Page 29 of The Angel and the Agent

“Yeah? Tell me what you’re onto.”

“You keep up this charm offensive to hold everyone at arms length. You try to pretend you don’t care about anything, but you care about everything too much. Beneath the tough soldier act, you’re a fluffy marshmallow. I bet you love babies and puppies.”

“Who doesn’t love babies and puppies?” he asked.

She opened her mouth to say something and closed it again immediately.

“Piedmont doesn’t like babies and puppies,” he guessed, smiling in triumph.

“It’s not like that. He’s a cat person, and he’s never been exposed to children, being that he’s an only child and basically came out of the birth canal doing complex calculus.”

“Is that what you guys have in common? Your deep love of math?” Ethan said.

“Yes, we share a passionate love of math,” she said, her temper flaring.

Ethan’s smile fled. “Gross, Amelia. I don’t actually want to know what goes on between you two.”

“Then don’t ask,” she snapped.

“Do you love him, really?” he asked.

She looked away. “I haven’t said the words yet, but it’s heading there.”

“And where do I fit into that equation?” he wondered.

“We’re friends. We already established that,” she reminded him.

“And will we still be friends if you and he get married?” he asked. His hand trailed lightly over her ankle.

“Everyone’s relationships change after marriage. I’ve barely seen Maggie, and she’s my sister,” Amelia said.

“You’re sidestepping. You know as well as I do he wouldn’t like it if he knew you were here right now, that he wouldn’t like it if he knew we were friends.”

“That’s not true, he’s not the jealous type,” she said.

“If he’s male and breathing, he’s the jealous type.” She shook her head. “Does he know you’re here? Does he know we text and call?”

She shook her head again.

He sat back with a smile of triumph. Amelia sat up, removing her legs from his lap. “Don’t make me feel guilty. Nothing has happened between us. I haven’t once cheated on Piedmont. You and I are friends, nothing more.”

“Nothing has happened between us. You haven’t once cheated on Piedmont. You and I are friends, but there’s something more. You know it, and I know it, so let’s do ourselves a favor and not pretend it’s not there when we both feel it.”

She stood and began collecting things into her basket. “You have a high opinion of yourself.”

“I know my worth, and I’m not willing to settle,” he said.

“Good, great, awesome,” she said, tossing items pell-mell into the basket in her haste to get away.

“You seem awfully uptight for someone who’s doing nothing wrong,” he noted, amused.

She paused to glare at him. “Don’t tease me about this.”

“Why not?”

“Because you make me feel like I’m doing something wrong,” she said.

“Maybe you are, but not the way you think,” he said.

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