Undetected (23 page)

“Jeff says you're a person people lean on.”

He nodded, accepting the description. “Some of that is the type of job I have. I've got a young crew. The commander is the voice of experience and reason and direction for everything sub-related, and that trust tends to expand so the crew also includes career advice and family concerns.”

They reached the restaurant and found it moderately busy.
He asked for a table off to the side of the room, held Gina's chair for her. “I can tell you that the chicken and the seafood are both good choices here,” he said as he sat down across from her.

She scanned the menu. “I'm comfortable with the scallops and a salad.” She set aside the menu and reached for one of the hot rolls their server had brought. “Next note on the envelope—I was going to ask about your biggest disappointment in life, but I want to stop with the questions for a while. You can ask a few, if you like, or talk to me about the next few weeks.”

“You're nervous.”

“I never would have thought in terms of you and me. You've been a wonderful friend in every way, but I'm uncomfortable sitting here, Mark. I'm dating Daniel. I shouldn't be here.”

He pulled out his phone and punched in a number. “Daniel, tell her again she has your permission to see a movie and have dinner with me. Yes, I'm aware of the time in Connecticut.”

He handed over the phone.

“Hi, Daniel.” She listened, shot Mark a surprised look, then smiled. “Thanks, Daniel. Go back to sleep.”

Mark pocketed his phone. “Okay?”

“I've been told to order something really expensive for dinner and enjoy myself.”

Mark chuckled. “Sounds like Daniel.” He scanned the menu, chose shrimp and steak for himself, set the menu aside. “Okay, I'm too old for you?”

“I don't know how to answer that question. If you were 60 and I was 30, it would matter. So I know it's relevant, but I don't think your age—or mine—has come up during my three hours of thinking about this so far.”

“You seem rather young to me at times, Gina. Bright certainly, but maybe a bit insecure? I don't think you have a lot of confidence around guys.”

She simply nodded.

“Has it always been that way or has it gotten worse with Kevin being the latest blow?”

“My track record leaves me cautious.”

He wondered what it was going to take to repair that damage. “Answer me one question, Gina. Why do
you
want to get married? Not the answer that sounds correct, but the one in your gut that might even embarrass you a bit to put into words.”

She flushed, but finally answered him. “Since I was a little girl, I've always wanted to be married. I wanted someone to be my knight in shining armor to rescue me from trouble and love me. When you're 14 and at college, you dream a lot about being rescued.”

He considered her words for a long moment, then nodded. “Melinda said she was 12 when she decided for sure she was getting married one day. She knew she would look fabulous in a wedding dress, and she wanted that album of photos with her looking her best to have for the rest of her life. The guy in the picture didn't even have an image yet. She just wanted the wedding dress.”

Gina smiled. “You love that story.”

“I do. It amused me when she told me, but I made a point of giving her that huge wedding album as my wedding gift to her. She used to look at it once or twice a year, delighted with the memories of that day. Childhood dreams can be powerful things, Gina. It's good to know they are there.”

“Did you have one?”

“Starting at about age 10. Not about marriage directly. I just wanted her to
like
me. The
her
varied through the years with whatever crush I had going at the moment.” He broke a roll in two. “It's still a powerful dream. I'll appreciate it a lot when you decide that you like me, Gina, as something more than a friend.”

“You mean that?”

“I do. If you make that decision, it will matter to me a great deal.”

M
ark chose the indirect route to their destination to avoid a steep gradient in the hike.

“Do you consider this a date?” Gina asked.

He was surprised she would have to ask. “Sure,” Mark said. “I'm planning to share my superduper spot to watch the fireworks. And the second folding chair I'm lugging up this hill for sure makes it a date.”

“Because you forget to mention there would be 80 or so friends of yours coming along.”

Mark laughed, looked at the crowd climbing to various elevations on the hillside, then back over at her. “Fourth of July spent with the gold crew is tradition. If I'd mentioned them, you might not have spent so much time getting ready for the evening, and I appreciate the results. You look very nice.”

The gold-colored top she wore was the perfect shade to go with the gold crew colors, and there were red, white, and blue shoelaces in her tennis shoes.

“Thank you. I tried my best.”

“Did Jeff make sure you packed marshmallows?”

She patted the backpack strap on her shoulder. “Right before he took off for points unknown with Tiffany.”

“He probably had a boat in mind, so they could watch the fireworks from the water and have some privacy.”

