Page 55 of The Angel and the Agent

“Knowledge is power. Now let’s get cracking,” she said. She stood on her toes, her lips met his, and the world fell away for a long, long time.

Chapter 19

Amelia usually woke slowly, reluctantly. But the morning after her wedding—and wedding night—her eyes popped open and her brain clicked on as if someone had flicked open her mental shutters. She was nestled into Ethan’s embrace, his hand on her hip. How would he view their arrangement, in the light of a new day? For that matter, how did she view it? She had never pictured herself getting married at twenty three. She wanted to establish her career, to establish herself. In the scheme of things, she was still a baby, or so her family delighted in telling her. Her parents still referred to her as “the baby.”

To be fair, they weren’t legally married. She didn’t think a religious ceremony in Cameroon would hold any weight in the states. But wasn’t the religious ceremony the most important part? Which mattered more, a commitment before God, or a legalized paper trail?

“Are you awake?” Ethan whispered.

After a fortifying breath, she rolled toward him, uncertain what she would read in his face, but he was smiling.

“So this is marriage,” he said. “I don’t know why everyone says it’s so hard. It’s been eight hours, and you haven’t gotten on my nerves yet.”

“That’s probably because we had such a solid foundation to begin with. I bet if everyone got married in a foreign country where one of them didn’t understand any part of the ceremony—after zero dating time—there’d be a lot fewer divorces.”

“How are you doing?” he asked, his eyes scanning her face.

Terrified and uncertain.“Great. How about you?”

He paused before answering, and she wondered what his brain was saying. “Great.”

“What’s on today’s agenda?” she asked.

“We look for a ride to the embassy. The good news is that we’re in the part of Cameroon that’s safer and better developed. The drive probably won’t be too different from how it is at home. If all goes well, we could fly home tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow,” she echoed. They had one more day and one more night of feeling as if they were alone in the world together. Tomorrow would be a return to real life, a return to home and family, a return to Piedmont.

“You’re wincing,” he said, smoothing his finger over her wrinkled nose.

“I really need to break up with my boyfriend,” she said. “I’m feeling pretty despicable about that.”

“I can’t believe you’re cheating on such a nice guy,” he said. Her lip trembled, and he regretted teasing her. “He’ll get over it, Amelia. You guys are dating, not married. We’ll buy him a new robe, he’ll be fine.”

She snuffled a little laugh and mashed her fist to her mouth. “Don’t make me laugh about it. I feel terrible; I’ve never cheated on a guy before.”

“This isn’t exactly a normal situation,” he pointed out.

“Extreme situations are supposed to reveal true character. Mine’s not looking too shiny right now,” she said.

“Blame it on me, the cad who twisted your arm into marriage,” he said. “What’s that smile for? By the way, it would be easier if you’d tell me your thoughts instead of making me puzzle through your expressions.”

“Of all the people I might have guessed to twist my arm into a marriage, your name wouldn’t even have made the list,” she said.

“Sometimes in the field, survival requires you to do unbelievable things,” he said.

The truth comes out,she thought. It had been a nice delusion that he wanted the marriage for any reason other than as a means of scoring a place to stay, but she should have known better. His goal since the whole ordeal began had been survival. It was ingrained in him to do what needed to be done to make sure the people in his charge made it through alive. Maybe she should be flattered he was looking out for her so intently, willing to go to so many lengths to keep her safe and well. And at least he was being honest. He had never once pretended to be anything other than what had was, had never tried to fool her into thinking he was capable of more. “A true cad would lie about his intentions,” she said.

His brow puckered. “Amelia, I have to tell you about my date.”

“You don’t have to. Your life is your own, Ethan. You don’t owe me anything, least of all explanations. I should probably get ready anyway.” She tried to ease away from him, but he rolled on top of her, trapping her beneath the full weight of his body.

“Just listen for a minute, please, let me get it out. One time when I was a kid, I tried my cousin’s chewing tobacco, thinking it was the awesome new hobby I wanted to pursue. But I accidently swallowed it. It was horrible. I can still remember the taste, andI felt sick for two days. My date was kind of like that. She was pretty and interesting and seemed into all the same things I was, but I hated every minute of it because she wasn’t you. In that moment, I wanted you so badly I ached. You made meache, Amelia. And that has never once happened to me before. Ever.”

“Oh.” His face was a half-inch away, his lips nearly brushing hers.

“Am I crushing you?” he asked.

“Yes.”

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