was smart, funny, caring, loyal, and she had one hell of a right hook. He was so far gone it wasn’t even funny, and all the more reason to keep her safe, no matter how much it pissed her off.
“You’re awfully quiet.” She eyed him over the rim of her juice glass. “Whatever it is, you might as well spit it out.”
He shot her a look as he swallowed a bite of food. “Is it that obvious?”
“A few weeks ago, I would have said no, but now I know you better.” A sly smile curved her lips, and his body heated at the memory of what that mouth had done to him last night.
Leaning back in his chair, Wade chuffed out a breath. He wasn’t used to people outside of his family being able to read him so easily. Well, aside from Carmen. And Hector. But that felt like a lifetime ago. It seemed strange, yet not altogether unwelcome, and that surprised him even more.
With each passing day, Hope felt less like a lover and more like a partner. Someone he could build a future with. That wasn’t altogether unwelcome either, though he’d feel a lot better if he knew she felt the same way.
After tomorrow, they were definitely going to have that very long talk.
“It’s about Aranza, isn’t it?” she asked, breaking his train of thought.
Wade glanced about the restaurant to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. Satisfied they had a measure of privacy, he mentally cracked his knuckles and gave a curt nod. He’d planned on waiting until after they’d finished breakfast, but now was as good a time as any to rip the Band-Aid off.
Hope set her glass on the table. “Let me guess. You want me to sit back and twiddle my thumbs while you men do all the heavy lifting.”
“In a nutshell.”
She rolled her eyes as she picked up her fork. “Seriously, do we have to do this again?”
Yes, because this time he was determined to get his way.
“I need you to do this for me,” he said before she could launch into her long list of reasons for why she should be on the team. “When we storm that house, Aranza’s going to act like a cornered animal. He won’t go down without a fight. If you’re there, I’ll be constantly worrying about your safety instead of focusing on the mission, and that kind of distraction could get somebody killed, me included.”
Her chin tipped up. “You need a medic on the team. What if somebody gets shot?”
“There’s a hospital less than three miles away.”
“If the wounds are severe, three miles might be too far.”
He’d already considered the possibility. “If one of us gets hurt to the point that we can’t last a three-mile drive, then we’re probably too far gone to be healed by whatever you’ve got in that bag.”
Her lips pressed into a thin, white line. “What do the guys think about this?”
“We wouldn’t be having this conversation if they weren’t on board.”
She stared at him, a mulish expression on her face. Then she must have realized the futility of arguing, because her shoulders sagged with resignation. “I don’t like this.”
“I know. Thank you for doing it anyway.” Public displays of affection made him twitchy, but he sensed she needed assurance and reached across the table for her hand. His thumb lightly stroked her smooth, soft skin, and when his gaze met hers, those three little words got so loud inside his head that they almost tumbled out.
As they finished the last of their meals, Wade’s phone buzzed with a text from Austin, wanting to know when they’d be back. He typed a quick On our way and tucked the phone into his pocket.
His chair scraped against the tiles as he stood. “We better go. There’s a market I want to stop by on the way. Last time I was there, they had good chorizo.”
Hope slipped her bag over her shoulder. “What do you need chorizo for?”
“It’s my night to cook dinner. I’m making paella. Ever had it?”
“I don’t think so.”
He smiled. “You’re in for a treat.”
It was one of his all-time favorite meals, a close second behind his mother’s eggplant lasagna. Carmen had taught him her family’s recipe, and over the years he’d refined it to suit his particular tastes. All things considered, it seemed appropriate to make it on the night before he finally brought Roberto Aranza to justice.
But more important, he wanted to share it with Hope, because wasn’t that what