She was just lonely, she thought. There wasn’t any particular reason to look for Craig except that he was the only person she knew in town besides Carina. The idea of her sister getting married must be affecting her more than she wanted to admit. She was happy for Kendra, but she also knew things were about to change. Charlie was Kendra’s first priority now, not her.
Sienna chastised herself for that thought. She was being selfish. For the past few years, her social life had revolved around work, and this was one of the rare occasions when she hadn’t brought her personal assistant with her on location. She couldn’t remember the last time she had gone somewhere new without the crutch of either a boyfriend or an assistant to help occupy her time. She supposed it was time to expand her network of friends.
Again she thought of Craig. He intrigued her in more ways than one. She suspected she would have noticed him yesterday even if he hadn’t tackled George. He was attractive in his own rough-and-tumble way. The dark shadow of the beard on his face contrasted with the military-short haircut. She didn’t know if he was starting to grow a beard or if he didn’t want to bother with a close shave. Regardless, the look suited him well.
Beyond his looks, though, he’d caught her attention because of how he had acted so blessedly normal when they’d met. He hadn’t pretended not to know her, but he also hadn’t exhibited the typical fan behavior. Rarely did she meet someone who didn’t at least ask for a photo or an autograph. He hadn’t even tried to get her phone number, a ploy many men had attempted over the years.
She also appreciated knowing he would jump to a stranger’s rescue. If she trusted his actions, he had already proven himself to be a good, truly selfless guy.
She finished her run and turned to walk back the way she had come. In the distance, she saw a familiar dark-haired figure strolling down the boardwalk, a backpack over his shoulder. She could almost see his deep green eyes from here.
Her face lit with pleasure when he drew closer and confirmed her suspicion. She changed direction and headed toward the man she hoped would become her first real friend in Virginia.
* * *
Craig knew he should be back at the barracks packing, but he needed a few minutes to clear his head. As soon as Brent had released them from their last training exercise of the day, Craig had showered and promptly headed out to his car. He could have jogged to the beach near base, but instead he drove to the one in town, where he had run into Sienna Blake.
He knew he couldn’t expect to run into her again just because she happened to be here yesterday, but that didn’t stop him from thinking about her. Perhaps it was his inability to talk to anyone about meeting her yesterday that kept her so firmly on his mind.
He strolled down the boardwalk toward the nearest entrance to the beach. His eyes were drawn to the water, and he squinted when he saw Sienna a short distance away. His heartbeat instantly quickened.
Was she waving at him? He looked behind him to see if the greeting was intended for someone else. A sense of wonder and amazement lifted his spirits. Sienna Blake was here, and she remembered him.
Hoping he appeared more calm than he felt, Craig continued forward and headed toward her.
“I was wondering if I would see you again today,” she said.
Craig considered playing it cool but didn’t manage it. “Really? I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
Her blue eyes warmed, and her lips curved. “Do you come here every day?”
“No. I just finished some appointments and have an hour before I have to head back over to base, so I decided to go for a walk to clear my head,” Craig told her. “What about you? You don’t live around here, do you?”
“No. I start filming a movie next week.”
Craig looked over at George, who was standing several yards away. He lowered his voice. “He’s not still mad about what happened yesterday, is he?”
She leaned closer and whispered, “I think he’s over it.”
“I hope so.”
She smiled. “You definitely made an impression though.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”
Glancing over at George, she said, “I think it was a little of both but mostly good.”
Craig let his gaze sweep over the beach. “Did I interrupt your run?”
“I was just finishing up.” Sienna motioned to the water. “Do you want to walk with me for a bit, or do you have plans?”
Like he would turn down the chance to get to know her better. “A walk sounds good.”
They started across the sand, taking a path near the water without getting close enough to get wet. George dropped back behind them, strolling along as though he just happened to be heading in the same direction.
“I hadn’t heard there was a movie shooting around here,” Craig said conversationally.
“Yeah. It’s one of those military action films.”
“Not your usual role.”
“I know. I’m actually a little worried about how this is going to work out,” Sienna confessed. “I don’t normally have to deal with stunt doubles and action scenes.”
“I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
She shrugged. “Yeah. I guess.”
Craig looked over at her, still not quite able to believe this was real. A beautiful, interesting woman had waved him down, and now she was giving him glimpses into what was behind her famous persona. “You sound worried.”
She took a deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling on a sigh. “My character is supposed to be a highly trained CIA agent who knows how to take care of herself. It’s been a while since I took a self-defense class.”
“I have to tell you, this is feeling a little surreal to me,” Craig said. He saw her answering smile and pressed on. “But I do know a bit about that kind of stuff. Let me know if you need any help.”
She looked over at him, clearly considering. “Does that mean you’re offering me your phone number?”
“Do you want it?”
She looked over at him, the epitome of a woman who was completely in control of her destiny. Yet he could have sworn he saw a flash of vulnerability in her eyes. “I think I do. You know, in case I really do need some help.”
