his place in the world. But clearly Charlie had a much stronger sense of duty than he did—witness her fourteen years in the armed forces. Only someone with a desire to give back would sign away so much of her life.
“Tell me about Iraq,” he said. “Why is it the best thing that’s ever happened to you?”
“Because it was hard, but it was rewarding, too. I was in charge of the vault, which means I handled all the encrypted communications for the Australian contingent. It’s one thing to train for stuff, but it’s not until you’re in the field that you know if you’re any good or not.”
“And you’re good?”
She met his eyes. “Yeah. I am. Or maybe I should say I was. Not much call for encrypted comms in Balmain.”
“And hallelujah for that.”
She smiled. “Yeah.”
Their meals arrived and an hour slipped by as they settled into easier, more relaxed conversation. They talked about her work and his business, and she asked about his family, and before he knew it, the waitress was back, asking if they wanted dessert.
“There’s no way I could fit another thing in,” Charlie said.
“Me neither. Just a coffee, thanks.”
The waitress looked to Charlie and she shook her head to indicate she didn’t want anything to drink, either. It wasn’t until the waitress had left the table that he remembered Charlie was cutting back on caffeine.
“Sorry. I forgot you can’t drink coffee.”
“It’s okay. I’m not going to lunge across the table and tear it from your hands in a frenzy. I can take it or leave it at the best of times.”
“Lucky for me, then. Otherwise I’d be dealing with some of those black ops moves they teach you in the army.”
“Oh, yeah, you’d be in big trouble.”
A strand of her hair had come loose from her ponytail, framing her face and softening her features. A memory flashed into his mind: Charlie lying beneath him on his bed, naked and flushed, her hair a sexy tangle around her face.
He shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. “I told my parents about everything last night. They want to meet you.”
Charlie’s gaze flew to his. “Oh. That was fast.”
“My mother has a nose for secrets. She cornered me.”
She smiled faintly, but she looked worried.
“It’s my twin sisters’ birthday next week and they asked me to bring you along,” he said.
“Does that mean everyone will be there? All your brothers and sisters?”
“And the kitchen sink.”
She nodded, but she had her poker face on now and he had no idea whether she was pleased, intimidated, terrified or delighted at the prospect of meeting all his family in one fell swoop.
“What do you think?”
“You said you told your parents everything last night. Did you tell them how we met?”
He was smart enough to know he was on potentially dangerous ground.
“I didn’t go into detail, but I figured I might as well be honest. I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t exactly keen on making up some story to tell everyone for the rest of our lives.”
Charlie’s lips formed a straight line. “So instead we tell them how we met in a bar and had one night together before going our separate ways?”
“They won’t judge you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said.
“You mean judge both of us.”
“Believe it or not, that is what I meant,” he said. “My brother already thinks I’m an idiot for messing up with the condom.”
Charlie closed her eyes for a pained second. “You discussed condoms with your family?”
She looked so appalled he had to suppress a smile. “I forgot. You don’t have brothers and sisters.”
“No.”
“When you meet them, you’ll understand. As a group, they’re the human equivalent of a steamroller.”
“Wow. You’re really making this seem like an appealing prospect.”
“I can tell Mum you’re busy, if you like. We can arrange something later. When things are more settled.”
Charlie shook her head, straightening in her seat. “No. Let’s get it over and done with.”
She sounded like a Christian anticipating a run-in with a Colosseum full of lions.
“If it gets really bad, I’ll light a fire and you can make a run for it.”
“I may take you up on that.”
“I’ll make sure to bring a box of matches.”
His coffee arrived, along with the bill. He was reaching for the sugar when he noticed Charlie pulling out her wallet.
“It’s on me,” he said easily, waving her wallet away.
“I can’t let you do that.”
He watched as she pulled out a twenty and a ten and put them with