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Someone had to be a traitor.

There was a knock on the window and there she was. He unlocked the door and she slid in beside him.

“We should talk.”

“Of course.” He pulled out onto Pearl Street. He’d known she was going to want to talk about how everything had gone sideways, but that wasn’t where he was going to lead the conversation. He liked to keep things positive. After all, that was how he dealt with almost everything. “First off, you’re going toneed at least three bikinis. I think you’ll look gorgeous in blue. It will totally distract the bad guys.”

“I didn’t mean we should talk about what I’m going to wear, JT. I mean we need to talk about the fact that we didn’t know we were going to work together when we slept together.”

He wasn’t going to argue with her about that. “Well, now we know we’re totally compatible. It probably would have been awkward if we’d been thrown together and told ‘hey, now you’re engaged.’”

She sent him an adorably irritated frown. “Well, for one thing we wouldn’t have to pretend to be engaged if your employees hadn’t caught me in your bedroom. And why did you go straight for engaged?”

“I thought it was easier than saying we’d actually gotten married.” He snapped his fingers as he remembered something. “We should stop by Tiffany and get you a ring. At least three carats.”

Her eyes went gorgeously wide. “Three carats? As in diamond?”

“Of course,” he replied. “Unless you’d rather have a sapphire. It’s up to you. Anything you want. But I’m serious about the blue bikini. Also, you’ll need at least three cocktail dresses. It’s not too formal, but the women do tend to dress up.”

She shook her head as though forcing herself to focus. “I don’t need an engagement ring.”

“You do. Look, I’m fully willing to leave all the spy stuff to you, and you leave all the fancy stuff to me. I know I look like I rode in off the range, but I have excellent taste. I get that from my mother. She’s British, too. Why she married my ornery old dad I have no idea. My momma is a lady of the highest order, and she taught me to appreciate the finer things in life.” He needed her unfocused, or rather focused on him. “See, we can start a new tradition. In this relationship, the women shootand the men make things pretty. Don’t discount making things pretty. I’ve spent months at a time on oil rigs, and I would have killed for some decorative pillows.”

“I don’t want to talk about clothes or jewelry,” she insisted, though there was a huff in her breath that told him she kind of did want to, but she was going to be all business. “Obviously you know best how to help me fit in with your people. We need to talk about the fact that we slept together and now we’re going on an op.”

That was a perfect setup. “And sharing a room, so again, I think we’ve made things far less awkward. You will like our room. It’s the presidential suite.”

“Does it have separate bedrooms?” She asked the question like the right answer could solve all her problems.

“They can connect several rooms when the resort isn’t full, but Dad likes to keep everyone close, so we’re all in one wing of the resort.” She wasn’t getting away that easily. He stopped at the red light and turned her way. “Are you saying you don’t want to sleep with me? Did I snore?”

“No.” Her face fell.

Oh, this was exactly how to deal with the gorgeous operative. She might be good at killing the bad guys, but she didn’t want to break his heart. He’d noticed her compassion while they’d been in the meeting earlier. She hadn’t liked it when Mike had put him in a bad position. She was a woman who picked sides and was inherently loyal. He knew exactly how to work her. “Was it…was it bad for you?”

She groaned and her head fell back. “It was fabulous and you know it.”

He did. He gave her a grin. He knew he was being a manipulative bastard, but he fought for what he wanted, and he wanted her. “It was good for me, too. It was kind of the best.”

She’d gone a delicious shade of pink. “Really?”

“Really.” He turned onto the access road. It was good to be alone with her again. The conference had unnerved him. His brother constantly said he was naïve, and now he might have to agree with him since it appeared someone had been murdered on his watch. “It was one of the best nights of my life. Followed by one of the hardest afternoons.”

Her hand came out, covering his own. “I know it was rough. You need to remember that none of this is your fault.”

It was difficult to think that way. He was the boss. His dad might walk into the office and everyone bowed down, but he’d left the day-to-day operations to JT for the last few years. His father was getting ready to retire. “It doesn’t feel that way. I should have seen that something was going on with Bill. I need to figure out how to take care of his family without making his wife uncomfortable. Bill’s wife is very proud. Not in a snooty way, but she’s not one to take handouts, which is why I would be shocked if she knew what Bill was doing. He was desperate. I can’t imagine what that must feel like.”

Nina was staring at him, a sheen of tears in her eyes. “There aren’t many people in the world who could find out an employee committed an act of sabotage and still find a way to care about him.”

He put his eyes on the road. “I believe my twin would say I’m naïve and inexperienced.”

“Is he right? Have you been sheltered all your life?”

“Sheltered from certain things, yes. I’ve never had to worry about money, so I don’t think much of it. But I’ve been out in the world. In my brother’s eyes, because I’ve never been a part of a military unit, I’m soft. He’s never been on an oil rig when pirates decide to show up. They’re real, you know.”

“I do,” she replied quietly. “They’re troublesome and violent.”

“And I was in charge of that rig. I’m in charge wherever I go.” He could still remember how scared he’d been that he would lose his workers. He was responsible for their safety. “Did I want to shoot the fuckers? Hell, yeah, I did. But I had to sit there and negotiate because we were outgunned.”