She retrieved her phone from where it was strapped to her upper arm. Craig expected her to hand it to him so he could put in his information and save her from the embarrassment of asking for his name again. Instead, she opened up the contacts herself. “Craig, what’s your last name again?”
“Simmons.” As soon as she typed it in, he rattled off his number.
“Great. Thanks.”
“Fair warning. I’m happy to help when I’m here, but tomorrow I’m going out of town for work.”
“What are you doing tonight?”
“I need to pack, but that’s about it.”
“Any chance you could spare a couple hours?”
Craig nodded at George. “I’m surprised you don’t have him help you.”
“He’s funny about that kind of stuff. He’s afraid that if he tries to work with me, he’ll lose his focus and let someone get too close to me.”
“I can see his point.”
“I need to go get cleaned up.” Sienna looked at her watch. “Maybe we could meet at my hotel in a couple hours? We can look at the script over dinner.”
“Sounds great.”
She held up her phone and took a step back. “I guess I’ll call you later, then.”
“Talk to you soon.” Craig watched her head back the way she had come. For the second time in two days, he wondered if he was living in some kind of dream world.
4
Sienna held her phone in her hand, her heart racing with a combination of nerves and anticipation. Stalling, she checked her e-mail and read through a couple of old text messages.
“Are you going to call him?” George asked.
“Call who?”
“The guy from the beach. I know you want to call him.”
She let out a sigh. “It feels weird. I hardly know him.”
“But you like him, or you wouldn’t have spent the last fifteen minutes staring at your phone. Besides, you know he’s fine, and it’s not like you’re going to be by yourself with him.”
“Why do you think I know he’s fine?”
George gave her a deliberate stare. “Any guy who runs to the rescue of someone he doesn’t know can’t be all bad.”
Sienna caught a glint of something in his eyes. “You ran his background check, didn’t you?”
“Well, yeah. That’s my job.”
Sienna didn’t dispute his words, nor did she put her phone down. “You know, you really could help me get ready for this role.”
“You don’t want me to help you, and we both know it. You want to call that boy.”
“He’s hardly a boy.”
“He’s more than ten years younger than me. That means he’s still a kid.”
Sienna chuckled, some of her nerves easing. “You’re acting like forty is old.”
“Yesterday on the beach, it felt like it.”
“Are you still mad about that?” Sienna asked.
“Just a bruised ego. I’ll get over it.” He pointed to her phone and spoke in his I-know-best tone. “Go ahead and call him. I’ll talk to hotel management about setting up a place for the two of you to meet.”
“I can have him come up here.”
George looked around the hotel suite. “You may have plenty of space up here, but I’m not ready to have some random guy in your hotel room, even if I am sitting right next to you.”
“I thought you said he was okay.”
“Saying he’s okay is one thing. Having him in your room is another. Let’s not forget that your father still pays my salary.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of my father.”
“I’m more afraid of getting caught between you two. Neither one of us needs the fallout that would come from you ending up in the press right now. Having some guy seen coming or going from your hotel room would not be a good thing.”
“True.”
“Go ahead and make your phone call. I’ll be back in a minute.” He crossed the room. “Don’t leave your room, and don’t unlock the door for anyone.”
“I know the drill.” Sienna followed George to the door. As soon as he closed it behind him, she flipped the lock. With another glance at her cell phone, she mustered her courage. “I guess it’s now or never,” she muttered to herself.
She scrolled through her contacts and found Craig’s number. Still, she hesitated. She knew few people would believe she was shy at heart. Once she got to know people, she was fine, but those initial contacts made her stomach curl with dread and anxiety. She’d been forced to learn to push through it, especially growing up under the microscope of the paparazzi.
She was a little surprised that so far the press was leaving her alone. She wasn’t sure if she had been successful in avoiding them when she traveled to Virginia or if they hadn’t discovered where she was staying yet, but as far as she knew, no one had splashed her photo on the Internet or in print since her arrival.
Crossing to the glass door leading to the balcony, she stared out at the ocean. Even through the glass, she could hear the roar of the waves and the squawk of seagulls flying overhead. She looked down at the few people jogging along the beach and let herself remember her earlier meeting with Craig.
George was right. She did want to call him. She felt the promise of a friendship, one that might give her some semblance of normalcy, something she had often searched for but had never seemed to find.
Her palms dampened, not unlike they did every time she stepped in front of the camera. With her heart racing, she forced herself to push the talk button.
* * *
“All of this practice has been for Amy’s parents’ anniversary party?” Craig asked skeptically. Surely he had heard Brent wrong. “I assume there’s more to it than that. Are you aware of some threat we should know about?”
“Nothing specific, but Amy’s family has some unique quirks.”
“Such as?”
Brent looked over at Amy. She picked up the unspoken signal and answered the question for him. “My father is a U.S. senator, my oldest brother is the starting first baseman for the Marlins, and my sister-in-law used to be in the Witness Protection Program after she helped break up a smuggling ring.”
