Page 2 of Exposed

“Heath and I are on the same SEAL team. We’ve been through a hell of a lot together. Swinging by here to do him a favor felt like the least I could do.”

He was a SEAL? Well, that explained his buff physique then. And his confident swagger. And his tanned skin. And…

Nope. Not going there. Any friend of her brother’s was definitely off-limits, no matter how hot he was.

Heath was up her butt enough already. If she got in a relationship with one of his friends, he’d go ballistic.

Besides, getting back to sorting out the wreck of her story was more important than handsome SEALs and mother-hen older brothers. “Like I said, I’m fine. Tell Heath that I’ll call him when I get a chance—but that things are busy right now, so it might not happen right away. Got that, Mr…?”

“Eric,” he said. “Eric Harvey.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Harvey,” she said, deliberately using his last name to keep some much-needed distance between them. “You can let Heath know what I said. But for now, I need to get back to work. Bye.”

He continued to watch her as a full minute ticked past, looming over her like a storm cloud.

“So, you’re a reporter then?” he asked finally.

“Wow, what was your first clue?” she said, her snark rising in direct proportion to her irritation. How could a day that started out so good, end up so bad? Still, it wasn’t this guy’s fault and wasn’t fair for her to take it out on him. With a sigh, she put on her polite face. “Sorry. That wasn’t nice of me. Yes, I’m a reporter. An investigative journalist, to be precise.” She hiked her thumb toward the degree from Stanford hanging on the wall of her cubicle. “Got the certificate to prove it.”

“Nice.” He narrowed his gaze on her, his expression unreadable. “You’re not anything like your brother.”

That was true. Where Heath took after their American mother’s side with blond hair and blue eyes, Beth resembled their Vietnamese father. With her long dark hair and almond-shaped eyes, she and her brother didn’t even appear related, if you went by looks alone. But they shared the same drive to succeed and the same unwavering need to protect others, ingrained in them by both of their parents. Her brother had channeled his energies first into his role as big brother and later as a Navy SEAL. Beth had gone a different route, using her brains instead of brawn to tell the stories that needed to be told to right wrongs and keep people safe. Beth loved her brother, but they didn’t always see eye to eye, and he often got on her last nerve with his constant intrusions into her life.

She suppressed another eye roll. Her family issues weren’t this guy’s problem. “That’s very true.”

“You should take it as a compliment,” Eric said, chuckling. “You’re a lot better looking than him.”

Beth snorted and checked his ring finger out of habit. No ring. No tan line either. Didn’t mean he wasn’t married, but the odds were in her favor. Not that she cared. Nope.

“Are you working on a story right now?” he asked, leaning one broad shoulder against the wall of her cubicle, his long legs crossed at the ankles. “Anything interesting?”

At his mention of her current investigation, her mood plummeted. “Iwasworking on an exposé about a couples’ retreat that I think is hiding something shady. But I just got some bad news that my partner’s out of commission and won’t be able to go undercover with me, so it looks like the investigation is a wash, at least for now.”

“That’s too bad.” He looked genuinely disappointed for her. “Was it time-sensitive?”

“Yeah, it kind of was.” She sighed. “They only hold these retreats twice a year. If I can’t go to the one that starts next week, I’ll have to wait six months before my next shot. My partner and I were going to pose as a couple and try to discover the truth about what’s going on there.” She shook her head. “But there’s no use dwelling on it when it’s not happening.” A thought occurred to her. “If you’re on Heath’s team, then shouldn’t you be off saving the world in some exotic locale? Last I heard from Heath, he was overseas.”

“Right now, I’m on medical leave for shoulder surgery. Once I’ve finished recuperating, I’ll be back to the team. I’m sorryabout your story. I know that’s a bummer. I’ve worked several undercover ops in the SEALs, and I always hated the way if one thing went wrong, the whole mission was a bust. You prepare for months ahead of time then poof. Over.” He shook his head and checked his watch then straightened. “Well, I should go. I’ll tell Heath you’re good and get him off your back for a while.” He raised a hand as he backed away. “Nice to have met you, Beth Williams.”

“Same,” she said, watching him walk away, his movements lithe and graceful. She bet he’d look fantastic in swim trunks. Beth scrunched her nose. Where the hell had that come from? It wasn’t like she was tapping that. She’d never have the chance to see him in a bathing suit, let alone…

The idea struck her out of left field and had her on her feet before she could stop herself. He was unattached, used to undercover missions, and completely off-limits. Plus, he was a friend of Heath’s, which was clearance enough for his character. In short, he was exactly what she needed in a replacement partner for Jeff. And if she got a little eye candy thrown in for fun, so be it.

She grabbed her bag off the desk and caught up with him at the elevators. “Hey, do you have somewhere you need to be right now?”

Eric looked perplexed. “Not for a couple of hours. Why?”

“It’s almost lunch time. Want to grab a bite at the café next door?” She smiled and waggled her wallet in the air. “My treat. I’ve got a proposition I’d like to discuss with you.”

2

Eric blinked at her a moment, stunned by this new development. When Heath had called him that morning about running an errand for him, he’d agreed without hesitation. Heath was a good friend and Eric considered his SEAL team brothers like the siblings he’d never had. Besides, he needed to get out of the house. Recovery from the surgery after a bullet had wrecked his left shoulder had left him restless and bored. There was only so much baseball a guy could watch.

All of which had him dangerously tempted to go along with whatever proposition Beth might have in mind—even if he knew that chances were good that he should stay out of it. He still wasn’t back to one-hundred-percent physically and while the PT helped, he still had a way to go.

Then there was the fact he found her far more attractive than he should. Heath talked about her like she was some wide-eyed kid—stubborn, impulsive, a little naïve. He’d been expecting someone cute but unpolished, maybe with Heath’s messy blond hair. Instead what he saw before him was a tall, curvy Asian-American goddess with olive skin and doe eyes, her long blackhair shimmering beneath the overhead lights. From her ample breasts to the slight swell of her hips, and the sprinkling of coppery freckles across her nose, she was exactly Eric’s type. Which meant he should run far and fast from this lunch invitation.

Laying one finger on Beth would be the worst betrayal of his friendship with Heath. No way would Heath be down with Eric dating his little sis. The guy freaked out when she didn’t return a couple of phone calls. If he discovered there was something going on between her and his best friend, Heath would die of a coronary right after he punched Eric in the face.

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