Rules of Engagement

He stood. “Won’t you join me?”

She hesitated and Cole sensed it was courtesy alone that made her sit. “What can I do for you?”

“Listen.” He made himself smile, knowing anger wouldn’t get him the answers he needed. “To my apology, that is. I was rude and I’m sorry.”

Her eyes actually seemed to change color as they softened. “I see.”

He watched her closely. “It was kind of you to bring the laptop to my office. Most people wouldn’t have bothered.”

“No problem.”

He hadn’t seen her make any gesture, however a waiter arrived with a drink for her, then disappeared silently.

Cole lifted his glass. “To people doing the right thing.”

“And all they’re supposed to believe in,” she replied, the light in her eyes fading.

He held his glass midair. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No. It’s me, completely. I’ve been…off for a while now.”

“I read about your brother. Is that what you’re referring to?”

“Yes.”

Her brother had given his life in service. As curious as he was about his missing designs, Cole repeated words he’d had to say far more than he wanted to. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Me, too.” She fiddled with her glass. “Sometimes it still doesn’t seem real.”

“I know.”

“I’m sure you do.”

He studied her pale skin. Her grief was the one thing he didn’t doubt. “Was David regular Army?”

Tess shook her head. “Reserves. Service is sort of a family tradition. My grandfather was the only Spencer son to survive World War II. My father served for three years. David wanted to devote his time to the family business, but he wanted to do his duty, too, so he joined the Reserves. How about you?”

“Reserves. I joined because they paid for my education.” As he spoke, he saw that she was studying him closely.

“But you stayed.”

“For a lot of reasons.”

Tess hesitated. “Are you glad you did?”

“Yes.”

Her expression shifted. “Oh.”

Unexpectedly, Cole felt the same way he did when he was writing home to the families of soldiers he’d lost. “Refocusing your grief into work can help. And it looks like you’re doing a good job here.”

“Just managing what David had already put in place.”

“Then I imagine he’d be proud of you.”

Her lips tightened. “He should’ve had so much more. He was too young to die.”

Of course he was. “He gave his life for a noble cause.”

“Did he?”

Cole wasn’t shocked. Grief had no rules, no set parameters. “Even Solomon couldn’t answer that to everyone’s satisfaction.”

She knotted a linen napkin in a jerky motion. “Maybe. Maybe not. Our dinner rush is about to begin and there’s so much I’d like to talk to you about…David, I mean.”

He needed to talk to her as well.

“Why don’t we meet after dinner?”

Her large eyes cleared marginally. “I usually stop in at the landmark Spencers when I leave…but I could let that go tonight.” She pulled a business card from the small pocket of her suit, then scribbled on the back of it. “How about eleven? At my town house? Not as distracting.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good. Now I’m afraid I have to get back to work.”

Cole nodded. “Later then.”

He watched her walk away, determined to get the answers she’d hidden under that meticulously polished exterior.

TESS HADN’T ENTERTAINED in her town house for months. Luckily her wine rack was well stocked. And she’d raided the restaurant for some decent nibbles, now arranged on the coffee table. Growing up in a restaurant meant there was always good food on the table whether it was a holiday or watching a game on television.

But the small town house itself wasn’t so easily fixed. Between her hours at work and those she’d devoted to Families of the Fallen, her compact home had become a place only to shower and sleep, a repository for clothes and not much else. And it showed. The cleaning service still came once a week so the place was spotless, but it lacked a homey warmth.

Maybe it had been a mistake to invite Cole Harrington here. But she had so many questions. There was so much she wanted to know. And she had no place else to go for answers. David’s unit was still deployed and although the officers at the base were polite, they didn’t have much time for her.

The doorbell rang and Tess ran nervous hands over the trim lines of her skirt. Belatedly it occurred to her that she should have taken time to change into something casual. The dogs barked frantically as she opened the door.

“Hi.” She leaned down, chastising her pets. “Hector! Molly! Enough.”

Undeterred, the small dogs pawed Cole’s knees, but he didn’t look annoyed. He knelt to accommodate their short stature and held out his hands. Sniffing him, they apparently approved as they quit barking.

“Sorry about that,” she apologized. “They get carried away with strangers.”

“Just being dogs.”

He sounded unconcerned and she relaxed considerably. “Thanks for coming.”

“I needed the break.”