when A.J. and I met. Plus, we were on the hunt for the person who had tried to assassinate a presidential candidate. I shouldn’t have, um, noticed him.”
Before Ana’s promotion to Headquarters, she’d worked at the Charlotte FBI field office. And because A.J.’s friend happened to be the son of then-presidential candidate Isaiah Bennett (now president), A.J. and his former SEAL buddies had provided security for Knox’s dad. Well, in all honesty, they’d done more than that. They broke the case. Took down the real bad guys. Adriana had been assigned to Secret Service security detail for Knox’s father as well.
“You don’t need to rationalize whatever you should or shouldn’t have been feeling for A.J. when you met him,” Adriana came to her defense, like the strong kind of woman she was.
It’d been a nice surprise when Ana had bumped into Adriana outside the Hoover Building on her first day, and Adriana insisted they get a drink. The one caveat to hanging out was that Ana had sworn her to secrecy. At least for the time being. Adriana wasn’t allowed to tell her husband or his buddies that she was spending time with Ana. It seemed ridiculous when Ana said those words out loud, but . . .
“We were busy. It was intense in general. I’m sure I’m remembering everything differently,” Ana said in a near whisper.
But that spark. The insane connection I felt the moment he introduced himself to me. She was pretty sure she’d actually flirted with him, too. Engaged in witty banter. When had she learned how to do that? It wasn’t her at all, and that part had been a touch exciting. Something different and new.
Thinking about A.J. was definitely a distraction from work. Probably not the distraction she needed, though.
“And if you didn’t feel something then, you wouldn’t be so afraid to see him now.” Adriana was a master at pulling off an inquisitive look by using her brows and narrowing her eyes. She could have taught their UC division at the FBI how to get informants to better open up.
Adriana was right. Of course she was right. Or why else would Ana be avoiding A.J.? She was coming up on about eight months divorced.
With her glass in hand, Ana left the kitchen and made her way to the living room, dropping onto the gray-blue couch from IKEA with a sigh. It’d been her first official purchase following her divorce. “I’m not ready to test out my single shoes.” Especially not given my current assignment.
“Does that mean he’d be the guy you’d like to date when you are ready?” Adriana came over to stand in front of the couch. She positioned her back to one of the columns that served as a divide between the room and the hallway off to their left.
“The fact I still haven’t forgotten about him since we worked that case together last year . . . you really think that means something?” She frowned, embarrassed to be talking like this so openly. This kind of conversation wasn’t in her wheelhouse, not when it came to discussing her own life. She could psychoanalyze and profile people better than anyone else, but she herself was off-limits.
Adriana sat next to her and slapped a hand to her knee. “I’m thinking so. But listen, Knox and I waited like twenty years to be together. So, I’m basically the last person on the planet to give dating advice. Probably the galaxy.”
Ana smiled. It was easy to do with someone as nice as Adriana. So accepting. “I’m a shitty friend. Having you lie to Knox as to where you are tonight. I’m sorry.”
“Hey, he kept me a secret from his friends for like forever,” she replied, her tone casual. “I can handle Knox. I just think—”
“I should woman up and not hide from your friends?” One friend in particular. “And what if A.J.’s dating someone? If we ever see each other again, he might not be interested.”
“Or maybe you won’t be.” Adriana was already on her feet again. Clearly, she’d gotten her eight hours of sleep last night, unlike Ana. She set her wineglass on the oak coffee table and faced Ana with her hands on her hips. “And A.J. hasn’t so much as looked at a woman sideways since he met you. Now, I say that two people who still can’t stop thinking about each other after so much time has passed, well, that definitely has to mean something.”