in heaven.
“I’m hitting the shower.” Chris downed the last swallow of coffee and put his mug in the sink.
He had just turned toward the hall that led to the bathroom when Brody said, “You’re welcome.”
Chris spun to glance back. “For what?”
“For suggesting she go and play your cover for the op.”
He would like to thank Brody for that, all right—with his fists in the sparring ring at the gym. He rolled his eyes and strode for the shower.
This trip was either going to be very good, or very bad, thanks to Brody’s meddling. Which way it would go had yet to be determined because women—Darci in particular—were the most confusing creatures on Earth.
He decided he’d just get through this thing one day at a time. Maybe one hour at a time, if he had to. Starting with today at the range.
~ * ~
“Try it like this.” Chris stepped up close behind her.
Amid the constant sound of gunshots from the other shooters at the range, Darci found herself encased in his arms as he showed her how to hold the handgun. She was very aware of his closeness and for the first time, of his bulk.
Being in the arms of a man built like Chris, a girl would really feel held. It had been so long since she’d been in a man’s arms . . .
“Okay?” Chris’s question knocked her out of her fantasy.
When he dropped his hold on her and took a step back, she missed the contact. That brought her thoughts back to this assignment of theirs, where she was supposed to be his girlfriend.
She put the gun down and turned to face him, sliding off the ear protection he’d insisted she wear. “Do you think we need to prepare? Like practice or something?”
He pulled the tiny earplugs out of his own ears and drew his sandy brows down in a frown. “Practice what?”
“Pretending we’re dating.”
Chris hid the expression of surprise that crossed his face, but not before she saw it. “What exactly were you thinking?”
“Like what if they ask how we met?”
He looked a little relieved at her question, making her ponder what he’d thought she meant. It didn’t take long to come up with a few ideas, which didn’t help her strange and new mixed feelings about this weekend.
Chris lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “We say I used to work with your brother and we met through him.”
“But that’s the truth.” They were undercover. They needed just that—a cover.
He nodded. “Exactly. Stay as close to the truth as you can and we’ll be fine.”
“They teach you how to lie in SEAL school too?”
He leaned in and whispered, “If I told you, then I’d have to kill you.”
Darci rolled her eyes. “Chris, I’m serious.”
“So am I. Just stick to the truth whenever you can and we’ll be fine.”
“So what if they ask what I do for a living?”
“You tell them you work at a bank.”
She’d rather say she was a model, or maybe a struggling actress, but of course, that might lead to questions she couldn’t answer. She came up with another question. “Where do I say I live?”
“In Virginia.”
She couldn’t find anything wrong with that response either, except that it was the truth. His simple solution to their backstory was starting to piss her off. There had to be something he couldn’t reason away with the truth.
Finally, an idea came to her. “Okay, here’s one. What if someone asks how long we’ve been together?”
“That one’s easy. We’ve been friends for years, but it’s only very recently things between us changed. ” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively from behind the eye protection they were required to wear.
That answer would work too, and though not exactly the complete truth, it was close. The man and all his answers were enough to raise her blood pressure. Darci drew in a breath through her nose, her mind spinning for something to trip him up.
“Why don’t you channel all that anger and take it out on that there target?” He was teasing her, but it was the one idea
“I’m hitting the shower.” Chris downed the last swallow of coffee and put his mug in the sink.
He had just turned toward the hall that led to the bathroom when Brody said, “You’re welcome.”
Chris spun to glance back. “For what?”
“For suggesting she go and play your cover for the op.”
He would like to thank Brody for that, all right—with his fists in the sparring ring at the gym. He rolled his eyes and strode for the shower.
This trip was either going to be very good, or very bad, thanks to Brody’s meddling. Which way it would go had yet to be determined because women—Darci in particular—were the most confusing creatures on Earth.
He decided he’d just get through this thing one day at a time. Maybe one hour at a time, if he had to. Starting with today at the range.
~ * ~
“Try it like this.” Chris stepped up close behind her.
Amid the constant sound of gunshots from the other shooters at the range, Darci found herself encased in his arms as he showed her how to hold the handgun. She was very aware of his closeness and for the first time, of his bulk.
Being in the arms of a man built like Chris, a girl would really feel held. It had been so long since she’d been in a man’s arms . . .
“Okay?” Chris’s question knocked her out of her fantasy.
When he dropped his hold on her and took a step back, she missed the contact. That brought her thoughts back to this assignment of theirs, where she was supposed to be his girlfriend.
She put the gun down and turned to face him, sliding off the ear protection he’d insisted she wear. “Do you think we need to prepare? Like practice or something?”
He pulled the tiny earplugs out of his own ears and drew his sandy brows down in a frown. “Practice what?”
“Pretending we’re dating.”
Chris hid the expression of surprise that crossed his face, but not before she saw it. “What exactly were you thinking?”
“Like what if they ask how we met?”
He looked a little relieved at her question, making her ponder what he’d thought she meant. It didn’t take long to come up with a few ideas, which didn’t help her strange and new mixed feelings about this weekend.
Chris lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug. “We say I used to work with your brother and we met through him.”
“But that’s the truth.” They were undercover. They needed just that—a cover.
He nodded. “Exactly. Stay as close to the truth as you can and we’ll be fine.”
“They teach you how to lie in SEAL school too?”
He leaned in and whispered, “If I told you, then I’d have to kill you.”
Darci rolled her eyes. “Chris, I’m serious.”
“So am I. Just stick to the truth whenever you can and we’ll be fine.”
“So what if they ask what I do for a living?”
“You tell them you work at a bank.”
She’d rather say she was a model, or maybe a struggling actress, but of course, that might lead to questions she couldn’t answer. She came up with another question. “Where do I say I live?”
“In Virginia.”
She couldn’t find anything wrong with that response either, except that it was the truth. His simple solution to their backstory was starting to piss her off. There had to be something he couldn’t reason away with the truth.
Finally, an idea came to her. “Okay, here’s one. What if someone asks how long we’ve been together?”
“That one’s easy. We’ve been friends for years, but it’s only very recently things between us changed. ” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively from behind the eye protection they were required to wear.
That answer would work too, and though not exactly the complete truth, it was close. The man and all his answers were enough to raise her blood pressure. Darci drew in a breath through her nose, her mind spinning for something to trip him up.
“Why don’t you channel all that anger and take it out on that there target?” He was teasing her, but it was the one idea
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