Why did she want to tell him how devastatingly handsome he was? Probably not the right time. She had no idea what he was about to say. And he looked so serious. Not unlike that morning in the car. When he asked her out. But he’d changed his mind . . .
“I was wondering,” he continued, “if you’re still open to the idea of getting to know each other better.”
Oh. Oh, yes. And something beautiful swirled inside her.Don’t say anything cheesy. Be cool.
She gave herself a moment to gather her thoughts—which was a good idea, because things weren’t really as simple as ‘handsome nice man wants to take you to dinner.’
“Open to the idea? Yes. But, I’d like to know what changed your mind. You were pretty insistent the other night. Thatthis. . . thatwe. . . that it wouldn’t work.”
“I know. But I’ve had some time to think.” His voice dropped an octave. “You’re incredible, Tayla. I think we met this week for a reason. I’d like to figure that out. Not getting to know you feels like a mistake. I’d like to find out what this is . . . between us.” He scratched his jaw again. The five-o’clock shadow was attractive, but apparently itchy. “So, dinner? Tonight? Unless you need to stay with Leland. I understand if you need to be with him. We can wait until we get back to Houston, if you want. I just wanted to know whether or not I already blew my chance with you.”
A warmth settled inside her. “Of course you didn’t. Tonight sounds good. Leland doesn’t need me hovering, doesn’twantme hovering. I only worry that he’s driving the nurses crazy.”
“Sounds about right.”
She spotted Leland’s doctor headed their way. “We need to pop back in. The doctor is here.”
Dear Lord, please let the doctor’s news be what we want to hear. And please make Leland behave himself if it isn’t.
ONE MONTH LATER
She has news. That’s what she said.
He tugged on his jeans and pulled a black t-shirt from his dresser. Facing his bathroom mirror, he pushed his hands through his hair, and almost laughed out loud. This was his life now—looking in the mirror, caring what Tayla thought. Not that she was the least bit superficial. She wasn’t. But he still wanted to look his best for her. And that realization made him smile.
He was happy.
And worried about the stress in her voice when she invited him over tonight—to share some news.
She’d kept her words casual. And he pretended not to notice the tension wrapped around them.
It could be anything. Maybe an unexpected work trip came up and she wouldn’t be able to see him this weekend. Maybe Leland’s doctor appointment hadn’t gone well.
He prayed the news was something positive. His gut said it wasn’t. He prayed his gut was being paranoid.
Pushing his paranoia to the back of his mind proved easy on his drive over to Tayla’s townhouse. Because Eric called.
“Hey Eric.”
“It’s official.” Less stress in his voice today. Eric almost sounded upbeat. Interesting.
“The board approved it?”
“I’ve officially stepped down.”
No surprise. “Who’s director now?”
“They’re going with Cal.”
Cal Roth. Jason had only met him twice, but it was a solid choice as far as he knew.
“But they’re keeping me.” Eric continued. “I’ll be the lead agent in another group. You and I are equals now, Jason.”
And that just sounded so messed up. For so many reasons. But Jason knew the cards might fall that way. He suspected even Eric’s colossal failure wasn’t enough for the board to cut loose one of their best assets. Plus, Eric had some long-time friends on the WhiteRock board.
Jason was present for the initial meetings with WhiteRock after they all returned from Morghana. Eric presented his side of the story well. Well enough to cause someboard members to see his actions as savvy initiative instead of subversive.
He’d explained how he’d kept his cousin’s whereabouts and illegal activities secret in an attempt to track down the ‘bigger fish’ Dylan worked for. He took responsibility for ‘things getting out of hand’ as he put it, in Morghana.