Mark spotted the point he preferred, saw the XO had dropped the captain's colors at that location to save it for him. He picked up the gold flag and slid it into his pocket. “What we won't have tonight is privacy, as every member of gold crew is now trying to figure out who you are. Once they have a name, speculation will circle whether this is a date or if it's me doing a favor for Jeff.” He opened the two folding chairs and settled hers on firm ground.

“The hike down this hill in the dark is going to be tricky,” she noted.

Mark glanced over at her. She'd ignored his comment and changed the subject. Interesting. He scanned the crowd. “I would bet there are more than a hundred flashlights on this hillside right now. It's rather pretty when people begin to move down the hill. This spot has been the
Nevada
gold crew's gathering place on the Fourth for the last 20 years. The members of the crew change, but the Fourth of July assembly here continues on. The campfire by the pavilion will be lit soon after sunset, to be ready for marshmallow-toasting when the fireworks have finished.”

“What did you bring us for supper?”

He unzipped his backpack. “Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”

“What kind of jelly?”

“Strawberry.”

“You were talking with Jeff.”

“It didn't take that much sleuthing. You're a creature of
habit, Gina. I rather like it.” He handed her a sandwich, accepted the soda she put into his hand in return. “I'm glad you decided to come.”

“I can't see the fireworks from Jeff's condo.”

Mark smiled and settled back in his chair to eat his sandwich and drink his soda.

The calendar had given him a way to convince her to come out with him for a second date, and he would take any help from whatever direction it came. She wasn't comfortable seeing him while dating Daniel, and he admired that about her, though he chafed at the restrictions it created. Tonight the goal was to create a good impression, make a good memory, be sure she enjoyed her time with him, and do a final gut check that Gina really was the woman he wanted to pursue. When Daniel returned, this situation was only going to get more complex.

Mark Bishop spotted Daniel Field getting off the flight at the Seattle airport and moved to intercept him.

“Commander. I didn't expect you to be my ride, sir.”

“A lot has been happening the last few weeks in Gina's world. I'm here to fill you in on the drive to Bangor. At least my perspective on it.”

“Appreciate that. I think. I've got a duffel checked,” Daniel said, and they headed toward baggage claim. “She's mentioned your two dates, sir. I'm gone five weeks and you complicate things with only two dates? I'm almost embarrassed to say how worried I was about being gone.”

Mark just smiled. “You've got stiff competition, Daniel, even if it doesn't appear that way yet. But we'll set that aside
for now, as it's sonar matters that are going to step on us both.”

“She's figured out something else?”

“A submarine, sitting in front of a noise source, is visible.”

Daniel winced. “A quiet sub, and she still turns on the lights?”

“That's the sentiment going around. When she's ready to present the idea, it's going to need another video, another commanders' meeting. You're being drafted to help out.”

“Glad to do so, sir.”

“Your first priority—she needs a break tonight, and you've been nominated. Interrupt her, take her some food, and make her laugh. She'll be glad to see you.”

Daniel smiled. “That I can do.”

“If there's something you can help her with, make the offer—the video, the paper, but don't push if she says she's got it covered.”

“I'll go easy. How many hours has she been putting in?”

“She hasn't slept in that office yet, but she might as well have. I tugged her out for the two dates she mentioned. She wants this done and handed off. I think she's close to being finished. The algorithms are working. She just doesn't have the speed she's looking for yet, and keeps coming up with new ways to cut down the amount of processing to be done.”

At the car, Mark handed over the working draft of the paper Gina had written. “Read while I drive.”

Daniel read for 35 minutes. “She's off the scale with her ability to do sonar math. It looks like she just jotted these equations down on the page, drew some arrows, sketched a smiley face beside the proof it worked, and photocopied the pages. The pages on the idea and the theory behind it, the
background—I can see her struggle to get that discussion smoothed out and concise. I may be able to help her polish that a bit more.”

“She's been working on sonar for so long, the math is second nature to her,” Mark concurred. “Whereas the document is more a pitch, as in ‘Trust me, this idea works, and here's why it's viable.'”

Daniel nodded. “Drop me off at the acoustical lab rather than housing. I'd rather see Gina first before the stack of mail waiting for me.”

Gina wasn't sure what made her look over her shoulder. The sound of footsteps, a shift of the door? “Daniel!” She spun around with delight, the headphone cord tangling around her chair's arm. “I thought your flight was coming in tomorrow.”

