Chapter 1 #2
She remembered everything about him, from the second she’d first seen the man. They’d been in Africa, and he was standing against a wall, his eyes constantly roaming the room, looking for danger. He hadn’t noticed her, as he was too focused on any possible threats, but Kinley had sure seen him.
He hadn’t shaved in a while, and the stubble on his face was a bit too long to be considered appropriate for a regular soldier, but from everything she’d read and seen on TV, she assumed special forces guys were allowed a little more leeway in their grooming standards.
His dark brown hair was kept short on the sides and a little longer on top in a typical military haircut.
He had thick eyebrows, and the intense look of concentration he usually wore made her shiver…
with excitement. He’d looked completely badass in his black cargo pants and shirt, and for some reason, Kinley had felt safer just because he was in the room.
The second time she’d seen him had been just after she’d been grabbed on the street by one of the men who’d shown up to protest the summit her boss had been participating in.
Walter Brown had been pissed—which wasn’t exactly a rare thing—when she’d brought him coffee that wasn’t up to his exacting standards.
He’d sent her back to their hotel to bring him a cup of coffee from the little café inside, as he’d fallen in love with it after their first morning.
Their hotel was about four blocks away. She’d gone out a side door, but the protesters seemed to be everywhere.
She’d done her best to ignore them, to try to stay on the peripheral of the crowd, but that hadn’t worked very well.
The moment a small group of men saw her, they’d followed, verbally harassing her and scaring her to death.
Then they’d escalated from cat-calling. One of them suddenly grabbed her, attempting to drag her into an alley. She’d fought the man and his friends as hard as she could, but she was no match for their size, strength, and numbers.
But then Gage had shown up out of nowhere. He’d taken out the two men who were doing their best to undo the button on her pants, and when the two others backed off, he put an arm around her waist and physically carried her out of danger.
They’d spent the next four days talking whenever their schedules allowed—and the crush she’d felt the first time she’d seen him had only grown.
But when she got back to Washington, DC, she began to doubt herself.
Why would Gage be interested in her? She wasn’t the kind of person anyone really wanted to get close to.
She’d had lesson after lesson in that fact, starting with her birth mom, who’d abandoned her when she was two.
Not one of the foster parents she’d had over the years had expressed any interest in adopting her.
She’d had a best friend in junior high, but even that girl had moved on after a while, deciding Kinley was too peculiar to hang around with.
Kinley was used to being alone. She’d worked her ass off in high school and got good grades and went to college on scholarships.
She hadn’t made any close friendships in college, either; she’d been too preoccupied with studying and working.
She’d interned in DC, and simply stayed after accepting her first job there.
Somehow, she’d gotten to the ripe old age of twenty-nine without falling in love and without having even one person she could call a true friend.
Most of the time, neither bothered her, but when she’d gotten back to her lonely apartment after returning from Africa, she’d let her insecurities get the better of her.
There was no way Gage wanted to be her friend. Why would he want to befriend her when it was obvious he had a close-knit group of teammates already? Besides, they lived halfway across the country from each other.
She’d talked herself into believing that he was just being polite when he’d said he wanted to keep in touch.
But even when she didn’t return his initial texts or calls, he kept on reaching out to her.
She wanted to believe his interest was genuine, but she was too wary to take a chance.
She’d had other people who’d shown an interest in getting to know her, and she’d jumped at the chance, only to be disappointed when they’d eventually drifted away.
But it was hard to keep telling herself that he wasn’t really interested in getting to know her when he kept texting.
Kinley had finally convinced herself to pull her head out of her ass and reply—and he’d stopped writing. She’d missed her chance.
She knew she could reach out to him, tell him her phone had been broken or that she’d been busy, or make up some other excuse as to why she hadn’t responded, but then she felt stupid.
Her problem was that she overthought everything. If she could be more spontaneous and go with the flow, she’d probably have more friends, be less lonely.
After Gage had stopped contacting her, even though it had broken her heart, Kinley had tried to tell herself that it would’ve happened eventually, even if she’d written him back. How would things work out between them? They didn’t even live in the same state.
Kinley was…odd. She knew it, and usually she didn’t care.
She was an introvert who liked being by herself.
Liked spending most of her time in her apartment, reading.
She’d lived in DC for years, and had also been to all the museums. She loved history, and she’d spent hour upon hour soaking up the remnants of the past the varied museums had to offer.
She’d done some of the popular attractions too, taking some of the history tours and visiting all the monuments.
She also enjoyed visiting Arlington National Cemetery. She cried every time she walked around the graves, cried for all the men and women who’d died serving their country. It hurt her heart, but she did it anyway, just because she wanted them to know they hadn’t been forgotten.
