Contemporary Romance: Passage of Arms - A Military Romance Novel (Romance, Contemporary Romance, Military Romance, Romance Novel Book 1) (11 page)

No one spoke, not even after the silence had become awkward. With each second that grew, Ruth’s smile grew and Dave grinned back at her. Sarah had an elbow on the table and avoided Dave’s periodic glances.

They received their order within the next few minutes and they eagerly grabbed their items from the cashier, who had courteously brought their tray to them.

“Look at that,” Dave whispered once the woman left. “You’re getting five star treatment at a one start joint today,” he winked at Sarah. “Proof that today’s been good.”

Sarah swallowed her smile and lifted the soft serve cone to her lips. She licked it obnoxiously, causing Ruth and Dave to giggle. They each hoarded a smoothie and sundae, but there was another sundae left unclaimed in the middle of the table.

“Who’s that for?” Sarah asked.

“You,” Dave beamed. “I figured you’d probably only order a cone. I hope you like banana splits.”

“Oh, Mom loves them. She used to make them all the time…” Ruth slowly stopped talking. After a moment, she grabbed her smoothie and buried her face in it, sucking on the straw with determination. Dave raised a brow but remained quiet.

Sarah didn’t claim the sundae. She gripped the cone in her hand tighter and took another lick. After a few more swollen seconds, she raised her eyes and met Dave’s gaze. He didn’t look away.

“So who are you, Dave?” Ruth came back to the conversation. She lowered her drink and glanced between Sarah and Dave. She propped an elbow on the table with force. “What were you doing with my mom?”

Dave chuckled and glanced towards his sundae. Unwrapping his plastic fork, he shrugged easily and stabbed the ice cream covered brownie smothered with chocolate.

“I just met your mother today,” he said truthfully, spooning the bite into his mouth.

“That’s right. He’s still a
stranger
,” Sarah stressed with a grin when Dave caught her eyes. He smiled at length, the smile growing when Sarah reached for the last sundae on the table. Her soft serve cone was nearly finished.

“Well, he can’t be a stranger if you were riding in the truck with him. What were you guys doing?” Ruth asked again.

Sarah frowned. She didn’t remember her daughter being so nosy before. “He rents boats,” Sarah answered, keeping her eyes low as she pushed a portion of banana and ice cream into her mouth.

“I took your mother on the lake today,” Dave answered around a mouthful of brownie and fudge. Some slid down his chin and Ruth laughed at him.

“Missed your lip and made a drip, eh?” Ruth asked teasingly. Sarah gasped and pushed her daughter in the arm. That’s how she always teased her daughter with spaghetti. She never figured Ruth would turn around and say to some stranger.

Dave calmly reached for a napkin and dabbed at his jaw. He watched Sarah shifting in the booth and grinned.

“Sometimes I can be a messy eater,” he admitted, tilting his head for another bite. He winked at Sarah again. This time, heat rushed her face and she knew she was glowing red.

“It’s not nice to point it out like that though,” Sarah muttered.

“You do it to me all the time,” Ruth said matter-of-factly. With another shrug, Ruth dug into her sundae.

“Like mother like daughter,” Dave teased Sarah’s uneasiness with dancing eyes.

Sarah reached for a drink—her drink—only to realize that she had been too stubborn and only ordered a cone. Reluctantly, she unwrapped her fork and dived into the sundae. It was good. Hot and cold in all the right places. A small moan escaped her mouth before she could catch it.

“What did you guys do at the lake?” Ruth asked, her voice loud and jarring against the calm quiet of the rest of the lobby.

“I took her on one of my boats,” Dave answered back easily. He watched Ruth for a moment, and then grinned. “Your mom doesn’t like the water much, does she?”

“You mean you took her on the lake?” Ruth licked her fork clean, only to shove it back into the remains of ice cream, brownie and fudge.

“Yes. She even drove one of my boats.”

Ruth’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. She turned to Sarah and stared. “You went on the lake?” Sarah nodded and kept her head down. Ruth’s face darkened. Her eyes sunk, and after a second, she turned to her ice cream, and then hovered over her bowl. Her back hunched, bouldering over her meal.

“Have you ever been on the lake before?” Dave asked Ruth, concerned.

