Protecting Alabama (SEAL of Protection Book 2) (5 page)

Alabama didn’t understand. She gave him a quizzical look.

“I’m a Navy SEAL. I’ve been trained to be aware of my surroundings at all times. I can’t sit with my back to the room. I need to sit where I can see what’s going on. Will you switch seats with me?”

Alabama got it. Of
course,
he was in the military. She should’ve known. She’d taken the seat with her back to the wall, leaving the chair on the other side of the small table for him. She quickly stood up and mumbled, “Sorry,” as she went to scoot around Christopher to take the other chair.

Abe blocked her maneuver and put his hand under her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “Don’t apologize, sweet, you didn’t know. We could both sit on that side if you wanted.” He didn’t give her a chance to agree or disagree, but put his hand at her waist and gently nudged her back from the table. He grabbed the chair she’d just vacated and pushed it over a foot. Then he leaned over and took hold of the other chair and pulled it to sit against the wall next to the first one.

Then he again put his hand at her waist and steered her into the furthest chair. After she’d sat down, he settled himself in the chair next to her. It was a close fit. His knee brushed against hers and his arm touched hers as they sat. He reached over to the bag and brought out two muffins. He put one on a napkin in front of her and placed the bigger of the pastries on it. He pushed the vanilla latte over in front of her before getting his own food set.

Then he turned to her and said, “So, tell me everything about yourself. I want to know it all.”

Alabama looked at Christopher in shock. Tell him everything about her? No way in hell. He didn’t really want to know.

At her look of disbelief, Abe chuckled. “Too fast? Okay, how about if I go first?”

Alabama didn’t know what was going on. She thought he just wanted to thank her. Now he wanted to know everything about her? And he wanted to tell her about him? She couldn’t wrap her mind around it all.

“You know my name is Christopher Powers.  I have two sisters, both younger than me. I’m thirty four years old. I’m a Navy SEAL. My buddies call me Abe. I love my job because I love my country. I don’t like what I see while I’m doing my job sometimes though. I’ve never been married, never even come close. I’ve had one serious girlfriend in my life, when I was sixteen.” He paused and smiled then continued. “I’ve seen a lot in my life, and I’ve done a lot of macho things, but nothing impressed me more than you in the middle of that room burning down around us. You kept your head, saved a lot of lives, saved
my
life. Thank you.”

Alabama didn’t know what to say. She looked away from him down at the table and the muffin she’d been shredding with her fingers while he talked.

Abe reached out and put his finger beneath her chin and raised her head so she’d look him in the eyes once more. God, she was amazing. Most of the women he’d known in the past would have simpered and cooed and taken his words as an invitation to snuggle up to him and get closer to him. Not Alabama. His words made her uncomfortable and she tried to hide from him. The skin under his finger was warm and smooth. He wanted to cup her cheek in his hand, but knew that would be too much for her right now. Soon.

“I didn’t say that to embarrass you, sweet. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate what you did for me. I’m a big bad SEAL, no one takes care of me. But when you did it, it felt great. So thank you.”

Alabama just nodded. God. This was…she didn’t know what this was. Every time he called her “sweet”, she felt her heart lurch. She’d never had a man speak to her as if she was important, as if he didn’t want to be anywhere other than in her company. Goose bumps broke out over her arms. Christopher’s hand felt good on her skin. She wanted to lean into him, to feel his hand running over her hair, but she didn’t know him. She figured he was just grateful to her, he’d just said so after all.

“I…you’re welcome.” She managed to squeak out.

Abe let go of her chin and reached for her hand. He threaded his fingers with hers and squeezed her hand. “Okay, your turn. Tell me about yourself.”

Alabama froze. She couldn’t. She wasn’t interesting at all. She looked around nervously out of habit. She’d always made sure growing up Mama wasn’t anywhere nearby when she needed to say something. Alabama hated that she still did it today, but she couldn’t break the habit. There were just too many times she’d been caught unaware by Mama to be able to stop herself. Seeing no one that resembled Mama, Alabama cautiously turned back to Christopher.

“I’m Alabama Smith. I’m thirty. I’ve lived here for several years. I don’t have any siblings or family. It’s just me.” She stopped. What else could she tell him? She didn’t have anything else. She didn’t have a good job. She was just…her.

“Go on, sweet,” Abe encouraged. “Tell me more. I want to know everything.”

