“Let me guess, you didn’t believe him,” Boone teased.
“Well … he sounded fine, but—”
“Maybe he just needed some time with his family.” Boone could certainly understand that. “Don’t you like having your dad and granddad here?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Calliope conceded. “By the way, this makes me very happy.” She shook her finger back and forth between Luna and Boone.
They both responded at the same time with, “Me, too.”
Lucas walked up behind Calliope and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her head dropped back against his chest on a sigh.
“Happy birthday, babe.” He kissed the top of her head and looked at Boone. “You guys hangin’ out for a bit?”
“Nah, I’ve got to get home and check on Sassy and Patience.” The horses were fine, but it was obvious Calliope was fading fast. Which she would never willingly admit. “I’ll walk you to your car, Luna.”
“Thanks.” She grabbed her purse from where it hung on a peg next to his hat.
“Thanks for coming, you guys.” Calliope stepped away from Lucas to give them each a hug.
“Thanks for having us.” Luna looped the strap of her bag over her head so it hung across her body. “And happy birthday, again.”
“See you Monday.” Boone opened the door for Luna, and she stepped out onto the front porch.
Lucas pointed at him. “Take care of her.” His tone held a combination of protectiveness and warning.
“Count on it.” Boone wedged his hat onto his head and walked out the door.
Luna Pannikos was his now, and no one was going to hurt her. Especially not him.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Lunapluggedherlaptopinto the power bank built into the long table in the conference room, took a bracing sip of coffee, and used her password to log into the encrypted network.
After leaving Calliope’s party a week ago, Boone had walked her to her car, kissed the stuffing out of her, then followed her home to make sure she arrived safely. Her mind and body had been wound way too tightly, so she’d finally given up on sleep at about three in the morning, grabbed her laptop and started scanning the satellite feeds that came in overnight.
It had been a total waste of time until two nights ago.
She’d heard something that sounded suspicious, but before alerting Cole, she’d wanted to try to get it as clean as possible, then listen to it a few more times to ensure she wasn’t hearing something that wasn’t there. There were still issues with the recording, but it was as clear as it was going to get.
The minute she was certain the audio contained something vital, she’d called Cole, who’d in turn called the team in for a meeting.
The sound of voices had her looking up—one voice in particular sent her heart kicking in her chest. When Boone rounded the doorway, spotted her, and smiled, that was it. Luna was toastand had to force herself to not jump out of her chair and wrap herself around him like a spider monkey.
During Calliope’s party, she’d accepted there was something between them. But once she was home, in the dark quiet of her bedroom, she’d lain there trying to convince herself that whatever was happening between them was just a funthing,nothing serious. If she could do that, then maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much if they imploded. But no matter how hard she tried to minimize her feelings, she couldn’t do it. She was all in.
Whatever that meant to him, she wasn’t sure.
Her eyes traveled from his feet to his face—he looked good. Like,reallygood. She’d spotted him on the obstacle course when she arrived this morning, and it looked like he’d just showered. His hair was still wet, and she could tell that, rather than comb it, he’d just dragged his fingers through it. She liked the way it curled up around the collar of his black T-shirt. And speaking of his T-shirt, it hugged his chest and biceps in a way she wished she could. And even though she was surrounded by good-looking guys all the time, something about Boone Langston really got her motor running.
The team had been out of town for aircraft assault training at the Denver airport, so they hadn’t seen each other, except via video calls. They’d texted back and forth whenever possible, and she found herself checking her phone throughout the day to ensure she hadn’t missed a message from him. Like a pitiful high school girl waiting to hear from the guy who took her number and promised to call.
“Good morning.” Boone rolled out the chair next to her and sat.
Oh man, he smelled so good.
“Good morning.” Luna dragged her eyes away from that distracting smile of his and opened the encrypted file she needed.
He leaned close and whispered, “I missed you.”
