Read Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Awakening Aubrey (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Jack 'Em Up Book 7) for Free Online

that can’t happen over dinner.” He shifted in his seat to face me. “Right?”
    “Right,” I agreed, though my stomach dropped. What he said was absolutely true, but it was still disappointing somehow. Yes, I was only in town temporarily, and yes, we could have a little no strings fun, but that didn’t stop my heart from wishing for more.
    Stupid heart.
    Inside, the mouthwatering scents of spices and grilling meats filled the air, along with canned mariachi music from hidden speakers. The walls were bright salmon and teal with even brighter artistic renderings of sombreros and animals.
    Jude smiled at the hostess. “ Está bien mi mesa de siempre ?”
    “ Sí .” Her smile was definitely appreciative. I couldn’t blame her. Hearing that accent had me swooning a bit myself.
    He passed her up and led me to a corner booth.
    I slid in and picked up the menu on the table. “Come here often, I take it?”
    “Just once or twice a week.”
    I stared at him, slack-jawed.
    His chest rumbled with rich laughter. “Maybe not that much, but yeah, I come enough.”
    “Enough to have your own table?”
    “Busted.”
    I glanced at the menu. “So, what’s good here?”
    “Everything. Mamacita’s is as close to my mama’s cooking as you can get without going home.”
    “Where’s home?”
    “The Bronx.”
    “Wow. Do you miss it?”
    “New York? Honestly, no. I do miss my family though.”
    “Especially your mother, I take it?”
    “Yeah.” He paused while we were served ice water and chips and salsa and we placed our orders—him in Spanish. I followed his lead and got the tamale plate. “I miss my mom . . . most of the time.”
    I dipped a chip and took a bite. “Just most of the time?”
    “She’s your typical mom, I guess. She wants me to settle down and give her some grandbabies. She can be a little pushy about it sometimes. But, other than that, yeah, I miss her and my brother and sister. Family’s all you’ve got, you know?”
    “Yeah.” I looked down and sipped my water as bittersweet emotion rolled through me.
    “Did I say something wrong?”
    I glanced up. “No. I think that’s great. I just miss my dad, is all.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be. I miss him, but I have a great mom and now a sister that I would’ve maybe never known about if he were still alive.”
    He frowned, confused.
    “Rachel’s mom was his wife. I was the product of an affair basically. His shameful secret, though he never made me feel that way. He loved me and my mom the best he could.”
    “Wow. So, you found each other after he died?”
    “Yes. Rachel found information in his stuff that led her to me. The rest is history.”
    “No bitterness?”
    I shook my head. “No. None. I think we were just happy to know each other . . . and it didn’t hurt to get a big sister who looks just like me.” I wrapped a curl around my finger. “I grew up with lots of Little Orphan Annie jokes. She got it.”
    His eyes warmed like the embers of a fire on a cold night. “I don’t see Little Orphan Annie.”
    My heart trilled and spilled over in a rush. “What do you see?”
    Those embers flared to life in a blaze. “I see you.”
    “Me?”
    “I think so.”
    I swallowed, overcome by his intensity and the way he drew me in like the tide to the shore. God, he could burn me, but I’d surrender to the fire willingly if it meant he’d look at me like this forever. “And what’s that?”
    Our hands were suddenly linked on the table and I stared down at our interlaced fingers, large and small, rough and soft, dark and light.
    “I see a beautiful, sweet, smart, sexy woman who I’m dying to get to know better.”
    My eyes flew up. No one had ever spoken to me like that. No one.
    Our waitress approached with our food and he drew his hand away, smiling pleasantly at her as she set steaming plates in front of us. “ Gracias. ” He picked up his fork and dug in like his world hadn’t just tilted totally off its axis.
    Jude was