Page 64 of Mensa's Match

“Sure, but when you get back, we’re having a chat about Mensa being in Jackson with you. How long has that been going on? It seems like you just split up with Ben.”

I opened my mouth to answer, but Wyatt kept speaking.

“Don’t answer that. I’m glad you got rid of Ben. Hear me when I say, you’re too good for either one of them. Remember that. Later.”

The phone gave a double beep and with a seething breath, I put my phone back on the charger.

“Take it that last part was about me,” Mensa surmised.

I glared at my bed, then softened my expression to meet his eyes. “That was about my brother being bossy.”

Mensa scratched his jaw. “Noticed you don’t like that. It’s odd that you don’t take authority well.”

“That’s ‘odd’? I don’t know many women who like being bossed for arbitrary reasons, Kenneth. And definitely not by their brother.”

He chuckled. “All right. Chill out, woman.”

“Yeah. Do you drink wine? I got a bottle of Conundrum calling my name.”

Mensa grinned. “With a name like that, how could I say no? You aren’t drinking on a empty stomach are you?”

I stared at him. “I suppose not. It won’t make me very productive tomorrow.”

He nodded. “I’ll grill those chicken breasts you took out earlier. You make a salad or whatever vegetable you want.”

I wandered to the kitchen. “The things I have to do for a glass of vino.”

“You’ll thank me later,” he said, from behind me and giving my ass a squeeze.

An hour later, Mensa forked up a piece of chicken, but didn’t put it in his mouth. “Heston said you weren’t cut out for duty?”

I took my time swallowing some white wine. “He didn’t say it quite like that, but even before my psych evaluation, he raised concerns about my focus, ability, and mentality.”

“Why?”

I shot him a sheepish grin. “He thought I was obsessed with you.”

He nodded. “So…what’s changed?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said, things change and you changed. What’s different?”

My jaw clenched as I thought about it. This would put a damper on things… but if this scared Mensa off, then that’s the way the cookie crumbled.

“I want a family and even though I knew moving would be part and parcel of being an agent, the older I get the less I’m at one with uprooting my family.” I shrugged. “That’s a big strike against the FBI and with Aunt Nadia offering me the chance to take over Hard Pressed… it seemed like life stepped in for me.”

Mensa stared at me for a long moment. “There are other agents with families, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, but being undercover puts a different strain on me and my family.”

“Then drop the undercover work.”

I sipped my wine. “Yeah, but that thrill wouldn’t be there any longer.”

He mulled that over while he chewed a bite of chicken. “I can see that, but Hard Pressed isn’t going to give you that thrill either.”

I put my glass down and speared a cherry tomato with my fork. “No, it won’t. But it will give me a sense of purpose, and it’s actually a better income than I’d expected.”

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