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“Let me see,” Anna said, snatching it from Kyle’s hand.
Being a professional photographer would give her an advantage, Spencer supposed. “No. That’s no watermark.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a small magnifying lens. “Looks like Arrieta’s symbol again.”
She handed the picture and lens to Kyle, who took a look, then passed it to Spencer. “Is that the same as what you saw on Toni’s letter that first day?”
Spencer squinted at the tiny image and saw the circle with the letter A in the middle, the same rifle and machete and crossbow. “Yep. You think Arrieta’s using it as a code or something?”
“Maybe.” Kyle rubbed his eyes and signaled the bartender to bring them all another round. “I’ll have to do some more digging to be sure. The only thing I know for certain is there’s a trip to Nashville in my future.”
“What about the rest of us?” Scotty said, waggling his brows at Hayley. “Maybe I’d like to visit some “Friends in Low Places” myself.”
Spencer chuckled. “Way to date yourself. How about something from this century?”
“Shut up. I like that song.”
“And now I’ve got it stuck in my frigging head. Thanks a lot.” Gage pushed to his feet once more and took Anna’s hand. “C’mon, baby. Time for a new earworm.”
He and Anna headed back to the jukebox while Spencer eyed Toni through his lashes.
“I need to call Brighton.” Kyle walked outside, phone in hand.
The low, sweet strains of an old Boz Scaggs song filtered through the air, “Look What You’ve Done to Me.” The irony of the bittersweet lyrics wasn’t lost on Spencer.
Scotty stood and held out his hand to Hayley. “It’s no Garth Brooks, but it’ll do.”
She laughed and followed him out onto the dance floor, where Gage and Anna were already swaying to the music, locked in a tight embrace.
That left Spencer and Toni at the table, alone. He exhaled, started to say something, then hesitated. This was harder than hitting a moving target at a thousand feet against the wind. He dug the toe of his combat boot into the sticky wooden floor and sighed.
“Listen, Spencer. I—” Toni began.
“Toni, I—” he said at the same time.
They both chuckled. Heat prickled beneath the cotton of his T-shirt. “Sorry,” he said. “Ladies first.”
“After that day at the oasis, I knew I cared for you,” she said. “But these past few weeks have shown me just how much I want to be with you. Not a day’s gone by when I haven’t wanted to hunt you down and tell you how I feel. I told myself I was doing the right thing by letting you follow through on your commitment to your team without standing in your way, but I think…I think I was making the cowardly choice, really. I sent you away because I was afraid.”
“You’re afraid of me?” His stomach lurched.
“No. Not of you. Of what Ifeelfor you.” She gave a sad smile. “I’ve spent my whole life loving one man who never loved me back. I don’t think I could bear to go through that again.”
Spencer turned her hand over and kissed her palm, then the inside of her wrist, right over her thudding pulse point, before bringing her hand to his cheek and smiling. “No worries there. Sweetheart, you’re not the only one who’s been afraid. I’ve always been afraid of losing control. I had to be cool as ice, keep a clear head, not let anything distract me. But thenyoucame along, and you turned me upside down. I was scared of how strongly you affected me, even the first day we met. I let you push me away because I thought I couldn’t be the man I need to be, theSEALI need to be, when I was so distracted by you. But…”
“But?” she repeated.
“But beingawayfrom you is so much more of a distraction,” he confessed. “You have no idea. It’s like I’m drunk or in a daze. My legs are covered with bruises, because I keep walking into furniture. I’ve been wearing clothes that clash so badly, people on the street stop and stare. I’m amesswithout you, Toni—and I don’t even care about that part. I’m happy to be a mess if I can be a mess with you.Anythingwould be better than being without you. I love you so much it hurts.”
“You do?” Tears glittered in her gorgeous eyes, and he kissed her, soft and slow and deep, loving the minty taste of her lips, the silky softness of her skin, everything about her.
“Yeah, I do.”
“Thank God!” Gage called from the dance floor. “He’s been a royal pain in our asses since we got home. Maybe you can cheer him up, eh, Toni?”
“I’ll do my best.” She kissed him again, then asked, “Want to dance?”
“I’m supposed to be the one to ask that, right?” He stood and held out his hand to her as his favorite sappy song started: “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. Yeah, it was old, too, but so much better than Scotty’s countrified crap. He pulled Toni into his arms, and they swayed together, her front pressed against him and driving his need for her to new heights.
“You did okay for yourself there, buddy,” Gage said as he and Anna drifted past. “Toni, welcome to the team.”
