“How are you not married?” she blurted out. “Oh, shit. I mean, I know you’re notnowbecause Old Joe would never stand for a two-timing nephew, but maybe you were? I hope I didn’t bring up something painful.”
He barked out a laugh and held a hand out. “Why don’t we get in the car and I’ll tell you.”
She quickly tugged her gloves and jacket on but kept her scarf and hat in one hand as she reached for his with the other. After pausing to close and lock the door, she set the alarm from her phone, then hurried alongside Joe to his brand-new dark-blue SUV…something he probably hadn’t needed down in Florida.
He opened the door, and she hopped in, pulling her coat around her as he shut the door and rounded to his side. “I thought we’d go to Tucci’s, if that’s okay?” he asked after climbing in and starting the engine. “It was that or Paddy’s or Prithi, and I figured since you just came from the UK, you’d probably had your share of pub and Indian food.”
“Tucci’s is perfect. Have you had their pizza yet?” she asked. It was the one Italian restaurant in town, and thankfully, it was a delicious one.
He shook his head as they navigated out her drive. “Just their Bolognese and eggplant parm. Both were amazing. Far better than anything you can get in Florida.”
“Though I suspect Florida has us beat for Mexican and Cuban food,” she said.
He smiled. “They most definitely do, but I did find a little taqueria over in Essex. Doesn’t look like much, but they make great tacos.”
“You’ve been out and about since you arrived. Verduzco’s is definitely a locals kind of place. Most tourists are scared off by the somewhat grungy strip mall feel to it,” she said, legit impressed he’d found the place. It really was off the beaten path and not a place most people ventured to go unless someone convinced them to give it a try.
“How’d you end up in Cos Cob?” Joe asked when they turned south toward town.
“You first,” she countered. “You were going to tell me if I stuck my foot in it earlier.”
He chuckled, and the low sound rumbled through her body. “You didn’t. I’ve never been married. Never really even had my heart broken unless you count Maria Fernandez, who told me she didn’t want to go steady with me in fifth grade.”
“I bet you were an adorable fifth grader.”
He made a face. “Nobody is an adorable fifth grader. It’s like the most awkward time of our childhoods. Not quite a teenager, but definitely not a kid anymore.”
Cyn laughed. “So, since I didn’t stick my foot in it, let me try one more time. Why have you never been married?”
“I could ask you the same thing. Assuming you haven’t.”
She shook her head. “I haven’t. My life is complicated, as you can imagine. It would be hard to do what I do and have someone in my life who couldn’t be a part of that. I have colleagues who do it, but I grew up in a house with parents who share everything—likewaytoo much sharing of everything. I don’t think I could live with hiding something that big from someone who was supposed to be my best friend.”
Everything she’d said was true, but as she spoke, she realized that wouldn’t be an issue with Joe. Their uncles had made sure of that. She frowned and looked out the window, not quite sure what to make of that revelation.
“It was sort of the same for me. Not exactly, of course,” he answered as they turned onto Main Street. Christmas lights still lined the street and a few people were out and about. “I dated in college but always knew I wanted to join the Navy, so I never got serious with anyone. Then when I was serving, life was complicated. I was deployed at the drop of a hat for indeterminate amounts of time, and I’d go to places I mostly couldn’t talk about. Like you, I had colleagues who had relationships, even a few who got married, but it seemed like more than I wanted to take on. I didn’t want to have to think about the chaos my life might be causing someone else. And I also didn’t want to have to keep things from someone who I made a promise to share my life with. It didn’t seem fair.”
He pulled into a parking spot in the small lot to the side of the restaurant, and they bundled back into their winter clothing.
“How long did you serve for?” she asked.
“I joined right out of college at twenty, and yes, I graduated early. I put in my twenty years and have been out for three.”
That put him at five years her senior. Not a bad age gap. Although why she was thinking such a thing, she hadn’t a clue. Well, she did, but she didn’t want to acknowledge that her brain might already be jumping ahead to what it would be like to be in a relationship with someone she could actually talk to. It was too early for all that—she’d known the man less than twenty-four hours. But still, the thought was there.
He ushered her into the cozy restaurant, and a waitress led them to a table for two tucked into the back corner by the gas fireplace. Cos Cob wasn’t so small that everyone would know by the end of the night the two of them had had dinner together, but there was a good chance that she’d get several questions about it over the next few days—not including those she’d get from her friends.
Five minutes into the conversation, thoughts of her friends and the townsfolk faded, and by the time dessert was brought around, Cyn was surprised to see that two hours had flown by. What was even more surprising was that they hadn’t talkedwork. Oh, they’d talked about their jobs in general. That was a big part of both their lives, so it would have been weird not totalk about, but they hadn’t talked about Meleak or Private James McElroy even once.
As they stuffed themselves back into their coats and accoutrements, an odd feeling settled on Cyn’s shoulders. Was this what dating wassupposedto be like? You find someone you’re attracted to, you click, and it goes from there? It wasn’t like she hadn’t dated or had her fair share of steamy affairs, but this felt…well, different. Comfortable but in an exciting way, which seemed like two emotions that shouldn’t go together but did.
“You okay?” Joe asked as they walked to his car.
She made a “hhmm,” noise, but once they were settled in the car, she answered. “I’m feeling a little disconcerted right now,” she admitted.
He chuckled. “Yeah, me, too.”
She whipped her head around. “You are? Why are you feeling that way?”