentally touch her or overstep any boundaries, but every once in a while, he’d gotten that smoldering look in his eyes tonight.
Had he looked at her like that all summer long and she’d never even noticed? Had they ever really spent any time alone for her to even find out? Aside from the past couple of days, she hadn’t really had a single significant conversation with him.
Jason was still standing at his car when she reached her front door, and she turned back to give him a small wave goodbye. He gave her a small nod as if to say, yep, everything you’re thinking is true.
Or maybe that last part was just her imagination and he was simply saying goodnight.
Chapter 7
The next morning, Amy’s phone buzzed as she was pulling on her running clothes. She glanced at her alarm clock, frowning as she realized it was only eight thirty. She grabbed her phone from where it lay charging, and Beth’s name flashed across the screen.
“Hey Beth, is everything okay?” she asked.
“Hey—I’m so sorry, but I’ve got your keys.”
“My keys?! I spent an hour looking for them last night at the restaurant. Where were they?”
“I’m sorry—I must have picked them up off the table or something as we were getting ready to leave. I didn’t even realize that I had them until this morning. They were in my coat pocket of all places. I’ll bring them by in a little while. How did you get home? Did Melissa or Kara give you a ride?”
“No, you guys had all left when I realized I lost my keys. I ran into my neighbor in the parking lot, and he gave me a ride—”
“Major McHottie?”
“Major McWhattie?” Amy asked with a laugh. “I have no idea what rank he is, but if you’re referring to Jason, then yes, that’s who. Luckily, he spotted me, or I would’ve needed to call one of you to come back and drive me home. He was picking up food and happened to see me there alone in the parking lot. My next-door neighbor had a spare key to my house, but
Jason had to give me a ride.”
“Well that doesn’t sound so bad. Stranded in the parking lot with a hot Marine rushing to your rescue?”
Amy snorted. “Right. With me flustered and distracted.”
“Well, maybe he has a thing for damsels in distress.”
Amy crossed her bedroom to grab her running shoes from her closet. “Maybe, maybe not. It doesn’t matter either way since he’s my neighbor. Plus the fact that I’m not interested in dating anyone right now.”
“Um-hmm,” Beth said smugly. “That’s what they all say. How about I pick you up in a little while? I’ll treat you to brunch, and then we can swing by the restaurant to get your car.”
“Sounds perfect. I was just getting ready to head out on a run though. Want to come by in an hour? Or are you ready to eat now?”
“An hour from now sounds perfect. And don’t forget, brunch is on me.”
“Well, it’s the least you can do,” Amy teased. “Especially after a hot Marine had to come to my rescue after you abandoned me.”
Beth snorted. “Told you so.”
Amy laughed as she sank down onto her bed, shoes in hand. “I better get going if I want to get a run in before brunch. See you soon!”
They said goodbye, and she set her phone down on the nightstand.
Good grief.
All her worry last night had been for nothing. At least her keys had been found. Hopefully her car would be okay after leaving it in the parking lot all night. She blew out a sigh.
First things first—a run to get her blood pumping, and then brunch with one of her best friends.
Not a bad way to start a Sunday.
***
An hour later, the girls were happily ensconced in a cozy booth at the local diner. Amy took a careful sip of her steaming hot coffee, laughing as Beth continued to tell her about the night before.
“I mean seriously, I could not get the guy to turn off the TV,” Beth continued, complaining about her boyfriend. “I get that we live together, but seriously? I had to put on some lingerie and prance around in front of him to get the guy to come to bed.”
“You pranced around? I seriously doubt that.”
“All right, so I concede that there was no actual prancing involved. It sure felt like it though.”
Amy raised her eyebrows, looking doubtfully at her friend.
“There was lingerie. Black lace.”
“We should all have your problems. A gorgeous boyfriend who lives with you, a kickass lawyer job where you make the big bucks, a sweet condo that’s like a million square feet—”
“You have a house!” Beth said, looking at Amy in disbelief. “And I know you’re upset about Ben getting engaged so quickly—I get it. But you broke up with him. There had to be a reason behind that other than just being scared, am I right? He obviously wasn’t the guy for you.”
“No, I guess he wasn’t,” Amy agreed.
“That’s it?” Beth asked, raising her eyebrows. “No argument from you, no pining for the one who got away?”
Amy laughed and took another sip of her coffee. “Was I really that bad?”
“Of course not. Not nearly as bad as Melissa is going to be. I just expected a little more of the ‘I miss Ben’ talk. And the lawyer in me wanted to argue about why he’s all wrong for you.”
“No more Ben talk. That train has passed.”
“I’m holding you to that,” Beth said with a grin. “So. Kara is married, I’ve got Nick. Now we just need to get you and Melissa fixed up.”
“No, no, no,” Amy quickly disagreed. “I’ve completely sworn off men for a while, which you already know. And Melissa does not need a rebound guy at the moment. I’m all about work, painting, and friends right now. And of course our upcoming girl’s trip.”
“Oh, about that...,” Beth said, sounding hesitant.
“Oh no, not you, too,” Amy groaned.
“Kara told you?”
“Yes! She’s not ready to leave the babies. And I totally get that. But I thought the rest of us could still hang out and have a fun weekend getaway.”