“That’s it. There isn’t much to know about me.”

“I highly doubt that. Alabama, you’re amazing. You’ve made a home out of a tiny little apartment that most people would scoff at. You saved the lives of dozens of people this week. You’re beautiful. I want to know everything about you. Your favorite color, your favorite food, what you like to read, where you went to school…everything. Maybe not today, but I’d like to see you again. I want to get to know you.”

Alabama could only gape at him. What the hell did this gorgeous man want with her? Was he messing with her head? Like high school? She couldn’t stop the next words from coming out of her mouth.

“Did you lose a bet?”

Abe watched as Alabama blushed. She was so damn cute, but he didn’t like the implications of her question. He squeezed her hand again and ran his thumb over the back of her hand. He definitely didn’t like her lack of self-esteem and what might have happened in her life to make her that way.

“No sweet. I’m here because I see you. I’m here because I like what I see. I want to get to know you better because no one has ever affected me the way you have. I’m not a boy who plays games, I’m a man. I’m a man who saw a woman who caught his interest, and wants to get to know her better.”

“I don’t get it.” Alabama was frustrated she couldn’t put into words what she meant. She knew what she looked like. She wasn’t a troll, but she also didn’t look like Adelaide. She wasn’t fashionable, she wasn’t gorgeous, she wasn’t…she just wasn’t like the women she imagined he’d be with.

Shifting so he sat sideways in his chair, Abe turned Alabama as well. He just reached out and shifted her chair with her sitting in it. He scooted his chair closer to her so she had no choice but to part her legs to give him room. Their position was intimate. He took hold of her other hand and they sat facing each other. Alabama could feel her breathing speed up and her heart race. Holy moly. He was intense, but intense in a good way.

“Alabama, look at me. Does it look like I have a problem finding a woman?” He wasn’t being cocky; he just wanted to make a point to her. When she shook her head emphatically, he chuckled and then continued.

“Exactly. I’m here because I want to be here. Women like Adelaide are nice to look at sure, but they aren’t nice inside. They want me because I’m a SEAL. They want me because I have muscles. They want me because they think I can give them something. I don’t think that’s the way you see me. Am I right?”

Alabama slowly nodded her head. That definitely wasn’t the way she saw him. If she had any brains she’d choose a man who was nerdy and would fade into the woodwork, just like her. She had no idea why she had the instant attraction to Christopher, she only knew she did.

“Adelaide isn’t a good person, Alabama. I knew it before last night and was going to break it off with her. She only invited me to that shindig because she wanted to show me off. But you, you
saw
me. Even when I was being an ass, you forgave me on the spot.” Abe switched topics abruptly, trying to get his point across to the shy woman sitting across from him.

“I’ve saved hundreds of lives. I’ve gone into situations you’d only think about in your nightmares. The fire that night was nothing compared to what I’ve lived through. I saw the direction the other people you spoke with were crawling and was about to head that way myself when you appeared out of the smoke. No one, other than my mother when I was a baby, and my teammates, have ever had my back the way you did. You put your life at risk for me.
Me
. You think I didn’t notice that you came across the room to me instead of getting your ass out of there? I did. That’s why I want to get to know you. That’s why I think you’re so much better than women like Adelaide. You’re a good person inside and that’s what I saw that night. That’s who I want to get to know. You’ll let me right? You’ll let me take you out on a real date?”

Alabama could only stare at the beautiful man in front of her. She still didn’t one hundred percent believe he was telling the truth. She was just Alabama. A broken woman who’d had a crappy childhood, but she couldn’t help but
want
to believe him.
Want
to have the fairytale.

There was no denying Christopher was a beautiful man. He was tall. She’d prefer his hair be a bit longer, but couldn’t deny the short military cut looked good on him. He was muscular all over. He probably didn’t have an ounce of fat on him anywhere. Christopher was definitely fit and ready to go on whatever mission he and his team were called on. But besides all the outside trappings, she wanted to believe he was a good man. When he’d spoken about his sisters she could hear the pride in his voice. Alabama knew being on a SEAL team was one of the toughest jobs in the military. He put himself on the line every day for his country, and most of the time no one would ever know how dangerous his job was.

“Thank you for your service to our country,” she blurted out before thinking. Alabama mentally slapped her forehead. God, she was such a dork. There he was asking if he could see her again and she’d gone and said that.

