Zach let out a long breath. “Not much to tell, really. I stood there for a couple of seconds . . . tried to get my mind to make sense of what my eyes were seeing, then turned around and walked out. She sent me a text message to follow up and bring closure.”
“Wait . . . she sent you a text breakup message after you walked in on her?” Anita opened and closed her mouth. “Now that was cold, dead wrong.”
“I was gone for six months— she had needs, what can I say?”
“Then what did you do?” Anita stared at him slack-jawed.
“I went right back to the base and asked to decline my leave . . . went to Afghanistan to get it out of my system. Did a lot of damage there.”
“So, you just threw yourself into work and never looked back?”
“Something like that.”
Anita blew out a long breath that made a low whistle.
This was definitely not the conversation he’d wanted to have. Not the topic he’d ever wanted to revisit.
“Did you love her?”
He stared at Anita. “Enough to let her keep the ring . . . sometimes money doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, my God . . . you were engaged and she did that?” Anita murmured. “I know what you mean about the money not mattering, but, brother, you should have gotten the ring back, for real.”
“Did you love him?” He figured it was a fair question, since she’d burrowed way deep into his psyche— it was an unauthorized security breach.
Anita turned the paper around toward him. “Read it and weep . . . you heard me humming that crying-ass love song. But, trust me; I am so over Jonathan Evans . . . still, what I’m not over is wanting to be with someone special— does that make sense?”
“Yeah.” Zach looked at Anita and then looked away. It made more sense than he could articulate.
“I don’t even know why I’m wasting time on some dumb song.” Anita let out a resigned sigh.
“What little bit I heard was beautiful,” Zach said, truly meaning it. Then more unauthorized words pushed past his lips too quickly for his brain to stop them. “Whatever inspired it . . . the man is insane.”
“Thank you,” she said with a shy smile, “for both observations. I’m glad you wound up being on this detail,” she added, gathering up her papers.
“So am I,” he said quietly. “I promise that you won’t be disappointed that I’m a stand-in for Lowell Johnson— he’s a good man, the best, but I’ll try to approximate his skill to keep you and your entourage safe.”
“I’m already impressed,” she said very quietly and then looked around to be sure the others weren’t listening in. “I think fate made sure it was you, and after last night . . .”
He leaned in and dropped his voice. “’Nita . . . I can’t talk about last night and sit next to you on a seventeen-hour flight— all right? That’s why I keep backing off that subject. You’re messing me up.”
He’d expected her to smile or tease him but her expression remained stone serious.
“I’m already messed up . . . maybe that’s why I keep going there. I’m sorry.”
“You’ve gotta stop,” he said in an urgent whisper. “Your condition won’t be obvious; mine will be.”
“Okay,” she said and then sat back for a moment. “But I have to ask another personal question.”
Zachary smiled. “Do I have a choice?”
“No,” she said with such a serious expression that he wanted to kiss her hard. “Okay, how long ago did this chick burn you?”
“Last year,” he said, losing his smile, suddenly feeling every minute of his self-denial.
“Last year . . . after you were already gone for six months?” Anita’s eyes were wide and she covered her heart with the palm of her hand. “So, you’ve been running women since then— you know, the lone-wolf type?”
“No. I’ve been busy working. That causes too much drama and I like to keep my life uncomplicated.”