Torn, her gaze bounced back and forth between the dessert and Derrick.
Sean gave her another verbal nudge. “You know, gluttony is a sin. So is waste. Think of all those starving children in Africa,” he teased. “I’d hate to leave half of this on my plate because I was too greedy to resist.” He forked a piece of the semi-sweet confection and put it in his mouth. “Mmm, so good.”
That was all the prompting she needed. Von picked up her spoon, stating, “What kind of woman would I be if I didn’t save you from yourself?”
She spooned a piece of the pie and swirled it in the strawberry glaze before bringing it to her mouth. The sound she made was so orgasmic, he wondered if she’d make the same noise when she was coming around his cock. He bit back a triumphant smile, pleased to be giving pleasure to the woman he loved, in even such a small way.
“Derrick, you sure you won’t have any, man? There’s plenty.”
Derrick flicked a glance his way. “No, I’m fine,” he said while watching his fiancé with a frown.
Von took two bites of the cheesecake and stopped. “Thank you. That was good.”
He nudged the plate in her direction. “Here, have some more. I insist.”
She shook her head. “Two bites were enough to satisfy.”
Derrick seemed to relax at this sign of her self-control. Sean shrugged, disappointed but trying to appear unconcerned. Since he’d ordered it for Von, he took another bite or two and set his fork to the side.
“That was good.” He picked up the check and pulled his wallet out of his back pocket.
“How much do we owe?” Von asked.
“I’m paying,” he reminded her.
“Oh but—”
“The man said he’s got it. Say thank you and accept this as a blessing from God,” Derrick told her.
“At least let us pay the tip,” she countered.
“Totally unnecessary,” Sean said, trying to dissuade her, but she already had her purse open, and wallet out. She placed a ten on the table.
“That’s too much,” Derrick protested, reaching for the bill.
“It’s not. She gave good service and we’ve been here a long time, cutting into other tips she might have received,” she told him, placing a staying hand on Derrick’s.
Inwardly, Sean shook his head. Not only was Derrick controlling, he was cheap. His friend had changed, and not for the better.
“What time are we meeting tomorrow? And you never said where.”
His question distracted Derrick from the tip and the next several minutes were spent finalizing the details of tomorrow’s one-on-one basketball game at a court near Derrick’s apartment complex. Outside the restaurant, before they parted ways, he shook Derrick’s hand and gave Von a very brief hug, thanking her again for taking pity on a soldier like him and thanking Derrick for being the one to initiate their correspondence.
Since he was parked closer to the entrance, he watched as Derrick escorted Von to his car, solicitously opening the door for her, making sure she was securely inside before shutting it and going around to the driver’s side. As they pulled off, Sean sat drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.
After seeing the two of them together, Sean was more convinced than ever that Hooch didn’t deserve Von. She was too good for the likes of him. But did that knowledge give him the right to try and take her away? He just didn’t know.
His conscience said to leave her alone, but that new, untamed part of him demanded he take her. Von was deeply attracted to him, whether she wanted to be or not. He could use their years of friendship and her interest to get closer. It would be fascinating to see which side won.
Sean started the truck and headed for the base. He’d start by emailing Von. See if he could convince her to see him alone. If not at her apartment, then maybe for lunch somewhere private. He could entice her by telling her he wanted to discuss what happened on his last mission, but not in front of Derrick, since doing so would reveal they’d kept in touch. Which was the absolute truth. Von he’d tell everything. And maybe, just maybe, while he was at it, he’d tell her how much she meant to him.
Chapter Four
As they pulled out of the parking lot, Von dug in her purse for her phone. There was a patient whose progress she was extremely interested in—a young child. Her coworker Sharon promised to contact her if there’d been any changes.
She turned it on and saw that while she hadn’t missed any calls, two text messages had come through. One was Marketta wanting to know how her evening had gone. The other was from Sharon. Little Philip was progressing well and the doctors were hopeful that he’d be moved from ICU in the morning. Von briefed a sigh of relief and gave a silent prayer of thanks for prayers answered.
“He seemed mighty interested in you.” Inside the dark interior of the car, Derrick’s voice broke the silence.
“Who?” she asked absently, her mind at work and on what needed to be done when she started rotation again.
“Sean.”
“He was being polite,” she said dismissively as she tucked her phone back into the side pocket of her purse and then turned to watch the streetlights flash by.
“Hmm...”
Quiet descended between them once more. The radio played softly in the background. A song came and went before Derrick said, “You certainly were talkative. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so animated. You two were so into each other, I might as well not have been at the table.”
That caught her attention. She turned and stared at his profile in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right? Sean is your friend. He came in town specifically to see you.”
“I know that,” he said, a frown marring his handsome face.
“You invited me along to meet him. I didn’t ask to come—”
“I’m aware of how you came to be there,” he said shortly.
“...and now you’re upset because I was friendly? What did you expect me to do when he started asking questions, sit there and say nothing?” she finished doggedly.
“No,” he denied. “I just didn’t expect you two to hit it off so well.”
“Why wouldn’t we?” she asked, honestly confused. “We may never have met in person before but we spent almost four years exchanging letters. I feel like he’s a friend. Maybe as much mine as yours. I mean, that’s the whole reason you asked me to be there tonight, isn’t it? So we could finally meet face-to-face?”
“You’re being friendly isn’t the problem,” he said in an annoyed tone of voice.
At a lost, she asked, “Then what is?”
“It’s just, you never told me half the stuff about your job that you did Sean,” he complained.
Von sorted through the various responses she could give to his statement and finally settled on, “He asked. You never have other than to see what my schedule is.”
“That’s because I didn’t think this job was all that important to you. I mean, it is only temporary. Once we’re married, the hospital will no longer be an issue.”
Incredulous, she asked, “Says who?”
Derrick tapped an impatient tattoo on the steering wheel with his fingers. “Von, after we’re married, you won’t have time to work. You’ll be busy helping me with the ministry.”
She took a deep breath and then in a quiet but firm voice said, “I’m not quitting my job.”
“Of course you are,” he said confidently.
“No, I’m not.”
The tapping stopped. He cast a glance in her direction, probably to determine how serious she was. “Von, baby, you work twelve hour shifts. With your current schedule, when do you expect us to spend any time together? You’re so tired when you get home all you want to do is sleep. You spend your days off catching up on all the things you couldn’t do while working.”