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“Yeah, you are. Don’t like the idea of cooking something for me, do you?”

His unfettered honesty made her think she could tell him anything and he’d respond with exactly what he thought and felt. Good or bad.

“Hal, do you have any kind of filter between your brain and your mouth?”

“Not really.” He finished the Alfredo and moved the plate aside. The steak was up next. “So what about your parents?”

She took a deep breath. “My mother died about four years ago. My father was killed when I was two in a wrong-place-wrong-time kind of thing.”

He paused. “That’s hard. Losing both of them.”

“Yes, it was.”

“Both of mine are gone, too. But at least they made it to old age. Do you have sisters? Brothers?”

“No. It was just me and my mother. And now only me.”

There was a long silence. “So how do you know John?”

“John…oh, John Matthew? Did Bella tell you about him?”

“After a fashion.”

“I don’t know him all that well. He just kind of came into my life recently. I think he’s a special kid, a kind one, even though I get the sense things haven’t been easy for him.”

“You know his parents?”

“He told me he doesn’t have any.”

“You know where he lives?”

“I know the area of town. It’s not a very good one.”

“Do you want to save him, Mary?”

What an odd question, she thought.

“I don’t think he needs to be saved, but I’d like to be his friend. Truthfully, I barely know him. He just showed up at my house one night.”

Hal nodded, as if she’d given him an answer he’d wanted.

“How do you know Bella?” she asked.

“Don’t you like your salad?”

She looked down her plate. “I’m not hungry.”

“You sure about that?”

“Yes.”

As soon as he’d finished his burger and fries, he reached over for the small menu by the salt and pepper shakers.

“Is dessert more to your liking?” he asked.

“Not tonight.”

“You should eat more.”

“I had a big lunch.”

“No, you didn’t.”

Mary crossed her arms over her chest. “How would you know?”

“I can sense your hunger.”

She stopped breathing. God, those eyes of his were gleaming again. So blue, so bright, the color endless, like the sea. An ocean to swim in. To drown in. To die in.

“How do you know I’m…hungry?” she said, feeling as if the world were slipping away.

His voice dropped until it was almost a purr. “I’m right, aren’t I? So why does it matter how?”

Fortunately, the waitress arrived to pick up the dishes and broke the moment. By the time Hal had ordered an apple crisp, some kind of brownie thing, and a cup of coffee, Mary felt like she was back on the planet.

“So what do you do for a living?” she asked.

“This and that.”

“Acting? Modeling?”

He laughed. “No. I may be decorative, but I prefer to be useful.”

“And how are you useful?”

“I guess you could say I’m a soldier.”

“You’re in the military?”

“Kind of.”

Well, that would explain the deadly air. The physical confidence. The sharpness in his eyes.

“What branch?” Marines, she thought. Or maybe a SEAL. He was that hard.

Hal’s face tightened up. “Just another soldier.”

From out of nowhere, a cloud of perfume invaded Mary’s nose. It was the redheaded hostess sweeping up to the table.

“Was everything okay?” As Hal looked over, you could practically hear the woman sizzle.

“Fine, thanks,” he said.

“Good.” She slipped something onto the table. A napkin. With a number and a name on it.

As the woman flashed her eyes and sauntered off, Mary looked down at her hands. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her purse.

Time to go, she thought. For some reason she didn’t want to watch Hal put that napkin in his pocket. Even though he had every right to do so.

“Well, this has been…interesting,” she said. She picked up her bag and shuffled out of the booth.

“Why are you leaving?” His frown made him look like true military material, taking him very far away from the sexy male pinup stuff.

Unease flickered in her chest. “I’m tired. But, thanks, Hal. This has been…Well, thanks.”

As she tried to get by him, he took her hand, stroking her inner wrist with his thumb. “Stay while I eat my dessert.”

She looked away from his perfect face and his broad shoulders.