Shielding Gillian (Delta Team Two #1) - Susan Stoker Page 0,33

smiled. Wendy turned at the waist and looked behind her. “Holy shit,” she said softly. “If I wasn’t dating Wyatt, you might have a fight on your hands, Gilly.”

Gillian froze. She glanced over at Wendy on her left, who was still staring behind them. “Tell me you’re kidding,” she stage whispered.

“Nope,” Wendy said with a grin.

“How long has he been standing there?” she asked Clarissa, thinking she was being quiet during her rant, when in fact, the tables closest to them could probably easily hear her thoughts.

“You’re sitting there single and beautiful because you hadn’t met me yet,” a voice Gillian had dreamed about for weeks said from behind her. “When we go out, you’ll never pay, and no way in hell will you walk next to the street—or sleep on the side of the bed by the door, for that matter. And just for the record, I don’t have a sock in my pants, and I can pretty much guarantee that after I get a taste, one of my favorite things will be going down on you as often as you’ll let me.”

“Holy shit,” Ann said, fanning herself with her hand.

Clarissa merely blushed, but her huge smile said she approved.

And Wendy could only stare with her mouth open.

If she hadn’t been drunk, Gillian probably wouldn’t have done what she did, but because she was feeling no pain and her inhibitions were down, she turned around and glared at Walker. “What are you doing here?” she blurted defensively. “Are you stalking me?”

He chuckled. “Seeing you again didn’t go as I’d imagined it would in my head. I said something wrong and didn’t know what. I thought maybe I could try again.”

Gillian blinked.

“You came to see her only because of a seventh hijacker,” Ann said helpfully.

“She thought you wanted to see her, but instead you were there for work,” Clarissa added.

“Not cool,” Wendy scolded.

“That’s what you thought?” Walker asked, gaze locked on Gillian.

She couldn’t look away from him, lost in the emotion she saw in his eyes, and nodded.

“I really did fuck up,” he muttered. Then he came around the booth and squatted next to where Gillian was sitting. He put a hand on her leg, and she swore she could feel tingles shoot down her thigh. “I didn’t come to see you tonight out of obligation, Di. The FBI could’ve sent someone to inform you about the seventh hijacker. I used it as an excuse to see you again. And I didn’t call you before now because I wasn’t sure you’d want to be reminded about what you went through. I thought maybe I’d be a bad memory for you.”

“You were the best memory about that whole situation,” Gillian blurted.

“Can we start again?” he asked, not looking away from her eyes for a second.

Gillian wanted to say yes. Wanted to jump at the chance. But she’d had just enough alcohol to be completely honest. She shook her head sadly. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“Yeah, why not?” Clarissa echoed. “Gilly, you were just sitting here telling us that you had a feeling he was—”

“I know what I told you,” she said quickly, cutting Clarissa off then looking back at Walker. “I just…if I hurt this bad after a misunderstanding, and I don’t even know you, if we start dating and you decide you’re tired of me, or I’m too annoying, or too type A, too romantic and needy…it’ll kill me.” The last three words were whispered.

“I’ve thought about nothing but you for the last three weeks,” Walker told her without hesitation. “I’ve wondered what you were doing and how you were dealing with what happened. Until I knew for sure you and the others had left Venezuela, I worried that you might get stuck there somehow. You can ask any of my friends; I’ve been distracted and a huge pain in their asses. And when I heard that you might be in danger, my first thought was getting to you and making sure you were safe. I’m the one who has to worry that you’ll get sick of dating a soldier like me. You’ll get tired of the not knowing where I am or when I’ll be home. Believe me, Di, I know who the lucky one is here, and it’s not you. It’s me. It’s definitely me.”

Wendy nudged her shoulder when she didn’t say anything.

Gillian looked at her friend, then back to Walker. He hadn’t moved. Was still crouched next to her. His eyes hadn’t left her face. He was