“Wow. You guys know how to make things interesting,” Damian said.
Craig looked from Amy to Brent. “So we’re going to be there to help your family?”
“Not just my family. Our squad has made some enemies over the years, and unfortunately, a few of our targets know who we are. We don’t want to take any chances that our professional lives will spill over and make this night anything less than perfect,” Brent said. “Besides, it will be great training for both of you. I prefer not to take any rookies into the field without a dry run.”
“I can vouch for that,” Damian said.
Craig lifted his eyebrows in question.
“We don’t need to go into details,” Brent said, clearly referring to a specific incident rather than his general policies.
“Whatever you say, Brent,” Damian agreed obediently.
“Is everyone all set for departure tomorrow morning?” Brent asked. When they all nodded in the affirmative, he continued. “After we settle in tomorrow afternoon, we’ll have a briefing at the site of the anniversary party, followed by an outing I think you’ll enjoy.”
“What kind of outing?”
“You’ll find out soon enough. Just consider it a bonus for being willing to help us out this weekend.”
“You do realize you haven’t exactly given us a choice, right?” Damian asked.
“I promise it will be a weekend worth remembering.” Brent stood up. “I think that’s everything for now.”
“If everyone is already packed . . .” Seth began.
Craig’s phone rang, and Seth turned to look at him inquisitively. Embarrassed that he’d forgotten to silence his phone, he quickly retrieved it from his pocket. “Sorry,” he mumbled.
“Do you need to get that?” Brent asked.
He started to say no, but when he saw the California prefix, he looked at Brent apologetically. “Actually, if you don’t mind, I think I should take this.”
“Go ahead. We’re finished here anyway,” Brent said.
Craig stepped out of the room, answering the phone as soon as he entered the hall. “Hello?”
“Hi, Craig. It’s Sienna.”
“Hey, I was wondering if you were going to call.” He cringed inwardly as once again he realized how lame his response must sound to her, as though he was sitting around waiting by the phone, hoping to hear from her. Why was it that every time he spoke to her, the first thing that entered his mind popped out of his mouth?
“Are you still free tonight?”
Craig could have sworn he heard a hint of insecurity in her voice again, but he brushed it off. Surely he was mistaken. “Yeah. Did you still want some help?”
“That would be great, if you don’t mind.”
“I just finished my last meeting of the day. Let me know when and where you want to meet, and I’ll be there.”
“How about if we meet at my hotel? How soon can you come over?”
“I can come right now if you want. Where are you staying?”
“I’ll text you the address.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a little while.”
“I look forward to it.”
He was halfway to his car when he heard his name being called. “Craig. Esperate!”
Craig turned to see Damian jogging across the parking lot toward him. He wondered briefly if Damian realized he was telling him to wait in Spanish rather than English.
Even though Damian had the look of his German ancestors, he had grown up in Venezuela until his teenage years. Craig had quickly discovered that this part
icular teammate didn’t always remember which language he was speaking.
“What’s up?” Craig asked him in English.
“A bunch of the guys are getting together to watch the Capitals game on TV at Seth’s house tonight. Do you want to drive over with me?”
“No, thanks. I have plans tonight.”
“Plans?” Damian looked at him suspiciously. “What plans?”
“Just plans.” Craig slid the key into the lock and unlocked his vehicle the old-fashioned way. He had bought the used truck when he was sixteen, and it didn’t have such amenities as keyless entry or even working air conditioning. Living in Virginia, he might have to rethink his decision to forgo repairing the A/C.
Damian continued to stare at Craig as he pulled the door open. “Do you have a date?”
Since he wasn’t exactly sure how to classify his meeting with Sienna, he decided avoidance would be the best course of action. He climbed into the driver’s seat and called out, “See you later.”
Before Damian could respond, Craig slammed his door shut, started the truck, and pulled out of the lot, leaving his teammate to stare after him.
5
Craig read through the text message from Sienna one more time. He approached the front desk at the hotel, not sure why in the world Sienna would tell him to ask for Elizabeth Hancock instead of her. Maybe Elizabeth was her personal assistant or something.
The sharply dressed woman behind the counter smiled in greeting. “May I help you?”
Half expecting to be told he was in the wrong place, he said, “Yes. I’m supposed to meet Elizabeth Hancock here.”
“Your name?”
“Craig Simmons.”
“I’ll let Miss Hancock know you’re here. She’ll meet you in the Oak Room.” She pointed to her left. “Follow that hallway past the elevators, and it will be the second door on the right.”
“Thank you.” Craig made his way to the room she indicated. When he arrived, he was surprised to find a large room with only one round table set up. Atop the white linen tablecloth, there was a single red rose in a vase, along with two place settings.
He took a few steps into the room, still not sure he was in the right place. Sienna had mentioned going through her script over dinner, but he expected they would meet in the hotel restaurant or perhaps in a hotel suite with George watching over them. He glanced down at his BDUs, the battle dress uniform he had worn to work, and instantly felt underdressed.
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