Page 103 of Rising Tiger

“Is she an intelligence officer as well?”

He nodded and took another drink. Asha was good. He couldn’t tell if she was playing him, so he tightened up his game a bit.

“Okay,” she conceded, no work talk. “Do you two have a song?”

“What do you mean,do we have a song?”

“Aren’t you a romantic. Yes, asong. You’re engaged to be married to this woman. You have to have a favorite song together. It’s a law.”

“It’s not a law,” he said with a laugh.

“It’s Asha’s law. Now, what’s the song?”

“There’s a lot of songs we both like.”

“Pick. One. Something significant. Something special for both of you. Take your time. I’ll wait,” she stated, enjoying another sip of her martini.

Harvath thought for a moment and then replied. “?‘Into the Mystic’ by Van Morrison.”

“Why?”

“Why not?”

Asha rolled her eyes at him. “What’s significant about it?”

“That’s what was playing the first time we ever danced. We were in a little dive bar in Oslo.”

“Did you ask her or did she ask you?”

“She asked me,” Harvath admitted. “I’m not much of a dancer.”

“Why am I not shocked? But you did get up and dance because she means that much to you.”

He nodded.

“Maybe you are a romantic after all.”

“What about you?” he asked, changing the subject. “Married?”

“Nope. And before you ask, not engaged and no boyfriend—much to my parents’ displeasure. Marriage and family are a really big deal in India. Too big, if you ask me.”

“So why not? I can’t imagine you have any trouble finding dates.”

She held her glass up, signaling the waitress that she was ready for a refill, and said, “Dates are precisely the problem. My calendar is full. I’m too busy.”

“So you are married,” he said. “To the job.”

“Did my mother send you? You can be honest. I won’t tell anybody.”

Harvath smiled. “She did not. But I think she would want me to tell you that the days are long and the years are short.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning, when your head is down, when you’re consumed with the work, you don’t notice the passage of time. When you finally do pick up your head and look around, you’re stunned by how much has passed. If you wait too long, you’re doubly stunned by how little you have left. Life is short. Don’t waste it.”

“Good advice—even if my mother didn’t send you.”

Harvath smiled again. “I’ve got a couple of years on you and—”