Cobb (Lighthouse Security Investigations #9) - Maryann Jordan Page 0,31
overseas, it seemed easier. High school for me wasn’t great.”
“For someone who looks like you, that’s hard to imagine.”
Her words hit him in the gut. What does she think about someone who looks like me? “Uh… yeah. I was in ninth grade in a private prep school near Washington, D.C. when Dad was with the State Department. My Native American, Hispanic, Italian, and German heritage is worn on my face… and while our nation’s capital is diverse, that prep school was not. I wanted to fit in but felt as though I didn’t belong anywhere.”
“That must have been hard.”
He started to shrug and then stopped, holding her gaze. Her eyes held understanding, not condemnation. Hesitating for a long moment, he finally nodded. “Yeah… at that age it was.”
She shifted on the sofa, drawing her left leg up and wrapping her arms around her shin, propping her chin on her knee. “When did it get easier?”
“I’d always been big… well, not so much tall as wide. Then, at fifteen, the beginning of my sophomore year, I hit a growth spurt in height but kept the size proportion. So, while the jokes turned to calling me the Hulk, at least I could put the fear of God in them. I’d glare and take a step toward anyone who taunted me, then laugh as they ran away.”
Her lips curved. “I can imagine a younger you in school trying to find your way. I swear, I think that adolescence is the worst age.”
They sat in silence, each to their own thoughts for a few minutes, and he wondered what high school had been like for her. Cheerleader? Prom Queen? Most popular?
“So, the military was next?”
The way she quickly asked the question, he wondered if it was to keep him from asking about her. Not wanting to interrupt the flow of easy conversation they were having, he nodded.
“Yeah. Much to my parents’ chagrin, I joined when I was eighteen. I wasn’t ready for college, even though I’d earned a year’s worth of college credits from my AP classes. I needed to find my place in the world and college just seemed like it would be more of prep school. Joined the Navy. Finished my degree in finance while traveling the world on ship assignments. Got accepted into BUD/S—training to become a SEAL. Made it through, did that for years. Took an assignment with CIA Special Ops and met Mason Hanover. He got out, started a security and investigation company, and hired me when I left the military.”
“Wow, you say it all so succinctly, like boom, boom, boom… there’s my life.”
He barked out laughter and shook his head. “I forget you’re used to people analyzing their life for hours.”
She reached and play-slapped his arm. “Can I help it if I like to listen?”
“Hey, you haven’t shared about you,” he fired back, grinning. “Well, other than you rent because you’re not sure where you want to live, you have a cat with a weird name, and you like to eat.”
Blinking, she reared back. “You shouldn’t mention to a lady that she likes to eat!”
He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.
Rolling her eyes, she glared. “Humph. Maybe I won’t share.”
“Tell you what. You tell me more about you, about high school, and I’ll share more as well.”
Shifting her gaze, she stared toward the fireplace. For a long moment, she didn’t say anything, seemingly lost in thought as she nibbled on her lip.
He reached out and touched his finger to her forehead and she jumped. Her head jerked around, and she stared, wide-eyed.
“You were thinking so hard over there, I wondered if you even remembered where you were,” he said, concerned.
“I was… I… well, to be truthful, I wondered what we were doing. You’re here for an investigation. I suppose I’m no longer sure why we’re getting to know each other.”
He shifted his position on the sofa as well, getting a little closer. His arm rested on the back of the cushion. “Maybe if we’d never met before, this would be different. But we did. I fucked up and insulted you when I asked to go get drinks—”
“You did?”
Her pale blue eyes were wide. As a SEAL, he’d been in water all over the world reflecting every color of blue imaginable. Deep blue, sky blue, grey and stormy, blue-green. But he’d never seen any blue the color of her eyes. And staring into their depths, he knew he could drown in them and be happy. Sighing, he nodded slowly. “Yeah,