“No,” Ruth said plainly. Her interest was suddenly lost. Dave’s face lengthened and he peered at Sarah with confusion. Sarah shrugged her shoulders and focused on the banana.

Ruth remained quiet the rest of their stay. Sarah and Dave periodically gave each other glances and small grins. The ride to the shop was equally as quiet and when Dave pulled beside Sarah’s car and stopped, Ruth was out a second later, bounding towards the hobby café.

Sarah stepped from the vehicle slowly, watching her daughter fumble with her backpack and iPOD as she headed towards the shop. Her feather-lite hair floated about her face as she looked from the left to the right before crossing the parking lot. Once Ruth disappeared into the building, Ruth turned. Dave was at her side.

She looked him over thoughtfully. Despite the rush to put the boat away upon their return, he still looked just as composed as the first time she saw him. The arms of his dress shirt and been hiked up to his elbows though, and Sarah was sure that was even a better look than before. He ran a hand through his hair, eyes lingering on the doors to her business before he turned and faced her.

“Your daughter’s a riot,” Dave began.

“A hoot and a holler,” Sarah answered without thinking. “Apparently though, she likes talking to you,” she sighed. Dave met her eyes and chuckled. When the last chortle escaped his throat, Sarah fought the urge to glance towards his lips. Suddenly, she felt that the day had been a disaster.

From rushing back to the school after their return the docks to Ruth’s insistence on ice cream before Dave brought them back to the shop. He probably thought she had a spoiled brat for a daughter. He had no idea how hard the battle had been fought for Ruth to get up early. She vaguely remembered offering to help her daughter with what she needed, yet she was certain that she had fallen asleep before that had even happened, and Ruth had still surprised her.

“You know,” Sarah said suddenly, “if you want—I mean, if you have the time, you could—maybe,” she sighed and looked down. “We have great specialty drinks,” she tried again, meeting Dave’s eyes when she felt a little stronger. The smile that touched Dave’s lips nearly made her quiver.

“You want me to come in?” He asked. Sarah resisted rolling her eyes. Of course she wanted him to come back inside, she was pretty sure she had made that obvious, but Dave seemed to delight in the way she was fumbling before him.

“You don’t have to,” Sarah said quickly. “I just thought, maybe,” she huffed, “to say thanks, for today. Everything, I mean.” Perhaps she wasn’t making as much sense as she would have liked. Dave wet his lips. His grin was growing seductively on his face.

“That sounds great,” he answered finally. He looked towards his watch and his face fell. “But I can’t now.”

“What?” Sarah frowned. “Why not?”

“Things,” Dave answered quickly. “I’m busy now,” he paused, “I mean, I will be busy. Tonight, this evening, I can’t.”

Suddenly, Sarah was angry again. He let her fumble before him like a buffoon only to shoot her offer down with a lame excuse. She scowled and rolled her eyes. She didn’t care if he saw.

“Well, it was nice,” Sarah said, pursing her lips. She wasn’t going to say “see you around” because she was most definitely sure she wasn’t going to. Instead, she turned away and started to take a step, but Dave pinched her elbow lightly and then caught her arm in a firm grip. He turned her around.

“Despite what you think, I really enjoyed today,” Dave said quickly. Sarah’s breath caught in her throat. Dave’s hand still held the tip of her elbow, but with a softer grasp that reminded her of the calm, smoothing moment they shared while she had driven the boat.

“Maybe this evening won’t work, but what about a couple of days from now? Would you see me again?” Dave searched her face intently. “For a real date, I mean. So you’re not confused about what I’m asking.”

Sarah’s mouth dried.
A real date?
She blinked and stared blankly at Dave. He chuckled uneasily at length.

“Yes, no, maybe?”

“I’m sorry,” Sarah chuckled and shook the surprise from her face. “I don’t know what my problem is today,” she scratched the side of her neck, fingers clawing blinding at the chance to do anything other than hang limply at her side

“Uh, sure,” Sarah agreed a breath later. A smile sprang to her lips. “That sounds great.”

Dave’s face shined. “Really?”

“Yeah—yes,” Sarah locked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Today wasn’t all bad.” Dave raised a brow.

