Война за проливы. Операция прикрытия. Александр Михайловский

the living room sofa.

      It had been a while.

      He’d been wandering the world, while she’d been living a quiet life just a few blocks away from her childhood home. He’d been rafting down glacial rivers and hang gliding from mountain tops while she’d gradually removed herself from her parents’ adventures and settled down to a calm, quiet life, taking art classes and spending her evenings with a good book or a movie, a cat or two by her side. There was much to be said for living vicariously.

      But now Eddie was back.

      He was sitting alone in the living room, which probably meant her mother had excused herself to help her father resolve a crisis in the kitchen. His profile was to her as he stared into the fire.

      He was looking good. He hadn’t changed much. He was a few years older, but his hair was still thick and dark, long enough to brush his shoulders. That was how it usually had been. Once in a while Eddie would get his hair cut really short—and then he didn’t bother with it for months and months. She didn’t like long hair on men. She always thought it made them look feminine, sissy and pretentious.

      Except Eddie. Anything looked good on Eddie.

      Not that she should notice. She should be looking at him as a brother figure. Nothing more—but it hadn’t been that simple for a long time. Not since her hormones came out of hiding and started playing tricks on her.

      In the determined spirit of playing a mischievous little sister, she sneaked into the room and came up behind him, intending to cover his eyes with her hands in an old childish game. But before she got that far, Eddie had twisted around and grabbed her wrists—and somehow she was flying through the air.

      She landed on her back across the sofa, her head resting on his arm. She blinked up at him and worked on catching her breath. “Hello, Eddie. Long time no see. Welcome home.”

      “Hello, Maria. Did you really think you could sneak up on me?”

      His voice was like she remembered. Rough velvet, if there was such a thing. Sandpaper wrapped in silk.

      Sexy.

      Oh, damn it. So much for the brother figure.

      She struggled to sit up, but his arm was across her middle, holding her in place. She grinned up at him. “Hey, I had to try. The way you always bragged about your honed reflexes…”

      “Ah. So you wanted to see if I was getting old and decrepit yet?”

      His eyes were dark. From a distance they seemed brown, but up close their color was revealed as a deep blue. It was an illusion she never got used to. “Age never crossed my mind. You may be over the hill, but it’s quite a long way down. Don’t worry.”

      A smile hovered on his lips. “You’re rolling with me, remember?”

      “Happy birthday, Eddie.”

      “Happy birthday, Maria.”

      They shared a birthday—five years apart. For a while, their parents had celebrated their birthdays together. Until, of course, Eddie became too old to share his birthday with a little girl.

      The little girl had sulked quite a bit on that first birthday alone.

      “You should let me go,” Maria said, pushing at his arm. “Mom and Dad still wouldn’t mind seeing us get married and live happily ever after, you know. Not a good idea to raise their hopes.”

      Eddie grinned and tangled his fingers in a strand of her long hair. He seemed in no hurry to let her go, and well, she probably could escape if she wanted to, but she really was quite comfortable where she was. He pulled gently on her hair. “I’ve always liked to live dangerously.”

      “I know you do. But I don’t, remember?”

      “Still haven’t found your adventurer’s spirit, kiddo?”

      Kiddo. Damn. She wasn’t twelve years old anymore. Couldn’t he see that? “I’m not a kid anymore. And I’m no longer searching for my adventurer’s spirit.”

      An eyebrow lifted. An interesting view from this angle. “Really?”

      “Yup.”

      “Come clean with the folks and all?”

      “Yup.”

      “Brave of you.”

      “Wisdom comes with maturity. Ouch! Stop pulling on my hair!”

      “Sorry. Just checking for gray.”

      Eddie teasing her. She was on familiar turf now. Still, she should probably get her head away from his chest.

      Soonish.

      “Oh, damn. You found it?”

      “Found what?”

      “That gray hair.”

      His eyes warmed in amusement. He had tiny laughter lines, and the curve of his lips as he smiled was close to irresistible. She was in trouble.

      Why hadn’t he stayed away for a few more years? She still hadn’t found her stable, calm, boring, stamp-collecting dream husband.

      “You have one gray hair?” he asked.

      She nodded. “Yes. It was there this morning. I thought about pulling it out, but Mom’s superstitious. She always claimed seven new gray hairs grew in its place. So I decided to let it live.”

      Eddie’s chest shook as he laughed. As she was pressed against it she couldn’t help but notice. His fingers brushed through the hair at her temple, sifting through it, as if in search for that lone gray ranger. “You could always get a magic marker and color it. I’m sure they make one in auburn.”

      “Nah. I’ll let it live and grow old gracefully.”

      “It’s your birthday, kiddo. Gray hair or not, why aren’t you out on the town with a hot date?”

      “Why aren’t you?” she countered. She really should sit up now.

      “I am,” he assured her. “Your mother told me I would be having dinner with the most beautiful girl in the world.”

      Oh, jeez. “I see. Did she tell you the most beautiful girl was already married?”

      Eddie’s gorgeous eyes went wide in shock. “You got married?”

      She giggled as she used the opportunity and slid away from him. She moved to the other side of the sofa and smirked at him. “No. I’m not married. Yet. But Mom is. She’s the one who invited you to dinner, isn’t she?”

      He glowered at her. “Tease. You had me worried there for a minute.”

      “Aw, Eddie, no need. You know you’ve ruined me for all other men. No one else has ever thrown me over his shoulder and carried me down a mountain almost comatose after sunstroke.”

      Eddie winked at her. Maria looked away and grimaced at herself. They should turn to good old-fashioned adult conversation. No more flirting. Not that she’d anything against flirting. It was all fine and well, but not with Eddie. Definitely not since he could make her insides flutter like that.

      Sneaking up on him had been stupid. Now her face was flushed, her breathing was off, and the way he felt against her was imprinted on her memory.

      Not good. Not good at all. Time to act like a serious grown-up.

      “It’s been forever,” she said. “How’ve you been? Where have you been?”

      He put an arm across the back of the sofa and shrugged, flicking his hair away from his face. “Here and there. Mostly there.”

      “Imagine that,” she said dryly. “When did you get back? Been in town long?”

      “Almost a week.”

      Maria smiled ruefully. “For you, that’s quite a long stay.”