Now that he’d gone and dropped something so private, he was more than happy to shift the focus to her. “You grow up fast when a parent dies.”
Her eyes sharpened on his. “Yes.You experienced that too? Even though you still had your dad?”
“He worked a lot, but he did his best. It must’ve helped you, having siblings. You must be close, the three of you.”
“Sure.” She smirked. “They’re great... when they’re not in my business or bossing me around.”
“Sounds like a pretty typical sibling relationship.”
She seemed to realize she was still touching him and pulled away. He missed the slight weight of her hand on his arm.
“Do you have brothers or sisters? Oops. I guess it’s my turn now. I feel like I need to come up with something really profound.”
He slid his gaze sideways and got stuck in her eyes. They looked dark blue right now, and he could see the flicker of flames in theirdepths. A tight cord of tension drew between them. The pull was strong and carried the promise of something better.
Wyatt broke eye contact and grabbed a stick that lay at his feet. He poked at the fire. “You just told me about your folks. So that probably means it’s my turn again.” What was he doing?
“Fine by me. Go ahead then.”
He gave the fire another poke, watched sparks shoot up into the sky and fade away into the heavens. He stared at the moon as a cloud moved in, shrouding it. “Sometimes I wonder where God is.”
The moment of silence betrayed her surprise. “Wow. You’re really good at this game. But I think that’s normal, isn’t it? I mean, sometimes I wonder too. I think everyone does when something’s gone wrong, and He doesn’t fix it right away, or at all. Like when my parents died, I definitely felt that way. I guess that’s where faith comes into play.”
He studied her for a long moment. “Smart girl.”
She looked away. Rubbed her lips together. They looked especially full in the firelight, and he wondered what they tasted like.
Forbidden fruit, that’s what.“Your turn.”
“Okay, let’s see. All right. I’ve never told anyone this, but... I’m a little jealous of my sister. I mean, I love her to pieces, but that’s just it.Everyoneloves Molly. She’s so good with people, and she’s positive no matter what happens. Sometimes it’s annoying, but really, I wish I could be more like her. If you tell her I said that, I’ll deny it until my last breath.”
How could someone so amazing want to be like someone else? Grace was ambitious enough to start her own business. Generous enough to help him, a virtual stranger. She was gutsy enough to hit a full-grown man over the head with a rock. And she wasn’t full of baloney like a lot of people, spouting frivolous words just to flatter or pacify. She was straightforward, and in a world full of people who played head games, that was a quality he appreciated.
“I don’t know you all that well,” he said, “but so far I think you’re pretty perfect just the way you are.”
The words seemed to suck the oxygen from the campsite. Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. It gave away too much. But he couldn’t regret letting Grace know she was special.
“Thanks,” she said softly, gazing into his eyes with a look of surprise. “That’s kind of you to say.”
He pulled away from her sweet gaze. He’d known all along what his last secret would be. “Guess it’s my turn. I told you I’m in security, but that’s not the whole truth. I’m a Secret Service agent.”
Grace laughed in disbelief.
He turned slowly and just stared at her, watching silently as realization registered. As the humor fell from her face.
Finally her eyes widened and her mouth slackened. “You’re serious. Well, no wonder you can fight like that. That is so cool. So do you protect the president or whatever?”
“Agents do a lot more than just that. Some handle federal investigations like fraud or computer hacking. Currently I protect visiting heads of state and other high-profile officials. I’m working my way up to presidential detail.”
“That’s amazing. The competition for that must be insane, not to mention the training.”
“It’s fairly rigorous.”
“Why do I have the feeling you’re understating it?”
She wasn’t wrong. The year he’d applied there’d been sixteen thousand recruits and two hundred had made the final cut.
“It’s all making sense now. How serious you are. How you’re always calculating and measuring until it makes you want to squirm—and all the while you’re wearing the straightest poker face ever.”
