An Inconvenient Affair (The Alpha Brotherhood #1)(38)
Author: Catherine Mann

She pushed for more, determined to keep it light and make the most of their time here before he told her they had to leave. “The truth is out there…if only I had the URL.”

“Better.”

“There are ten types of people. The ones who understand binary code and the ones who don’t.”

“Ahh,” he said as he sighed, pulling her close. “Now you’re making me hot.”

She splayed her fingers over his chest, traced four scratch marks she’d left earlier. “You’re crazy.”

“That’s very possible.”

A darkness in his eyes unsettled her. “I was joking.”

“I wasn’t. This genetic lottery thing…” He tapped his temple. “It’s enabled me to do some incredible things with my life. But sometimes it fails me on the basic things in life, things that everyone else has and takes for granted.”

So much for staying away from deeper subjects. She should have known there was no hiding, especially not with Troy. And she found she actually wanted to know. She needed to understand him. “Such as?”

“A family. One that functions and talks to each other and eats Sunday dinners together.”

“Troy,” she gasped, gripping his shoulders insistently. “You can’t blame yourself for your family friction.”

“I played my part. You know, I could have just sucked it up and gone to medical school like my father wanted. It wouldn’t have been that difficult for me academically,” he said with confidence but not arrogance. He hooked his finger in her necklace, sliding it back and forth. “I could have done some kind of research gig where I wouldn’t be around people.”

God, he was breaking her heart here. “I don’t know where in hell you got this idea that you’re not good with people. You’re charming and funny.” She covered his hand on her necklace. “A total original.”

“Like I said, it’s a game I learned and I’m cool with that.”

“Not a game.” She shook her head. “I think maybe you learned to share parts of yourself, in a way others can understand.”

She pressed her mouth to his before he could argue with her, her heart tumbling over itself with love for this man and sadness that she would soon have to leave him behind.

Eleven

Troy stood on the balcony, cell phone to his ear, trying to outtalk the monkeys and birds yammering in the trees. “Thanks for the update, Colonel. Glad to know Curtis is finally spilling his guts.”

“It’s a race between the two to make a deal. International money laundering doesn’t sit well with the authorities. And stealing from disadvantaged kids’ college scholarship funds plays even worse in the press.” Salvatore’s heavy sigh carried through the airwaves. “When are you and Hillary Wright coming in this morning?”

“Not this morning. But soon.” When he got around to telling her.

“Donavan,” the colonel said in the suspicious headmaster tone he’d honed over the years. “You’ve informed Hillary that all’s clear. Right?”

“Of course I will, tonight.” He leaned back against the rail, splinters snagging on his board shorts.

“Ah, Donavan.” Salvatore all but tut-tutted at him. “How can a man so smart be so damn stupid?”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, sir.” Troy gripped the balcony harder, splinters digging straight into his palms. “If that’s all, how about you roll me to the bottom of your on-call list?”

Salvatore’s mocking laugh faded as Troy hit the end call button and set the cell on the rail.

Time was running out. Even the cackling monkeys in the trees seemed to be mocking him for being an idiot. Salvatore was right; he couldn’t keep Hillary here indefinitely. He would take her home and just ask her out like a regular guy once they returned to the States.

Except he’d never done the “regular guy” gig all that well.

He heard Hillary’s near-silent footsteps approaching a few seconds before she placed her hand in the middle of his back, her fingers curving in with familiarity.

“Was that good news on the phone?”

“Yeah…” He looked down at the lagoon where he’d made love to Hillary for the first time. Would she come back here or was this some fantasy escape for her, one that would be over and done when she was back home? He would tell her after lunch. She would still be back before the end of her hastily scheduled vacation. He needed to use this last pocket of time to seal the deal. “Work stuff. Mergers. Money. Boring office crap.”

Hillary slid in front of him, wearing a floral sarong knotted over her br**sts, a flower tucked behind her ear. She had sun-kissed cheeks and an ease to her that hadn’t been there before they’d come here. When they returned, would she wear those buttoned-up suits like armor to keep him out?

“I would think you’d be happy.” She sketched her fingers over his forehead. “You look worried.”

“I am happy.” He nodded, trying to shake the whole gloom-and-doom air weighing down his mojo. What the hell was up with that? He was the guy of the fedora hats and cool scarves.

She toyed with the string on his board shorts. “Let’s take brunch up to the roof today. I think it’s the only place where we haven’t made love yet.”

The vision of her with the waterfall in the background, mist in the air, wild outdoors all around them, took his breath away. He couldn’t lose her. He needed to bind her to him before they left, ensure they had a future.

“Do you ever think about having kids?”

Hillary leaned back, her eyes wide. “Are you trying to tell me the condom broke?”

“No! God, no.” Although the thought of a kid with Hillary didn’t scare him as much as it should.

A sigh moved visibly through her. “Then that seems to be a rather premature question.” She slid her arms around his waist. “Shouldn’t we figure out if we’re going to see each other after we leave here?”

“Lady, that’s a given.” At least he hoped it was. And if not, he intended to make it one. “And as for the kid question, I didn’t say our kids, I said kids. Period. When people date—like we’re talking about doing when we get back to the States—then they discuss their views on life stuff. Like having children.”

“Okay,” she said slowly, her voice wary, “then yes, sometimes I think about it.”