Page 152 of Sin With Me

“The military.”

And how in the world had I missed that? Eric had never mentioned the military. Even with the background check I’d done on him, there was nothing. Why would he not tell me? It seemed that Eric was hiding a bit more than I realized aswell.

“Thank you, Missy. I’ll see yousoon.”

“Take care, Emma.”

I paid for my four bags of purchases and left. Eric was waiting for me outside, leaning against his truck. His arms crossed over his chest and his lean posture made me pause for a moment. It was then that I noticed the adorning way he was looking at me and I had to turn around to make sure there was no one behind me. It made the hair on my nape stand as something twisted insideme.

“What did you get?” he asked.

“Stuff.” I handed him the bags and he made his way to the back of the truck, carefully stacking them in the trunk.

“Am I gonna see it?” he cocked his head to theside.

“If you’re lucky, youwill.”

His brows lifted as he shifted toward me, managing to lock me in between his body and the car. Resting his hands against the metal, right over my shoulders, he leaned in with a whisper, “I know I’m lucky, because you’re here.” His warm breath brushed my ear, lingering along my neck as he tantalizingly slowly pulled away. The afternoon stubble on his jaw gently scraped along my cheek as the smell of him hit me, settling deep in my belly. Nerves fluttered in my stomach – ones I hadn’t felt in a long time – and for a moment Eric managed to take me away from my hectic world of spying and breaking hearts into his. It was just him and me, staring at one another. His eyes shone with wonder as his body leaned into mine more with each second. The faint pull of his tongue along his bottom lip watered my mouth as I inhaled Eric’s overwhelming scent of leather and countryair.

The sound of a glass shattering in the restaurant three doors down startled me, and Eric pulledaway.

“How are you liking Ogden so far?” he asked.

Ahm, a lot.But me liking being here had nothing to do with the job and everything to do withEric.

“We’re going to the summer fest weekend after next.” I handed him the pamphlet sticking out of my pocket.

“Already in party mode?” Eric opened mydoor.

“Investigative mode. Tell me everything you know about Missy.” I asked as Eric made his way around the truck and got into the driver’sseat.

“Really? The salesclerk? You chose the least interesting person in town to ask about.”

“I ask because she chooses to be least interesting, which means she has a reason to be.” I buckled my seatbelt.

“As far as I remember, she was orphaned when young and raised by moving from house to house. She even stayed at the parish for some time. And apparently she’s seeing my buddy’s younger brother.” I made a note to get to know the Fields brothers better. Eric turned on the ignition and started maneuvering out of the parking lot. Orange dust swirled behindus.

“Yeah, about your buddy. How long have you known each other?”

“Since childhood. Our parents are best friends.”

“And you’ve kept in touch all these years?” I asked, wondering whether Eric would mention the military.

“Yes, it’s not difficult to do in a town this size. Emma, if there’s something you want to ask me, justask.”

“All right. How come you never mentioned you were in the military?”

He squeezed the steering wheel before replying. “Because it’s not something I like to talk about. It was a darker time in mylife.”

“You shouldn’t be surprised then when I tell you I did a background check on you and couldn’t find a mention of you there.”

“That’s because no one, not even my parents, knows I served.”

“Care to elaborate?”

He laughed out loud, saying, “You sound like Julian. Yes, I do care. That’s where Derek lives.” Eric pointed to the third country home we’d passed after the town’s limits. “His brother Blake has apparently been seeing Missy.”

“She looks like someone who could use a few more friends. What happened to Missy’s parents? How did theydie?”

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