…Allison was counting on the fact that men rarely turned down the offer of sex. She'd back it up by telling him there were no strings attached. She'd plead to his honor as a friend, telling him she needed this step forward. She'd had good sex before she married Marty. She just needed a reminder of how it could be. Hopefully, Cruz wouldn't let her down in that area. Now all she needed was some private time to approach him. She wanted this done…tonight. If things were successful, she had the weekend to reinforce herself for the trial to come next week.

Zach glanced at his watch. "We've got about thirty minutes before the court-martial starts back up. I need to catch up on some paperwork real fast."

Claudia dabbed the napkin across her lips. "I'll come with you. I can do a little poking around the PX for baby things. Coming, Allison?"

She swallowed a drink of water. This was her chance. "No, you go ahead. I'd like…" Just spit it out, she told herself. "I need to talk to Cruz alone."

That curved Claudia's eyebrow. Allison felt her cheeks heat. Were her feelings that transparent?

Zach cupped his wife's elbow as she stood. "Then we'll see you later. I'll get this, and you can get the tip." He grabbed their bill from the table, leaving Allison and Cruz by themselves.

"Something wrong?" Cruz asked softly.

Allison shoved her plate away. "No…at least I hope not. I…uhm…I need a favor of you." "Anything. Just name it."