Abe simply smiled and brought one of their clasped hands up to his mouth. He kissed the back of her hand and left his lips there for a moment while looking into her eyes. “Thank you sweet. Now…about that date…”

“Yes.”

The smile that broke out over his face was dazzling. “That wasn’t so hard now was it? We can exchange cell numbers and I’ll make the arrangements and call you.” At her immediate frown he asked, “What? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t have a cell,” she admitted sheepishly. She couldn’t afford one. The hundred dollars a month that it cost was too much. Alabama was embarrassed.
Everyone
had a cell phone these days. Since she didn’t have a lot of friends she didn’t see the need. She had a land-line in her apartment, but hadn’t ever owned a cell phone.

“But you have a phone? At home?” At her nod, Abe continued. “No problem then, just give me that number and I’ll give you mine and I’ll call you. Okay?”

Christopher could tell she was embarrassed about not having a mobile phone and he tried to downplay it as best he could. He was surprised actually. He’d never met anyone that didn’t have a cell phone. There was no way he’d let her know though. He didn’t want to embarrass her any more than she already was.

Abe didn’t like the thought of her not having a way to contact someone in case she had an emergency. Anything could happen, her car could break down, she could have an accident, someone could break in…the bad things flashed through his mind one after another. He thought about Caroline, hell, someone
had
broken into her apartment. If she hadn’t had her cell phone the police might not have gotten there in time.

Abe couldn’t help but see Alabama stranded somewhere with no way of getting a hold of anyone…specifically him, when she needed help.

Seeing the look on his face made Alabama want to explain. “I have plans to get one of those pay-as-you-go phones for emergencies, I just haven’t yet.”

“It’s okay sweet. No need to explain to me. People today are way too dependent on cell phones. They don’t stop to actually talk to people, always looking down at their little screen to see what the next tweet is from some overpriced actor in Hollywood.”

He smiled at Alabama when he saw her relax a bit. God, he wanted nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms and take her home and hide away from the world. Nothing in his life had prepared him for her. But he wasn’t backing off, no matter how much he was pushing his luck. And she’d be getting that phone before she knew it, that was for sure. He’d take care of it for her.

“Okay, so I’ll call you tonight?” Waiting for her affirmative nod, he then continued. “I’ll plan something for Friday. Are you busy that day? I have to check in on base in the morning for PT, but then I have the weekend free, as long as we don’t get called in. That’s always a possibility. Does that bother you?”

Alabama thought about it. Did it bother her? Yes, but not in the way he was probably thinking. She looked around furtively again, checking to make sure it was safe to speak, then told him with more honesty then she probably should’ve shared at that point in their relationship, whatever that relationship was.

“Yes, but not because you won’t be able to take me out, but because if you get sent on a mission I know it’ll be dangerous. And I’ll worry about you.”

Not liking the way she constantly scanned the room before speaking, Abe put that aside for the moment, instead concentrating on what she’d said. “Thanks for worrying about me sweet. I’m trained. My teammates are trained. They have my back and I have theirs. I know we don’t know each other that well yet, but understand this. I’ll do everything in my power to get back safely. I think I’ve just discovered another reason to make sure I come home safe.”

Alabama blushed hotly. Holy crapola. He was intense. This whole conversation was intense. It was crazy. How in the hell could he feel those things about her when he didn’t even know her? Hell, how could she feel that way about him?

Abe loved the blush that crept up Alabama’s face. Jesus, she was cute. Trying to lighten the mood he reluctantly let go of her hands and scooted his chair back a bit. “Come on, let’s finish up our breakfast and I’ll take you home. Unfortunately, I have some things I have to do on base today, but I’ll call you later tonight.”

Alabama leaned on the inside of her apartment door and listened as Christopher walked away down the shabby hallway of her apartment complex. They’d finished their muffins and coffees and he’d brought her home. He’d insisted on escorting her back up to her doorway. She was nervous, wondering if he’d kiss her. He hadn’t, but he had taken her face in his hands and leaned his forehead against hers briefly.

“Lock the door behind you sweet. Okay? I want to hear the chain going on.”

It was an odd thing to say in such an intimate position, but all she could do was nod. Christopher had taken a deep breath and stood up straight, not taking his hands off her face. Finally he’d run one hand up and over her hair and the other moved to lightly squeeze her shoulder. “I’ll talk to you later.”