Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Not TJ.
Chapter One
Dallas, TX
Twelve Years Later
Lou stared at the man across from her. “I’m going to be honest. When we matched on the app, I didn’t think it was actually you.”
The man across from her smiled, and she had to admit he looked good. He’d been a cute boy in high school, but he was obviously a man now, his lanky form having filled in with muscle. And the beard on his face suited him, too. “Well, I knew damn well it was you, and I was excited. It’s been a long time, Louisa. You look amazing.”
Dennis Sims wore a dress shirt and slacks despite the fact they’d only agreed to meet for a coffee. It was obvious he’d taken care with his appearance.
The last time TJ had been in town he’d spent the entire time sitting in her living room in sweats and a Cowboys T-shirt playing video games with her. He’d needed a haircut but hadn’t been willing to get it until the day before he reported back, so he’d looked a bit scruffy.
She’d still thought he was sexy as hell, but she was done mooning over that man. They seemed to have moved into a long-term married couple phase without any of the sex that should have come before it. He came into town on leave and spent all his time with her. He didn’t even bother to drop his stuff at his parents’ place. He showed up and took over the guest room. He worked around her house, fixing things up, and they watched TV together and he hugged her like he didn’t want to let her go and then marched back on with his life. Years. She’d spent years like this, and she was done.
She remembered the last time she’d seen TJ. They’d been in a conference room in Sydney, Australia. His team had clashed with hers, and they’d had some serious tension between them. She’d been stupid and had read his cues wrong and embarrassed herself again by trying to kiss him.
Baby, this is still not a good idea. Nothing’s changed.
But she wanted it to, and if she didn’t try her life never would. She would watch her friends all find love, and she would end up alone with five cats. And probably a couple of dogs and goats. So when he’d tried to get her alone to talk about their tension, she’d told him no.
Don’t think this is over, LouLou. Not even close.
But it was. It had to be.
Watching Tasha Taggart fall in love had given her the push she needed.
Hence the dating app. She’d been on three dates and then matched with Dennis, and curiosity had gotten the better of her. Not that she was going to do anything with the dude who’d dumped her for prom, but she was curious. She was viewing this as a good test date.
Surely at some point she’d meet someone she wanted to have sex with.
Or she could find a Dom at The Hideout.
“What are you doing these days?” Dennis asked. “I was surprised you were still here in Dallas. When I’ve thought about you over the years, I have to admit I saw you in New York or LA. London, maybe. You got your doctorate, right?”
She’d finished her doctorate in mathematics at the age of twenty-two and become one of the youngest professors in the history of the University of Texas Austin. Then Kala Taggart had walked into her office and offered her a spot on the team.
The CIA team her best friend had been trying to land forever. The last two years of her life had been about the Agency.
Not that she was going to tell Dennis that. Her life was highly classified. “No, that was fine for college, but I always wanted to be close to my family. My parents are here, and my little brother. He’s twelve, and I don’t want to be some picture on my parents’ wall to him. So I’m working at this think tank run by the guy who built 4L.”
“You work for Drew Lawless?” Dennis looked impressed.
Which was exactly what her cover was supposed to do. When she’d joined the team, they’d all needed covers, with the exception of Cooper McKay and Tristan Dean-Miles. They had the military to cover for them. Lou, Kenzie, Kala, and Tash had never belonged to the armed forces. But they did belong to McKay-Taggart. Kenzie and Kala and Tash all worked for their dad’s firm in various roles. Lou needed something more. There wasn’t a position for doctorate in mathematics and expert in mechanical and computer engineering at a security firm. It was a cover that worked on short ops—like the one they’d recently run in Sydney—but anyone who knew her would question it.
No one was shocked to discover she was the head of technology, research, and development at one of the edgiest think tanks in the country. Especially given her family connections to the man who ran it.