taking photos of the old geezers?”
She was as quiet as he’d ever seen her. It was like watching the surface of a ripple-less pond. You knew the water was deep, but it was so still, you had no idea just how deep it was.
Her eyes appeared black rather than their normaldark blue in the moonglow. For a second he had the fanciful thought—and he wasn’t a man ever given to fanciful thought—that she looked almost otherwordly, as if she was cast of the same stone as her Mercury garden statue. Instinctively he traced a finger over the curve of her cheek. Yes, warm, soft flesh—no cold hard concrete or marble there. It was as if his touch brought her back to life.
“I would be supremely honored to photograph the reunion of five war dogs. But I have one stipulation.”
“Name it.”
“It’s gratis.”
That was bullshit. “No. I’m not taking advantage of you. If you do it, then I’m paying you your going rate.”
“Mitch, we both know it was my rash action that stuck you with the calendar assignment.”
“And your point is?”
“I sort of owe you.”
“Baby, you don’t owe me anything. From where I’m sitting, this assignment has worked out just fine for me. I’d already checked out who you were and why you were here, but I’m not sure our paths would’ve crossed again if I hadn’t been given the assignment.”
“Oh, our paths would’ve crossed. I had already quizzed Sanchez about you.” She made a little moue of disapproval. “You’ve got to show more initiative Lieutenant Colonel. I had to kiss you. I was prepared to look you up.” She shook her head. “You really wouldn’t have come looking for me?”
She was teasing but there was a note of seriousness, as well.
Mitch wasn’t going to lie to her. It was his modus operandi and regardless she deserved the truth. “No. I wouldn’t have.”
The truth he didn’t voice, however, was the realization that hit him dead in his gut. He wouldn’t have gone looking for her because Eden Walters scared the hell out of him.
O UCH, OUCH, AND DOUBLE OUCH . He wouldn’t have come looking for her. Well…that wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear. She’d asked. She’d pushed. And he’d told her.
She put it in perspective. They’d both known this was a three-day affair…which looked as if it might extend to a five-day affair. And now she was going to meet his grandfather. So, while he wouldn’t have come looking for her, well, she’d just have to let that go.
“The assignment sounds really interesting. And it’s not as if I have any work scheduled for the weekend, so it’s not bumping me out of a project,” she said.
“You think it sounds interesting?”
“Of course. It’s living history. I’ve never had an assignment I didn’t find interesting. There’s merit and value in everything all around us. And for me, I get to capture it. Generations from now someone may look at a photo I took and it’ll provide an insight, a glimpse of a time that’s since passed. It’s posterity.” Okay, so she’d gotten a little carried away. “And nowI’ll climb down off of my soapbox.” She tugged the sheet back up.
“I don’t mind your soapbox,” he said, his voice quiet, reflective. “I never thought of what you do in those terms.”
“Lots of people don’t.” Certainly her parents didn’t see it that way. “But that’s okay. It’s just my take on my career.”
“There are two aspects to society. Structure and culture. Without structure, culture can’t thrive.”
There was no judgment in his voice. He was simply throwing it out his opinion. “And without culture, structure can become oppressive,” she countered, her intellect as aroused as her body had been half an hour before. Eden sat up, tucking the sheet around her and Mitch propped himself on the pillow next to her.
And in the moonlit bed, she and Mitch Dugan rambled on about social order, culture, even Sun Tzu’s The Art of War—she wasn’t sure why he was
She was as quiet as he’d ever seen her. It was like watching the surface of a ripple-less pond. You knew the water was deep, but it was so still, you had no idea just how deep it was.
Her eyes appeared black rather than their normaldark blue in the moonglow. For a second he had the fanciful thought—and he wasn’t a man ever given to fanciful thought—that she looked almost otherwordly, as if she was cast of the same stone as her Mercury garden statue. Instinctively he traced a finger over the curve of her cheek. Yes, warm, soft flesh—no cold hard concrete or marble there. It was as if his touch brought her back to life.
“I would be supremely honored to photograph the reunion of five war dogs. But I have one stipulation.”
“Name it.”
“It’s gratis.”
That was bullshit. “No. I’m not taking advantage of you. If you do it, then I’m paying you your going rate.”
“Mitch, we both know it was my rash action that stuck you with the calendar assignment.”
“And your point is?”
“I sort of owe you.”
“Baby, you don’t owe me anything. From where I’m sitting, this assignment has worked out just fine for me. I’d already checked out who you were and why you were here, but I’m not sure our paths would’ve crossed again if I hadn’t been given the assignment.”
“Oh, our paths would’ve crossed. I had already quizzed Sanchez about you.” She made a little moue of disapproval. “You’ve got to show more initiative Lieutenant Colonel. I had to kiss you. I was prepared to look you up.” She shook her head. “You really wouldn’t have come looking for me?”
She was teasing but there was a note of seriousness, as well.
Mitch wasn’t going to lie to her. It was his modus operandi and regardless she deserved the truth. “No. I wouldn’t have.”
The truth he didn’t voice, however, was the realization that hit him dead in his gut. He wouldn’t have gone looking for her because Eden Walters scared the hell out of him.
O UCH, OUCH, AND DOUBLE OUCH . He wouldn’t have come looking for her. Well…that wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear. She’d asked. She’d pushed. And he’d told her.
She put it in perspective. They’d both known this was a three-day affair…which looked as if it might extend to a five-day affair. And now she was going to meet his grandfather. So, while he wouldn’t have come looking for her, well, she’d just have to let that go.
“The assignment sounds really interesting. And it’s not as if I have any work scheduled for the weekend, so it’s not bumping me out of a project,” she said.
“You think it sounds interesting?”
“Of course. It’s living history. I’ve never had an assignment I didn’t find interesting. There’s merit and value in everything all around us. And for me, I get to capture it. Generations from now someone may look at a photo I took and it’ll provide an insight, a glimpse of a time that’s since passed. It’s posterity.” Okay, so she’d gotten a little carried away. “And nowI’ll climb down off of my soapbox.” She tugged the sheet back up.
“I don’t mind your soapbox,” he said, his voice quiet, reflective. “I never thought of what you do in those terms.”
“Lots of people don’t.” Certainly her parents didn’t see it that way. “But that’s okay. It’s just my take on my career.”
“There are two aspects to society. Structure and culture. Without structure, culture can’t thrive.”
There was no judgment in his voice. He was simply throwing it out his opinion. “And without culture, structure can become oppressive,” she countered, her intellect as aroused as her body had been half an hour before. Eden sat up, tucking the sheet around her and Mitch propped himself on the pillow next to her.
And in the moonlit bed, she and Mitch Dugan rambled on about social order, culture, even Sun Tzu’s The Art of War—she wasn’t sure why he was
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