Whoa, he didn’t need to go there. Ever since that kiss, he’d been trying not to go there—no matter how tempted he was to do so. Quickly, he changed the direction of his thoughts.
“I know Danica personally,” he said, trying hard to keep his naughty thoughts in check.
She lifted a brow. “Really? How?”
There was no way he would tell her the whole story. Danica was the godmother of former SEAL team member Nick Stover. Nick had given up being a SEAL a few years ago to take a job with Homeland Security after his wife had triplets. Instead of the whole history, Flipper gave her a modified version. “Her godson and I used to work together.”
“Oh.” The bartender chose that moment to take their drink order.
“I know you used to be in the military at one point but what do you do now?” she asked once the bartender had walked away.
Flipper had expected that question sooner or later and had a prepared answer. “I travel a lot and my job deals with ocean marine work. I guess you can say I’m a specialist in that area.”
“Sounds interesting.”
He chuckled. “Trust me, it is.”
The bartender set their beers in front of them along with a huge plate of hot wings. They dug in.
“Your assistant at the store seems nice,” Flipper commented. “I hope she didn’t get offended when I asked specifically for you.”
“No, very little offends Jamila, trust me.”
“You’ve known her a long time?”
If his question seemed odd, she didn’t mention it. “We met a couple of years ago when she moved to the island. The first time she came into my shop she nearly bought out the place. Like you, she has a huge family living up north and wanted to buy holiday gifts for everyone. Thanks to her, I made my month’s quota in that one day. She earned a friend for life.”
Flipper took a long swig of his beer. What Swan had just told him was interesting. Based on the naval intelligence report he’d read, Jamila didn’t have any family. No parents, siblings, aunts, uncles or cousins. She’d been adopted and her adopted parents had been killed in a car accident in her last year of high school. And they hadn’t lived in the north but out west in California.
Why had Jamila lied?
“So you hired her that day?” he asked, grinning, trying to make a joke of what she’d told him.
“No, she had a job as a ship captain at one of the day cruise companies in town. When things didn’t work out for her there, I hired her on part-time.”
He’d read the report and knew why Jamila had been let go and knew about her pending lawsuits. There was a big chance both cases would be settled out of court in her favor. “Is the reason she’s part-time because she’s a student?”
“Sort of. She saw how much money Rafe makes and—”
“Rafe?” He knew who Rafe was, but Swan didn’t know that.
“Yes, Rafe. He rents space in my shop where he operates a tattoo parlor. He’s good and always has a steady stream of customers. Some are so pleased with his work that they recommend him to others. I’ve known people to fly in just to use his services.”
She took a sip of her beer, grinned and added, “Jamila decided to give him some real competition by becoming a tattoo artist as well. I have to admit she’s pretty good. But Rafe doesn’t seem worried. He even allows her to assist him sometimes. I guess you can say he’s taken her under his wing. I think that’s nice of him.”
Flipper took another swig of his beer. “Yes, that is nice of him. Real nice.”
* * *
Later that night, as they waited for a car at the taxi stand, Swan turned to face David. “I had a wonderful time this evening.”
Once again, she had enjoyed his company and hated that their time together was about to end. It didn’t come as a surprise to her that the sexual chemistry between them was more explosive than ever. The kiss they’d shared the night before had ignited something within her. From the way she’d noticed him looking at her, she believed something had ignited within him as well.
More than once, her smooth bare legs had brushed against his hairy ones. The sensual contact had sent a gush of desire through her.
The first few times it happened, she’d pulled away. But finally, she’d decided not to pull her legs back and he’d given her one of those I know you did that on purpose looks and she had smiled innocently and sipped her beer.
He had initiated the next physical contact and she could envision his mind at work trying to decide how to push her sensual buttons. She doubted he could push them more than he was already.
“I’m glad I got to meet Ms. Danica. After all the years I’ve been living here, this was my first time meeting her. She’s nice.”
“Yes, she is.”
“And I definitely appreciate this,” she said, holding up the bag of hot wings the older woman had given Swan to take home.
“I think she appreciated how much you enjoyed them.”
She chuckled. “You’re probably right.”
“What do you have planned for later?” he asked in a deep, husky tone that seemed to have dropped a purposeful octave.
He had taken her hand when they left Danica’s to walk to the taxi stand. The feel of his fingers entwined with hers had stirred something within her, something that grew with every step they took. She was aware of every detail about him as they walked together. Because of his long legs, more than once he had to slow his pace so she could keep up with him.
Swan could have walked home but figured he would suggest walking there with her. She was still cautious about letting him know where she lived. When she left Jamaica to begin living on her own, her mother had drilled into her the danger of letting a man know where you lived too soon. In her heart, Swan felt David was safe, but still...
“It’s near the end of the month and I need to work on the books for my accountant.” No need to mention she had tried doing that very thing today at work and hadn’t been able to concentrate for remembering their kiss from last night.
“How about dinner tomorrow night?” he asked her.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she broke eye contact with him and glanced down at the sidewalk. Hadn’t they seen each other enough these last few days? Where was this leading? Wasn’t he leaving the Keys in less than a month?
She glanced back at him. “Why? We’ve gone out twice already. I wouldn’t want to dominate your time.”
“You’re not. And the reason I want to take you out again is because I enjoy your company.”
She certainly enjoyed his. “Can I ask you something, David?”
He nodded. “Yes?” Considering her history with William, it was something she probably should have asked David before going out on their first date. She’d discovered the hard way that a man not wearing a wedding ring didn’t mean anything these days.
“What do you want to ask me, Swan?”
She met his gaze and hoped she would be able to see the truth in his eyes. “Do you have a wife or a significant other?”
Instead of guilt flashing in his eyes, she saw surprise. “No. I’m not married and I’ve never been married. I dated a woman for years but because of my frequent travels, she decided to end things. That was over six years ago.” He then leaned against a light post and asked, “What about you, Swan? Have you ever been married or is there a significant other?”
“Of