Chapter Two
Paige stared blindly, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. Walter and
the French agent were smiling at each other, like there was some kind of
secret knowledge between them. Then it dawned on her what was going on and
she had to stifle a gasp.
Walter. O'Brien. was. Flirting.
Jealousy erupted inside her. An emotion she had no business feeling. She
was with Tim now. She'd moved on. She didn't waste time on married men. Yet
no matter what she told herself, the idea of Walter with the other woman
made her sick to her stomach.
"Hey, are you okay?" Tim's overly pleasant voice shook her from her wayward
thoughts. She flinched away when he put his hand on the small of her back.
She hated it when he touched her there, as it brought back memories of another
man's hand in the same spot, awkwardly holding her while they danced. A twinge
of pain shot through her at the thought she'd probably never feel Walter's
hand there again.
"I'm fine," she replied through tight lips. "Just tired from last night."
"Not as tired as I'd like you to be," he muttered under his breath.
"What?" Oh, she'd heard what he'd said. It had been building for the past
several weeks, the not-so-subtle pressure to take their relationship to the
next level, which for him evidently meant sex. A step she wasn't ready for,
even though they'd been going out for months. She wanted to blame her reluctance
on the fact had been nearly ten years since she'd been intimate with anyone.
But she knew that wasn't the real reason.
"Nothing."
"Hey, are you two listening?" Paige glanced at Cabe, wondering which couple
he was scolding. Tim had snapped to attention beside her as had Walter and
Simone. Her stomach lurched at just the thought of linking their names together.
"Walter, you and Sylvester will be the part of the team installing the new
software updates. Simone, too, of course." The Homeland agent nodded toward
the French woman. "And Paige, you speak Spanish, right?"
He didn't wait for her answer, instead continuing handing out assignments.
"You four will make up the install team. The rest of us will provide backup
at a nearby location near the marina." Flipping his wrist to look at his
watch, he added, "Plane leaves in two hours. The sub is scheduled for dry
dock at 0600 tomorrow morning."
"I better go make arrangements for Ralph," she said as she stepped away from
Tim.
"Sure," said the trainee. "We'll be back before Friday night, right?" he
called over to Cabe, who had gone over to chat with Walter and the French
woman.
"We should be back by tomorrow night," Gallo replied. "Why? You got plans?"
"Yeah, you could say that." Tim glanced over at Paige as she picked up the
phone to call the sitter and winked. "Paige and I are heading up the coast
to a B & B. Suppose to be very romantic."
She plastered a smile onto her face as she dialed with shaking hands. Great,
now everyone knew they were planning to be intimate. Glancing at Walter,
who was once again speaking with the French woman, she saw nothing in his
expression indicating he'd even heard Tim's blatant bragging. He was too
busy grinning like an idiot at the Interpol agent.
"Hello?" A woman's voice she recognized as Ralph's sitter broke through her
disturbing thoughts. Paige heard a bit of impatience and wondered how long
she'd been staring at Walter.
"Sorry," she said before quickly explaining the reason for her call.
Walter was stowing his laptop into his backpack when Paige approached his
desk.
"Uh, congratulations," she said, glancing down at the little flag Cabe had
given him he'd stuck into his pen caddy. "On becoming on citizen," she added
with a nervous sounding chuckle. "That was unexpected, huh?"
"Yeah." He made a show of opening and closing the various zippers on his
pack.
"It'll be nice to be working with. . .ah, Agent Taylor again, don't you think?"
she asked hesitantly.
"Simone?" He wondered what she was playing at. She had more or less severed
all personal ties with him, their interactions restricted to Scorpion business
only since she'd learned he was married. "I guess," he replied with a shrug.
"You were pretty friendly with her last time."
"I maintained a professional relationship with her, yes," he replied in a
clipped tone.
She raised her eyebrows in a manner he recognized as disbelief. He'd told
no one about the celebratory drink or of the Interpol agent's invitation
to her bed. He'd only gone out for the drink because Paige had accepted a
date with Drew. A smile rose on his lips as he remembered how they had both
ditched their dates, ending up keeping an all-night vigil in Sylvester's
hospital room with the rest of the team, reading Super Fun Guy comics. Back
when they were still a family. Before Tim. His smile turned into a frown.
"My Spanish is a little rusty," she announced out of the blue. "I didn't
even know you could speak it."
"I'm fluent in seven languages, passable in as many more." He slipped his
pack over his shoulders. "Are you ready to depart?" He flipped his right
wrist and glanced at his watch. "Cabe said we need to leave in less than
ten minutes in order to arrive at the airport in time."
For a moment, he thought he saw tears well up in the corner of her eyes before
she composed herself. What did she expect? It was her fault he was more human
now. That he had suffered when she cut him from her life. He never wanted
to go through pain like that again if he could help it.
"Okay, well, I better go finish up then."
"Yes, you should." Bending down, he picked up his duffel and moved toward
the door.
"Walter, all ready to go?" Simone asked as she intercepted him halfway across
the garage.
"Yes."
She smiled at him. "I have my own vehicle. You and I could leave now and
let the others catch up."
"Okay." He grinned back at her. "Let's go."
Glancing over his shoulder, he noticed the sour expression on Paige's face
as she crammed a hairbrush into her case. She couldn't be. . .jealous? Could
she? It didn't make any sense. She'd made it plain she didn't want him. Why
would she care if someone else showed an interest in him?
With a shake of his head, he walked side by side with Simone as they left
the garage.
About an hour after their chartered plane had taken off from the Van Nuys
airport, Toby plopped down in the empty seat next to Walter. Simone had been
sitting there until they were in the air, then she'd gone back to speak to
Cabe.
"Ooo-la-la," said the shrink. "So, you and the French femme fatale."
