“Isn’t he awfully young to have retired?”
“He’s sixty-six. Finn, I’m thirty-four. I’m a lot older than you are.”
“Not that much older. I’m twenty-nine,” he protested.
She lifted her eyebrow. “Finn, think of all that I’ve done. I’ve lived in another country for a year. I’m five years older than you are. I own a company.”
“Good point. After all, I’ve lived this sheltered life.” He watched as Angie blushed.
“I don’t know why I’m even saying any of this, we’re here tonight to talk about Dasha and the case.” Yeah, and he dressed up for no reason whatsoever. At least, he consoled himself with the fact that she had dressed up and had researched what beer to buy for him. He wasn’t in this by himself.
“You’re right, Dasha and the case. Where are we going to go for dinner?” he asked.
“You never did tell me what you liked to eat, so since I was hungry for steak, that’s what we’re having.”
“I have never gone on a date where the woman wanted a steak.”
“Well, here’s the thing. We’re not on a date. And you’re in Texas. So you need to adjust your expectations.”
“I guess I do.” She held out her hand for his empty beer bottle. He handed it to her. She got up and put it in the kitchen along with her own. He stood up and waited for her by the door.
They stepped out onto the porch, and she reached into her purse and took out her keys. He held out his hand.
“What?”
“I’ll do that.”
“You’ll do what?” she asked, clearly confused.
“Lock your door.”
She laughed. “It’s okay, I can do it.”
“Humor me.” She rolled her eyes and handed him her keys. He easily found her key to the door and locked it. Then he pocketed them.
“Aren’t you going to give them back to me?”
“I will at the end of the evening. I’m going to unlock your door, and see you safely inside.”
“Are you sure you’re not from the south?”
“The boys down here have been doing this for you?”
“Hell no, they’ve tried, but I kind of scare them.”
“I’m not surprised.” He put his hand on her lower back and ushered her down the walk to his car. “I’m impressed with your security.”
“Wait a minute,” she stiffened under his hand. “You saw that? Goddamit. You weren’t supposed to be able to see that.”
“Lady, it’s my business to be able to see it. I would be dead a hundred times over if I couldn’t spot different security measures.”
Finn felt her relax. “I guess that makes sense.” He unlocked his car door, and opened it for her, and handed her into the passenger seat. She let out a small laugh.
“What?”
“It’s been about a hundred years since I’ve been out with a man and I haven’t had to climb into a truck.”
“I can imagine.”
“I like this car. Let me guess, you did all the restoration yourself.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It goes with the OCD. You would want all the control of having taken care of every aspect of the restoration.”
“Hold that thought.” He closed her door, and went to his side and slipped into the car. “You have a good understanding of the human psyche, don’t you?”
“I damn well better. Otherwise, I would be in deep trouble.” She pointed down the street. “Take a left at the stop sign. Then we’re heading north on the highway. Take the first exit. I’ll tell you where to go after that.” Finn nodded.
Angie pointed out different spots along the way, explaining some of the tourist attractions as well as the local landmarks.
“That’s the neighborhood where my grandmother’s parents lived when I was growing up,” she said pointing to an affluent neighborhood.
“So your mother’s side was Texan, and your father’s side was from New York?”
“Yep, New York Italian. Both Pops and Sergei actually enlisted in the marines in the early sixties. Later, after they got out, they were friends in New York. Later my Pops moved to Texas.”
“That seems like quite a jump for a New York Italian marine to move to Texas.”
Angie laughed. “It was. But my grandmother had spent the summer in New York with a friend of hers. He met her and fell in love. It was one sided. But that didn’t stop him. He followed her to Austin. He joined the Austin Police Department. He courted her, and she fell in love with him. Her family disapproved until they had my dad. Once there was a grandchild, all bets were off.”
“That’s a great story.”
“What about your family?”
“They’re great,” Finn said as he pulled into the parking lot of the steakhouse.
***
God, the man looked good in slacks, Angie thought as she stood back just a little to watch him give his name to the hostess. Don’t ogle, she admonished herself. But seriously, who could blame her? Dammit! Had the hostess just caught her?
“Right this way,” the hostess said, as she carried menus and ushered them toward their table. When Finn wasn’t looking, she winked at Angie. Yep, she’d been caught.
Finn held out her chair, and Angie sat down.
The waitress came and took their orders.
“I’m sorry if coming to dinner was a bad idea, Finn. I know I said that I was going to take a couple of days to mull over everything I read, and tonight might be a bit premature. The first thing I want to do is apologize for coming off so needy on the phone last night.”
“You didn’t come off needy,” he said gently.
“For God’s sake, I cried.”
“So?”
“I don’t do tears.”
“Angie, look at me.”
She looked down at the roll on her plate and took a long time buttering the bread.
“Angie?”
It obviously needed more butter.
“Angie?”
More butter.
