Page 44 of Risky Obsession

“Actually, can I add a second cherry strudel to that order for me?” he asked the woman.

“Of course. Take a seat. I’ll bring your order over.” She dabbed at her hair, and I wondered if she hand-delivered the meals for everyone or just Kane.

We settled into a table at the front window of the café. As we waited for our coffee and pastries, people walked past the shop, and they looked to be a mixture of locals and tourists. It seemed that every third person came into the café, and I wondered if our coffees were ever going to be made.

“You okay?” Kane asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“You seem fidgety.”

“Need my caffeine.”

“Right. Mental note to ensure Tory is caffeinated before any serious discussions.”

I nearly died on the inside. Maybe using Tory as my fake name wasn’t such a good idea. My best friend, Tory Parmenter, had loved coffee, cats, and crystals, in that order. I’d been trying to forget about her and my involvement in her death for nearly a decade.

What the hell was I thinking?

Kane draped his fingers over the back of my left hand. “You sure it’s just the coffee that’s bothering you?”

I cleared my throat and slipped my hand out from beneath his. “Yeah. Just . . . I remembered an old friend of mine, that’s all.”

“Oh, what about her? Or him?”

Shit.

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

The waitress arrived with steaming coffee mugs, saving me from Mr. Nice Guy.

“So, how long were you in the Navy?” I asked, determined to dominate the conversation.

“Four and a half years.”

“Wow, I have so many questions.”

He reached for his apple strudel and as steam wafted up from the flaky pastry, he said, “Ask me anything.”

“Oh. Okay.” I cupped my hands around the warm mug. “Why did you leave the Navy?”

“Pops was dying. I needed to be with him.” He dipped his strudel into a swirl of cream on the side of his plate and bit off the corner.

My heart clenched.Mr. Nice Guy strikes again.

“What did you do in the Navy?”

His eyes darkened and a shadow passed over his features before he took a sip of his coffee to collect himself. “I was part of a special ops unit. We did recon, rescue missions, and sometimes recovery operations.”

“Sounds intense.” My mind raced with this new information. Kane wasn’t just handsome, fit, sincere, and funny. He was brave. And the man nibbling on his apple strudel opposite me was obviously much smarter than he let on.

That meant I needed to be much more guarded, or I would be in one hell of a mess.

CHAPTER 10

Grant

Isnapped my laptop shut, strode across the grand living room, and stood at the massive bullet-proof glass window.