Page 7 of Salvaging My Heart
“Uuuunnnnccclllleee Leeeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiffffff,” his nephew whined, breaking into his inner ramble.
Leif shook off his nerves — when was the last time a guy got to him like this? — and walked over to the door. “Got your bag?” he asked before answering himself. “Yes, of course you do. Your mom has you more regimented than my divers. Onward, dear scout.”
Aaron sat at a table in Groundin’ tapping his fingers against the table. Should he get something? Wait for Leif to order? Grab some decaf? He wasn’t sure what to do.
“Bad day?” the waitress asked as she walked up to the table. She reached down and slid a wrapped set of silverware in front of Aaron.
“Um, not really. I’ll need another set of cutlery.” Aaron nodded at the empty seat across from him, fidgeting with the napkin.
“Let me guess, blind date?” she asked. Didn’t seem like she was leaving anytime soon. Almost like she was invested in his date.
“No, he knows me. Not inside out yet but maybe…” Leif said from behind the waitress. He must have heard her question. He shifted her out of his way and sat across from Aaron winking at him. Aaron couldn’t help the smile came across his lips.
“Why couldn’t I have this luck?” the waitress said as she checked out Leif.
Aaron cleared his throat. “Sorry, not sorry. He’s taken… at least for the night. Can we have a few minutes with the menu?” Okay, maybe he’d been a little snippy but Aaron couldn’t help it and as he looked over at Leif, he didn’t seem to mind Aaron being a little possessive.
“Oh sure. Here you go,” she said, handing them menus. “Our specials for tonight are apple crisp and pumpkin bread. The drink is a double chocolate latte. My name’s Betty. I’ll come back in a few minutes.”
“Nice entrance,” Aaron said when she’d crossed the dining room. One look at Leif and he felt his blood shift south. Dang, he looked good. The blue of his Henley made his hair look almost white. Aaron was glad he’d worn a sweater instead of a t-shirt. From what he could see, Leif had put some thought into how he was dressed to meet with him.
“Thanks. I wasn’t sure if I should wait outside but then I peeked in and saw you and…” Leif let out a harsh breath and shook his head. “I’m not sure what it is about you, honestly. I’m a chief warrant officer. I’m a master diver. I’m in charge of eight divers that perform salvage operations all over the world. And every time you’ve seen me, I ramble like teen that’s never talked to someone they’re interested in. I’m really not a space cadet.”
Aaron couldn’t help it. He burst out laughing and reached across the table to take Leif’s hands. It took him a minute to get his laughter under control before he could talk. “I’m not doing anything special but I’m glad that I have some effect on you since I seem to be a klutz every time you see me.”
The waitress came back over and raised an eyebrow at them. “Well, have you broken the tension? Decided to get married? Want to order some pie? Or a latte?” she asked, cheekily.
Aaron couldn’t help but smile at her. “We’ve decided on a Valentine’s Day wedding with red roses and champagne.” Leif seemed to be in a playful mood, or it was his natural demeanor, as he chimed in.
“Honeymoon in Paris,” Leif added. “Or would you prefer Niagara Falls?” There was no way that he could control his laughter. Betty joined him, playing right along.
“Touché,” Betty replied through laughing. “I so love it when customers aren’t all buttoned down. Now, what can I get you?”
Aaron gestured to Leif to order first. He hadn’t really decided what he wanted. Caffeine wasn’t his friend after four since he needed to be up by five-thirty to be at work for seven. Ooh, chocolate mousse. Now what to drink… hmmm, hot apple cider sounded good but not with chocolate.
“And you?” Betty turned to him, pen poised over her pad. He hadn’t even heard what Leif ordered.
“Hot apple cider and didn’t you say the special was apple crisp?” At her nod, he continued, “I’ll take that.”
Betty took their menus and pivoted on her heels toward the counter. “I’ll be back with your drinks in a minute.”
“So, you’re in the military…” Aaron trailed off, leaving it open for Leif. He was going to enjoy sitting here with a handsome man. There wasn’t much chance at long term with Leif in the service but the memory from tonight could keep him company on cold winter nights.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Leif sat down in front of his laptop and placed his tablet next to the keyboard, so his notes were close for the conference call in a few. A few clicks and he was in his email. How the hell did he have this many emails? Oh yeah, he hadn’t checked his email since he’d gotten home. Home? Was this still home for him? He hadn’t lived in Connecticut since he joined the Navy all those years ago. Yes, it was still his home of residence for taxes and such; he knew that his mom still had boxes of his… somewhere. But did he want to live here again when he retired? Spending this time with Nick was special. Not the reason he wanted to be with him but being able to watch his games and interact with him daily brought a needed light to his life.
A ping broke his train of thought and looking at the display, it was time to sign into the Webex. Leaning forward, Leif pulled up the link from his calendar app, put in his name and email and waited to be let into the room. Yes, you’re setting up the virtual meeting room. Yes, I have a cup of coffee.
“Chief Hansen, glad you could join us,” Commander Palway said, smiling at the camera. Leif looked at the gathered men at the table. He didn’t see Sparks; he’d need to check with Fuzzy on that.
“Nice to see everyone,” Leif replied before taking a sip of his coffee and settling into his chair. “You’ve completed the salvage?”
“All set, Chief,” Fuzzy answer. “We were close before you left. How are your sister and mother?”
Fuzzy was good like that. Kept on top of everyone on the team and their families. Wouldn’t surprise Leif if the man had a spreadsheet with names, dates of birth and favorite colors.
“They’re both on the mend. Mom should be released tomorrow. Kim’s going to be another week. It’s going to be a challenge keeping my mom from overdoing it but she’s chomping at the bit to get out.” Leif cleared his throat to center himself then looked down at his notes. “Okay, so what went right? Wrong? Do again? Don’t ever think about again?” And with that, they were bouncing ideas off each other with Williams typing away furiously. There was no doubt in Leif’s mind that he got every little bit of information down.
