I trust you.
There was a time when those words meant something so much more.
“Okay, then.” She cleared her throat with the same frozen smile. “Just don’t forget to come to the kitchen before you leave. Oh, and will you let the rest of the guys know, too?”
“Absolutely. And listen…” He began stumbling a bit over his words. “I was hoping…I mean, you know…only if you wanted to…but I was thinking maybe sometime you and I could?—”
“Hey, Boyer!” Another man in a tuxedo joined them. “The auction is just about to end, and Sloane asked if we’d help pass out the items to the winners as they’re announced. I figured it was better than standing around with our thumbs up our?—”
“Scottie, I’d like you to meet Jason Lucas.” Chase returned the man’s interruption in order to make introductions. “He’s our team’s resident tech guru. You can call him Lucky.”
“Nice to meet you, Lucky.” Scottie dipped her chin to greet the other member of the team. “I’d shake your hand, but…”
“That’s okay.” The handsome brunette flashed her a grin. “You’ve got your hands full. But hey…Boyer here told us you’re the genius behind the food. I have a confession to make…” Eyes nearly as blue as Chase’s locked on hers as Lucky leaned in and dropped his voice. “I may or may not have stolen a few of those fruit tart thingies a bit ago. Now, that’s not an admission of guilt, however…hypothetically, if I had been the one to sneak by and snag a handful of tarts, I’d be sure to tell the chef…bravo.”
“Thanks.” Scottie huffed out a soft chuckle. “I’ll be sure to put some in with the to-go plates I’m putting together for your team. You know…hypothetically, of course.”
“We get to take some of this home?” Lucky swung his gaze to Chase’s before bringing it back around to her. “Awesome! Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. There’s still plenty left over in the kitchen, and I figured it’s the least I can do, what with you guys volunteering your time for the shelter and all.”
“Damn, Boyer. You were right.” Lucky put a hand on one of Chase’s broad shoulders. “Sheisawesome!”
Chase had told this man she was awesome? That was surprising, to say the least. Especially when the last time she’d seen him, she’d all but told him he didn’t mean that much to her.
“Anywaaay…” Chase appeared slightly embarrassed. “We should probably get back to it. I’ll come see you when we’re done?”
Having posed that last bit as a question, Scottie answered him with a quick nod. “I’ll either be out here cleaning up or in the kitchen.”
“Sounds good. See you in a bit.”
The wink Chase gave her as he and his friend turned to leave sent her pulse racing. She’d never had such a visceral reaction to any other man. Only him. And as she watched him and Lucky make their way through the well-dressed crowd toward the small stage, Scottie couldn’t help but wish for the millionth time things had turned out differently.
“Thank you all so much for coming tonight.” Sloane’s microphoned voice quieted those in attendance.
Scottie blinked herself back to the present, realizing she’d just been standing there, holding two empty baking sheets, and staring after a man who would never be hers. Turning, she started to head back to the kitchen when another man caught her attention.
He was standing across the room, away from the rest of the crowd. And unlike the others around her, his attention wasn’t on the woman speaking on stage. Instead, he was looking directly at her.
There was no smile on his face. No casual look of the typical party goer. Instead, the guy’s face was stone-cold solid. Unmoving and emotionless. And from the way he was staring back at her…
It’s almost as if he knows who I am.
The man lifted something black he’d been holding in his hand. Scottie’s heart pounded hard in her chest, this time for a very different reason than Chase’s wink. Before she even had time to react, a bright white light flashed, and that’s when she knew…
It’s a camera.
The man, whoever he was, had just taken her picture.
4
Three days later…
“Okay,boys! I’m here, which means the party can officially begin.” Lucky entered the team’s war room with his usual dramatic flair while Chase and the others sat around the conference table and waited. With his attention solely on the team, the tech genius asked no one in particular, “Seriously, though…what’s the big emergency? SECNAV decide to grace us with his virtual presence again, or did we sign some big-name client I don’t know about?”
“Neither.” Chase was the first to speak up. But before he could expand on his response, a deep, commanding voice intervened from a few feet away.
“The decision was mine, Mr. Lucas.” Naval Secretary Michael C. Webb spoke from his place behind where Lucky stood. “I decided it would be best to have this conversation in person, rather than from the other side of the screen.”