DC was full of things to do, and Kinley had done her best to experience her share…but she’d always done them alone.
For the most part, she’d been all right with that, but lately, she’d begun to feel the weight of her loneliness. She wanted close friends she could call up to go out to dinner. She wanted someone she could talk to about the latest movies and books. She wanted to feel not so alone in the world.
She knew she’d blown it with Gage. That she should’ve seen where things between them could go.
They’d really clicked in Africa. He was funny and attentive and smart.
But she’d let her insecurities get the better of her when she’d gotten home.
Hadn’t thought she was pretty enough, worldly enough, or even exciting enough to be able to keep the interest of a man like Gage.
So she’d done the cowardly thing and ignored him. And she hated herself for that.
In the back of her mind, Kinley had known there would be a chance she’d see him again.
She knew Delta Force teams from across the country were occasionally tasked with protecting political figures when they went overseas.
Hell, he might even be assigned to protect her boss again…
but she’d put the thought to the back of her mind and decided she’d deal with seeing Gage again if and when it happened.
And now it was happening. He was here. And Kinley had absolutely no idea what she was supposed to say to him.
When she’d come around the corner of the hall and seen Gage and one of his friends stationed outside the room, she’d had an extreme case of déjà vu. He was once again wearing all black, and while he had less stubble than the first time she’d seen him, he was no less beautiful.
And yes, he was beautiful. She’d been physically attracted to him from the first time she’d seen him, and that attraction hadn’t lessened any with the passing of time.
She felt his gaze on her as she headed for the doorway into the large assembly room. Walter had forgotten some folders he’d needed for a meeting this morning and had asked her to go back and get them.
Feeling awkward, and praying she didn’t fall on her face in front of Gage, Kinley slipped into the room without acknowledging him in any way. The second she was behind the closed door, she realized she probably should’ve at least nodded at him. Or said hello or something.
God, she was the worst. No wonder she didn’t have any friends. She was completely socially inept.
Feeling depressed, and knowing the rest of the conference would be awkward if she kept running into Gage, Kinley wordlessly placed the files Walter had forgotten next to him on the table. He didn’t acknowledge her presence, which was fine with her.
Kinley walked to the back of the room and took a seat and got out a pad of paper and a pen.
It was her job to take notes and type them up for Walter later.
She knew he wasn’t interested in most of the speeches and discussions going on around him, but he needed to at least know the basics later in case he was asked about them.
Walter Brown was difficult to work for. He was bossy and not very astute when it came to things like knowing when he was overworking his assistant, but she stayed because, while tough, he was fair—mostly.
He might make her work overtime, but then allow her to leave early another day to make up for it.
He’d make her be his gopher when they were on trips like this one, but then he’d bring in doughnuts or treat her to lunch when they got home.
Besides, Kinley liked her job. Seeing how the government worked firsthand could be frustrating and irritating, but it was also extremely interesting to see all the ins and outs of how deals were made and how relationships with people and interest groups really made all the difference.
In her opinion, Walter Brown wasn’t a great representative, but he had friends in high places who could do some pretty amazing things to help those less fortunate in the country.
She’d been doing her best to subtly steer Walter toward doing more good, but many times her opinion was discounted. She was simply an assistant, after all.
To be honest, her thoughts about staying where she was and continuing to work for Brown frequently vacillated between wanting to quit immediately, and being determined to stay and try to make a difference.
For a second, Kinley thought about Gage. How he also worked for his country, but in such a different way. He was fighting for what was good and right, and putting his life on the line. He was honorable, brave, and didn’t hesitate to wade into a dangerous situation to save a nobody like her.
Kinley wasn’t sure Walter would lift his little finger to help someone else if it meant he might get so much as a splinter in the process.
Though, she supposed she wasn’t being fair. Politicians weren’t trained for the things special forces soldiers were. But still.
Kinley half listened to a representative from Spain talk about global warming as she analyzed her own bravery. If she’d been walking near that mob in Africa and seen someone being assaulted, would she have stopped and tried to help?
She wanted to say yes, of course she would…but she honestly didn’t know.
Kinley didn’t think of herself as very brave at all. She wasn’t adventurous, and much preferred to hang out in the safety of her apartment or the familiarity of DC than go exploring the world. But she’d like to think if push came to shove, she’d act and put someone else’s safety above her own.
Shaking her head and forcing herself to pay attention, Kinley couldn’t help but wonder what Gage was thinking after their encounter in the hall.
Was he glad to see her? Pissed that she hadn’t answered his texts and emails?
Was he thanking his lucky stars she hadn’t written him back?
She hated not knowing—and wasn’t looking forward to the awkward moment when they’d come face-to-face and she’d have to speak to him.