“Nothing,” Meri said before he could defend himself. “It’s not him. Look.”
Betina moved close and took the photo. “That’s you. Is that Hunter?”
“Uh-huh. I think we’re in France.” She pulled out more pictures. “I can’t believe it. Look at how fat I am. Did anyone stop to say, ‘Gee, honey, you should eat less’?”
“Food is love,” Betina told her and fanned out the pictures on the counter. “You’re adorable and Hunter is quite the hunk.”
Several more members of Meri’s team wandered into the kitchen. Soon they, too, were looking over pictures and talking about Hunter as if they’d known him.
Jack hung back. As much as he wanted to see his friend, he didn’t want to open old wounds. For a second he wondered if Meri would need comforting, then he looked at all the people around her. She didn’t need him at all. Which was for the best. He didn’t want to get involved.
Meri paid the driver, then carried the bag of Chinese food into the house. “Dinner,” she yelled in the general direction of the stairs, not sure if Jack would come down or not. She was gratified to see him walk into the kitchen a couple of minutes later.
“Why aren’t you out with the nerd brigade?” he asked as she pulled a couple of plates out of the cupboard.
“Nerd brigade?” She smiled. “They’d like that. It sounds very military. They’re all going to a club in Lake Tahoe and I’m not in the mood. Plus, I knew you were lonely, so I stayed home to keep you company.”
“I’m not lonely.”
He sounded annoyed as he spoke, which made her want to giggle. Jack was really easy to rile. It was that stick up his butt-if he would just let it go, he could be a regular person. Of course, his macho I’m-in-charge attitude was part of his appeal.
“Can you reach those?” she asked, pointing to the tall glasses some idiot had put on the top shelf. She could never have left them there.
While he got them for her, she carried the plates and food over to the table in the kitchen, then went to the refrigerator for a couple of beers.
When they were seated across from each other, she said, “So are we invading you too badly?”
“Do you care if you are?”
She considered the question and went with the honest answer. “Not really, but it seemed polite to ask.”
“Good to know. I’m getting work done.”
“Your company specializes in protecting corporations in scary parts of the world, right?”
He nodded.
“An interesting choice,” she said. “But then, you have all that Special Forces training.”
Again with the look.
She passed him the kung pao chicken. “I know a few things,” she said.
“Yes, that’s what my company does. When I left the Army, I wanted to start my own firm. Being a consultant didn’t give me enough control. Someone has to rebuild roads in places like Iraq, and our job is to keep those people safe.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
“We know what we’re doing.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be a lawyer?” she asked.
“I joined the Army after Hunter died.”
An interesting way to cope with grief, she thought. But then, maybe the point had been to be so busy he could just forget.
“What do your parents have to say about all this?”
“They’re still hoping I’ll take over the Howington Foundation.”
“Will you?” she asked.
“Probably not. I’m not the foundation type.”
She wasn’t either, but so far it wasn’t an option. Her father seemed content to spend his money on the very young women in his life. Hunter’s foundation ran smoothly. She had her trust fund, which she never touched, and a nice salary that covered all of her needs. If Hunter were still alive…
“You have to deal with your grief sometime,” she said.
“About the foundation? I’m over it.”
“No. Hunter.”
Jack’s mouth twisted. “I’ve dealt. Thanks for asking.”
“I don’t think so. There’s a whole lot there under the surface.” He’d let down his best friend. That had to bug him. Jack had let her down, too, but for once she wasn’t mad at him. Maybe because she’d had a good cry after looking at all the pictures she’d found and felt emotionally cleansed.
She looked at him. “On my bad days I tell myself you’re a selfish bastard who played us all. On my good days I tell myself you wanted to stay but couldn’t handle what you were going through. Which is it?”
“Both.”
Meri waited until nearly midnight, then climbed the stairs to Jack’s office, prepared to let herself out onto the balcony and enjoy the beauty of the heavens. She didn’t expect to find him on his laptop.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” she grumbled as he glanced up. “It’s late. You need your rest.”
“I see you’ve changed your seduction techniques. These are interesting. Less effective, in case you were wondering.”
“I’m not here to seduce you. I have more important things to do with my time.”
He glanced out the French doors toward the sky. “I see. And I would get in the way?”
“You’re going to ask a lot of irritating questions. You won’t be able to help it. I’ll try to be patient, but I’ll snap and then you’ll get your feelings hurt. I’m just not in the mood to deal with your emotional outbursts.”
Instead she wanted to stare at the sky and let the vast beauty heal her soul. Okay, yes, getting Jack into bed was her ultimate goal, but there was a time and place for work and this wasn’t it.
“I suspect my feelings will survive just fine,” he said.
“No way. You’ll go all girlie on me.”
She shouldn’t have said it. She knew that. She hadn’t actually meant to challenge him-she was simply impatient to get out into the night and use the telescope.
He stood without speaking and moved around the desk until he was standing in front of her. Looming, actually. She had to tilt her head all the way back to see into his eyes.
“You think I’m girlie?” he asked in a low, slightly dangerous voice. A voice thick with power. A voice that made her realize he was a whole lot bigger than her and that there were a couple of floors between her and help.
“Not at all,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean to say it. The words just slipped out. Bad me. You should probably stalk out and teach me what for by leaving me alone.”
Instead he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Do you play all the men in your life?”
She swallowed. “Pretty much.”
“Does it work?”
“Mostly.”
“Not this time.”
He cupped her cheek with his hand, bent down and kissed her.
She’d sensed he was going to and should have had time to brace herself. It was just a kiss, right? No big deal. They’d kissed before, and while she’d liked it, she’d managed to keep perfect control…sort of.
But not this time. The second his mouth touched hers, she started dissolving from the inside out. Technically that couldn’t be true, but it felt true. Heat poured through her, making her want to move closer. Again something that didn’t make sense. The closer she got to Jack, the more their shared body temperature would rise. Wait-it wouldn’t rise exactly, it would…
He moved his mouth against hers. This wasn’t the angry, something-to-prove kiss he’d given her at the gym. That had been easy to deal with. This kiss was different. It offered instead of taking. He applied just enough pressure to make her want to lean in and do a little demanding of her own.
Without meaning to, she reached up and rested her hands on his shoulders. He pulled her close until they were touching all over. Shoulder to knee, man to woman. He was hard and unyielding, a combination she found wildly
