"What do you need, Rowan?"
"You alright?"
Apparently, he wasn't hiding his disappointment from the young—almost pre-pubescent—IT genius.
"Yeah, I'm fine. What do you need? We're not meeting for another hour."
"Oh, yeah. I know. But I found thepapermaps you wanted." He shoved the stack of folded maps toward Knox, staring at them like he couldn't believe they existed. "I did what you said. Asked around at some of the tourist shops. This one old guy had three left, so I bought them."
The "old" guy was probably thirty-five. Knox grabbed the maps. "Thanks. Nice job." He mentally patted himself on the back for not adding "kid" at the end. He'd been working hard not to refer to Rowan as a kid. To his face.
Jason had strongly suggested referring to their tech specialist as a kid wasn't professional. Or good for morale. Probably because Rowan whined about it. But Knox did appreciate the young man's expertise. He was glad Rowan's skill set was on their side. And to show his appreciation, he hadn't called the Minecraft-T-shirt-wearing team member 'kid' in almost twenty-four hours—which was Knox's new personal best.
"Hey, Rowan."
Knox felt his whole body stiffen at the sound of her voice. He turned. A smiling Allie Harkwood walked toward them, looking nothing like the last time he saw her. In the emergency room. Covered in too much blood. Tears. Vulnerable. Angry. Scared.
He miscalculated how he would feel seeing her again. He'd known for three months that she was alive and healing, but he'd lied to himself about his feelings for her diminishing at all. If anything, he felt a stronger pull to the wavy-haired blonde with hazel eyes than he had months ago—before a night of carefully planned surveillance spiraled into deadly chaos.
His pulse ticked up. Her presence flooded his senses. He didn't touch her, but he could feel her—all the way to his core.Oh man, get it together.
He realized he was staring. Fortunately, she kept her focus on Rowan. "It's so good to see you again. I'm glad you're on this assignment. We're lucky to have your skills on this one."
Was Rowan blushing? Come on.She's not flirting with you, kid.
He didn't say 'kid' out loud. So, it didn't count.
"Thanks, Ms. Harkwood."
"I've told you before, you can call me Allie. Unless we're in a big meeting with the WhiteRock board or something. When it's just our team, call me Allie."
The kid blushed again. "Thanks, Allie."
Why did Knox want to drop-kick him down the hall right now?
Knox cleared his throat.
And Rowan finally registered the look on his face. "Oh, yeah, well, I gotta go. See you guys in an hour." The child prodigy turned and shuffled down the hall, staring at his phone.
Knox felt Allie's eyes on him a moment before he faced her. She was really here—living, breathing, almost-smiling, and standing right in front of him. He'd feared she'd change her mind. About working for WhiteRock again—or about working with him.
He heard his voice say, "Please, come in." He sounded completely normal. Professional, even. Like his heart wasn't racing.
Dipping her head as she entered his suite, she seemed nervous. But that could be for a million different reasons. He shut the door and prayed for wisdom. Again.
She walked to the glass door leading to his balcony. "I can't believe this view. It's amazing. The ocean is so clear."
Small talk? She wants to start with small talk? She was usually a straight-to-the-point woman. But she's suffered so much. Partly, because of him. She had the right to navigate this conversation any way she wanted. For her, he could be patient.
She paused. "I have the same view. I guess you know I'm right next door. Jason told you?"
"Uh, no. I knew we had this whole hallway, but . . . Well, good. You've got a great view." They'd be sharing a wall? Knox noted the connecting door. He was relieved she didn't appear bothered to be assigned an adjoining room. Not that the connecting door was unlocked.
She nodded. "Yes, this island is gorgeous. Have you been to the beach? I was told you and Jason got here yesterday. And of course you've been here before." She looked like she regretted mentioning his last mission on Isadora Island. "I know I texted, but . . . I'm really sorry about Gus. I didn't work with him much, but I know you did. I'm sorry."
"Thanks." Her compassion was touching. And well-intended. But last month's mission on Isadora wasn't what he was hoping to discuss.
He cleared his throat. "But yeah, the beach is beautiful. I saw some sea turtles and dolphins this morning." He didn't mention his awkward run on the sand.
