Free Nightmares from Within by Jessica Prince

tried to swallow past the discomfort but it was useless.
    I wasn’t going to make it through dinner.
    “Right this way,” the redheaded hostess said with a seductive smile aimed right at Jordan. If I hadn’t been minutes away from a panic attack, I might have found it in me to be pissed off at her blatant attempts to lure my date’s attention to herself. But I had other things to worry about and I shot up a quick prayer that I wouldn’t be hit with any visions during our meal.
    We arrived at our table and Jordan pulled out my chair like a complete gentleman. I took my seat and kept my head down trying my best to avoid looking at anyone.
    Our waiter came by and introduced himself before taking our drink order, but I made sure to barely glance in his direction. Jordan ordered a bottle of red wine and the waiter thankfully shuffled away quickly to go get it. “You sure you’re okay, Taylor? You got really pale as soon as we walked through the door.”
    I tried to pull myself together and took a few deep, cleansing breaths. “I’m fine. I guess I didn’t realize it would be so crowded.”
    Concern spread across his features and he reached across the table for my hand and began running his thumb over the back of it in soothing circles. “You have a problem with crowds?”
    I ducked my head again and tried to hide my embarrassment behind the curtain of my hair. “Yeah, just a little,” I replied as I reached for my locket again.
    “Hey, can you look at me?” he asked as he tugged on my hand. I lifted my head slightly and gazed at him through my lashes. He looked so apologetic that I felt a pang of guilt at the thought of ruining our evening. “I’m so sorry, Taylor. If I’d known you had a problem with crowds I wouldn’t have brought you here.”
    I felt defeated at his admission. Of course he wouldn’t have bothered with me if he’d known what a freak I was. The last thing I wanted was for him to regret asking me out, so I did my best to suck it up and pasted a smile on my face.
    “It’s not a problem. I really am okay, I promise.”
    He smiled in return and the waiter came back with our bottle of wine. He poured us both a glass and I took a generous gulp, hoping it would fortify my nerves. We placed our order and all I could do was hope that service was speedy and we’d be out of here before I had the opportunity to embarrass myself any further. I pushed the noise of the busy restaurant out of my head and concentrated on the sexy-as-sin man in front of me. “So…Jordan Donovan, I know that you don’t live with your mother, you have medical and dental insurance, you like to have conversations with yourself and you have a 401K. Anything else you feel like sharing about yourself?”
    “Well, what would you like to know, Taylor…”
    “Carmichael,” I offered. “Taylor Carmichael.”
    “Beautiful name for a beautiful girl.”
    The blush returned but I didn’t hide it from him this time. A genuine smile spread across his gorgeous lips and I knew he had noticed and that he appreciated it.
    “Why don’t we start with something simple? What do you do to earn that 401K?”
    He let out a chuckle and took a sip of wine before answering. I copied and took another large gulp. I didn’t intend to get drunk but I needed all the help I could get to make it through the evening. “I’m with the Seattle police department.”
    That surprised me. “You’re a cop?”
    He nodded, “Detective actually.”
    “Wow. Exactly how old are you, Detective Jordan Donovan?”
    He looked a little hesitant before responding by telling me, “I don’t know if I want to tell you that.”
    I tilted my head to the side, curious as to why he didn’t want to answer my question. “Why not?”
    He stared down at his butter knife like it was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. “Because I have a feeling I’m a little older than you.”
    I let out a laugh at his admission. “That’s all right. I’m twenty-three so I