Walker (In the Company of Snipers #21) - Irish Winters Page 0,70

blind date? And who set you up? But most of all, precisely when did you know he was the one for you?” Because Persia had the sneaky suspicion she’d already met her once in a lifetime. And the jerk had left her behind like a discarded banana peel.

Again with the coy lift of a shoulder and that bright, sassy smile. “It just happened,” Izza murmured, “one day when we were out on patrol together.”

“And where was that?” Persia snapped her fingers under Izza’s nose. “Details, Izza. We want the deets. Your adoring fans have a right to know.” It felt so much better badgering Izza about her love life than dodging questions.

“Will you stop?” Izza giggled. “And keep your voice down. People are watching.”

“Of course they are,” Persia stage-whispered. “You and Connor are better than Brad and Jennifer ever were. You stayed together.”

“Okay, okay, but hush. If you must know, it happened while we were deployed to Camp Baharia, Iraq. We were both USMC sergeants, only he was short, nearly ready to go home. I had a couple more months left in-country.”

“Whoa, Baharia? Really? Was he part of the USMC plus-up in Fallujah after those American contractors were killed?”

Izza nodded. “Yup. Him and my brother, Jamie.”

“And…?”

And Izza’s cheeks ballooned as she expelled a big breath. “We got a tip where several IEDs were placed, so we were part of an eight-man patrol. But the tip was a lie, and we were ambushed. Everyone else got away, but Connor and I got separated. Had to hunker down in a bombed-out, POS barn. Things just kind of happened after that. One minute bullets were flying, and I was so scared I was afraid I’d wet my pants. But I didn’t, you know. And I didn’t scream, either. I’m tougher than most grunts, but the next thing I knew, Connor had his arms around me, and I was… and he was…”

“He kissed you,” Persia hissed. “Didn’t he? Connor kissed you in the middle of a firefight, and that’s when you knew!” How incredibly romantic was that?

Again, the loveliest blush climbed up Izza’s neck. She made a funny face, stuck her fingers under her shirt collar and scratched her collarbone. “Actually…”

Persia couldn’t help it. She nudged her shoulder confidentially into Izza. “You didn’t... You did! You kids made love in a bombed-out building? While you were being shot at?” This story was so much better than any Harlequin romance on the market.

Izza nodded, the cutest smile tweaking her lips. “Yeah. We did. Right there in the hay, while those assholes were lobbing mortars at us and screaming bullshit about American infidels and fatwas and crap like that.”

How romantic! Scary, but still… so, so romantic.

“Yeah,” Izza whispered. “I knew it then. I was going to marry Connor if it was the last thing I did, only…” The smile dropped off her face. “Things got kind of complicated after that. My brother Jamie, uh, was killed the next day in a different firefight, and Connor was there and—”

Persia let her hand fall over Izza’s on the armrest between them. “I’m so sorry, honey.”

She shrugged. “Thanks, but I…” Both shoulders lifted into a resigned shrug. “It took me a long time to forgive him for not saving my baby brother.” Izza swallowed hard. “I was so mad that he chose to save some strange Iraqi woman and her kid instead, that I quit the Corps. Actually, I was kind of forced out, because of my, umm, unresolved PTSD. But then we ended up working together for Alex, and Connor found out I was pregnant, and—”

“You were what?” Persia about dropped her teeth.

“Yup. I was prego.” Izza nodded as if she needed to confirm her story. “That didn’t help. By the time I told Connor, I looked like I was hiding half a watermelon under my shirt. And I was bitchier than hell because, well, because he’d lived, and Jamie didn’t, and I was still so mad and so, so hurt.”

Persia hated to ask. “Umm, so… who’s the baby’s fa—”

“Oh, she’s Connor’s all right. That’s why we named our little girl Jamie, after Connor’s best friend, my brother. Only Connor didn’t know I was pregnant when he first saw me afterwards. We didn’t get to say goodbye in Iraq and…” She rolled her eyes. Izza had the brightest, sparkly eyes. “Men are soooooo dense! I swear. I was as big as a blimp, but he never suspected. And I was damned if I was going to tell him,