Page 286 of 5+Us Makes Seven

Max called me occasionally, wanting to go into business together, but I’d never taken him up on the offer. We got away with our operation in Afghanistan. I didn’t want to push my luck.

Thoughts of the past faded as I concentrated on the future. After two years, I would finally be having uninterrupted time with Jade, the woman I’d never been able to forget.

TWELVE

Cooper

I approached the apartment building without receiving a single phone call all day. She’s been on my mind since the day I saw her being lifted into the air and away from the base. My luck in love was far from great since getting out of the Army, but it wasn’t exactly my first priority either. I hit the buzzer at the door and waited to hear her voice. After years of not having seen her, I could still hear her laughter ringing in my memory. There was something special about Jade. She was the first woman to leave this kind of impression on me.

“I’m on my way down,” she said, interrupting my thoughts as they trailed off.

I hailed a cab for us as I waited. When she walked through the doors and made her way to me, she demanded every eye on the street. I checked her out as the cab took off toward the restaurant I’d given to the driver. The red, low cut dress she had on played off the dark color of her hair and enticing eyes.

“You look incredible,” I said.

“Thanks. You never told me where we’re going.”

“A picnic in the Afghanistan mountains.”

She laughed. I slipped a hand behind her, rubbing her back.

“No, it’s a place called Maggiano’s. You know it?”

“They have the best pasta.”

“You have good taste.”

Tall buildings passed outside on either side of us, so different than Afghanistan where buildings over two-stories high were a rarity. The thought reminded me of something.

“Whatever happened with that story you were working on?”

She frowned.

“Well, after Captain Jeffries kicked me out before I’d had a chance to put the story together, my readers and the website who had paid me to go to Afghanistan were not happy. I had a hard time finding any work as a freelance journalist after that.”

“That sucks.”

“You’re telling me.”

“But you’ve got a better job now?”

“I don’t know if I would go that far, but I pay my bills. What about you? What happened after…that night.”

At the mention of the night where things were left unfinished, the mood changed in the back of the cab. She looked away, peering out the window on her side. I pulled my hand back.

“Yeah, it didn’t go too well for me either. I left the Army about a year ago.”

“What have you been doing since then?” she asked, turning back to face me.

“Oh, a little of this and a little of that. Let’s forget about work and the past for now. We’re just two people having a great dinner together.”

“I don’t think it will be as romantic as a picnic in the foothills of a mountain range, but I’m game.”

Her smile returned, putting me at ease. The driver pulled over to the side of the road in front of Maggiano’s. I paid the driver then got out and glanced around.

“I’ve not eaten here in a while,” she said. “It’s so expensive.”

“My treat.”