He lifted one shoulder. “West Coast kid here. Did a stint with the Mexican Mafia in high school until I ran into trouble. Jumped out of the gang and joined the Navy. And like Doc”—he hitched his chin toward the opposite end of the life raft—“now I’m here.”
Cami blinked. “I swear, you two are more disappointing than an unsalted pretzel. Is this whole closed-mouthed schtick a holdover from your time in special operations? Like, you’re so used to things being top secret that now you don’t know how to talk about yourselves?”
When neither man bothered to respond, she sighed again and focused her gaze on Mia. “Come on. Surelyyoucan give me some good stuff. Like, why did you decide on marine archeology? Who was your first boyfriend? If there was one thing you could go back and redo, what would it be?”
Mia had the oddest urge to burst forth with nervous laughter. That last question? Talk about a doozy. Nowaywas she answeringthat.
“Um.” She cleared her throat. “Like I said, I’m from Chicago. My brother and I were mostly raised by my grandmother.”
She thought back to what Cami had shared about herself and took her cue from that. “My favorite color is blue. My adult beverage of choice is a gin and tonic. I got my undergraduate degree and my graduate degree from the University of Chicago. I got into marine archeology because my grandmother enrolled me in a diving camp one summer when I was ten, and at the end of the camp we got to dive down on a wreck at the bottom of Lake Michigan. I was immediately hooked. It was just so peaceful and calm under the water. So different from the hustle and bustle of the city.”
She squinted her eyes and looked into the middle distance. “My first boyfriend was Patrick Marshal. He kissed me on the bridge over the duck pond in Lincoln Park, and then he broke up with me the next day because he liked Felicity Harper better.”
She stopped there, hoping she’d shared enough that Cami would forget about the last question she’d asked.
“See?” Cami glanced back and forth between Doc and Romeo. “Nowthat’show it’s done. Also,” she added, looking directly at Mia, “Patrick Marshal was an asshat. You’re better off without him.”
Mia let loose with a covert sigh of relief. Then she grimaced. “You have no idea. Last I heard, he was living in his parents’ basement and spending most of his days trolling St. Louis Cardinals fans online.”
Cami’s expression was commiserating. “See? I knew it. You dodged a bullet and then traded up.” She gave Mia a nudge with her elbow and then hitched her chin toward Romeo.
Mia couldn’t tell if her heart fluttered or stopped altogether. She felt more alarmed than when they’d been crashing or riding the crest of a monster wave. And how bonkers wasthat? “What do you mean?” she asked carefully.
Cami’s eyebrows drew together. “Aren’t you two together?”
“No,” she blurted, completely appalled she’d given the lawyer that impression.
No wonder Romeo was wearing that look when he lifted me off his lap. My behavior was even more blatant than I thought!
“Romeo and I are just friends,” she assured the lawyer, wondering how many times in a twenty-four-hour period she’d be forced to repeat that phrase. “And colleagues. And fans of P.J. Warren’s Night Angels series. But that’s all.”
It was pretty thin as far as explanations went, but it was the best she could come up with on the fly.
“Huh.” Cami blinked. “Guess I read the room wrong. Sorry about that.”
“No worries.” Mia tried to sound unbothered.
She turned to Romeo to make light of things. But for the life of her, she forgot what she wanted to say the instant her eyes clashed with his.
She couldn’t read his expression, but she wouldswearthe air around them vibrated.
Doc, god love him, saved her from further humiliation by asking Cami, “Tell me the truth, Counselor. And don’t give me any of thatnot mixing business with pleasurenonsense. Is the reason you won’t sleep with me now that we’re sober because you find my keen intellect and masculine prowess intimidating?”
“Not mixing business with pleasure isn’t nonsense.” Cami flattened her mouth at him. “But on top of that, I won’t sleep with you now because I know you’re arrogant and sarcastic and—”
“Yes?” Doc interrupted. “When do we get to the bad stuff?”
Cami turned an exasperated expression on Romeo while pointing toward Doc. “What iswiththis guy?”
“How much time do you have?” Romeo made a face. “Because that would require a very,verylong answer.”
“Hey!” Doc objected. “Whatever happened to bros before—”
“Don’t say it!” Cami pinned Doc with a killing look. “I don’t care if you have a head injury. I swear on all that’s holy, if you say it, I’m going to slap you so hard, you won’t land until next week.”
“Sheesh.” Doc feigned affront. “I was going to say bros beforebroads. But maybe you prefer dicks before chicks? Pals before gals? I didn’t realize you were so sensitive.”
“Nice save,” Cami scoffed. “And just so you know, the only thing I’m sensitive to is the fact that you’re—”
