Page 31 of S.O.S. Mizzay

“That’s something the two of you should discuss,” her mother replied wisely. “And I’m just saying, if you really want this to happen, you’ll find a way to make it work.”

Her mother turned, took Missy’s face between her warm palms, and stared deeply into her eyes before dropping a kiss on her forehead.

“Don’t worry, my sweet girl. Things will work out. Love is a very powerful thing.”

“Lo—?”

Damn.Who’d said anything about love?

But…

Missy finally gave in and nodded.

Yeah. From her mother’s lips to God’s ears.

CHAPTER TEN

Five and a half years ago: Minnesota…

Missy gave an appreciative sigh as she watched Cobble work.

She was trying to come to grips with her conflicted emotions. On one hand, she was over-the-moon happy that she and Cobble had gone back to being good friends, especially after their long debacle regarding her undercover work in South Sudan. It had takenyearsof dangerous digging for her to discover the rotten CIA agent who’d been helping El-Umar, but it was finally done. IO Veegal had been arrested and extradited back to the US. Except for the trial, which would be happening in a few months, that part of the operation was over.

On the other hand, Andy was frustrated as all hell, waiting and wondering if she’d ever have the courage to make a move and bring her relationship with Cobble to where she wanted it; the next level.

Sexual tension?

Duh.

She felt it more and more each time they were together; each time they bumped elbows, with every look and every shared laugh.

When she was safely back at her desk in her FBI office—where she was now purportedly an agent for the bureau, but in reality was working there trying to uncover the bad-guys while still employed by the DOJ—Missy could never get Cobble off her mind. During her bi-monthly visits, he’d become a major fixation, and it was driving her nuts.

Surely, he had to feel…something? Her attraction to him was so strong, itcouldn’tjust be one-sided.

Missy salivated over the honed muscles of Cobble’s back as he hand-cleared a piece of land her father had designated for the next bunker.

She was helping. Or she had been. But after he’d stripped off his shirt as the heat ramped up with the day, Missy found she had a hard time focusing on the brush she was supposed to move.

Dammit-all.

When her professional hat was firmly on her head, she never hesitated to take care of business, bust heads, or piss someone off by saying what was on her mind. Why then, was she so chicken-shit where Cobble was concerned? They’d had a long, easy comradery that should simply slip naturally into…at leastsomeform of canoodling.

But that hadn’t happened.

Frustratingly, there had yet to be a single kiss.

WTFwas up with that?

“What do you want to do for lunch?” Cobble called over, not knowing where her mind had gone. He’d chopped through another three-inch tree trunk like it was paper, laying it aside and heading to his next target.

Yeah.That feat of magic was partly because her father kept his tools razor-honed, but mostly because of Cobble’s muscle.

Missy hid a sigh. “Oh, I don’t know. My mother said she left a few things in the fridge that we’re welcome to.” Eleni had grabbed a flight to New York the previous night to visit her sister for ten days. “Or, we could put you in a hat and sunglasses, go into town, and get heros.”

“You mean, subs,” Cobble corrected with a grin as he stood up from his next task to face her, stretching out his muscles.

Damn.Was there drool coming out of her mouth? Because that chest.Whoo, boy.It was magnificent.