Judging by the way her chest rose and fell, he thought she sighed with discouragement. Or possibly defeat. He wished he could think of something to say that might boost her self-confidence and reassure her. “When the right man comes along,” he added, “he won’t even see the uniform. He’ll see only you.” He took a moment to refill their wineglasses and realized that they each still had yet another glass to go before they could call the bottle a dead soldier. “You’re lovely, Erin. A guy would have to be blind not to notice that.”

Her cheeks went pink. “Thank you. That’s very sweet.”

Just then, Ben Sterling came to remove their plates and the bread basket, which was almost empty. Wyatt remembered taking the first bite of his spaghetti, but from that point forward, he’d been so engaged in their exchanges that the remainder of the meal had passed in a blur. It wasn’t often that he could relax and enjoy a woman’s company so much.

Ben returned with dessert menus. “You can’t leave without trying one of Sissy’s offerings. Her mom makes some of them. Sissy, the others. My personal favorite is Sissy’s cheesecake. She adds caramel sauce, and the crust is caramel as well. It’s like taking a bite of pure heaven.”

Erin placed a hand over her midriff. “Oh, I shouldn’t. Do you know how many calories are in cheesecake?”

As far as Wyatt could see, she didn’t have an ounce of fat on her anywhere. “Come on. We don’t get to splurge on Sissy’s special cheesecake every day.”

She studied him with unnerving solemnity. “I really shouldn’t.”

“You can go for an extra couple of runs over the next few days,” Wyatt suggested. “That should settle the calorie score.”

She sighed again and then grinned. “Oh, heck, why not? I really don’t indulge often.”

It seemed to Wyatt that their desserts arrived in a flash. He found himself not wanting the evening to end. They had arrived early, and the first wave of diners had long since left, only to be replaced by people who liked to eat a little later. He wondered how long he and Erin had been lost in conversation. He guessed that they’d been talking for at least two hours. That was a record for him, and he didn’t feel exhausted.

Erin so enjoyed every morsel of the cheesecake that she threatened to lick her plate. Wyatt rarely laughed without trying to modulate the sounds that he produced. He always controlled his mirth so as not to embarrass himself. Only Erin had a way of making him forget that, and her threat to lick up what was left of her caramel sauce tickled his funny bone. The instant he forgot himself and let loose with a guffaw, he checked Erin’s reaction. She only seemed to be laughing with him, and none of the other diners had looked oddly at him. He guessed maybe his laughter wasn’t too off the charts.