Page 55 of Unintended Love

Ashlin was a little surprised when there was a stretch limo sitting in their driveway. She thought he would use one of the SUVs and drive them to their mysterious destination. He was really going all out for this date. “You weren’t kidding when you said surprises.” She stepped into the back, and he followed her as they slid over the butter-soft leather seats. “Don’t leave me in suspense. At least tell me where were going to dinner.”

That sexy grin of his appeared on his handsome face. “This meal is like none other you’ve ever had…at least according to your teammates, who, by the way, are jealous.”

She pulled out her phone, set to call one of her friends.

“They’re not going to tell you and ruin my surprise.”

“Dammit, you’re probably right.” Ashlin tucked her phone back into her deep pocket. She thought about what they would do this evening. She really didn’t care as long as they were together. She’d prefer to be alone with him, but if he’d planned some big surprise party for her, she’d go along with it, because he had done that for her. He was turning out to be the best husband possible.

She decided to change the subject. “Since we can’t talk about tonight, what did your other men do today? We know that Van slept all day or most of it, and Boomer and Coyote were with us.”

“Dog and Mick met a pair of twins when we were here earlier in the week.” Clint put his arm around her and pulled her in close. She lay her head on his shoulder, which was how she knew when his whole body stiffened. “Shadow said he was going to meet up with some old friends this weekend…”

“But,” Ashlin encouraged.

“He and I had a talk, CO to senior-enlisted officer.” Clint sighed and kissed the top of her head. “I’d heard he’d been running his mouth about me. Complete bullshit. That’s why I had a talk with all my men outside the hangar just before we left D.C.. Before we landed in Texas earlier this week, I offered Lukas leave to go see his parents and friends. He grew up not far from here. He was adamant that he and his parents didn’t get along, and he had no desire to go back to his hometown. As soon as we landed this morning, Murillo announced that he was going to hang out with his friends all weekend. As a leader, he should be with his new team to establish his position. Boomer did so by coming with us to Charlotte to help Theodora, a widow he didn’t know but who was familiar to my team. Those two are still on probation for the senior NCO position.” Clint shrugged. “I did offer to give him the weekend off to go see family. I guess friends are the next best thing. I think the part that rankles is that he told me his weekend plans rather than asking. We were all given R and R this weekend by our ultimate boss. He’s an adult. He can do whatever the hell he wants as long as he shows up for the plane on Sunday night.”

“Did you work with him in Delta?” Ashlin wasn’t going to share with Clint that she didn’t particularly care for Lukas Murillo.

“No. He was never on any of my teams. Come to think of it, no one on my current team had ever worked with him before.” Clint stayed quiet for a minute before he continued, “Lukas Murillo is a modern-day hero in the Special Forces. His A team went into a desert valley in Afghanistan to take out a high-value target. The team was ambushed. Two men survived. Murillo carried out his badly injured officer, who told his story of tremendous heroism before he died. The Army loves giving out medals, and they gave him the Distinguished Service Cross for heroism in battle. That’s just one step below Medal of Honor. Once he had healed from his own injuries, the Army gave him a medical discharge. Hank, our recruiter, offered him an opportunity he couldn’t refuse. He’s been with us for five years now. He was next in line rank-wise, so I promoted him to take over for Javier. All the reports about him were that Murillo is a good soldier.”

“Good soldiers don’t always make good leaders,” Ashlin threw in. She could think of a few she’d worked for before being chosen for JAFSOS.

“You’re right.” Clint kissed her temple. “That’s why both he and Boomer are on probation.”

“Sir, we’re a block away,” the driver said over the intercom since the privacy screen was up.

The ride had seemingly taken a long time. Ashlin took a deep breath and sat up to look out the windows. A tall wall of old yellowish-white bricks filled one side of the street, and several restaurants with decorative awnings over windows and doors stood along the other side. The car pulled up in front of massive double brass-and-glass doors. A valet dressed in a red jacket adorned with gold braid and black pants with a gold stripe down the outside, reached for their door with a gloved hand. He held the other out to Ashlin as she stepped out of their ride.

She didn’t have to look around to know she was in a major city. She knew instinctively. Cities had their own feel. To some people, it was oppressive, while to others the hustle and bustle, distinct smell, and loud noise were exciting. Each city had its own atmosphere. The desert air made Cairo smell and feel different from the moisture-rich Singapore surrounded by water. She concluded they must be in downtown San Antonio.

Clint put his warm hand on the small of her back and signaled for her to enter through the door held open by another uniformed attendant. As she stepped onto the softest carpet she’d ever felt, she was glad she’d worn low heels. Glancing around, her first impression was an early-nineteen-hundreds theater adorned with gold-leaf filigree and heavy burgundy drapes.

“Mr. and Mrs. Riggs, it’s our pleasure to host you this evening.” They were greeted by a maître d’ in a tux, with tails to his knees. “Please follow me to your private table.”

The restaurant was extremely dark, but each table had a single light over the top that lit up tables for four and six, with a few tables for two along the edges nestled in large seashell-shaped dividers. Ashlin could see that every table had complete privacy, which was very nice. They were shown to one of the most remote tables in the room. As they sat down, they were immediately brought crystal glasses of iced water, but none of the staff spoke to them. No one asked for a drink order which she thought was unusual.

Suddenly, the lights went out. It looked as though a slideshow was projected onto the white tablecloth. Before she could say anything to Clint, a 3D, three-inch character stood up in the middle of her plate. She was so surprised she giggled.

“Hi there. Welcome to La Petite Chef.” The animated character waved, then began to walk around her plate, moving realistically. “Each of your five courses have been expertly paired with our best alcoholic drinks by your chef, me.” He pointed to himself with both hands.

Well, that answered why they weren’t offered a drink. Looked like they would be drinking all night.

Animals that she had thought were part of a slide started to move and continued for the next two hours as the tiny chef gave them a little history of the area while introducing locally sourced foods and the accompanying drink for each course. With the little guy talking constantly between dishes, she and Clint sat enthralled in the show rather than conversing. By the time they walked out into the night, Ashlin was stuffed.

“That was amazing.” She looked up and down the street for their limousine or some kind of a ride home.

Clint had his hand in the small of her back and pulled her in to face him. “I’m so glad you enjoyed it.”

“What a wonderful evening. Thank you. This has been the most fantastic birthday I’ve ever had.”

That sexy grin appeared once again. “Tiger, there’s a lot of birthday celebrating left tonight.” With a press of his hand, he guided her to the corner where they crossed the street. She was more than a little thankful that they were going to walk off some of that delicious meal. They strolled until they came to the entrance of The Alamo.

“I know you’re a little bit of a history buff, and you know I am, too. Have you ever been to The Alamo?” Clint asked.

“No,” she admitted. “Have you?”

“Yes, but every time I come here, I learn something new. Let’s go.” He pointed to the entranceway.