The Player - By Rhonda Nelson Page 0,55

made a fool of. She thinks she fell for an act, and the longer she ruminates on that, the harder it’s going to be to change her mind.”

He was right, Jamie realized. Whether she’d wanted him to leave or not, by walking away he’d just made himself look all the more guilty. What the hell had he been thinking? Had he lost his freaking mind? He didn’t retreat, dammit. He’d been a Ranger, for chrissakes. He didn’t back down. He’d never walked away from a fight in his life and wasn’t about to start now. Not when he had so much to lose.

Namely her.

Jamie sprang up from his chair and headed toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Guy asked, startled.

“I’m taking that hill,” Jamie said, referencing the old military adage. And he was prepared to die on it if need be. His lips quirked with bitter humor.

Considering Garrett wanted to kill him, that was a distinct possibility.

15

* * *

“I DON’T GIVE A DAMN why you did it, Gramps. It was wrong,” Audrey told him, giving him no quarter.

“Well, I never said I was right,” the Colonel replied with a self-righteous sniff. “I said I did what I thought was right. There’s a difference.”

Though she was angry and aching, Audrey felt a smile pull at her lips. “Are you sure you shouldn’t be an attorney? Because that sounds like a load of crap to me.”

“Young lady,” he scolded.

“Save it,” she replied firmly. “You’re not going to ‘young lady’ me on this. You had no right to do what you did. All of this could have been avoided if you had merely asked me if I was going to marry Derrick. I would have told you.”

He blinked as though the idea had never occurred to him.

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter now.” She stood and pushed a hand through her hair. At this point she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts and properly nurse her wounds in private. “Come on,” she said. “I’ll put fresh sheets in the guest bedroom.”

“Oh, I’ve got to go have a little chat with Flanagan before I go to bed,” he said with an ominous chuckle.

Audrey drew up short. “No, you don’t. I forbid it.”

His eyebrows soared up his forehead. “You forbid it?”

“That’s right. No more meddling.” Honestly, Jamie deserved nothing better than a load of brimstone from her grandfather, but she needed to set a precedent here—the Colonel had to start butting out. “You are no longer permitted to meddle in my personal affairs.”

“But—”

For the second time that evening, a knock sounded at her door, then someone burst through.

Only this time that person was Jamie.

Evidently used to it by now, Moses merely lifted his head, saw that it was Jamie and lay down once more. Her grandfather, however, wasn’t so relaxed.

He scowled. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” he demanded.

His face a mask of determination, Jamie pointed a finger at him. “Stay out of it.”

“What? Have you forgotten who you’re talking to?”

“My former boss,” Jamie replied smoothly. “And I didn’t come here to talk to you.” His gaze tangled with hers, causing the fine hairs on her arms to stand on end and an unwelcome bittersweet pang of joy to rattle her aching heart. “I came here to see you.”

“Get out,” the Colonel ordered.

“Hear me out, Audrey,” Jamie said. “That’s all I ask.”

“You either get out or I’ll put you out,” her grandfather ordered, advancing on him.

“I love her, dammit,” Jamie snapped, rounding on him. “Either shut the hell up or I’ll shut you up.”

Audrey witnessed a phenomenon she’d never imagined she’d ever see—her grandfather speechless.

“Give us a minute, would you, Gramps?”

Though he looked like he wanted to argue, he didn’t. “All right,” he grumbled. He stalked to the back of the house, mumbling something under his breath about “mouthy upstarts” and “in my day…”

Had she really heard him correctly? Audrey wondered, shooting Jamie a questioning glance. Had he really just said he loved her? A hopeful sprout of happiness grew in her chest.

For the first time since he’d charged back into her living room, Jamie looked unsure of himself. It was curiously endearing.

“Audrey, I’m sorry,” he said simply, the sincerest form of an apology. Regret painted his face with worry. “I’m not proud of going along with this. I just—” He paused. “I just wanted out of the military and your grandfather helped make that process easier than it should have been. I owed him. I agreed to a favor.” He shook