“I’m sorry. I really, really want to go. And a trip right before Thanksgiving sounds amazing. But now that Nick and I are living together, I can’t just leave him the weekend before our first Thanksgiving. We want to go shopping together, pick out the food, start buying Christmas decorations.... Sappy, I know. And our tickets to the spa are refundable. Remember I insisted we get that travel insurance? Plus, it was supposed to be a last girl’s trip before Melissa’s big day, and now she’s kind of down about it with the wedding being called off....”
“Yeah, I get it,” Amy said with a sigh. “I was just looking forward to a weekend away. I can’t go home for Thanksgiving this year—my parents are taking that month-long cruise around Europe, my sister has a million things to do for her residency....”
Amy trailed off, thinking that for once the rest of her family had more hectic lives than she did. In the past, they’d practically been scheduling family events around her. She’d always had to stay on a stricter schedule that followed the school calendar. And this was the first year that she’d be alone alone, without a boyfriend.
First there was her college boyfriend. Then that rugged guy Hunter that she’d only briefly dated, but yum. He was rebound all the way. She’d dated her next serious boyfriend for a couple of years before ending up with Ben.
And that had crashed and burned only months after it started.
“Let’s have Thanksgiving together,” Beth suggested. “We’ll do it at my place. Our place,” she quickly corrected, referring to Nick. “And after the Thanksgiving stuff, we’ll do a girl’s day out on Friday or something. We could grab lunch and shop ‘til we drop,” she said, her eyes brightening as she began to organize a new plan. “For Christmas.”
“That would be fun,” Amy mused, remembering their earlier years of marathon shopping sessions during the holidays. Times had changed as they’d gotten older and been busy with work, boyfriends, and other commitments. But if they couldn’t get away for a girl’s weekend, there was certainly no reason they couldn’t all spend Thanksgiving together.
“So it’s okay if I text Melissa and tell her we’re cancelling the girl’s trip?” Beth hedged.
“I guess so,” Amy said with a shrug. “When were you guys talking about it anyway? No one said anything last night.”
“Oh, right after we left. Remember how we parked around back? Kara pulled me aside to ask what I thought. Melissa overheard us....”
Amy laughed. “And the rest is history. It sounds like there was no reason to talk to me then if everyone else was already out. Thanksgiving will be fun though.”
“Definitely. I’ll let the others know the trip is off. And invite them over for Thanksgiving.”
They finished up their breakfast, and Beth drove Amy back to get her car at the restaurant. Thankfully it hadn’t been towed, but she’d told the restaurant manager last night that she’d lost her keys and couldn’t drive it home. She probably wasn’t the first one to leave her car here—surely others either had too much to drink or hadn’t gone home alone. Her SUV was the lone vehicle sitting in the lot this morning though.
The girls said their goodbyes, and Amy climbed into her SUV, pulling out onto the road. She still had cookies and apple pies to bake for the school bake sale tomorrow, not to mention countless little projects to finish for her preschool classes.
She was slightly saddened to realize she wouldn’t have any time to paint this weekend. That seemed to always fall on the back burner these days, but if her choice was between dinner out with her friends last night or staying in alone to get lost in her artwork, she was happy to trade in free time at home for some much-needed time with her girlfriends. There was always winter vacation to get back into her painting.
Pulling into the lot of the grocery store, she circled around the busy lot until she found a spot in the back. Shivering slightly in the cold, she retrieved a shopping cart fro
m the array in front of the store and pushed it inside.
Amy grabbed a few basics and then headed over to the baking aisle. Selecting a couple bags of flour, sugar, brown sugar, and chocolate chips, she quickly filled up her cart. Consulting her list, she grabbed a few more items before making her way to the checkout line.
A long line of shoppers was already in front of her, evidently starting their Thanksgiving shopping early. As she finally moved forward and began unloading everything onto the conveyor belt, a low, masculine voice beside her suddenly caught her attention. “You’re not opening a bakery, are you?”
Amy turned, flushing in surprise as she saw Jason standing there. He had on dark gray sweatpants and a black Marine Corps tee shirt that nicely hugged his muscular frame. The short sleeves revealed the hint of a tattoo peeking out from beneath his left sleeve, and Amy was a little surprised. He hadn’t seemed like the tattoo type of guy from what she had seen before. She imagined guys covered in tattoos to be rough, rocker types, not clean-cut military men.
What did she know anyway, though?
Lots of men in the military had tattoos.
Besides, it was just one; it’s not like his whole arm was covered in ink. Amy guessed he must be on his way to the gym or something—he certainly wasn’t just coming from it as she detected the clean scent of soap and aftershave as he leaned closer to inspect the contents of her cart.
“Right, in all my spare time. Preschool bake sale,” she explained with a smile.
“So it’s safe to assume you got your car back? Unless you’re planning to wheel all this home in your shopping cart.” Jason grinned down at her, his blue eyes gleaming.
“My friend Beth had my keys in her pocket! She called me this morning. Unbelievable, right? I think she accidentally grabbed them off the table when we were leaving the restaurant.”
“That’s crazy. I’m glad you found them—or glad she found them. Those things are expensive if you ever need to have a new one made.”
“It would’ve been nice if she found them last night. Oh well,” she added with a shrug. “At least I’ve got my car back now.”
One Night with a Marine Page 5
