Riser waved a fork in the air, having assumed the seat at the head of the table. “You're too late, there's nothing left.”
Merc glanced at the long sideboard, covered with food. “Looks like there's plenty.”
Ethan, who sat to Riser’s left, said, “Maybe for her, but definitely not for you. I want a second helping.”
He felt Caroline tense and realized she probably didn't know they were joking with each other. But then she surprised him by saying, “And which one of you is going to stop him?”
Merc felt a smile tugging at his lips. Ethan, Riser, Aaron and Ranger all stopped devouring their food and stared at him. Merc shifted uncomfortably. “What?”
Ethan was the first to speak up. “Are you…smiling?”
“No.” Merc pressed his lips into a hard line and glared at his teammate, who immediately focused on his plate and resumed eating. The other three were a little bit slower on the uptake.
Ranger elbowed Aaron. “I swear to God, he smiled just then.”
Aaron replied, “Yep, that was most definitely a smile.”
“What's the big deal about Merc smiling?” Caroline asked, her soft, wilting voice hesitant.
“Because Merc doesn't smile,” Ranger answered, matter-of-factly. “I've known him for five years and I've never seen him smile. Not one single time.”
Caroline gently touched his arm, drawing his attention down to her. “Maybe he's never had anything to smile about before.”
The urge to cover her hand with his own was as natural as breathing, and he barely caught himself before he followed through with the inclination. She fit him so well, seemed to understand him even better. It was as if they operated on their own wavelength together.
Finally, Merc forced himself to take a step back, only to see the rest of his team staring at him like his head had just exploded. He glared at them all, silently daring them to say anything else. Every single one of them grinned in response, not the least bit intimidated.
Great. He'd lost his fucking edge.
Merc gestured for Caroline to go first to the sideboard. He was surprised when she skipped over the fruits and veggies and went straight for the meat. He followed right behind her, heaping his plate full, and took a seat next to her at the table.
“If Francis sees you with only half your plate full, you know she's going to get on your case,” he whispered in her ear, enjoying the way she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Damn, he liked everything about her.
“I know. She almost had a seizure this morning when I didn't eat all of my breakfast. Just tell her I've already eaten half if she walks in.” Caroline stabbed a chunk of ham with her fork and lifted it to her lips. Merc followed her movements, fascinated with her lips wrapped around her fork, imagining them wrapped around him.
Aaron cleared his throat. “So, we’ve got the place locked down tight.”
Merc snapped out of his daze to glance up and see his teammates’ suppressing their laughter. Screw them all. Every single one of them, with the exception of Riser, had acted like complete idiots over their women. Just because he had some passing attraction to Caroline Cotter didn't mean a damn thing. They had been together for the entire journey home, and he'd saved her life. Surely that was expected to have some type of lasting impact.
Still, his voice had a harsh tone when he countered, “The first floor is good, but there are too many entry points unsecured on the third floor.” The skylights were completely vulnerable. A skilled assassin could easily cut through the glass and lower themselves inside. Merc had every intention of running tape sensors across every possible breakable surface on the exterior portion of the house.
Caroline cleared her throat and took a delicate sip of water. “Why are you worried about the third floor? No one can reach that high.”
Merc almost took her hand in his but caught himself and grabbed his fork instead. “Someone with enough skill could easily scale to the top of this house and break in. I'm not taking any chances with your life.” He knew Mr. J would come for Caroline. Merc could feel it in his bones.
Senator Cotter breezed into the open dining room doors, his typical suit replaced with a casual untucked blue shirt and blue jeans. He went straight to his daughter and pressed a kiss to her head.
Caroline flinched, just the barest of a movement, but Merc noticed.
“Good afternoon, Senator,” Caroline said in a distant tone.
Cotter straightened and kept a fake smile plastered on his face, but the light in his eyes shriveled. “Senator, is it? What happened to good ol’ dad?” Cotter kept his response light, but everyone in the room could feel the whiplash of tension surrounding father and daughter.
“Sorry, dad. I’m still trying to get back to normal, I guess. What are you doing home? I thought you'd be at work.”
“I took the whole week off to spend with you. If I need to take care of any boring paperwork, I can access most of it from my computer here.” Senator Cotter placed his hand on the back of Caroline's chair.
“Oh, that's great.” Caroline's response was stilted, like she had to force herself to talk to her father.
