Page 45 of Too Guarded to Love (Project VIPER #3)

Gran

A va Darren stood on the edge of the dance floor, an ocean breeze at her back as she watched all her grandchildren, biological and adopted, have a good time.

Admiral Edgar slid beside her and handed her a cup of rum punch. He tipped his own cup toward Nic and Olivia. “Do you think they know you lied to them?”

She shook her head as she tapped her foot to the music. “They have no clue. Olivia still believes my soulmate sense is fuzzy because of the coma.”

“You’re a devious one, Ava Darren.”

She shrugged. “A grandmother’s gotta do what a grandmother’s gotta do.”

“My lips are sealed until you’re ready to confess your treachery.”

Ava batted him in the chest. “It wasn’t treachery. It was a strategic battle plan. I felt their connection, even in a coma, and couldn’t voice it. If I had told Olivia the truth, she would have run the other way. My little white lie brought them together quicker, I like to think.”

“I knew when you squeezed my hand after I told you about how they met at the beach, you were trying to tell me something. ”

“Thank you for believing in me and helping to nudge them together.”

Edgar laughed. “You should have seen the look on Nic’s face when I told him he was rooming with Olivia in Level Black. The fear in his eyes confirmed he was falling fast and had no idea what to do.”

Gran tipped her cup to a couple by the bar. “What do you think about those two? Should I tell them they’re destined to be together forever?”

“Not yet. I think they need a little time.”

“Agreed. Do you think our brood of super soldiers and smarty-pants women suspect anything about us?”

“Not a thing, and I’d like to keep it that way for a while longer, if you don’t mind. Our VIPER family is growing by leaps and bounds, and I want you all to myself for a little while longer.”

She laughed as she took his hand. “You sure do know how to make a girl swoon, Admiral, and not just because of that uniform you’re wearing.”

“I may not be a super soldier, but I do have powers.” He put his drink down and held out his hand. “Now, how about we show these young’uns how to cut a rug?”

The End