15. Chapter 15
fifteen
L ina looked into Curtis’ eyes. They were almost as dark as hers, except for a hint of gold on the outer rim of his irises. She might consider them too beautiful if not for their hint of mischief. That should be one of the red flags that kept her far away from Curtis Bisset.
But she found herself as weak as any woman in his vicinity, like Marie, Jill, and the groupies who flocked to the back door of every venue Canis Major had played at. Especially when he focused those eyes solely on her.
“So, what is your family’s issue? Mine can’t be the only dysfunctional one. Growing up, I always envied Brandon’s family. They’re perfect.”
“No family is perfect,” Lina said.
“The Rossis are close to perfect. Brandon complains from time to time about his mom embarrassing him, but he loves his mom to death.”
“So do you. You wouldn’t make me get your parents if you didn’t. And though Callie’s relationship with your parents isn’t the best, she didn’t hesitate to take them into her home,” she pointed out.
“Dysfunction doesn’t mean there isn’t love. I think my parents thought they were doing what was best for us. But sometimes what they had in mind wasn’t always the right path for us. I could never be happy as a hedge fund manager.”
“You were a hedge fund manager?” Lina asked, shocked.
Curtis shrugged. “Never got there, but wasted money on a degree and my early twenties in that line of work.”
“I never would’ve guessed.”
“Well, now you know. But I want to know about you.” His thumb caressed her skin, making her aware he’d never let go of her hand.
The lulling caress eased her muscles, and Lina bent her rules. “My parents didn’t approve of me joining the military.”
Curtis said nothing but keeping his eyes on her, silently encouraging her to continue.
“I suppose I’m like your mom in how we wanted to be accepted. Growing up, the way I looked, some people didn’t even believe I was born and raised in California. I was often asked where I originally came from. Sure, one set of my grandparents came from Hong Kong, and I still have extended family there, but the U.S. is the only country I belonged to. And I wanted to prove my allegiance to it.
“I was accepted to West Point. Got a great education, served my country. And here I am,” she concluded.
“Wow. How could your parents not be proud of that?” he exclaimed.
“They are, but they never wanted their only daughter to go to war zones.” Lina understood her parents’ feelings about her being in the Army better now than ever. The familiar tightening feeling around her chest crept over her.
“I see. But you’re obviously good at what you do.” Curtis’ voice distracted her from getting sucked into the melancholy. “What did you do in the Army?”
“I was in intelligence.”
“You were a spy?” His eyes rounded into enormous balls, all excited.
His reaction was classic Curtis, and Lina couldn’t help but laugh.
“No. At least not the way you’re thinking.”
But she didn’t elaborate or tell him she’d been approached to join a certain alphabet agency as soon as she’d retired from the Army. She’d been privileged to serve her country. She was lucky to have survived mostly intact. But after witnessing humanity at its worst, she needed a fresh path.
“What was your rank?” Curtis finally asked when she didn’t say more.
“I retired as a major.” That, at least, she could share.
“Why did you leave the service? And go into this work? Protecting the likes of me doesn’t seem worth your skills and capabilities. I could see you climbing up the ranks all the way to a four-star general.”
Lina shook her head with a chuckle. “Protecting you isn’t without its challenges. But it’s definitely a more entertaining job.”
Curtis twisted his lips into a sheepish grin. “You must’ve thought what an idiot I was after all the stuff I did during that first tour you were with us.”
“I think we’re even when it comes to stupid or embarrassing moves.” Lina smiled. “I still can’t believe you didn’t tell the entire crew what actually happened when we first encountered each other.”
His grin turned roguish. “I told you how we first met stays between us. It’s special.”
“Special? How could… that be special?” Lina couldn’t make herself say what that was.
“You can say it, you know. Everybody does it. I’m not one of those men who think women shouldn’t have bodily functions.”
“No. Some stuff should stay private,” Lina insisted.
Looking bemused by her argument, Curtis said, “Repeat after me. Everybody—”
“Nope.” She shook her head vigorously with a laugh.
“Come on. It’s just you and me.” He leaned toward her and whispered, “Say it: Everybody farts.”
Curtis stared Lina down with an encouraging smile. A pink blush bloomed on her face as she laughed, still refusing to say the word fart . He, on the other hand, was like a nine-year-old boy and found the word and the act funny. As an adult, of course, he’d learned to manage such bodily functions in polite company, but he wouldn’t chastise himself or anyone else for losing control sometimes.
