“Larry. This will be so much better than Larry.”
She was grinning when she opened the door. She forgot she had to look up so far.
So much better than Larry.
“Hello, Samantha,” his voice curled around her.
Smiling, she stepped back. “Come on in. I just need to get my purse, then I’m ready to go.”
His size made her already-small apartment look even smaller, more intimate.
“This place really shows off your personality, doesn’t it? Tranquil and complex.” He went over and looked at her favorite sculpture that she had purchased with her first bonus check. “Can I touch this?” he asked.
She nodded. “It’s meant to be touched. It’s made of sandstone.”
Kevin hadn’t liked that piece; according to him it made no sense, it was just round curves that didn’t look like anything. He was wrong—there were intricate curves that ultimately ended in a figure-eight, and Sam liked the thought that it represented the totality of the universe.
When Ezio was done examining the sculpture he turned to her, his eyes gleaming. “I like this, I like this a lot.”
“Thanks. The artist was just starting out when I bought it. These days I couldn’t afford her prices.”
He took note of her purse. “Are you ready?”
Her heart fluttered.
Stop it, Brooks.
“Yep.”
He opened her apartment door for her, and when she got out her keys to lock it, he held out his hand. “Let me.”
“Uhm, sure.” Come to think of it, Asher always locked everything for Eden; he was always uber-cautious about security.
A current of electricity went through Sam when Ezio placed his hand against her lower back to lead her down the path to his car.
“It’s just down the block.”
Samantha wondered if it was a coincidence that the passenger door of his Jeep Grand Cherokee was lined up with a cement patch in the grass so she didn’t have to get her shoes wet. Somehow, she didn’t think it was an accident. She got the feeling Ezio did everything with purpose.
He opened the door for her and pointed to the running board while holding her hand so she could climb in. Since she and Kevin had started out as friends, there had never been a time that he’d opened doors for her. She was liking this, it made her feel cared for.
“Careful,” he said.
“Huh?”
“Your dress.”
She looked down and saw that her dress was not all the way in the car. She pulled it in and then he shut the door with a soft thud. When he got behind the wheel, he grinned at her. “The place I’m taking you to is eclectic, like you. Lots to choose from, since I wasn’t sure what you liked.”
“That’s nice.”
They drove in silence until he got onto the highway. “You told me a little bit about what you did in Idaho, but now you’re swimming in a big pond, right?”
Sam laughed. “Definitely. I still can’t believe they made me a senior designer. I mean, yeah, I’ve been in charge of projects before, but never in charge of people.”
“How do you like that?”
“It’s scary.”
Ezio laughed. “I hear that. The first time I had to train a bunch of raw recruits, I definitely felt in over my head.”
“How’d you get over it?”
“To begin with I didn’t think I was up-to-snuff. Then I realized how much more knowledge I had than them, and it was up to me to help them not to get killed. That put it into perspective pretty damn quick. I made sure each and every one of them listened to me, understood what I was saying, and followed my orders. Their lives were eventually going to be on the line.”
“How stressed were you?”
“At first I was a nervous wreck, but then my training kicked in. They’d drilled this shit into my head, and I went with it. I’d had some of the best instructors and team leaders in the Navy, so it was easy to fall back on their guidance. One of the best is my lieutenant.”
“Max Hogan?”
Ezio looked over at her and smiled. “You’re good with names. You remember him from the barbeque?”
“Yep, and yep.”
“Actually, I hadn’t met Max when I did the training, I was talking about my normal lieutenant. I’m on loan from the Omega Sky SEAL team. Baron Kostya is who I’ve served under for the last four years. He’s an amazing leader. That’s not to say Max isn’t. I just haven’t worked with him as long.”
“I didn’t know that you were on a temporary assignment with Asher and his team. Why is that?”
“One of their guys, Zed Zaragoza, was injured and has been out of commission for a while. He should be coming back real soon, then I’ll go back to Omega Sky.”
Sam’s heart skipped a beat. “You mean you won’t be in Virginia anymore?”
“Sure, I will. My team is based at Little Creek.”
“Oh, that’s the same place Ash is at. Got it. I’m kind of catching on. It seems like you guys are in Coronado or Little Creek.”
Ezio nodded as he changed lanes. Sam liked watching his profile in the dim light of the Jeep. She’d never thought she was hung up on looks, but apparently there must be a basic womanly part of her that was impressed with a square stubbled jaw, strong shoulders, and muscular biceps.
Down girl.
“You work in downtown Norfolk, right? How is it compared to working in Boise?”
“Believe it or not, the populations are almost identical. I’m just leery of the first hurricane.”
“Yeah, those can be something else. You’re lucky that your apartment is in the middle of the complex, should get less damage that way.”
“That was on Asher, he and Eden went apartment hunting with me.”
Ezio nodded. “Should have figured.”
As they drove
