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“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, holding out his hand. “I’m Striker.”
“I’m Aine,” she said, putting her hand in his to shake. “It’s nice to meet you…uh…Striker.”
“Actually, it’s Griffin. Griffin Ellis.”
“Right,” she said, motioning toward Razor, Gunner, and some of the other guys. “You all have special names.”
“Code names, although I’m not sure there’s anything special about them.”
“I like Griffin.”
“Thanks. I like Aine.”
She smiled, her cheeks flushed, and she looked at her hand still clasped in his, but she didn’t try to pull away.
“Do you know if there will be dancing later?” God, had he really jus
t asked her that? There had to be fewer than thirty people standing on the sand, most barefooted. He wondered if they’d even have food.
“Actually, there will be.”
“Food?”
“No.” She laughed. “Dancing. Are you hungry?”
“Maybe a little. I can go grab something—”
“Come with me,” she said, pulling him by the hand that was still holding hers.
“Where are we going?”
“Kitchen. It’s this place where they have…food.”
Damn, she was even prettier when she smiled.
“What?” she asked when he didn’t move, but didn’t let go of her hand either.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, getting closer to her.
“Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.”
They’d made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that day, and then sat on the deck and chatted about what was happening on the beach below them.
Between then and now, he’d only seen her twice, but they talked every chance they got. With him traveling back and forth between the States and Azerbaijan, it hadn’t been easy to keep in touch, but now that the mission was over, he was looking forward to time off for the holidays. If she’d have him, Striker planned to spend every minute he could with Aine.
The traffic opened up, and he sped up the highway, wishing he’d taken a commuter jet instead. After waiting so long to see her, the last couple of hours were killer.
—:—
Aine changed her clothes three times, opened a bottle of wine, had a glass, and then changed her clothes again.
Today was the day she and Griffin would finally have more than a couple of stolen hours together. In fact, if things went as planned, they’d be together all week. She bit her lip, wondering if the attraction would be as strong once their time together was open-ended. It wasn’t like they were slowly easing into it; they were pulling the throttle wide open.
Seeing she had at least an hour before he arrived, Aine decided to take a walk on the beach. At least that would keep her from changing her clothes again.
The sun was shining, but it was still cold on the Central Coast. Oregon, where she and her mother had settled once Ava announced that she and Razor planned to live there full time, was just as cold, if not colder.
When she started out, she wondered if she’d be too warm in her flannel-lined jeans and Fair Isle turtleneck, but now she was glad she’d thought to grab her barn jacket too.
