Page 59 of Girl Between

Again, Dana crossed her arms, distracting his thoughts with her cleavage. “I find that hard to believe as a stranger who’s been excessively welcomed by your family.”

George took a long pull of his beer, draining it. He grabbed another cold one from the old Coleman cooler at his feet. That made six. His personal limit thanks to the aggressive hangovers he could still remember from his Army days. They were mostly because he didn’t know better than to mix beer with liquor, but still, he wasn’t looking to forget like he was back then. In fact, thanks to the gorgeous woman sitting across from him, George wanted to remember everything about tonight.

“You know, you don’t have to wear that dress. Your clothes are dry by now,” he said, trying to change the subject. “If you want to change, we could go inside.”

Dana looked down at the yellow sundress as though just remembering she was in borrowed clothes. “Oh, I suppose I should give this back.”

“Cadie has no shortage of dresses,” George assured her. “She won’t miss it. I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable.”

Dana’s soulful eyes bore into his, her lips quirking almost into a smile. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to change the subject.”

“What if I am?” he teased.

When Dana spoke, her previous flirtation was absent. “I’m just trying to understand you.”

He fought his instinct to push the comment aside. She was asking him to let her in. If it were anyone else, he wouldn’t even consider it. But there was something about Dana Gray …

Quietly contemplating, he took another swig of beer, then finally he asked, “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

The earnestness with which she said it twisted something inside of him. Before he could stop himself, he put his beer down and was on his feet, crossing the small space of porch between them. He took her hands and pulled her up to meet him.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” George admitted.

It was a lie. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. And so didDana apparently, as she filled in the blanks. “I think you want to take me inside, to your bedroom. And this time I think you plan to make it a memorable night. But I can’t help wondering if it would mean more to both of us if you just answered my questions first.”

Her honesty stoked a fire inside of George he didn’t know he yearned for. It’d been a long time since he wanted to let someone know him. He wasn’t sure where to begin, but he was speaking anyway. “My father was my hero. I wanted to be just like him. He was in the Army, so I enlisted. He was a cop. Now I am. He was the head of our family. Made sure everyone was safe, cared for. But when it came to Voodoo, he never got involved. He left it to my mother. I guess I’ve followed his example, whether I meant to or not.”

“I can see how much of a role model he was for you. He sounds like a wonderful man. There’s no shame in following his legacy. But you can still forge your own path while honoring his.”

She stated it so simply, yet it seemed to shift the world for George. “I think we should go inside now,” he whispered, moving close enough to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. It was an intimate gesture, and he’d meant it that way.

Still, Dana looked uncertain. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” he asked.

Dana looked down anxiously at her hands on his chest. George didn’t know why, but her doubts inspired his hard-earned trust. “What else do you want to know?”

56

Dana hatedthe thoughts niggling at the back of her mind at such an intimate moment, but they refused to leave her alone.

Images of crime scenes, cemeteries, and now Voodoo ceremonies swirled into the constant cyclone of past cases she’d worked over the years, which of course brought Jake back to the forefront of her mind.

He’d been instrumental in pushing George into Dana’s path, but she had to wonder if he meant for it to go this far. Were she and Jake really over before they’d begun? Starting something with George felt like putting the nail in the proverbial coffin of their relationship.

She wasn’t sure she could do it.

She also wasn’t sure what was holding her back.

As Dana looked at George, patiently waiting for her to make up her mind, she realized how different the two men were. George was calm, quiet, collected. He offered her space to gather her thoughts, analyze a situation. Truthfully, it was the way she preferred to operate. She could say more or not. Either way, she knew George wouldn’t push. It was a quality Dana admired. Especially when compared to the way Jake always poked and pried, challenging her at every opportunity.

Sometimes Dana loathed the fervent debating between her andher surly FBI partner. There was no arguing that she and Jake drove each other to accept nothing but their level best—and that was something she could never refute. That and the unhinged passion they’d shared before she left D.C.

But she wasn’t here to compare men.