Read Online Fate Intended (The Coulter Men Series Book 3) by Elizabeth Seckman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Elizabeth Seckman
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there…right now?”
“Every time I go by the place, I wonder that. Imagine the decisions, the power…while out here, life just goes on. Ordinary people with ordinary lives. It’s like two different worlds.”
“Yes, out here it is just ordinary people’s secrets, lies, and mischief. Inside, there is the chaos of extraordinary secrets, lies, and mischief,” she said with a grin.
“Am I seeing a jaded side to you, sweet Jane?” Trip teased.
“No,” Jane laughed. “I’m just saying everyone hides something.” Jane lifted her head from his shoulder so she could look him in the eyes. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
Trip shrugged and gave a half nod as he looked down at her. The street lights lit her face but left shadows. It made her look mysterious. He whispered, “Can’t imagine you having anything to hide.”
“Everyone has something,” Jane answered.
“So, what are your secrets?”
“They wouldn’t be secrets if I told.” Besides, Sasha would have her hide if she shared.
Trip grinned and tweaked her nose. “One day, little lady, I will know everything about you.”
Jane swallowed hard. She started this conversation, like a fool. Why couldn’t she think straight with him near? Laughing to lighten her words, she added, “Pretty confident for a guy who was afraid to speak with me.”
“Touché, Jane, touché.” Trip’s laugh broke the still of the night. “So, take pity on me. Tell me one—just one—secret about yourself. Something no one else knows.”
Jane considered the request with narrowed eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.
“Come on,” Trip teased, lowering his nose till his nearly touched hers. “Just one.”
“Like what?”
“Like anything.”
Jane’s head began to spin. She was suddenly certain the CIA or Mi6 didn’t have as effective interrogation strategies as Trip Coulter. Scooting away from him on the bench, she fanned herself and said with a sigh, “You’re too close for me to think straight.”
“Why’s that?” In a single motion, he closed the gap she put between them. His leg pressed close enough to hers that she could feel the heat and solidness of his thigh.
“It’s because….” Jane began, but then stopped, mesmerized by the feel of him, the feel of his breath warm against her cheek as he dipped his head toward hers. She closed her eyes, and her heart squeezed in her chest. He was so close. Without thinking any further, she heard her breathless self say, “One secret I have is how long I have dreamed of this moment.”
His fingers traced the sensitive skin along her chin. “Of a starry night alone in a park with a man?”
Jane giggled. “No, not just any man…just one.”
His fingers remained on her flesh. Her throat went dry. She managed to admit, “No one knew I was dying with envy. That woman had you, and I hated her for it. The day you two fought I wanted to yell, ‘I’m the one you should be with!’” Jane’s laugh sounded nervous and tinny, even to her own ears. She rubbed her hands down the top of her pants. “What kind of fool would you have thought I was if I said that?”
“If you’d just screamed that? Out of the blue?”
“No warning. Just grabbed you by the hand that day and yelled it.”
“Oh, well, I’d have been shocked.” He whispered in a hoarse voice, lowering his forehead until it rested gently against hers. “But I’d have thought you were the bravest, most beautiful, most perfect crazy lady around. And I would have tripped over my own tongue because I already had the biggest, hugest, got-to-ignore-the-feeling crushes on you.”
“Then why ignore me?”
Trip leaned back in the seat, but wrapped an arm across her shoulder as he answered. “First, I figured you were too young, no more than nineteen.”
“That’s not too young!”
“Um, yes it is. And I figured if, in the odd chance you were over twenty-one and old enough to date, then you probably had a boyfriend. I
“Every time I go by the place, I wonder that. Imagine the decisions, the power…while out here, life just goes on. Ordinary people with ordinary lives. It’s like two different worlds.”
“Yes, out here it is just ordinary people’s secrets, lies, and mischief. Inside, there is the chaos of extraordinary secrets, lies, and mischief,” she said with a grin.
“Am I seeing a jaded side to you, sweet Jane?” Trip teased.
“No,” Jane laughed. “I’m just saying everyone hides something.” Jane lifted her head from his shoulder so she could look him in the eyes. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
Trip shrugged and gave a half nod as he looked down at her. The street lights lit her face but left shadows. It made her look mysterious. He whispered, “Can’t imagine you having anything to hide.”
“Everyone has something,” Jane answered.
“So, what are your secrets?”
“They wouldn’t be secrets if I told.” Besides, Sasha would have her hide if she shared.
Trip grinned and tweaked her nose. “One day, little lady, I will know everything about you.”
Jane swallowed hard. She started this conversation, like a fool. Why couldn’t she think straight with him near? Laughing to lighten her words, she added, “Pretty confident for a guy who was afraid to speak with me.”
“Touché, Jane, touché.” Trip’s laugh broke the still of the night. “So, take pity on me. Tell me one—just one—secret about yourself. Something no one else knows.”
Jane considered the request with narrowed eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.
“Come on,” Trip teased, lowering his nose till his nearly touched hers. “Just one.”
“Like what?”
“Like anything.”
Jane’s head began to spin. She was suddenly certain the CIA or Mi6 didn’t have as effective interrogation strategies as Trip Coulter. Scooting away from him on the bench, she fanned herself and said with a sigh, “You’re too close for me to think straight.”
“Why’s that?” In a single motion, he closed the gap she put between them. His leg pressed close enough to hers that she could feel the heat and solidness of his thigh.
“It’s because….” Jane began, but then stopped, mesmerized by the feel of him, the feel of his breath warm against her cheek as he dipped his head toward hers. She closed her eyes, and her heart squeezed in her chest. He was so close. Without thinking any further, she heard her breathless self say, “One secret I have is how long I have dreamed of this moment.”
His fingers traced the sensitive skin along her chin. “Of a starry night alone in a park with a man?”
Jane giggled. “No, not just any man…just one.”
His fingers remained on her flesh. Her throat went dry. She managed to admit, “No one knew I was dying with envy. That woman had you, and I hated her for it. The day you two fought I wanted to yell, ‘I’m the one you should be with!’” Jane’s laugh sounded nervous and tinny, even to her own ears. She rubbed her hands down the top of her pants. “What kind of fool would you have thought I was if I said that?”
“If you’d just screamed that? Out of the blue?”
“No warning. Just grabbed you by the hand that day and yelled it.”
“Oh, well, I’d have been shocked.” He whispered in a hoarse voice, lowering his forehead until it rested gently against hers. “But I’d have thought you were the bravest, most beautiful, most perfect crazy lady around. And I would have tripped over my own tongue because I already had the biggest, hugest, got-to-ignore-the-feeling crushes on you.”
“Then why ignore me?”
Trip leaned back in the seat, but wrapped an arm across her shoulder as he answered. “First, I figured you were too young, no more than nineteen.”
“That’s not too young!”
“Um, yes it is. And I figured if, in the odd chance you were over twenty-one and old enough to date, then you probably had a boyfriend. I
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