Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(25)

Sarah stared at him incredulously.

An older woman, petite and round, peeked out from a door that Sarah assumed went to the kitchen, and smiled hugely as she walked toward them. “Cole! It’s been way too long since you’ve graced us with your presence! What’s the occasion?”

“My girl’s hungry. Think you can hook us up?”

“Of course!” Francesca said immediately. “As long as you’re both willing to give me your thoughts on the special for tonight.”

Cole beamed. “God, I’ve missed this place.”

“Not my fault you haven’t been here,” Francesca told him.

Cole patted his stomach. “My mind is willing, but too much of your food is bad for my body. Wouldn’t be good to have a gym owner be overweight.”

The Italian woman laughed and shook her head. Then she took a step toward him and went up on tiptoe, offering her cheek. Cole kissed it, and she turned her head so he could kiss the other one. “Introduce me to your girl,” she ordered.

Sarah wanted to protest, to say she wasn’t Cole’s “girl,” but she didn’t get the chance. Besides, it would be rude to contradict the older woman.

“This is Sarah. She works at the hospital.”

“Bless you, child,” Francesca said. “Anyone who works in the public sector has my highest gratitude and admiration.”

“Thank you,” Sarah said. She could usually tell when people were just saying things like that because it was expected of them, but Francesca seemed to genuinely appreciate her and others like her.

“You can’t do any better than Cole here. He’s a good boy.”

“Francesca,” Cole complained.

“Shhh,” she said. “Anyone who goes out with you deserves to know what she’s getting.”

Cole rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, letting Francesca say what she felt she needed to say.

Sarah was surprised by the sincerity of Francesca’s gaze when she looked at her.

“As I said, Cole is a good man. He looks out for this community. After Mr. Brown had a heart attack, Cole offered him and his wife complimentary memberships to his gym for life. When that little boy went missing last year? Cole organized a search party for him and stayed out there in those mountains for twenty-five hours, making sure everyone had food, water, and adequate clothing for the searches. And he was the first to congratulate me on getting my four-star rating from the Denver Post, telling me I was robbed for not getting a five-star one.” Francesca chuckled. “I’ve also seen him buy a dinner to go, then give it to a homeless man down the street. If the measure of a man can be determined by how he treats those around him, Cole Johnson is one of the best.”

Sarah was fascinated by the blush that turned Cole’s cheeks a bright pink. But he simply leaned down and kissed Francesca once more before saying, “Sarah hasn’t eaten since breakfast. Think you can help me out by getting something in her belly before she passes out on me?”

Smiling, Francesca nodded. She brought them over to a table in the back of the restaurant, near the kitchen doors. “It’s not the best seat in the house, but my waitresses aren’t here just yet, and since I’ll be serving you, it’s more convenient to have you near.”

“It’s perfect,” Sarah told her quietly.

Cole held a chair for her and, once she was settled, took the seat next to her instead of across the square table. Francesca disappeared into the kitchen.

“Just in case you’re not keeping count,” Cole said once they were alone, “this is date number two.”





Chapter Six

Cole held back the smile as Sarah blinked in confusion. “What?”

“This is our second date. After the third, I get a kiss,” Cole told her with a straight face.

She shook her head. “Francesca forgot to say, when she was listing all your qualities, that you’re insane.”

That did it. Cole couldn’t stop himself from smiling anymore. He laughed out loud, loving the deadpan way she’d given the rebuke. “I meant to tell you way earlier . . . good job on the self-defense lesson on Monday.” It was an abrupt change of subject, but Cole had been thinking about it throughout the meeting.

It was obvious she hadn’t had any kind of training before, but she’d picked up the things he’d taught her quickly and hadn’t shied away from really kicking the crap out of the bag he’d held for her to practice on.

“Uh . . . thanks,” Sarah said, confused by his change of subject.

“Not everyone picks up defensive moves so fast. It can take them weeks to be able to execute moves as effectively as you did.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you, but you told me to kick as hard as I could.”

“That I did. Now . . . will you tell me what’s bothering you?” He’d figured out something quickly in the short time he’d known her. In order to get her to drop her polite facade and tell him exactly what she was thinking, he had to keep her slightly off-kilter. That way, there was a chance she’d forget to say what she thought he wanted to hear, and instead blurt out her real thoughts.

“I have no idea how you can read me so well,” she mumbled. Then she looked him in the eye and said, “You got me a meeting with Ace Security, and they’re looking into my case. What could be wrong?”