That was sweet, but sweet only counted for so much. “I’ve got a lot of baggage,” she said. “You know that, right?”
“Kids aren’t baggage. They’re part of the package.”
Kyle’s face when she saw Markus pick her up for the airportwas seared into her brain, a stop sign that appeared every time she began to lose herself in the fantasy. “That’s why I have cold feet. I’m not twenty and freewheeling. Every time I make a choice, it’s like trying to steer a ship, slow and arduous, sometimes impossible. I’m a tanker. You’re a sports car.”
Markus accepted that. “Okay. That’s fair enough.”
They took another few steps in silence down the beach. It had been a long day. Instead of circling everything that had happened, romantic and career-wise, Gabby took a breath in through her nose and released it through her mouth. She surrendered to the moment she was in, to the experience. There was too much control. She couldn’t guarantee anything to anyone, really.
Before they got back to the cottage, Markus said, “Earlier, we started—” A smile spread across his face.
“I remember.”
“We’re adults, and I want to talk about where we’re at before we do anything more.”
Her stomach about dropped to the ground.
“Last week, when you asked me to be your work wife—”
“Ohmygod, don’t bring that up again.”
“No, here we go,” he said with a half laugh. “I had my feelings hurt at first, but I had some time to think, and I get it.”
“Really?” That caught her off guard. Then the surprise turned into something mellower and sweeter all at the same time. Hope fluttered in her chest. A romance with Markus—she wanted it so badly she ached. So bad that she might risk too much.
But if they were honest with each other, or at least as honest as two spies could be… He knew her fears and desires. She knew his.
“But is it a dumb idea? Who keeps their romance at the office?” At the moment, her office was a moonlit beach. Ohmygod—washe? He was. Markus was dropping to one knee in the sand. The moon hung low over the water, and a breeze ruffled her hair.
With mischief sparkling in his eyes, he said, “Gabby Greene, would you be my work wife?” He searched in his pockets. “I don’t have a ring, but would you take this flashlight taser combo as a token of my affection?”
“Markus!” she rebuked. “A taser?”
“What? It’s a sign of trust after you tased the shit out of me on the last mission.”
Gabby took the taser like it was actually a ring. “Thank you.”
“Just make sure not to hit that button,” he pointed at a feature of the taser, “unless you want to tase someone, hopefully not me.”
She was living her dream. It was just backwards and inside out, but the feelings were the same. If they were work wives like she’d originally wanted, she’d be a secret agent with a romance by day. She’d hang up her trench coat and drive home to her kids and spaghetti at night. With the right workarounds, she could have it all.
As if they were on top of the Eiffel Tower and he’d just pulled out a diamond ring for her, Marcus said, “What do you say? For better or worse? At least while we’re on the job.”
She shook her head but couldn’t stop a smile. “You just wanna—”
He smiled, no hint of apology.
Why spend their week arguing? She’d never been to the Azores. Didn’t she deserve to enjoy herself?
“I kind of figured we would have dinner first. One Starbucks date hardly seems like the foundation for a solid fake marriage.”
Markus shook his head. “We’re having dinner together every night this week. And”—he cocked his head toward the cottage—“I plan on laying plenty of foundation.”
Her cheeks flamed, and her stomach went weightless like she’d just gone over the top of a roller coaster.
Gabby desperately wanted this man in front of her. Handsome, self-assured, out of her league—her stomach flip-flopped at the idea. He still wanted her, even after she’d confessed all her insecurities and reservations. They were walking into this together with their eyes open. If it was dumb, at least they’d chosen it together.
He gripped her hand and said, “Do you want to go back to the cottage?”
