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She bent her legs, hugging her knees to her chest.
He bumped her leg with his, warming her. “Can I ask?”
“I wondered how long that would take.” She swallowed.
“We don’t have to talk about it if you’d rather not.” His deep brown eyes held kindness—something she hadn’t seen a lot of since her fall from grace at the FBI.
“It’s okay.” Other than with her bestie, Harper, it’d be the first she’d spoken of it since he’d dropped her—faster than a burning match. “I met Jeremy at a pub the Bureau hangs out at.”
“He’s on the art theft team?” Christian asked, his hand brushing hers as he shifted. And warmth permeated her again, his sturdy hand surprisingly soft.
He wrapped his hands around his knee, his solid presence strong beside her.
“Yep,” she finally said, struggling to focus on the conversation at hand and not the handsome man sitting beside her.
“And you were engaged?” he asked, his voice gentle. It was amazing how tender such a rugged man could be.
“Yes. We dated for a year, then got engaged.”
“But ... I hope I’m wrong and you dumped him, but it sounded like...”
“He dumped me as soon as the accusations I’d messed up flew.”
“I’m sorry.” He reached over and laid his hand atop hers, giving her hand a gentle squeeze before draping his hand back over his knee.
She wanted to grab it back, hold tight, but reason dictated otherwise. What was it about this man that drew her in so easily? After what happened with Jeremy, she’d kept a strong guard in place, and Christian had managed to somehow dissolve it—or nearly so. That both delighted and terrified her.
“I’m guessing he didn’t believe you?” he said, his voice still tender.
She shook her head.
“What a scuzzball.”
She laughed. “That’s a new one.”
He shrugged. “Seems like it fits.”
She smiled, despite the topic, and she attributed it to the man beside her. “I most definitely agree.”
“And that agent...”
“Adam.” She released an exasperated exhale. “Jeremy’s best bud.”
“He seemed like a winner.”
“You have no idea.”
“I think you can tell a lot about a person by who they hang out with. Bad company corrupts good morals and all that.”
Was he quoting Scripture and mentioned prayer? “You’re a believer?”
“Yes,” he said with a smile. “You are too?” His gaze fixed on her.
She turned to look him in the eyes. “Yes. He’s how I got through losing a job I loved, was good at, and ...”
“Getting over Jeremy?” he asked.
She leaned her head against the wall, facing him. “That happened so fast. His actions showed who he was, and I’m thankful I found out before I married him.” That would have been horrible.