“A standby seat came open,” he replied, reaching over to recover the headphones. He punched the recording that had finished playing to start over, listened for a moment, and grinned.

“I like the recording you made for me,” Gina said. “It helps me concentrate when I'm working.”

“I'm glad. It's one of my better sessions on the guitar.” He set aside the headphones. “I missed you, Gina. Five weeks was a long time.”

“I missed you too.” He looked better than her memory of him.

“Bishop said you've got another idea and video for us to work—”

“I do,” she put in, “and I'd appreciate the help.”

“He'll clear things so I can give whatever time you need.” There wasn't a second chair in the office, so he disappeared for a minute and came back with one.

She reached over and pulled the headphone jack, turned on the speakers so they could both hear his music.

“I want to apologize for going out with Mark while you were in Groton, Daniel. I feel awful about that. The circumstances of that first invitation—if I'd had a few more minutes to think about it, I would have figured out a way to decline. And the Fourth of July, I got into a bind. If I'd said no, Jeff would have insisted on staying home with me rather than going out with Tiffany.”

“I'm not surprised Bishop asked you out. I've known for a while he was interested, Gina.”

“You have.”

“You didn't notice when he stopped wearing his wedding ring? Or notice how many times your paths were crossing?”

“I admit, I've been clueless.”

Daniel laughed. “You called me. That was a nice gesture, and all I needed from you. I don't mind the contrast with Bishop. We're different guys.”

She didn't know what to say. She did like Mark, even if she couldn't figure out what to do with his interest in her. “Well, I won't be seeing him again while you're here.”

“Why don't you assume you'll have to play that by ear, based on what Bishop does? We're fine, Gina. I'll tell Bishop if he's stepping on my toes and ask him to back off. Mark and I understand each other. It's honestly not going to bother me if you two grab a meal occasionally or go for a walk. I know he's a good man who'll be in your life because of your brother no matter what happens this summer.”

“All right, Daniel. Thanks.”

He studied her, smiled. “During the flight back I decided it was probably an appropriate time in our relationship to lay my cards on the table. And since you've had some miserable conversations that start this way, I'm going to give you a better version of this speech right off the bat. Let me do that now.”

He took a deep breath and looked intently at her. “Gina, it's my hope and intention that we end up somewhere permanent, if that's where this leads both of us. You and I are very well suited in many ways, and we've got some differences to work through. That's the value of time together before ‘permanent' is on the table. There are things for both of us that are cautions, which need more time, but there's nothing that says I don't want to pursue this with all my heart. Is that clear enough for now?”

The conversation was pushing toward somewhere she did want to go, and she could feel herself blushing. “Yes.”

“When it's time for you to make the decision on where you want to move for work—California, Maryland, back to Chicago, wherever—it will be time to decide about us, and whether a long-distance relationship makes sense. These kinds of decisions are good things, Gina, not something to worry over. I
would
like you to consider coming with me to Georgia for a few days after you finish up work here and this presentation. Come meet my family and see my home. Have a few days of a true vacation.”

She had worried about Daniel feeling hurt, not being as interested in her when he returned, and instead he was moving rapidly, even beyond where she had thought they were. He
was
interested. Seriously interested since he was suggesting she meet his family. “I would like that, Daniel.”

“I'm thinking maybe five days—a couple for travel, three days there. Enough time I can show you the sights and what I like best about Georgia, for you to get to know my family.”

“What will you tell your family?”

“That I'm bringing home a good friend. I'll leave unsaid the fact I hope it becomes something permanent one day. They'll likely make that leap without the words.” He smiled. “I've got a big family. If you like them, it may seal the deal in my favor.”

“Family should be a factor,” she said softly, still adjusting to the idea he'd just asked her to meet them.

He tilted his head and changed the subject. “Your tan is fading.”

“I found I actually miss our Sunday afternoon outings on your boat,” she replied, then hesitated, remembering Bishop's advice. “I do need to tell you one thing. You must have noticed I'm somewhat afraid of the water. It's going to scare me if you surf a big wave or go out boating during bad weather.”

“I realized that, Gina. When a guy becomes a husband, he has a responsibility not to take as many chances as when he was single. It's called common sense. You'll depend on me not to get hurt or killed chasing an adrenaline rush. I'm not saying it will always be easy to adapt, but I'm willing to tone down what I do on the water. I can live with that.”

“Is there something you've noticed about me I'll need to change?”