“Angie.” She looked up. She didn’t know that he had been in command. She thought he had been one of the guys who took orders. “That’s better.”
“What did you want?”
“I wanted you to look at me. I wanted you to believe me when I said you didn’t come off across as needy. But you know something, if you had, I would have liked it. You needing me is appealing.”
She looked at him like he had just grown a second head. “What did you say?”
“It’s okay if you want to lean on me. For God’s sake Lady, after everything you read, I would think that there was something wrong with you if you didn’t need some comfort.”
Hug. Last night. She’d needed a hug.
His blue eyes captured hers, and she felt herself falling into a lake of blue. A plate blocked her view as her food was placed on the table in front of her. She looked up at the waitress and gave a wan smile.
Finn reached over and put his hand over hers, and she found herself breathing easier.
“Let me know if I can get you anything else,” the waitress said.
“Everything looks great,” Finn said, but he wasn’t looking at his plate, he was looking at her. Angie felt her cheeks heating. She could get used to his attention.
He let go of her hand, and they started to eat.
“I’ve done most of the talking so far, tell me about yourself. What made you join the Navy?”
“I always knew I wanted to be a SEAL. There was only one fly in the ointment. My best friend wanted to be an Army Ranger. We fought all through school. To this day he swears that Army Rangers are far superior to Navy SEALs.”
“That’s too bad that you couldn’t serve together.”
“At least I got to be stationed in San Diego. That is a huge plus,” Finn said as he continued to plow into his steak. Angie had obviously chosen a good place for dinner.
“So how does he like being a Ranger?”
“That’s the funny thing, he
ended up being in Military Intelligence, which wasn’t that big of a surprise. He’s no longer in the Army.”
“What happened?”
“Medical discharge,” was Finn’s clipped response. Angie took the hint and didn’t question further.
“How about you, do you intend to retire from the Navy? Don’t you just have to put in twenty years? How old were you when you enlisted?”
“Yes. Yes. Eighteen.”
“Did you ever think of getting a degree?”
“Thanks to Uncle Sam, I’ve got one.”
“Really? In what?”
“Supply chain management and logistics.”
“That seems kind of odd.”
His left lip quirked upwards. “Not really. Coordinating projects and missions is critical.”
“So what is your rank?”
“Chief Petty Officer.”
“Do you lead a team?” He finished off the final bit of steak and chewed. It was obvious he was thinking how to answer her question.
“Right now I’m in a perfect spot, with the best team imaginable. My lieutenant is the best one I could ask for. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Then why are you here now, instead of in San Diego?”
He took a sip of water. “You sure do ask a lot of questions.”
“It’s part of being an investigator. Do you want me to stop?”
“I guess I do.”
“All right. How about some dessert?”
“Now that’s a question I can answer.”
***
Angie was impressed how Finn didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. For the rest of the evening, they were able to find plenty of other topics of conversation. They both had a lot of interest in the foster care system. He explained about Rebecca, the girl his mother had taken in as a foster daughter last year.
“She’s remarkable. I can’t believe how resilient she is, and it pisses me off how easily she fell through the cracks.”
“Unfortunately, I’ve seen some of my client’s children end up in the foster care system when the spouses are slinging mud against one another.”
“What do you mean?” Finn asked.
“Last year both spouses were saying that the other spouse was sexually abusing the two children. There weren’t any other relatives for the kids to go to, so for six months they had to go into foster care while the courts figured out what the hell was going on.”
“You have got to be shitting me?”
“I’m not. It was pathetic. I was finally able to assist the father in proving the mother’s boyfriend had a history of pedophilia. The dad got custody back. Unfortunately, the kids ended up separated, and the little boy was put into three different homes in the six months he was in the system. It was because he was acting out so badly. Normally that wouldn’t happen, it was just a bad set of circumstances all the way around. The boy is still in therapy.”
“Rebecca’s story definitely had a happy ending.” He smiled. “What kind of cases do you normally have?”
“Because we have been in business almost fifty years here in Austin, we have an established clientele. I’m on retainer with three different corporations, and that makes up seventy percent of my business. So it’s really boring.”
“Really? You have a gun in your desk.”
“I’m a Texas girl. Do you know how many of us have carry and conceal?”
“A lot?”
“You could say that,” she grinned. “Anyway. The cases that aren’t boring are really not boring.”
“Dangerous?” he asked as he took a sip of his dessert coffee.
“There have been a couple that have been dicey over the years.”
“How much training have you had?”
“I’m an expert marksman. I’ve had extensive martial arts training. I take this seriously Finn.” She watched him give her an assessing glance, especially looking over her arms. She held up her right arm and flexed.
“Satisfied?”
“Not really. But it’s not bad.”
She rolled her eyes and picked up her purse to pay.
“I’m paying.” He already had his card on the table.
“This is business. I can write this off.”
“I checked out your cleavage. Therefore, I’m paying.” She looked up at him from under her lashes. She hadn’t been sure if the chemistry had all been one sided or not. Apparently not. Good.
