“Nope.”
“Ever given your heart?”
He ran his fingers plaintively over the chocolate brown leather of the couch, lost in thought. “I’m surprised you asked that.”
“Why?”
“Most people don’t see a distinction.”
“Between being in love and giving your heart?”
“Yes.”
He didn’t elaborate. She got her answer.
“Do you think you’ll ever get married?”
“Sure. If I find the right girl.” She noticed he said find instead of meet, then scolded herself. She could find innuendo in anything at this point.
“Do you think that will happen?”
“Truthfully, no, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
His mood darkened, and the self-centered part of her wondered if he had been as profoundly affected by her circumstances as it seemed. She pushed the thought down.
“You said no ‘romantic’ commitments. Are there others?”
“Yes.” He sounded relieved to get out of personal territory. “I have friends—brothers, really. I would lay down my life for them.”
“From your military days?”
“Yes. And before you ask, I won’t say more about my time in the military that isn’t already public record. My field was Naval Intelligence, my rank was Lieutenant Commander. The men I served with—I work with some of them even now.”
“You do? You gave them jobs?”
“More like they gave me their expertise. K-B has the most specialized, highly trained group of former military elite of any private corporation on the planet.”
“Mercenaries?”
“That’s a tough term. Are they soldiers for hire? In a roundabout way, yes. Am I toppling governments and installing my own puppet regimes? No.”
Farrell would be so disappointed by the news.
“So, you have friends. And you have two brothers who are quite a bit older.”
“Eight and ten years. Henry is a federal judge, and James is a writer. And I was a surprise.”
“An unexpected pleasure,” she amended.
“That’s what my mother used to say.”
“It sounds like you three have very different skill sets.”
“Well put. And I was the only one with the skill set to take over.”
“And the desire?”
“Sure.”