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Gage turned to Anna. “Lady’s choice.”
She opted for a plush rabbit and cuddled it close, rubbing its soft ears. “No one’s ever won a prize for me.”
Looking up, she noticed that he was watching her, his expression unreadable. She grabbed his hand. “Look, hand-dipped ice cream. My treat.”
“Aren’t you stuffed yet?”
“Hey, I burned a lot of calories today,” she told him and pulled him toward the vendor. She ordered two cones, but Gage amended that to one, telling her, “We’ll share.”
They ate the ice cream slowly as they wandered through the carnival. She wanted to savor the festive sights and sounds, but she kept getting distracted by Gage. Sharing ice cream ended up being a surprisingly intimate experience. Their fingers brushed every time they passed the cone back and forth, and there was something so sensual about watching his tongue slide out to lick up a stray drop. And he watchedherevery time she took a bite—his eyes glued to her tongue, her lips. By the time they finished the treat, her mouth was numb, but her skin felt like it was on fire.
Afterward, Gage steered her toward where he’d parked the truck. Without really intending to, she slowed her pace, not ready for their night together to be over. Looking down at her, he asked, “Something wrong?”
She heard the tension in his voice and knew he’d gone on alert. Smiling, she shook her head. “No, not at all. It’s just that I had such a great time, I can’t believe…This day has been so weird.”
At the car next to Gage’s truck, a little girl stood rubbing tears from her eyes, staring up at a man who had to be her dad. “Melissa, I’m sorry,” he said. “We got here too late. Look, the booths are already starting to close, and they’ve turned the music off.”
Anna didn’t hear what else the man had to say. She glanced at her rabbit and bent down. “Excuse me. Can you help me? This rabbit just happened to jump into my arms over there. He said he was looking for a little girl named Melissa—would that be you?”
Melissa’s eyes widened. She glanced at her dad and back at Anna. “I’m Melissa. How did the rabbit know?” she asked in awe.
“He’s a very smart rabbit. But he needs a good home. Do you think you can give him one?”
The girl nodded, curls bobbing. Taking the rabbit, she hugged it to her. Her dad nudged her. “What do you say, Melissa?”
“Thank you,” she murmured, her mouth pressed to the rabbit.
The man reached out to shake Anna’s hand. “Really,thank you,” he said in a low voice. “I think you just saved this night for her.”
Anna watched father and daughter get into their car, and her heart gave a little twinge. She still missed her dad so much. She turned to find Gage watching her. “What?” she asked. “It’s not like I needed it. Are you mad at me for giving away your prize?”
He shook his head and put his hand on the small of her back again. “You did a good thing, Anna Middleton. I’m impressed, is all. Not many people manage to surprise me.”
“And I do?”
“Yeah,” he said softly. “You’re full of surprises.”
6
Gage was working up a sweat on the punching bag in his hotel’s exercise room. He’d been unable to get the information he wanted from the publishing house, he’d gotten so caught up in enjoying his time with Anna that he’d barely remembered to ask her any questions at all, and now his face was on the news. Not good when he’d been told to stay out of sight.
He’d also gotten back from dinner to find a voicemail from special investigations, asking him to return to the base for questioning. It wasn’t surprising, but it was still the last thing he wanted. They needed to catcha break, needed to find Natalie to see if she could give them any answers as to who might have come after Nick. But instead of getting closer to the truth, he’d spent most of his evening wanting nothing more than to get closer to the beautiful blonde by his side.
Anna. The only good thing to come from all of this. But she was turning into one hell of a distraction. And he still didn’t know how she was involved.
Spinning around, he delivered a series of roundhouse kicks that left him gasping for breath. It was time for a new strategy, but he was struggling to come up with one.
He was about to start another round on the punching bag, but a towel wrapped around his neck. Grabbing it, he turned around.
Scotty waggled a Gatorade at him. “Take a break?”
Nodding, Gage wiped the sweat off his neck and face. They headed out of the gym and took the elevator up to Gage’s room. He’d booked into the Jefferson, more interested in the discreet service the place provided than the luxury. Settling on the small balcony, Scotty produced a six-pack to go along with Gage’s electrolyte drink. They toasted with their respective beverages, and Gage took a long draw. It felt good on his sore throat—left over from the fire earlier. He sucked down the rest of the bottle, then reached for a beer.
“So,” Scotty asked, “how was your date?”
“Fine.”
“Fine?” Scotty lifted an eyebrow. He liked to share and expected everyone else to do the same. Women were just another notch on his belt. Gage couldn’t wait for the day Scotty met a woman who’d give him all the grief he had coming to him. The man was a terrific friend and one hell of a SEAL, but he was a menace when it came to romance.
