Page 3 of The Angel and the Agent

“This one’s way better,” Ethan said, his gaze landing quickly on Amelia and then away.

“Have you met my sister?” Maggie asked.

“Your sister? I was under the impression she was here for the ice. I guess that explains the family resemblance,” Ethan said, his wicked smile lighting on Amelia as he spoke.

Maggie’s smile dimmed. “She’s my baby sister, Ethan.Baby.She’s way too young, and you’re way too old.”

He held his hands up in surrender. “You know me, Maggie. I was being friendly.”

“People are waiting for the ice.” Maggie took the bowl from Amelia and gave Ethan what could only be described as a warning look. He held up his hands again and aimed for an innocent expression. Shaking her head, Maggie headed back outside.

Ethan took a step back and reached for a bottle of water. “How young is young, Miss Amelia?”

“Twenty two.”

“Your sister’s right; you’re a baby, way too young and innocent for an old guy like me,” he said. Smiling, he unscrewed the water bottle and took a drink.

“How old is old, Mr. Ethan?” she replied.

“Twenty seven,” he said.

She grimaced. “Yikes. How are you hips holding up? I hear those knee replacement surgeries are no joke.”

He leaned against the counter, smiling the smile that made her heart do the thing, his legs crossed at the ankles. Thanks to the pickup football game he’d just abandoned, his shirt was slightly wet with sweat and stuck to his chiseled chest. Without her permission, Amelia’s gaze traveled from the smile to the chest down to his well-formed calves and back up again. When she reached his face, he was giving her a knowing look. “I do all right.”

“I think you should know I’m a good girl,” Amelia said.

“I could guess that you were,” Ethan said.

“My mom is big on ladylike behavior. I don’t kiss strangers, and I never throw myself at men.”

“Is there a reason you’re telling me this?” Ethan asked.

“I thought you should know what I’m about to do is highly out of character,” she said.

His smile widened. “What are you about to do?”

“This,” she said and then pushed him into the pantry with her and closed the door behind them.

Chapter 1

“Ican’t believe you’re taking the plunge, LT.” Ethan stared at his friend in his tuxedo, the reality of his wedding finally sinking in.

“Time to put down roots, son,” Ridge said, adjusting his already perfect bowtie in the mirror.

“Why?” Ethan asked. He had known Cameron Ridge for six years, since he was a newbie SEAL. Ridge had been his team leader a mere two years before he optioned out of the navy and transitioned to the world of government espionage. At first he had hated the guy, mostly because he had hated any form of direction or discipline. But after a bumpy start, the two men had become friends, the sort who stayed in contact and remained buddies even after Ridge became a civilian. He had been present for the beginning of Ridge’s relationship with Maggie, had even aided in her rescue once, but marriage was a whole other level. How could anyone be ready to settle down when there was so much fun to be had in the world?

“If you have to ask the question, you wouldn’t understand the answer,” Ridge said. “How’s the new job?”

“You’re about to get married, and you want to talk about my job?” Ethan asked.

“I need the distraction,” Ridge admitted.

Ethan grinned. He was loving seeing his friend so nervous. He had once seen the man as an emotionless rock, the sort who could take out an enemy assailant in the morning and calmly have a cup of coffee in the afternoon. And now he was quaking in his boots because of a wedding. “The job’s good, I guess. Not as many thrills as I might have hoped.” He missed the SEALs, if he were being honest. Back then his objectives had been clear, as had his motives. He had been fighting for freedom, for protection. The new world, the world of government espionage, was more shades of gray. Sometimes he wasn’t certain he was one of the good guys, and he hated that.

“There’s a learning curve for each new venture,” Ridge told him.

“Are you talking to me or yourself?” Ethan asked.

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