Page 37 of Clear Blue Sky

“I asked him to stall your parents.”

“You had no right to do that.” She poked him in the chest.

“Ouch. That hurt.” He scowled. “Maybe not. But I wanted to finish the book and I thought maybe if your parents thought you were busy with details for the premiere and other things, that would give us a chance to clear the air about things.”

“You actually stayed up and finished it?”

“I can’t say I read every single word, but yeah.”

“Wow. I’m impressed.” She took another sip before setting the cup on the nightstand. She snagged a pillow and hugged it.

“Don’t be. I burned it.”

She laughed. “I’m sorry.” She covered her mouth. “I know that’s not funny.”

“I almost wish he’d discussed a mission that was still classified, but he didn’t. He kept the details vague and switched up so many things that I would guess the Army would approve, except for the things about me.”

“So, his character, Anderson, is actually truly you.”

“Anderson is my middle name,” he said.

“Jesus. That’s too close for comfort.” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “Is what he writes the truth?”

“It’s mostly lies, wrapped in half-truths. But there’s enough there about my past with Roxy and what happened after her husband died that anyone who knows us could guess that he’s writing about me. Especially if he ties his name to it.”

“He never said anything about writing under a pen name.” She pressed her hand on his stomach, lifting his shirt. “You have a lot of scars. I asked you once about them and you made light of them.”

“Defense mechanism.”

“I gathered.” She traced her finger over a few of them. “I know you said that Marcus did a good job with—”

“I will tell you the things that are true about me that were portrayed in that assassination.” He curled his fingers around her wrist and brought her palm to his lips. “As I told you, Roxy and I dated ten years ago. I cared for her greatly. It was probably the only real relationship I had. If there was any woman in my past that I could say I had true feelings for, it would have to be her.”

She narrowed her stare. “That’s a hard pill to swallow.”

“It is for me too.” Carefully, he climbed over her with his coffee, fluffing a pillow and stretching out his legs. “Marcus did a lot of things to break us up. Eventually, it worked. I didn’t see Roxy for years, but I had to deal with Marcus.”

“Were you and Marcus on the same team?”

“No. But we did go through Special Forces training together. We also did a couple of JSOC missions.”

“What’s that?”

“It stands for Joint Special Operations Command. It’s when the CIA, the FBI, or any other organization utilizes a special team comprised of different branches for highly sensitive missions.”

“In the book, Anderson goes to Brooke. He seduces her and it’s a gross scene.”

“I couldn’t read it,” he admitted. “Although, I did laugh when Brooke killed me in the end.”

“We’re getting sidetracked,” she said.

“Okay. What’s true is that I died and was brought back to life while on a mission.” He pressed his finger over her lips. “I don’t think that’s technically classified, but I wouldn’t repeat it.”

“I’m not going to,” she said. “But I gather you were part of the search and rescue team.”

“I can’t comment on that.” He lowered his chin.

“Fair enough,” she said. “But he implies you killed her husband.”

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