“Rome?” She shrugged. “I’ve never been and I’ve always wanted to see Saint Peter’s and the Vatican.”
“Let me clear it with Jared, but I don’t think he’ll have an issue with it.” He smiled. “Roman holiday, huh?”
She grinned. “Yeah.”
“Give me two days, we’ve got something in the works,” Jared said.
Jordan looked over to where Emme sat on the corner of the couch, watching him over the back. “Sounds good.”
“Parker’ll email you the itinerary later today. It’ll take you back to the U.S., with a stop over in Rome.”
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem.” His voice became muffled as he said something to someone off the line. “Watch the news tonight.” The phone disconnected.
Jordan tossed the phone on the table next to the couch and sat close to Emme.
“What did he say?”
“He said give him a couple of days to make the reservations. Parker’ll send us the reservation information.”
Joy lit up her face. All the air left his lungs like she’d sucker punched him and he swore his heart stopped. Her resiliency amazed him. The smallest things made her happy. When was the last time he’d found pleasure in the small things?
“What?” Her eyebrows pinched together.
“Come here.” He pulled her onto his lap so she straddled him.
Her hands went to his shoulders. “We need to make hotel reservations.”
“I’ve got a buddy that was stationed in northern Italy — I’ll shoot him an email and see if he has any recommendations.” He found the hem of her shirt and pushed his hands underneath, running his palms up the smooth skin of her back.
“Fatima’s going to be here soon.”
That wasn’t why he pulled her onto his lap — he just wanted her close — but now she’d put the idea in his head. “Are you saying you don’t have time to have your way with me?”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes and he laughed.
Her skin was smooth against his palms. He was an addict getting his fix. Only his drug was Emme. Her skin. Her smile. He wanted to wrap her in his arms. Protect her, keep her safe and happy, and never let her go.
That reality didn’t exist. In a week he had to let her go and watch her walk away.
What if he didn’t, though? What if there was a way to keep this thing between them going? See where it took them.
The electronic whir of the door lock stopped him from voicing the ideas playing havoc in his mind. Emme scrambled off his lap and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Fatima entered the suite, calling out a greeting, and Emme shot up from the couch like someone had lit a fire under her gorgeous butt. He smirked, not giving one fuck about anyone seeing them together.
Scooting forward, he flipped the laptop open, and logged onto his Army webmail. An email from Parker topped the list of his inbox. Clicking on the attachment, he opened their itinerary. They’d been booked on an early morning flight the day after tomorrow. The body of Parker’s email simply said:Here you go. Watch the 1800 BBC news broadcast.
He looked at his watch. Emme could decide whether they’d order in or go out after the news.
The next email was from his sergeant with a watered down update. All the secret and operational information had been stripped out, but he could read between the lines. They were busy and going out almost every night. His sergeant thought the new lieutenant was an asshat and wanted to know when Jordan would be getting there.
He dropped his head in his hands. For the first time in his career, he hated his job. Not just questioned his purpose and mission, but hated that the Army was pulling him away from something he wanted. Maybe that was the problem. Everything he’d ever wanted had been provided by the Army. He’d never wanted something as much as he wanted Emme.
But he had a mission. Orders to follow. An oath to uphold and men and women counting on him. He couldn’t ignore all that. Not even for her.
The bedroom door opened and he closed the laptop without responding to the email. He’d take care of it later.