"Shut up, Toby." Walter crossed his arms over his chest before looking over
his shoulder. Tim and Paige were seated two rows back, each of them staring
out of separate windows. "I thought you were pissed at me," he said, turning
his attention back to the psychiatrist.
"Oh, I am, big brain." He leaned in closer and whispered, "But I still think
you should sleep with Simone."
"What?" Walter's voice rang out, drawing everyone's eyes to him. Great, just
great. Sliding down in his seat, he glared at Toby. "Not that I'm going to
take you unsolicited advice, but why should I do that?"
"We've already established Paige has moved on with Tim. If they're not already
knocking boots, they will be this weekend." Walter looked at him in surprise.
"It's been the worst kept secret in the garage for a week," the shrink stated.
"I just found out today. Ralph told me. About the B & B, not that they
were going to have sex," he added. "I figured that out on my own."
Toby shrugged. "Like I said, she's moved on. You need to do the same. I saw
how Simone looked at you when she worked with us before, when Sly was injured.
She's warm for your form, buddy."
"I don't know. . ."
"Yes you do." The shrink moved forward, lowering his voice again. "You need
to move on. Moping around the garage like a kicked puppy is bringing us all
down."
"Oh, I'm so sorry if my pain caused you to feel bad," said Walter sarcastically.
"Sorry if I'm having a little trouble dealing with having my heart ripped
out. The one I never wanted to acknowledge existed in the first place. You
haven't exactly been helpful."
"Settle down, 197." The psychiatrist adjusted his hat. "I'm helping now.
And my professional advice is to let the gorgeous French agent have her wicked
way with you. If a romp in the sheets with her doesn't cure what ails you,
nothing will."
Patting him on the shoulder, Toby then popped out of the seat and went back
to harassing Happy, leaving Walter to stare at his hands. He didn't know
why the psychiatrist's suggestion rankled him. He'd been thinking along similar
lines himself. But to hear it so cold-bloodedly presented by someone else.
. . It just seemed so, well, cold-blooded.
Physical beauty alone had never sexually attracted him. He'd dated several
women, three more than once. He'd given them a chance, hoping to connect
with them as more than just friends. But it never happened.
And then he'd met Paige. He'd seen something special in her that day at the
diner. It had turned into something he never even believed existed. Love.
He knew beyond a doubt he would love her, and only her, the rest of his life.
Which was why he was struggling with the temptation Simone presented. She
was beautiful, yes. Smart, tough, determined, all traits he admired in a
woman. But how could he be contemplating intimacy with her if Paige still
held and would always hold his heart? It just didn't seem right.
Of course, Simone chose that moment to sit back down beside him. "We should
be in Cartagena by eight," she commented. "Have you been there before?" She
smiled at him before placing her hand just above his knee, sending a jolt
of lust throughout his body.
Oh boy.
"This is too easy."
Walter turned to stare incredulously at Sylvester as they hacked into the
submarine's computer. "What do you mean? We've had nothing but trouble since
we've arrived last night."
It had started after they had landed at a private airstrip outside of Cartagena.
Their transport into the city had a flat tire. Once it was fixed and they
finally arrived at their hotel, it had been almost midnight, and their rooms
had been given to others. The eight of them had been stuffed into two rooms,
the three women in one, and the five men in the other.
Between Sly's snoring, Toby's whining about not being able to sleep with
Happy, Cabe's jerky farts, and Tim's general obnoxiousness, Walter had barely
slept at all, and had ended up on a sofa in the lobby.
The sub's dry docking had been delayed by four hours while a crew worked
on a malfunctioning gate. They had been challenged as they tried to board
the vessel. Simone's no-nonsense attitude coupled with several flirtatious
smiles had gained them the access necessary to their mission.
"I know," said the human calculator. "This program, it's too simple. I expected
something more sophisticated."
"Me, too," Walter grunted as he typed code into his laptop to upload to the
submarine's ancient computer.
Sly pushed up his glasses before taking out his com. "I think Simone likes
you."
Stunned by the sudden change of subject, it took Walter a moment to remove
his ear piece before asking, "What makes you say that?"
"She smiles at you all the time. And she's always touching you." Sylvester
added, "Like Paige used to do, you know, before you started dating Linda
and she started dating Tim."
"We were just professional colleagues," Walter said through clenched teeth.
"There was never. . ."
"Horse-pucky. You two were in love with each other. It was obvious to the
rest of us."
"It wasn't obvious to me." Walter closed his eyes as an ache radiated from
deep inside his chest. He'd been the last to know how deeply he loved Paige.
He'd been such a moron.
Sylvester sighed as his fingers flew over the keys. "I don't think she loves
Tim."
"What makes you think that?" Walter was genuinely curious.
"She keeps telling everyone she's with Tim now. It's like she has to keep
reminding herself she's with him. She acts a little too happy, to cover up
the fact she's not happy."
"When did you became such an expert on women and their feelings?" Walter's
question was tinged with humor.
"When I met your sister."
"Oh." He didn't know why, but it kept slipping his mind Sly had been married
to Megan. Probably because he didn't like thinking about Megan and how she
was no longer with him. Pain filled his chest again and he had to take a
breath.
"It doesn't matter," he lied. "Paige chose Tim over me and I promised to
stay out of it. It's out of my hands."
"You don't really believe that, do you?" asked Sylvester. "If you love her
as much as I love Megan. . . I mean, I would have never given up on her.
Never. I would have fought for her no matter what. She's the love of my life."
Walter stared at the man who had become his brother in astonishment. For
him, it may have been that simple. He didn't have to contend with someone
like Tim. He hadn't messed up so badly there was no going back. Fighting
for Paige when she wanted nothing to do with him was an exercise in futility.
He'd lost her forever. And the sooner he accepted it, the better.