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“I’m not saying you do. I don’t know what happened with you during your time in the service or even now as a cop, but I hope you do realize that you are a true hero.”
He reached out and grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips. He gazed into her eyes and knew he owed her an explanation as to why he was the man he was. Why he put up walls around himself. It wasn’t to protect him.
It was to protect those around him.
“Nurses are heroes, too. It takes a special person to stand up to snarling cops who were brought into the emergency room to be checked over after a bullet hit his vest and not back down from taking care of him,” he murmured against the back of her hand.
She scoffed and waved her free hand.
“Declan? He’s just a big teddy bear. More growl than bite.”
He barked a laugh, thinking that his friend had never been accused of being more growl than bite. He’d be sure to share Sarena’s observation with him.
“You should do that more often,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
“Hello, I’m Talia.” Their waitress arrived at their table, interrupting their conversation. She was dressed in the standard restaurant black pants, white shirt uniform. She filled their glasses with ice-cold water from the pitcher in her hand. “I’ll be your server this evening. May I suggest a wine for you tonight?”
They listened as she suggested various fine wines their establishment had to offer. His gaze lingered on Sarena while they listened. Her smile was bright as she paid attention to the server.
Once Talia was done with her presentation, he ordered them one of the limited-edition wines that the restaurant stocked. Talia laid the menu on the table while rattling off the specials for the night before leaving them to decide.
“What should I do more of?” he asked casually, reviewing the menu. He wasn’t sure what he had a taste for. The food that came out of Lucarelli’s kitchen was prepped as ordered and it was the freshest Italian food anyone could ask for. It had history. Sergio was the third generation to own and run the sought-after restaurant. Everything was made from scratch, and that was why the restaurant was popular with a long wait list.
“Laugh.”
