a life with you…and you just broke up with me. So I’m kind of pissed.”
She blinked. Once. Twice. And then a third time, swallowing hard as she stared at me. “You, um, quit your job?”
“Yeah. I did.” I had to work hard to keep a straight face as myriad emotions flitted across hers.
“And, um, you’re falling in love with me?”
“What did you think was happening? I made the mistake of telling your father I’d never stopped thinking about you and—”
“You did?” Her eyes rounded.
“About five years ago. But you were married and I was in the middle of some scary shit and it came out by accident when we ran into each other at the embassy in Tel Aviv. So he knew our encounter had been special, even though neither of us was in any place in life to do anything about it.”
“He never told me,” she whispered.
“He couldn’t. It would have been too hard to explain since he wasn’t supposed to be in Tel Aviv either.”
“I, um…don’t know what to say?”
I reached for her hand, both amused and exasperated. “Let’s head back to my parents’ townhouse and talk there.”
“Your parents have a townhouse here?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.” She was a little flushed. “I have a rental car.” She absently handed me the keys.
We drove to my place in relative silence, though her fingers twined with mine and didn’t let go. We hit traffic, though, so I explained about Sandra.
“She was investigating Amelie Pressman, the head mistress or whatever she’s called, at your school. She’s an American citizen but was apparently born in Iran, and there were questions about her being so close to the children of American diplomats and military personnel, who make up most of the roster.”
She nodded. “Yes, about seventy-five percent are the kids of diplomats or military.”
“Sandra was there getting close to her, but when you arrived, Mrs. Pressman seemed to love you and suddenly Sandra was no longer the favorite child. Personally, she didn’t give a shit, but professionally you made her job a lot harder.”
Shannon grimaced. “Yikes. I had no idea. I was just doing the best I could for the kids…”
“I know. And she knows that too, but you made her crazy. When your mom called her, she thought it would be fun to play along since it was all about matchmaking, but she wasn’t going to actually hurt you or anything. She asked me to tell you she was sorry for scaring you and making you think you might be nuts.”
“That’s nice of her.” She paused. “But I guess we’ve come full circle.”
“What do you mean?”
“Would you have come to me had I not been in trouble?”
I frowned. “Is this what’s been on your mind? Some crazy idea that I wouldn’t have wanted to see you again if you hadn’t needed me to save you from a stalker?”
She didn’t respond, merely looked away.
“Babe, I already answered that. I’d been thinking about you all along, I just never thought I could do anything about it and you were better off married to some lawyer in D.C.”
“Yeah, we see how that worked out for me.”
“I’m here now, Shannon. I quit my job. Partly for you and partly because I was offered a promotion I didn’t want, but—”
“A promotion?” Her head snapped up. “Why didn’t you want it?”
“Sitting behind a desk in D.C. isn’t for me. I don’t need to be in the thick of the danger anymore, but I also don’t want to work within the constraints of the system of our government anymore. I did my time. Let the younger generation take over now. I’m ready for the private sector. Or maybe no sector. Everything from now on depends on you.”
“On me?”
I’d just pulled into the driveway of the townhouse. I parked in the garage and then leaned over to kiss her. “Yes. You.”
“I’m feeling really stupid right now.”
“It’s been a couple of weeks of insanity. You get a pass. Come on.” I got her bag out of the back and led her into the house.
We settled on the couch and she moved into my arms without saying a word, burying her head in the crook of my neck and pretty much melting into me. I stroked her hair and let her relax. After a few minutes, I figured it was time to finish our talk.
“Why did you want to surprise me?”
She looked up and met my eyes. “Ten years, seven months and nineteen days. It had been way too long to do anything over the