Page 70 of Defending You

He forced his mind to focus on her question. “I loved so much about it. I loved proving that I could do it, you know? Pushing limits that should have been limits but weren’t because I refused to acknowledge them. I loved becoming more than anyone ever expected me to be.”

Now, she wiped her fingers on her napkin, head tilting to the side. “People had high expectations for you. I’m sure your parents did. How could they not? You were the smartest kid in town.”

Maybe, and the fact that she thought so meant something. But the rest of what she’d said registered. “My parents weren’t the most encouraging people in the world.”

She leaned toward him. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s…whatever.” He bit into his fish—flaky and salty and delicious. “Dad was always taking risks—and usually losing. Sometimes big. Mom had her own dreams, but she spent her life scraping just to survive. They weren’t disappointed when I skipped college and went straight to the military. To them, it was the safer bet. A guaranteed paycheck, a place to live, three squares a day. And when I told them I applied to the Teams, they were…not discouraging, but certainly less than enthusiastic.”

“They didn’t think you could do it?” She seemed shocked, but that was only because she already knew he had. Going into it, there’d been no guarantees. A lot of strong, smart guys washed out.

“They didn’t want me to be disappointed. I think…I think they feel like their fate is in someone else’s hands, and maybe that someone else is…” He groped for a word.

“Cruel?”

“Kind of. Or, more like a trickster. You know, like life was Lucy, and they were Charlie Brown, always believing thatthistime, the football would be there when they kicked. They always landed on their…pride, so to speak.”

“They must have been thrilled when you made it.”

Had they been? If so, they hadn’t shown it. “They quit worrying that I’d wash out and started worrying I’d be killed.”

“They sound…” Her words trailed.

“They’re really good people. They just think differently than I do. They see themselves as victims, and I never did.”

“You liked being a SEAL.”

“I loved it, the camaraderie. There’s nothing like knowing people are depending on you—and knowing you’re capable andcan come through. And they came through for me. You figure out who you are, what you can do, and what your limits are real quick when the bullets are flying.”

“And you learned you’re amazing.”

He grinned. “If you say so.”

“And then you were injured, right?”

He rubbed his knee, not that it ached. It rarely did, only if he pushed it too hard. “Wasn’t a big deal, but I had to leave the SEALs. I didn’t want to do anything else in the Navy, so I got out.”

“You like being a bodyguard?”

“I don’t…hate it.” That wasn’t an easy question to answer. “Most of the time, I stand on the edge of the room and observe other people living their lives.” He thought of his previous client, the way he’d practically attacked his assistant while Asher stood by and watched. The guy probably thought having Asher in the corner made him invincible.

He could still picture the agony on the guy’s face after his assistant kneed him in the groin. Until this assignment, that had been the most exciting thing he’d witnessed on the job. “Most of the time, it’s pretty boring.”

She made a show of looking around. “Yeah, I can see that.”

“As usual, you make everything more exciting.”

Her eyebrows hiked.

Whoops. “Not that…I mean, it’s only…” His bonehead remark had no backpedals.

She laughed. “You’re hilarious when you get flustered.”

“Shut up.” But as he ate another bite of fish, he wasn’t annoyed with Cici. He was having fun.

They ate for a few minutes in comfortable silence, something he’d never have guessed possible after the morning’s awkwardness.

Thunder cracked overhead, and Cici practically jumped out of her skin.