“You look beautiful.”
She wanted to make a crack about the dress being some old rag she found in her closet, but the words stuck in her throat.
He held out his hand, and she placed hers in it.
He kissed her knuckles. “Thank you for inviting me. It was worth it just to see you in this dress.”
“And here I thought this was just a work thing.”
“Too bad I just forgot what I do for living. It’s gone,” he said. “Completely slipped my mind. What’s my name again?”
She laughed softly, and he touched her waist.
“I just need to check something.” He was closer now, close enough he could kiss her. His hand slid to the small of her back, where he touched her bare skin.
She touched the lapel of his suit jacket. “Careful now.”
He winked at her, and his hand slid back to her waist. “What was I saying?”
“I have no idea.” She smiled at him.
He shifted and held out his elbow. “I think that means it’s time for us to dance.”
“You know how to dance?” She slid her arm through his, glancing back but not seeing Destiny.
“I believe I have some skill. How about you?”
“It depends if the goal is to draw attention to us or fade into the crowd. While I happen to know how to tango, this isn’t one of those operations where we show off in front of everyone so that they all see—and remember—our faces.”
“Good to know.” He glanced at her, a smile lighting his eyes.
They crossed the threshold between the expansive lobby and the main ballroom, which had been decorated with candlelight. A band played quietly in one corner, giving the room some background noise so that people could still talk to each other. A stage had been set up beside them with a podium and microphone.
All around the room were huge posterboards and banners with images of children from overseas who had received treatment thanks to the foundation. Illnesses that could easily be cured with modern medicine often went untreated in places where people lived in poverty, with little access to sanitation and medical supplies.
Luca led her around the exterior of the room while they danced so they could look at some of the posters, and she realized he had done so because he’d seen her notice them.
They lingered in front of a poster of several children from the Sudan.
“Do you miss it?” he asked her.
“Sometimes.” She leaned against Luca, just a little. “People here don’t realize how good they have it. When you live in a place where war is a daily reality and poverty is the only thing you know, it’s hard to imagine any other way to be. Those are the people who need help. Because there’s no one to pull them out of it and show them that they can find peace.”
“Do you want to go back?”
“I don’t have any plans to leave Renegade anytime soon.” Just in case he needed to hear that. “Being there for so long, working in the refugee camps, it sucked me under. Then I was the one who had to be reminded that I can find peace.”
“That’s why we only deploy for a predetermined period of time, so that we can come back stateside and recoup. No one can work for years on end and not end up crushed under the weight of it. You have to take a break at some point.”
“I tried to keep going,” she said. “I thought I could do it in my own strength, but I had to remember that God is the one who sustains me. I just didn’t until it was too late. I had to let Him give me this sabbatical, but it’s been a few years, and I don’t know if I want to go back. Those places will always have a huge part of my heart. But unless He leads me back there, I’m going to stay here.”
“You can do valuable things here as well. I already know you are.”
She squeezed his arm, about to respond, when the band quieted down their music.
Destiny stepped up to the podium. “Ladies and gentlemen, the Healing Hearts Foundation is so very glad you are here tonight to celebrate with us the work that we do across the world. Around the room, you can see love in action. The donations that you so generously offer to us save lives every single day.”
Luca led Kira to a table and pulled out a chair for her.