Four years ago, Lina had lost control. He bet that was the only time that had ever happened to her. She had such a tight grip on her physical and mental acuity. It was hard to imagine Lina Cheung just letting loose.
But tonight was the first time she was so open. Perhaps pretending to be a couple in public allowed her to relax. Or maybe she was an excellent actress. Didn’t she say she’d been in intelligence? Maybe she’d played roles beyond his imagination.
I don ’ t care if she ’ s just pretending .
If it meant she’d let him in a little.
“Is Miss Untouchable defeated by one little word?” Curtis goaded.
“Don’t call me that,” she warned. “It’s not the word or the act itself. It’s being caught doing it by, of all people, you.”
“I think you’re lucky it was just me.”
“You laughed your head off.”
“I was cheering for you!” Curtis claimed.
Lina scoffed. “Cheering? Why would you be cheering?”
“I know what it feels like having extreme gut pressure. You just want it the fuck out. And I’m guessing it must’ve been an emergency for you to barge into a room without checking to pass a big, loud, long…wind like that. You woke me up from a nap.”
“Oh, my god.” She groaned and hid her face in her hands.
Curtis chuckled at her embarrassment, which he found silly but adorable. “I’ve come to know how you do things since then. You don’t enter a room without assessing it. You’ll know every entry and exit point in five seconds flat. But that night, you let your guard down.”
Lina dropped her shoulders as if she’d accepted her fate and peeked out between her fingers. “I don’t know what happened that day. I probably shouldn’t have had that three-bean burrito before reporting to a new job.”
Laughing fully now, Curtis had to fold over his stomach.
“See, you’re laughing at me,” she said, staring at him with her jaw slack.
“You gotta see the humor in this.”
Lina laughed, lightly at first, but then embraced the hilarity of the memory.
When he got his laughter under control, Curtis reached for her hand and held it in both of his as he looked into her shiny eyes. “If we were a real couple, I must say we had the best meet-cute.”
“Technically, we didn’t meet then.”
“Because you ran out of the room so fast as soon as you realized you weren’t alone.”
“Not fast enough because you saw me.”
“You must’ve seen how shocked I was to find this gorgeous woman letting out the most impressive flatulence I’ve ever heard in my green room. And when you travel with a group of men for months at a time, you’ve heard many.
“But when you left without even an introduction, I said to myself, I got to meet that woman,” he continued. “And lucky me to find out not long after that, that woman was taking over the lead of our security team.”
She twisted her lips in a half-disgruntled expression. “Thanks for not announcing to the team what happened.”
“Why would I do that?” Curtis’ brows furrowed.
With a shrug, she said, “There are men out there who don’t appreciate women in lead positions.”
Sensing she wasn’t specifically talking about the band’s security team, he said, “That’s their problem, not yours.”
“It is my problem if they try to undermine my authority.”
“Well, those men aren’t real men,” Curtis said. “I, for one, don’t mind taking orders from a woman.”
Lina smirked at him. “I recall many instances when you didn’t listen to me.”
Curtis sat back and let his heated gaze meet hers directly. “I promise I’ll do whatever you want me to do.”
His double meaning was thick in the air.
Lina’s clear complexion couldn’t hide the pink hue rising in her cheeks, but she held his eyes with a small indulgent look.
“ Aquí anem .” The waiter appeared with a large round pan of paella filled with seafood and placed it on the table between them. “? Que aprofiti !”
“Oh, I will enjoy this,” Curtis grinned appreciatively at the older Catalan man.
The aroma was as intoxicating as talking to Lina, and Curtis’ stomach rumbled with anticipation. He let Lina dish some of the creamy rice onto her plate first while he stole a langoustine off the pan with his fingers.
Lina eyed him as he unabashedly sucked the sweetness out of the crustacean shell and smiled.
“What?” he questioned.
“Nothing. You eat with gusto,” she said. “I love it.”
Curtis flashed her a smile. “I eat everything with gusto, sweetheart. Maybe one day you’ll let me demonstrate.” He winked at her.
Her jaw dropped to the table this time. Speechless for a full five seconds, she finally muttered, “You’re like a walking lawsuit.”
“Uh-uh.” Curtis turned serious. “I don’t do anything to anyone unless they ask me to. Or, maybe, in your case, order me to.”
Lina looked to the ceiling. “Okay. You just eat!”
Curtis smiled innocently at her. And this time, she turned even redder.
“The paella, Curtis. The paella.”
“Whatever you say, Lina.”