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“I should text Morgan, let her know I’m here.”
“And I’ll text Rand and let him know I didn’t skip out.”
“Did Morgan know you were coming?”
“I’m pretty sure she told Rand to invite me. But he waited until the last minute and didn’t tell me anything but the address. Probably knew I’d ask questions if he mentioned it earlier.”
“So this was a setup.”
“I think so.”
How had Morgan guessed that Diana was attracted to the SEAL who’d saved her life? But then, maybe she hadn’t guessed. Maybe she just figured Diana would want a chance to say thank you.
How much did Chris know about the investigation and the suspicions surrounding her?
Probably absolutely everything. Hell, he might be at the center of it. That could even be why he was in DC. Was he among the group who thought Makram Rafiq lived only in her head?
That would certainly put a damper on her infatuation with her rescuer.
“Are you in the city for work?” She knew enough to be aware SEALs didn’t like to be identified as such in public places.
He nodded. “I was. I’m on leave as of about an hour ago.”
“Nice. So you’ll be heading home. Is that Little Creek, or Coronado?”
“Coronado up until last July, when I made the move to Little Creek.” His deep voice was soft and low, ensuring it didn’t carry beyond their booth. There were plenty of people who could connect the dots and would realize he was special forces.
One thing she’d learned in her time in DC—especially since she’d almost joined the clandestine service—was many people didn’t identify their government employer. The town was full of people who couldn’t admit to working for the FBI, NSA, or one of the many other agencies that traded in secrets. Generally, locals knew better than to ask.
She was breaking those rules now in asking about his work, but then, she already had firsthand knowledge of exactly the kind of work he did, and he knew about her work for FMV. “Why the switch? Wait. That’s probably classified.”
“Unfortunately, it’s nothing so exciting as that. My ex got Coronado in the divorce.”
“That’s quite a division of property. How does one get a whole island like that?”
He grimaced. “Sleep with a guy on my former team.”
She winced. “Ouch. Sorry.”
He shrugged. “It sucked.” He took a sip of his beer, then held it out to her in a toast. “To starting over.”
She raised her glass and clinked it against his even as she wondered if that was what she was doing.
She wanted a reset, but it felt like what had happened in Jordan wasn’t finished yet. Hard to start over when you were still floundering in the middle.
But she’d play along. She took her drink, then held up her glass again. “To having devious friends.”
He laughed at that. Good lord, this man was handsome. Thickly muscled. Broad nose, warm brown eyes. Five o’clock shadow on his dark brown skin. He had forearms to die for.
Until now, she’d never seen him without his full gear on, but that hadn’t prevented her from fantasizing based only on his face and a muscular build that had to be hiding under all that body armor and weaponry. He lived up to her mental pictures and exceeded them.
It had been easy to fixate on him when she was in the hospital. Both times she’d seen him, he’d been larger than life. A savior. But the feeling she got when she looked at him now wasn’t gratitude. Not even a little bit.
With his looks and status as a SEAL, he was probably used to women throwing themselves at him.
Did he ever catch?
Chris could hardly believe he was sitting here with Diana Edwards, the woman who’d never been far from his mind in the last three months. At first because she was a job, but later, after her rescue, because he’d seen firsthand what she was willing to risk for the greater good.
