Mirage - Alice Tribue Page 0,23
trying to get them to come out for a visit, but the timing is always off. Actually, I think the idea of the city intimidates them.”
“I guess I can understand why they’d be intimidated. It’s a big city; it can be kind of daunting.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like I would throw them to the wolves and leave them to figure it out themselves.”
“Are you very close to them?”
“I am, but I’m closest to my mom.”
“Momma’s boy?”
“Not quite,” he responds with a chuckle.
“Must have been hard for her when you joined the Marines,” I probe.
“Hard is putting it mildly; I was concerned that she’d have a coronary.”
“How old were you when you enlisted?”
“Eighteen, right out of high school.”
“Oh, wow.”
“Yup.”
“How long were you in?”
“I did four years active duty and then got out, went to school, and then somehow got into security.”
“That’s a lot of living.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I learned a lot, Tori, and more importantly, I became a man. Before joining the Marines, I found trouble just about everywhere I went. I mean, granted, I wasn’t a criminal or anything, but I was spending a lot of time with the wrong people, and it was only a matter of time until I was hurt or arrested. I was out of control, anyway, when the recruiter came to the school, and he made it sound like a great thing. My grades weren’t good enough for college, and I had no other plans, so I enrolled.”
“Do you regret it?”
“No. It wasn’t what I expected, and it took me a while to adjust, but it made me who I am. The Marines taught me structure and responsibility; it even taught me the meaning of fear. Who knows where I’d be right now if I hadn’t gotten that.”
“You’re a pretty fascinating guy, you know that?”
He lets out a low chuckle. “I’ve been called a lot of things in my life but fascinating is not one of them.”
“First time for everything.”
“Is it crazy that I want to kiss you right now?”
“Is it crazy that I want you to kiss me right now?”
“No, but I’m shocked that you’ve admitted it.”
“I know I’m not easy to deal with.”
“You’re perfect.”
Far from it, I think to myself, but it’s a lovely thought. It’s a nice ideal to attain and try to live up to. If he knew how imperfect I really was, how far from perfect I was, he would run for the hills. Sometimes, I wonder what my life would look like had I followed a different path—used the education my father provided me with for a better purpose. A career that couldn’t land me behind bars if I made a single wrong move.
“You’re either full of shit or a glutton for punishment.”
“And you have a smart mouth.”
“Want to try some of my sushi?” I wink, trying to be cute instead of smart.
“I’ll try anything you want me to try,” he tosses back with a grin, making my heart flutter in response. I push that feeling aside, looking down at my plate and stabbing one of my shrimp tempura rolls with my fork. I dip it in the soy sauce and feed it to him. He nods his approval with a full mouth before reciprocating with one of his own.
The rest of our lunch date passes by with a lot of talk and an effortless ease that makes me almost sad to see it come to an end. Hearing some about his family life, about his past, makes me feel a little bit better about what’s happening between us. All of the reasons I have for not getting involved with him are still there, but that’s never stopped me from getting involved before. If I’m being honest with myself, I think the problem with me starting up something with Nathan is that I have a deeper attraction to him than I’ve ever had to anyone else. From the very first night when I spotted him at that charity event, I felt something for him. A connection that I cannot easily explain and have not forgotten, and now I don’t want to do either. The only thing left to do is hope that I don’t regret it later.
CHAPTER SIX
“Victoria, thank you for meeting with me on such short notice.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Schilling. I happened to have a break in my schedule.”
“I messengered your paperwork back to your office this morning, so you can feel free to speak openly with me,” he says, nonchalantly like he does