CHAPTER 4
“Another?” The waiter paused with the tray of champagne and orange juice-filled fluted glasses balanced skillfully on his hand.
It wasn’t quite noon yet, but next to Missy, Zane blew out a short laugh. “Sure. Why not.”
She could see he was obviously as miserable at this morning’s poorly timed Jack and Jill bridal shower brunch, as he’d been at last night’s wedding.
The one thing she and Zane could agree upon at this point was that more alcohol couldn't hurt.
“Thank you.” She reached for a glass for herself on the waiter's tray. When the server had moved on, Missy cut her gaze to Zane.
He caught her glance. “What's wrong?”
“Nothing.” Her answer was loaded with the unspoken words she held back.
Raising the glass to his lips, Zane had apparently decided the best course of action was to accept her answer at face value.
Good idea. As a former military man he should know when a battle wasn't worth fighting.
This was a no win situation. He didn't want to be there. She knew that and whether she was happy about it or not, she was going to have to accept how Zane chose to get through the morning's event. Even if it was by guzzling mimosas like they were water.
“Missy!”
Turning, she saw the speaker was a woman she hadn't seen in a couple of years. About her own age, Tanya was the daughter of one of her father's cronies.
“Tanya. Good to see you again.” After the usual air kiss greeting, Missy brought Zane into the conversation. He'd hate it, but she didn't see any way to avoid it. “I don't think you've met my—uh—Zane Alexander.”
She'd stepped right into that sticky situation and she had no one to blame but herself. Calling him her boyfriend seemed ridiculous at this point, even if that was exactly what he was since he'd never taken the step to make them more than boyfriend and girlfriend.
“We've never met, no, but I've certainly heard about you two. You've been dating for a while now. No?”
“A couple of years.” Gritting her teeth Missy nodded, glancing sideways at Zane.
He kept his lips firmly closed on the subject and instead said, “Nice to meet you.”
She knew he was lying. Luckily he was good at it. The greeting even sounded sincere.
“So any wedding bells in your future?” Tanya should have been more interested in sending off the bride and groom into wedded bliss. But nope. Apparently the designer-clad woman was more interested in Missy and Zane's relationship.
Zane was no help. He stood by, silent as he watched and waited for Missy to respond.
She did so with her usual answer. “We're not in any rush.”
This wasn't the first time she'd been asked the question over the years they'd been together. She was certain it wouldn't be the last.
One of Tanya's well-plucked brows rose. “I've noticed couples are waiting much longer to get married nowadays.”
“Just don't wait too long. You don't want to be chasing after a toddler in your sixties. Believe me, I know.” An older man—Tanya's father—joined the conversation and pressed a kiss to his daughter's cheek.
Missy smiled and extended her hand, not mentioning that if the man hadn't divorced his first wife to marry a woman more than half his age, Tanya wouldn't have a baby brother young enough to be her own son.
“Representative Morris. Pleasure to see you again. Do you know my, um, Zane Alexander?” As she tripped over the introduction yet again, Missy vowed to come up with something to call Zane before the next wedding so she'd be prepared for the inevitable question.
She glanced at Zane and saw the expression of distaste cloud his features before he hid it and extended his hand. “Congressman. Nice to see you again.”
Thanks to Missy's excellent memory, a result of being born into politics, she remembered why Zane was less than happy to see this man.
He'd been present for one of the presentations Zane had made when GAPS was still a fledgling company and hoping for their first government contract.
Representative Morris looked him up and down. “Yes, indeed. I remember you now. You and that other SEAL run that company of mercenaries.”
Zane's whole body stiffened at the man's use of the term she knew he despised.
She watched as the deep breath he drew in through his nose flared his nostrils as he consciously worked to relax the tightened muscles and his rising anger.
“Security and protection. Not mercenaries,” he corrected.
More memories surfaced. Zane didn't tell her everything about his work—he couldn't—but she remembered him saying how this man was among the main dissenters during the presentation, but to no avail. Despite Morris’s efforts, GAPS had walked away victorious with a contract and a nice paycheck, which had no doubt pissed off the man to no end.
He waved off Zane's correction with the flick of a wrist. “A minor distinction in semantics. So, what are you and your security experts working on now?”
Zane's grip on the flute's stem tightened. She hoped the glass held up to the pressure and didn't snap in his hand.
“Unfortunately, that information is above your clearance.” Zane smiled as the congressman flushed.
Missy's eyes widened with shock and horror but Tanya only looked amused at her father's expense.
The woman's gaze roamed over Zane and for the first time in a while, Missy's jealousy rose to the surface. Hard for it not to as she watched Tanya undress Zane with her eyes.
Finally, Tanya's gaze focused back to Missy. “I'm starting to appreciate what you see in this man.”
With nothing to say to that, Missy took another sip of champagne.
This brunch was proving more interesting than she'd anticipated, but not in a good way.
“Darling, I see your mother is waving us over.” Zane glanced at Martha Vanderbilt Greenwood before glancing back to the Morrises. “Excuse us. Lovely talking with you.”
Before another word could be spoken, Zane had steered Missy away and across the room. She frowned as she saw her mother in deep conversation with the groom's parents. She hadn't signaled them at all.
Apparently Zane was skilled in making his escape. It didn't matter if it was from behind enemy lines or from an uncomfortable situation during morning cocktails at a bridal shower.
She couldn't say she was upset about it. She was a bit upset about that encounter with Representative Morris, however.
“Zane, you insulted that man.” She spoke quietly but with fervor.
“He insulted me first.”
That was true, not that it excused Zane's behavior. But the reality was, Missy was not in the mood to mother Zane and reprimand his manners.
Besides, it didn't matter how polite Zane was or was not, she doubted he'd ever have the congressman's support for any government contract GAPS was bidding on.
With any luck, the man would be voted out of office in November when his term was up.
It wasn't until they were directly in front of her mother that Zane paused their forward motion.
Her mother smiled at him. “Zane, how are you enjoying your first Jack and Jill bridal shower?”
Missy decided it was an apt name for this torturous event since she felt in danger of tumbling downhill at any moment with Zane at her side.
“It's great. All showers should be co-ed, in my opinion.” Zane sent Missy a sideways glance and she had to wonder if he was hinting about how much he enjoyed the co-ed showers—and baths—they took in their apartment.
Her lips twitched with a smile even as she shot him a judgmental glare.
It seemed Zane’s bawdy hints were the least of her worries at this thing. Besides, there was a tall, dark and handsome man making a beeline in their direction and smiling. She searched her memory for whom he could be and couldn’t come up with a name or association, but he wasn’t Tanya or her father, so she considered this pending encounter a win.