“You’re adorable when you’re nervous.” He threw me a wink, and I rolled my eyes.
I placed the dish on the table at the nearest empty spot and leaned to plug it into the power strip.
“Well, good morning! What do you have there?” a friendly voice asked.
“Breakfast burritos,” I answered with a smile after I got the thing plugged in.
The woman looked to be in her early thirties, with nice brown hair and hazel eyes and a shirt that read “Dustoff Dolls” in sparkly red letters across her boobs. “Oh, well, these are more muffins and things. Maybe you could move it down to where the eggs are?” Smile or not, I knew that wasn’t a request.
“Not a problem,” I answered.
“Lieutenant Walker, I think Captain Brown was looking for you,” the woman said.
“Yes, ma’am. Ember, this is Mrs. Dwyer. She’s the FRG leader for our company.”
“Lucille,” the woman said, thrusting out her hand.
I shook it. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Ember.”
“Lovely! Oh, Lieutenant, I do wish you’d told me about her. I would have made sure she had a Dustoff Dolls shirt to match the rest of us! And we’re having a little informational meeting later if you want to find us after the run. I know the girls would love to meet you!”
“I look forward to it,” I answered Lucille as Josh unplugged the crockpot.
“Well, there’s a spot right down there. Can’t miss it!” she said with a smile way too perky for eight a.m. and went to correct the next misplaced dish.
“I should go find—” Josh started.
“You leave me, you die,” I whispered so only he could hear.
He took my face in his hands and smiled, warming me like nothing else could have. “Are you nervous, my December?”
“I’m not a wife.” It slipped out before I could stop it.
“So? It’s Family Readiness, not No-Non-Wives Allowed.” His thumbs brushed over my cheeks.
He was right. “I’m just being stupid.” My eyes slid shut, and I took a deep breath.
Josh kissed me quickly. “You could never be stupid. And like I said, you’re adorable when you’re nervous.”
“Okay. You have a job, so go talk to Captain Brown. I’ll find the exact six inches this crockpot should go in and then register us for the race, okay?”
“Sounds good.”
He kissed me again and disappeared into the crowd. Well, as much as anyone his height could vanish in a sea of women. The only soldiers here were either on rear detachment for the deployment, or just hadn’t left yet, like Josh.
I found the correct spot for my dish and gave a half wave to Lucille when she looked over to see that I had carried out her orders. For someone who’d been brought up in the army, I’d never felt quite so out of place.
Strapping my iPod to my bicep with my armband, I wandered to the registration table and signed us in. “Lieutenant Josh Walker and December Howard,” I wrote on the line, adding in his company in the next blank.
Then I tightened my ponytail and waded through the sea of kids and strollers to search for Josh near the starting line.
“Good morning, Ember,” Will said, catching up with me.
My stress level dropped about twenty points at the sight of a familiar face. “Hey, Will. You ready for a little run?”
“Most definitely. You making friends?”
I shrugged. “I wish Jagger and Paisley hadn’t gone to New York for the weekend. How did he get out of this?”