Temporarily Yours (Shillings Agency #1)(30)
Author: Diane Alberts

She hesitated. She’d never really thought about it before. Had been too busy visiting family and all that, but if she had the choice? “Why Christmas time?”

“The cities are always all lit up and decorated.” He shrugged. “Seemed as good a time as any.”

“Oh.” She thought on it. “England. I’ve never been there, but Christmas time seems like a good time to go.”

He laughed lightly. “You realize you’d have to fly. Like, I think it’s safe to say you’d have a one hundred percent chance of flying.”

“Nothing is one hundred percent.” She met his eyes. “Like, ever. It’s not a realistic number.”

“I think that is,” he said dryly.

“By the time I actually get to go? Who knows, there could be a new way. Teleporting or something. Or maybe even a good old fashioned ocean liner cruise.” She shot him a grin. “Like I said. Nothing is one hundred percent.”

“You told your dad that you were behind me one hundred percent,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but I was just playing the part.” She pursed her lips. “What about you? Where would you go?”

He shrugged. “I’d go somewhere warm. The Caribbean, maybe.”

“Mm. That sounds nice, too. Blue water. Warm sand.”

“Indeed,” he said, his voice soft.

They both fell silent. She looked back up at the sky, watching the clouds. She’d swear the one above their heads looked like a heart.

Seriously, a heart.

What the hell had happened to her lately? She pictured her sister from last night, glowing with happiness as Max kissed her on the stage. They looked so happy. So normal. Did she really want that all of a sudden? It seemed too fast. Too much.

Cooper interrupted her thoughts. “What do you see up there? You look really focused on something.”

She sighed. “A heart.”

“Hm. I don’t see it. Maybe if I…” He turned his head to the left, and then to the right. “Nope. I still just see a cloud.”

She smacked him. He dodged out of the way even though he was flat on his back. She’d been caught thinking about her sister’s marriage and seeing hearts in the sky.

Yep. There was something wrong with her.

“They look so happy, don’t they?”

“The clouds?” He stared up at the sky with a wrinkled brow.

“No, my sister and Max.”

“Hmmm. I guess so. People in love usually look happy, though.”

“You think?” She turned to him. “I always thought they looked trapped.”

A laugh escaped him. “Well, maybe some of them feel that way. I bet you have a statistic for that.”

“Of course.” She thought about it. “I’d say about fifty-seven percent are trapped, and forty-three percent are either ignorant of the fact that they feel trapped or genuinely happy.”

He shook his head and then rolled it to the side, studying her. It made her wonder what he saw when he looked at her like that. As if she was a puzzle he couldn’t quite figure out. Which was silly, really. She was easy to read. Too easy.

“I think you’re pretty skeptical.” He reached over his head and caught her hand. “I don’t know what real love feels like, but if it feels as good as laying in an open field with you, it must be pretty f**king nice.”

Her heart skipped a beat. Why did he say that? He was right, damn it all to hell and back. This did feel good. “What would your mom do if she saw us right now?”

“She wouldn’t believe I was on a football field, holding hands with a woman instead of throwing a ball. Come to think of it, my father wouldn’t believe it, either. He isn’t one for relaxing and enjoying life. He’s always working. Always has a plan. I probably get that from him.”

She pursed her lips. “Tell me more about them.”

“My mom is short but fiery as hell. She could swoop into a football locker room and scare the running back into submission with nothing more than a word.” He snorted. “I’ve seen it happen, so I’m not exaggerating.”

“I think I’d like her.”

“I’m sure you would—and she’d love you, too.”

Kayla wished she could have met her. Cooper knew her family, but she’d never get to meet his. “And your dad?”

“He’s a hard-ass who doesn’t allow any weakness of any sort.” His voice went stiff and so did his body. “He loves me, and I know he does. But as his only son, I’m expected to lead the same life he did. Get married. Have babies. Run a business. Fight a war.” He shrugged. “Anything short of that is a failure in his eyes.”

“Sounds like my dad, but with slightly different goals. They both seem to think they know what is best for us.”

He studied her. “Yeah, I guess they do.”

“He’s got to be happy with your career move now—even if it’s not at the company of his choice.”

“He’s not.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

She shifted slightly so she was more on her side than on her back. “Did you say you leave on Tuesday? I forget.”

“Yeah, Tuesday.” His fingers flexed on hers, and he ran his thumb over the back of her hand. “It’s the right thing to do, you know.”

“You like to be needed, don’t you?”

His thumb stilled. “What do you mean?”

“You like when you’re needed.” She rolled onto her side, watching him closely. He was staring up at the sky. “It’s not a bad thing. You just seem to thrive off of being that guy. It’s why you swooped in and rescued me on that plane, and it’s why you’re still here. I’d bet it’s why you’re going back overseas, too. They need you—and you need them to need you.”

“I…” He cleared his throat. “I guess so. Maybe. I suppose I have a pattern of liking to feel as if I’m accomplishing something. Shit, I don’t know.”

“I do.” She cupped his cheek with her palm, running her thumb over his jaw. “I also know you’re running from shadows that have haunted you since the war, and I know you think you’re not a good man. I’m guessing you lost someone close to you, and you feel you’re to blame. Maybe you even think it’s solely on your shoulders. But you’re one of the best men I know, and I hope you get to stop running soon.”

He sat up and rested his forearms on his knees. “Anyone ever tell you that you read people a little too well?”