The Cinderella Mission (Family Secrets #1)(19)
Author: Catherine Mann

She didn’t even dare relax in the hot tub anymore since she’d almost scalded herself. Sure she’d fallen asleep, but she could have sworn she set the water temperature lower. Thank heavens Ethan had woken her before the accident resulted in something worse than red toes.

Her only respite from the physical exhaustion came in the form of meetings at ARIES with Carla Juarez and Robert Davidson to coordinate security for the embassy ball. She’d never thought she would see the day she would long for an afternoon at a desk.

Jogging a sloshy pace around another oak, Kelly focused on one foot in front of the other. She forced her hands to unclench inside her woolen gloves.

She wasn’t a couch potato by any stretch, having already compiled a personal exercise regimen in preparation for the time she would be called up to serve in the field. She’d thrived on surprising Ethan with her endurance, something he obviously hadn’t expected to encounter.

Of course, then he upped the pace again. But she would prove she had something more to offer to this operation than her knowledge of languages.

One foot in front of the other, she distracted herself by drilling Ethan on basic European greetings. Even though her lungs threatened to burst from his killer pace, she had to admit the open spaces offered less temptation than the privacy of his loft apartment or the gym. He also seemed to comprehend the nuances of the language better conversationally than when she presented him a written list.

Kelly adjusted the wooly band over her cold ears. “Forms of good evening or hello. Spanish?”

“Buenas tardes.” He exhaled steady puffs of white. “Christ, Kelly! This is rudimentary crap.”

And repetitious crap gave her something to think about beside the burn in her legs and an attraction that wouldn’t quit. “Italian.”

“Ciao.”

“German.”

“Guten Tag.”

Didn’t the man ever tire? She inhaled another icy gasp. “And my favorite of all languages—the language of love— French.”

He stumbled. “Au revoir?”

“Bonsoir,” she corrected. “Rudimentary, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” The white clouds of air exploded faster as he pounded around a corner. “I’ll bet you dream in multiple languages.”

“On occasion.”

Ethan’s steps slowed. Kelly wanted to shout her relief, but didn’t have the energy. He’d probably quit early for her and she didn’t care.

She slowed her steps to a cool-down pace. “Different languages seem conducive for different activities.”

He kicked aside a chunk of sludge, trailing behind. “How so?”

“German has a strong, guttural sound. It’s good for focus and punch in a run. Run. Lauf. Laufend. Jog. Trotten.” A gust of wind dipped the temperature. “Cold. Frostig.”

Her feet slowed to a halt. Kelly bent over to grab her knees and suck in icy air. She huffed through at least ten chilly breaths waiting for him to answer before calling, “Ethan?”

Where had he gone?

“Ethan?” She looked behind her.

And found him doing the last thing she would have expected. The one thing guaranteed to throw a whole new, confusing, frightening…dangerous complexion on their working relationship. She found Ethan Williams…

…checking out her rear view.

Ethan tried to drag his eyes from Kelly’s backside. Wind pants had never looked so good.

He told himself fifty times over he had no business staring at a fellow operative that way, regardless of how perfectly curved, soft, inviting…

Damn it, time to move to a safer language. Ethan stepped level with her again. “How about cooking?”

Kelly searched his face for two gusting bursts of wind before straightening. “Italian, of course.”

“What about Spanish?”

“Is for dancing.” She started walking again toward the entrance to the mansion’s gym.

He didn’t want to think about what she did in her favorite language. Even the idea made him burn to dive into a half-melted snowbank. The mere mention of her “love language” had sent him bungling basic foreign greetings.

Ethan walked faster, past her, turning to face her as he jogged backward. “So which was your favorite country to tour?”

“I haven’t been overseas.” Some of his disbelief must have shown because she rushed ahead. “There never seemed to be the right time. I almost made it to Portugal for a couple of weeks in one of those high-school travel packages.”

No wonder she’d hung on to an Eiffel Tower paperweight souvenir. A pang of regret stabbed through him that he’d never known she hadn’t seen the real thing. He’d probably spent their time together talking about his latest mission instead of finding out more about a woman who intrigued the hell out of him. Had he been blinded by her quiet air, her baggy clothes to a certain extent, too?

He wouldn’t make the same mistake now. “What happened to keep you from going to Portugal?”

“My folks wouldn’t sign the permission form. They were a little overprotective.”

A surge of gratitude for what he owed his aunt charged through him. She’d had every reason to coddle him after the way his parents had died, but she never had. They both enjoyed traveling—although his reasons differed from his aunt’s. “And later?”

“College was a crush to finish early so my folks could retire. I didn’t have the time or money to schedule a trip abroad. But I’m on my own now. Someday soon, I’m going to use all my vacation days at once and do every one of those things in all those languages in each of those countries.”

He wanted to call his travel agent and start booking the tickets. Damn it, he wanted to go with her and see all those places through her eyes.

Ethan cruised to a stop outside the gym door. “Make sure you send me postcards.”

“Who knows, maybe now that I actually have a shot at upgrading to full operative status, the government can foot the bill for my travel. That was my original plan.”

“Join the agency. See the world.” He yanked open the gym door. “There had to have been an easier way.”

She paused in the open doorway. “But I don’t want easy. I never have. I want a challenge while I’m making my difference. You of all people should understand that.”

Ethan recognized the resolve in her set jaw well since it mirrored his own determination. She was going to do this. Come hell or high water, Kelly Taylor would be a full operative.