Page 21 of Blind Trust
She nodded, pointing to the tight smile on her face. “See? This is me cooperating.”
He raised his eyebrows, opening his eyes wide. “This is me looking shocked.”
“Whatever.” She playfully smacked his arm, laughing. “Oh, so I’m heading to my parents tonight for dinner, but I was thinking of asking Walsh if I could leave a little early. I was going to ride the hunt trail with Hank, my grandfather’s stable master, and make sure it’s ready for the drag hunt.” She faced him. “Do you want to go with me?”
“Tonight?”
“Yeah. We could do a quick ride, have dinner with my parents, and we should be done in time for you to drive back before it gets too late.”
He swallowed. “I have, um, plans tonight.”
“Oh, with the guys?”
Nic wished it were with Jack and Kekoa.Just tell her. This was the perfect opportunity to let her know he was accepting the mission in Syria.
“Is it a date?”
“What? No. It’s work.”
Lyla quirked a brow. “I bet I can talk Walsh into letting you leave early. I’ll ask him—”
“It’s not work for the agency.” Nic pulled into the parking lot of the rental car office and parked. He turned to Lyla, knowing full well he’d stepped on a land mine. “I’m meeting Captain Isaac at the range tonight.”
“Naomi?”
The way Lyla said her name made Nic want to lie. Made him want to take it back, find a reason to cancel with Naomi, but he wasn’t a liar and he kept his word. He needed to make sure he was qualified on his weapons before heading to Syria, but explaining that to Lyla right now felt risky.
“Oh, that’s...that’s good.” Lyla fumbled for the strap of her purse, and then it got tangled in the seat belt she was trying to take off. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll—”
“Lyla.” Nic reached for her arm just as her other hand grabbed the door handle. She looked back at him. “I can cancel tonight if—”
“Oh no. Don’t do that.” She gave a tight laugh. “I just thought if you didn’t have plans, it might be something fun to do. It’s no big deal. I’ll see you back at the office, okay?”
Without waiting for his response, Lyla pulled the handle, slid out of his truck, and closed the door. Nic watched her walk into the rental car office, assessing the blast radius of his oversight. Exhaling, he bounced his fist against the steering wheel.
He didn’t know what to make of Lyla’s reaction. Was she jealous? Why? She knew he and Captain Isaac were friends. And onlyfriends, because Nic didn’t do one-night stands and didn’t care for superficial relationships. He dated with marriage in mind.
Nic shifted his truck into drive and accelerated out of the parking lot, desperate to get away from the images and memories he hadn’t allowed himself to think about in six years. He didn’t need to think about her to know he couldn’t entertain a single thought about dating Lyla.
8
Naomi Isaac. Lyla wrinkled her nose as she steered her rental car onto I-295. During a quick stop back at the office, she’d asked Walsh if she could take the rest of the day’s work and head up to her parents’ property early. He’d agreed, but she’d sensed some concern in his agreement. Pasting on a smile, she’d assured Walsh she was fine and thanked him. Then she’d avoided all eye contact with Nicolás, who, per his usual self, had watched her from beneath the brim of his worn ball cap, and collected her laptop and left.
Agitation clawed up her spine because she couldn’t quite identify what was bugging her about Nicolás’s plans with his old Army buddy.Oldandbuddydidn’t seem fitting for the picture Lyla was imagining. No, in her head, Naomi Isaac either looked like Fiona the ogre fromShrekor Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft fromTomb Raider. She doubted either was accurate but feared the latter was the closest possibility.
Captain Naomi Isaac. Ugh. Even her name sounded beautiful.
Lyla’s shoulders sank against her seat. Why did it feel like Nicolás had dropped a bomb on her? Wasn’tNaomisupposed to be overseas? When did she get back? Nicolás confirmed it wasn’t a date, which she believed. Over the years, she hadn’t known Nicolás to date, which was weird, because on more than one assignment with him, she’d overheard women express their interest in him andhis good looks. But nothing ever went anywhere, and she never really bothered to investigate why.
So why had she invited him to her parents’ and grandparents’ houses anyway?
Why not?It wasn’t like she was asking him out on a date. It was a friendly invitation. If she’d been at the office, she would’ve extended it to Jack or Kekoa.
Ugh. Arguing with herself was giving her a headache.
What was the point? Just because Elinor thought they’d be c-u-t-e together didn’t mean it was realistic.Nicolás struggles to trust me. She saw the sincerity in his apology, but she also felt the hesitancy when she tried to assure him she would do better. That hurt her more than she cared to admit.
A noise of frustration escaped her lips. She bet Nicolás probably had no problem trustingNaomi. How could he not? From what little Lyla knew, the woman had been part of his unit just before he got out. And working with the SNAP team for nearly a decade, she’d experienced firsthand how tense situations drew people closer. Maybe Naomi had the insight to the kind of deeper friendship Lyla wanted with Nicolás. Was that it?
