The Survivor - Cristin Harber Page 0,47
profile. “Got it. I’m a pilot for UPS.”
She relaxed. “You know how to fly?”
“Says so right here.” Hagan tapped the briefing book.
Jared sighed.
Angela set another box on the table. This time, Hagan grabbed it first and dumped the contents onto the table. A flowery cloth purse and a well-worn masculine leather wallet fell out. Hagan slung the purse toward Amanda, then flipped open his new wallet and inspected his ID and credit cards.
The briefing wrapped in a matter of minutes. Jared and Parker left when Angela picked up the phone line and chatted with Halle. Only Hagan and Amanda remained. He scooped his new gear and moved to the seat at her side. “Time to check out the good stuff, huh?”
Her business-as-usual attitude had disappeared. “Guess so.”
Hagan gave his box a shake. It was heavier than he’d expected and required him to tug off the top. Amanda opened her two boxes and placed them in a row with his. Inside the velvet-lined boxes were his-and-hers earpieces and mics, an engagement ring, and two matching gold bands.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The contents of the boxes weren’t a surprise, and given the way Jared had led the meeting, Amanda hadn’t been focused on the jewelry as much as she’d wanted to make it through the briefing without strangling him or exposing her personal details.
Still, with Hagan at her side and their wedding bands waiting to be slid into place, her stomach jumped.
Hagan looked to her and nodded back to the boxes. She laughed at his expression. It was as though his stomach had not only jumped but also run for cover.
“Guess this is par for the course,” he said.
A knot lodged in her throat. Amanda gripped the strap of her Vera Bradley bag and nodded. “Goes with the gig.”
He picked up the box with the engagement ring and shifted it to catch the light on the diamond. “Do you use the same ring every time?”
“No.”
His eyebrow crooked. “Is it real?”
“Yeah.”
Hagan removed the engagement ring from the velvet. The delicate band seemed so small in his large hands. He laughed nervously. “Not something I see every day.”
The moment felt far more intimate that it should have. “Halle and Angela have good taste.”
His head tilted, though Hagan didn’t pull his eyes off the ring. “Do you like it?”
“Sure.” Keeping her thoughts in a rational place took an enormous amount of mental strength. Maybe she’d made a huge mistake. After working alongside Hagan all day, with their natural chemistry … acting like a couple didn’t seem like a big deal. But now it felt far too real, and she wanted to tell him things that would let him see who she really was. Amanda bit her lip. It was one thing to kiss and touch him, to tell him that he made her nervous. But giving him personal information? Wanting to give him those little details that she’d kept hidden away for years? It was too much to explain.
Besides, he didn’t want the real answer. Her real answer would be way too much to say. Oh, it’s a beautiful ring, but not for me. I like rings that tell a story. So, yeah, that’s a pretty solitaire. But it’s not nearly as complicated as love and life can be, and that’s what I’d want in an engagement ring. “Maybe we stick to what our covers like.”
He caught her eye, and for a terrifying moment, she wasn’t sure Hagan would let her off without a battle-hardened plea for his mercy. “Then I guess we should skip to the good part.” He took her left hand. “May I?”
He took her hand and slid the ring onto her finger. Amanda couldn’t breathe.
“Amanda?”
She lifted her gaze to his. “Thanks.”
They’d talked about their chemistry. About how they could play a couple because they were exploring what that might mean. But the sparks that she’d planned a mission around singed her nerve endings.
Hagan’s thumb caressed over her knuckles then slipped away. “Looks nice.”
The diamond glittered, and though it was intentionally chosen not to be memorable, she admired the ring as if it weren’t a prop for their cover. After a second, she laughed. “Okay, try yours on.”
Hagan removed the larger band and slipped it on his finger. “Fits.”
She put her band on also. “Though, I think I’m supposed to put the band on first.”
“Why?”
She gestured. “I don’t know. People say that it’s closer to your heart?”
Hagan laughed it off. “People can kiss my ass.” But he lifted her left hand and switched the order