Exchange of Fire by P. A. DePaul Read Free Book Online

her finger under the dragon pendant on her necklace, she slid the symbol back and forth on a small section of chain. “I see you’ve taken my advice about letting your hair grow a little bit longer. Looks good.”
    He finger-combed the mop absently. “Figured I’d see how it goes retiring the military cut.” His dimple appeared at his laugh. “So far, it’s itchy. I’m not used to having so much hair on top.”
    She grinned in return. “It’s cute. Like a surfer dude. You can always buzz it if it gets too annoying.”
    His mouth turned down. “Cute.” The way he said it with so much distaste had her giggling.
    “Yep. The women’ll love it.” She paused and snorted. “Never mind. You’ve always got a gaggle of girls following you with that face and body; you’d never notice a few more admirers.”
    He grinned, but she had to wonder at the speculative gleam in his eyes. He appeared on the verge of saying something, then changed his mind. Now curiosity ate at her. What had he stopped himself from saying?
    Instead of asking, she focused on work. “I chased away a few kids trying to sneak into the miniature golf construction. The fact that they couldn’t have been older than six led me to believe they weren’t corporate spies. I’m pretty sure I heard the mothers calling their names, so I’m guessing they were trying to play hide-and-seek.”
    He crossed his arms, causing the tantalizing muscles to bunch, and leaned against the tall filing cabinets. “I assume you lectured them on the dangers of being away from their parents?”
    A pang stole through her heart. She was all too familiar with what could happen to kids outside of an adult’s protection. Those memories were part of what drove her to Grady and Gradwick Adventure Center in the first place. Helping these kids wouldn’t make up for her colossal screwup, but she’d hoped she could make a difference, garner a little redemption.
    He straightened at her lack of response. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
    She blinked away the memory that was never far from her mind and waved a hand. “Nothing. And yes. I gave them all a stern talking-to before leading them back to their group.”
    When he stayed silent, she met his eyes. Not much emotion showed through those beautiful blues, but she could see him analyzing and contemplating something. Probably whether or not to push her for a real answer. “Really, Grady,” she finally said, proactively steering the conversation away from her past. “It’s nothing. I don’t like seeing kids in jeopardy. They could’ve gotten hurt if they’d tripped over the construction equipment.”
    A flash of disappointment crossed over his irises before he grunted and leaned against the cabinet again. “I’ll post a guard over there and tell Henry not to move him unless absolutely necessary.”
    “Good idea.” She slumped in the chair, grateful he’d let the moment pass.
    “Speaking of good ideas,” he replied, his dimpled-grin firmly back in place, “there’s this seriously cool event on Wednesday night. You may have heard of it? The You-Worked-Hard-So-You-Deserve-A-Party Employee Event. Since you’re the first to volunteer to coordinate and host every kid’s party we’ve had since you got here, I figured it’d be right up your alley. But, ironically, I still haven’t received your confirmation. Weird, huh?”
    She inwardly groaned. Shit. She’d hoped he had been so caught up with the renovations and the winding down of summer season that he’d overlooked her lack of response.
    Guess not.
    “Kids head back to school on Tuesday,” he continued. “Once we get through Labor Day weekend, the place will empty out. Wednesday’s a perfect time to bring the staff together and reward them for their hard work.”
    “You’re right. They’ve worked their asses off, and we’ve had record profits. They deserve to be treated to a special night.”
    “Exactly. And it’s been proven that team-building events