The hitting.
Sophie had read all the statistics. She knew how common it was for girls growing up in that kind of environment to end up choosing men who treated them the same way.
Screw that.
For as long as she could remember, she’d promised herself to never end up like her mother. While she didn’t understand it, she didn’t fault her mom for loving her father.
The heart wants what it wants.
The old cliché was a cliché for a reason.
Sophie thought of the man sitting beside her. Was he the one her heart wanted? Maybe.
Her body, however, had absolutely no doubt about what—or who—it wanted.
With most guys, it was pretty clear from the first couple of dates whether or not they were going to fit the bill. If not, she saw no reason to waste either of their times by dragging out a losing game.
In the past, Olivia and the other RISC wives had commented that she was too picky. That maybe her standards were a tad high. And maybe they were right.
Didn’t change the fact that she’d rather be alone than with someone who didn’t make her happy.
Bright lights pulled her away from her thoughts when Jason pulled the car into a well-lit parking lot. She glanced up and saw that he’d brought her to her favorite restaurant...The Gardens.
“I love this place.” She perked up. “Did you know it’s owned by Lexi Matthews, Trevor’s wife?” The same Trevor that was Jake’s SIC, or second in charge on Alpha Team.
“I did.” Jason put the car in park. “Glad to know I chose well.”
She looked at him like he was nuts. “Uh,wellis an understatement. I mean, I’ve only eaten here a handful of times, but I swear, Lexi makes the best food in the state.”
“Agreed.” A ghost of a smile reached his lips.
Suddenly famished, Sophie didn’t wait for him to come around before getting out of the car and shutting the door behind her. A cool breeze blew past, so she wrapped the soft pashmina around her shoulders as she and Jason made their way to the restaurant’s entrance.
“You heard about what happened here a while back, right?” Sophie knew he probably did, but she needed to talk aboutsomething. “This past Valentine’s Day when those men tried to rob the place?”
“I did.” Jason nodded. “I was out of the country when it happened, but I found out about it when I got back.”
“Thank God Lexi wasn’t hurt. I wasn’t working the day it happened, but Olivia was. She said Lexi had just found out she was pregnant not long before that. I know our situations were different, but I can’t imagine how much worse it would’ve been for me had I been pregnant on top of it all.”
A look crossed over Jason’s face, but it was gone before Sophie could decipher what it meant.
Opening one of the two large, wooden doors, he waited for her to enter the establishment first before following her inside. Though it was well past ‘normal’ dinnertime, the place was still buzzing with activity.
“Good evening, Mr. Ryker,” the young hostess greeted them. “Your table is ready. If you’ll follow me...”
Sophie’s brows rose as they fell in line behind the other woman. “Wow.” She grinned. “You must come here a lot if they know your name.”
“I’ve eaten here a few times.” He shrugged.
All of a sudden, Sophie found herself wondering how many other women he’d brought here before her. Not that it mattered, since their evening was about business and not pleasure.
Except for some reason, it did matter. Much more than it should.
Once they were seated, their server came back to take their drink orders. With her nod of approval, Jason ordered them each a glass of wine, as well as some ice water.
More than ready to find out what this was all about, Sophie waited for the gentleman to leave and then asked point blank, “What is it you want to know?”
“Straight to the point. I like that.”