“Really?” He scoffed playfully. “So it was bad but, okay?”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Sarah shook her head. “Goodness—you know,” she looked up, “I’m not really good at this.”

“No, you’re not,” Dave mused. “It’s cute though. So, what’s today?”

“Wednesday.”

“Friday then, how’s that sound?” Dave wet his lips as he watched Sarah. Her cheeks were rosy, glowing in the late afternoon sunlight. She stuttered and stammered, but didn’t actually say anything.

“Okay, how’s another afternoon or evening date around 5 o’ clock or something?”

Sarah frowned. “You know, I usually work evenings,” she smacked her forehead suddenly. “Maybe you should just send me an email?” She asked, sounding hopeless.

“Having trouble with that brain-mouth thing?” Dave laughed.

“Uh, Friday will be fine. But I don’t know what we’d do.”

“Dates are supposed to be a surprise,” Dave countered quickly. “I’ll figure that out,” he paused. “Can I have your number?” Sarah giggled suddenly, causing Dave to chuckle. He ran his hand from her elbow towards her wrist. The movement slowed Sarah’s giggling and she stared at Dave, suddenly serious. He grinned.

“You’re so on edge,” he said softly. “I take it you don’t date much?” Sarah shook her head and swallowed back.

“No, no. Not at all,” she hesitated. “I mean, I dated two guys maybe, like,” she scoffed, “two years ago but,” she shook her head, “It was like one or two dates,” she frowned and pushed hair from her face with the back of her palm. “Terrible experience, really.”

Dave laughed. “Why?” Concern came to Sarah’s face. Her brows bunched and furrowed with something akin to despair. “Do you date a lot?” Sarah asked instead.

Dave’s eyes widened and he shook his head quickly. “Oh, no. I usually,” he stammered, suddenly just as uneasily as Sarah had, “I work a lot. Kind of a curse, I guess,” he ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve been trying to get myself away from working so much but,” he paused, “duty calls.”

“Duty?” Sarah laughed. “Yeah, I guess if people need boats, right?” Dave laughed loudly, awkwardly. As the silence trickled down, he cleared his throat.

“I’m just usually most busy at night, I guess. That’s when I,” he struggled for words, “uh, work with the papers and stuff. The books,” he smiled. “Yes, I don’t have an accountant or anything.”

“Oh,” Sarah nodded with understanding, and just like that, the silence was back. The troubling thing wouldn’t go away. They stared at each other, Dave’s hand still around her wrist. He looked towards the hand he held and ran his thumb across her skin thoughtfully.

“Your number,” he said softly.

“Oh yes! That,” Sarah moved her hand from Dave’s fingers and shoved it into her purse as she fished for her phone. She saw briefly that she had another email notification. Vaguely, she wondered who it could be from, but ignored it quickly.

“Maybe you could just give me yours?”

“No, you might not call,” Dave said quickly. Sarah paused.

“Okay, well, where’s your phone?” Sarah questioned.

“I’ll remember it,” Dave said quickly. He suddenly seemed to be in a rush.

“Okay,” Sarah shrugged and lowered her phone back into her purse. Now her hands hung at her side and she wished she had never taken it from Dave’s grip. She relayed her number. Dave breathed the numbers back to himself silently, his lips moving slightly.

“Good. Thanks. I’ll text you later, okay?”

“Yes,” Sarah grinned. “We didn’t decide on a time though,” she mumbled.

Dave only grinned and shook his head, his face dark with worry and concern. He glanced to his watch and frowned deeply.

“I’d love to stay and chat more, but I really have to get going now, okay?” He searched Sarah’s face. She nodded blankly, confused. “Good,” Dave stepped towards her and leaned towards her cheek. He paused, but Sarah didn’t move except to turn her head slightly towards his. He pushed his lips again the softness of her cheek.

“I’ll text you later tonight, okay?” Dave began to retreat to his truck. Sarah watched him, waiting to see his face again before she waved goodbye. She didn’t want to walk, not yet. If she did, she was certain she would start skipping. Instead, she stood her ground and grinned wildly, waving nonstop until Dave left the driveway. The truck paused at the entrance, a tad longer than normal, before it turned left and moved down the road.