Page 21 of Possess

“I’m good.” He raised his hand, and the waiter came over. “The check when you have a minute.”

“Very well, sir.”

“I never asked: how long have you worked for the city?”

“Almost eight years now.”

“How does one get the job you have?”

“Hard work.” She shrugged. She didn’t mind talking about her job; it was her childhood she didn’t want to discuss. “It sounds funny, but it’s true. I took Urban Planning and Development classes in college. They took me only so far, so I started working in Building and Code Enforcement and worked my way through the system.”

“Did you take other classes?”

“Mainly project management classes. I learned quite a bit on the job.” She paused as the waiter dropped off the check, then pulled her wallet out of her purse.

“I’m paying,” Zeke said.

“But this was a friendly dinner; I should pay my own way.” Zeke stared at her. There was this thread of steel in his gaze that told her she was treading in deep water.

“My treat.” His voice was low.

“Just this once.” She didn’t want to make a big deal of him paying. Heck, she and Dani took turns treating each other; this was no different. “You didn’t mention where you went to college, just that you went.”

“I ended up at MIT, getting my civil engineering degree in construction management.” Zeke drew some money out of his wallet, put it in the portfolio, and stood. He held his hand out to her.

Manners. She’d forgotten what it was like to be around a man with manners. Most of the guys she worked with treated her like another guy, except Rudy. He was an ass. But Zeke reminded her of what a real man with manners was like. He guided her out of the restaurant.

“Where are you parked?” he asked.

“Third row, toward the end.” He nodded, and they walked to her truck. Allyson turned when they reached her vehicle. “I had a great time. Thank you for dinner.”

“I had a great time too.” He gazed down at her. “My truck is in the next row. Wait until I come up behind you before you back out and leave.”

She opened her mouth, but he placed his finger over her lips. “I’m going to follow you home to make sure you get there safely.”

Her lips tingled from his touch. “There’s no need.”

“There is to me.” His gaze held hers. “I’d do it for any woman who drove herself.”

Allyson stared at him. There was something in those chocolate brown eyes of his. Concern? Maybe. Determination? Probably. “All right.” She’d allow him to follow her home. It was better than arguing in the parking lot. Allyson ignored the shaft of warmth flowing through her body at his concern.

“Thank you.” He waited until she climbed into her truck and shut the door before he made his way to his vehicle.

Allyson’s insides swelled with something new. Gratitude? Hope? Need? All were possible, but this was more. Zeke pulled up, and Allyson backed up. Then, with him behind her, she drove out of the lot.

His small gesture of making sure she got home safely made her feel special.Stop it. He said he would do it for any woman. She parked in her assigned spot at her apartment building and saw Zeke pull into a visitor spot.

“I’m home,” she said as he climbed out his truck.

“I know you are.” He cupped her elbow. “But I always escort my date to her door.”

“But this wasn’t a date, just friends having dinner.” Her insides tightened.

“I’d do the same for my friends.”

Allyson stopped herself from rolling her eyes as she swiped her card through the card reader to open the door to her apartment building. It was one of the reasons she’d chosen to live here: more secure. Not that Pleasant Valley was a hotbed of crime, it wasn’t. She needed the security.

“I’ll walk you to your apartment door,” Zeke said, following her inside.

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