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“Uh-huh.” She sounded like a dork.
“What happened?” He rubbed his thumb down the length of the scar, stroking gently.
Her heart pounded in her ears and her voice sounded too loud as she related the story. “Childhood stupidity. I was trying to help with an oyster roast and my knife slipped.” She pulled her hand away and mimicked the path of the blade. “It stopped right at the knuckle. I couldn’t throw a punch with that hand for months.”
“Your siblings must have loved the reprieve.”
“They did.” She shifted away from him, would have stood up, but he caught her hand. “What?”
“You had an interesting childhood.”
“Didn’t you?”
She didn’t get her answer as room service chose that moment to interrupt them.
“Wait right there,” he said quietly.
With a nod, she stayed perched at the end of the bed, noticing how the mattress shifted when he got up and walked away. She called herself all kinds of foolish as she realized he’d only been interested in her story for the sake of their job here.
Why was she so determined to fall for another unattainable, inaccessible guy? Frustrated, she felt the heat of embarrassment in her face and hoped it painted the picture he wanted. Just because she wanted a man—the right man—in her life, didn’t mean she should cast Dale in that role.
This was temporary and she was proving her inexperience and naiveté, neither of which would earn Dale’s respect. No matter how this impromptu operation finished, no matter how much she was attracted to him, she realized she wanted his respect when it was over.
She wanted him to be the first person in her world who knew what she was capable of. She didn’t want to analyze why.
“All clear,” he said, waving her closer.
“This must be costing you a small fortune,” she said as she joined him in the front half of the suite.
“The ring was just gathering dust,” he said with a shrug.
Oh yeah, the previous fiancée. She shouldn’t wonder about that woman, about what had happened. Dale’s personal life really wasn’t her business. “You were engaged before?”
His back to her, the unhappy reaction was clear as his shoulders hunched like he wanted to take cover from her question. “That’s not up for discussion,” he said, turning his grim and unyielding gaze on her.
She held her hands up. “No problem. I’m not here to pry.” It didn’t seem fair that he could coax her past out of her so easily and yet keep everything about himself hidden away. But no matter how much she was starting to like him, this wasn’t a real relationship. It was a short-term operational partnership.
“If we succeed,” he said, “I’ll put in for reimbursement on the gas and hotel expenses.”
She watched him remove the covers from the plates of food on the cart. “What happens if we don’t succeed?”
“That’s not really an option in light of how much Lester knows about your involvement.”
Delivered so blandly, the statement sent a shiver of hard reality through her system.
“All right.” She went to the closet, ready to change clothes and get to work. “Let’s do this.”
“You don’t want to eat first?”
Just thinking about adding food to the butterflies and jitters in her stomach made her queasy. “I’m good.”
“It could be a long night.”
“That’s a given.” Pausing at the bathroom door, she smiled at him over her shoulder. “I packed meal bars and water.”
He frowned at the buttered bread in his hand. “Of course you did.”
She decided not to mention she’d packed enough for him too.
