“Totally. When my ex’s brother came after me, it was scary.”
“Brady told me that story,” Garnet said.
Ansley laughed. “Sorry, I’m not used to anyone calling him Brady.”
“Do you call Scott by his nickname?”
Ansley nodded. “I do. That’s how I met him. So it stuck.” Ansley pushed her food around on the plate. “Is it hard for you to think of them by their nicknames?”
Garnet shook her head. “Not really. It’s just another name on the list that is in my mind.”
“It’s impressive that you remember names and faces so easily.”
She shrugged. “It’s what I’m used to. I don’t know any difference.”
She liked Ansley. None of the weirdness she felt with other women seemed to hang between them. Ansley was nice and non-judgmental. Now they were arranging a time for Ansley to come over so they could do yoga after she returned from DC. It was weird, but nice to have a friend.
Living here with Brady would be weird, but also cool. She liked his friends, and she liked him. But was that enough for him to want her to stay? She needed to stop thinking about this as a long-term thing. He’d opened his house to her just to be nice, nothing more.
“I think that went well,”Bean said after Link and Ansley left.
“You were right. Ansley was nice. She didn’t freak out when I mentioned something about the way starches change after being cooled, then reheated.”
“I didn’t know about that.”
“If food has fat in it, like cheese, it tastes better after reheating.”
“I’ve noticed that. Like pasta always tastes better the next day.”
Garnet nodded. “I’ve found that talking about information is usually annoying to most people. They don’t like it.”
“Well, that’s their problem.”
Garnet yawned and stretched her hands over her head. Bean glanced away, so he didn’t stare at her and embarrass himself.
“When are we headed to DC?” Garnet asked.
“We’re leaving the house at five in the morning. We’ll be in DC fairly early. We’ll get to your place and pick up what youneed. Then we’ll head back to the base. That way, if anyone is following you, they won’t be able to follow you into the base.”
“That makes me feel better.”
“Good. How about we get some sleep?”
“Yes. I need some sleep.”
He tried to keep his eyes off her as she stretched again, but he couldn’t ignore the curve of her rear. The woman was hot, but she also wasn’t his, and hitting on her the first night in his house would be weird.
No way would he hit on Garnet tonight. That would be incredibly rude. He wanted her to feel comfortable here, not threatened.
Chapter 15
Garnet hatedthe sound of the alarm. She rolled over and turned it off, then sat up and rubbed her eyes. She heard a noise outside her room, then relaxed as she realized it was Brady in the kitchen.
After a quick shower, she dressed and stepped into the kitchen. Brady was there and lifted a travel mug toward her.
“We’re leaving in five minutes. You have coffee here, and I’ve made up a breakfast sandwich.”
“You move fast in the morning.”