***
Finn was of two minds as he led Angie up the walkway to her door. He was still mentally kicking himself and reminding himself that he did not mean for this to be a date.
And if this was a date...really? I checked out your cleavage? What, was he? In fucking junior high school?
Then there was the other part of him that wanted to take her in his arms after hearing all the things that she had told him. Like when he had heard the story of her parents not visiting her in Paris, and her Dad basically deserting her to run the business alone, he’d begun to see a pattern. As tough and capable as she was, there was a part of Angie that had been abandoned. No wonder she always felt she needed to be strong and tough.
He unlocked the door for her, and she checked her alarm system which was secure.
“Would you like to come in?” she asked shyly.
“I better not.”
“Okay,” she bit her lip and gave a bright smile. “So, maybe the day after tomorrow will be a better time to discuss the reports?” He watched her hands twist her little red purse.
Dammit, he’d just rejected her. What was he thinking?
He reached out and dug his hand into the curls like he had wanted to three days ago. God, her hair was as soft as he had imagined. As he bent close, he smelled strawberries. Was it her shampoo? Her lip gloss? Damn, when she had reapplied the gloss in his car, he had almost drooled.
He touched his lips against hers. So soft. She flowered open and sighed. Her hands stopped twisting her bag, and instead crept up and circled around his neck. He tasted the sweetness that was Angie, loving the way that melted against him. He felt a little sting at his neck, and realized her nails were biting into his nape, he reciprocated, by tugging at her hair. She groaned and pressed closer.
There was something so fresh and freeing about Angie. She brought a little bit of light to some of the dark places in his soul. He pulled back so he could look into her brown eyes, needing to see her desire.
“Finn,” she whispered.
He dipped back down and trailed kisses from her jaw to her neck.
“So good,” her voice was just a puff of air.
He had to look at her again. It was a deep seated need for him to make sure she was with him every step of the way.
“What?” she asked.
“Do you want this? Really want this?” He watched as she bit her lip.
“Tell me, Angie. Tell me true.” A phrase from his childhood.
“Yes.” She paused. “No.” Another pause. She looked up into his eyes. “I don’t know. I’m so sorry.”
“Shhh. Lady, it’s fine.” He bent his head, touching his forehead to hers. “Nothing is more important to me than honesty. I wasn’t planning on this either. I don’t think I’m ready, and now that I know you’re not one hundred percent with me, I know I’m not ready.”
He saw her relieved look. He brushed back the hair from her face, luxuriating in the softness of her curls.
“I love your hair.”
“That’s because you don’t have to tame it every morning.”
His eyes glinted. “I notice you haven’t cut it, Ms. Donatelli.” He smirked.
“God save me from perceptive men.”
“Okay, get inside. I’ll wait out here until you’ve locked your door and set your alarm.”
She shook her head. “Paranoid much?” An echo of Declan’s words. Interesting.
“I prefer to think of it as cautious.”
He watched as she closed the door, and he listened for the lock and the arming of the alarm. He took a deep br
eath before walking down the walkway to his car. For a moment a smile hovered. He had forgotten what is was like to be so hot and bothered by a woman. Then pictures and events slammed through his mind, and all the good feelings that Angie had evoked, fled.
His hand fisted on the top of his car. Dammit, what was he thinking? He shouldn’t be touching someone as good and kind and wonderful as Angie Donatelli. He slammed his fist down on the steel. The pain felt good. He deserved pain. He got in the car and drove into the night.
Chapter Four
Angie waited until Thursday to have time to process the reports. Then she called Finn. When she got voicemail, she left a breezy little message about the files and asked him to call her. By the next day, she couldn’t decide if she was pissed or hurt he hadn’t called back. But because she believed in honesty, she had to admit she was eighty-three percent hurt.
“Who peed in your Special-K?” Sarah asked as she handed Angie another set of completed notes that she’d entered into the database.
“Sarah, the term is ‘pissed in your Wheaties.'”
“You say it your way, I’ll say it mine. I’m betting it was Finn. I’ll be right back.” Angie watched as Sarah left the office, knowing what was coming. Seconds later, in came the Tupperware.
“You didn’t,” Angie said as she reached for the container. Sarah handed her a spoon.
“Honey, you so need sugar. Especially with your mom in Ireland, you haven’t had anyone to cook for you.” They looked at one another and laughed. The idea of Emily Donatelli cooking was pretty damn funny.
“Well, they seem to be enjoying their time, even though dad isn’t placing well in the tournament.”
“Bet your mom is still managing to find things to buy.”
“Undoubtedly,” Angie agreed.
“So tell me what’s going on between you and Finn.”
“Nothing,” Angie said quickly.
“We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way.”
“What’s the hard way?” Angie asked curiously.
Her Fierce SEAL: Midnight Delta Book 6 Page 6