Chapter Seven

“Is it possible to be jet-lagged and excited at the same time?”

Camera in hand, Zandra stared outside the train window at the passing scenery of green fields and clusters of trees that dotted the Swiss countryside. And to think they were in Stuttgart just a couple of hours ago. Clearly her brother’s suggestion to base out of the German city had been a good one.

It was yet another example of how different their lives were. They might’ve started out with the same kind of childhood, but he’d clearly broken free and explored the world far more than she had. And so had Blake.

She adjusted the shutter speed and aperture then looked through the viewfinder, the train’s movement naturally panning the shot as she snapped a photo of a farmhouse in the distance.

She was in Switzerland. Joy bubbled up inside her so hard and fast, she barely contained it. She was in Switzerland on her first real assignment. Freakin’ Switzerland.

“Isn’t this amazing?”

“I suppose,” Blake said from beside her.

She set the camera on her lap. “I can’t believe I’m here.”

“Neither can I,” he muttered.

She frowned at him. “What’s the matter? Didn’t you sleep well last night?” Come to think of it, he’d been pretty quiet since they’d gotten on the train.

“I’m fine.” He crossed his arms, slid her a sideways glance, then looked away.

O-kay, then. Whatever he was dealing with was his problem, not hers. She stared out the window again. “Pinch me.”

“You sure you want me to do that? I will, you know.”

She turned, but there was no way she could muster up a frown. “This is just so freakin’ cool!”

“Glad to see you’re happy.” Blake stretched his arms overhead, the movement emphasizing the way his T-shirt molded onto what were obviously perfectly formed pecs.

She tore her gaze from him and thumbed the window. “Let me guess. Gorgeous countrysides bore you.”

He shrugged. “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen everything there is.”

She frowned. “You mean you’re more concerned with protecting your backpack than looking at all this beauty? You’re kidding, right?”

“No.”

She huffed out a breath. This. This was the perfect example of why they couldn’t be together, even a little. Not only was he mercurial with his moods, she couldn’t see herself with a guy who could be bored with all the world had to share. No way. Not happening.

He pulled his ball cap over his eyes then hugged his backpack to his chest as if mocking her. “I’m taking a nap.”

“Great.” She pulled out her phone. “I’ll put up another post.”

He pushed the cap back up. “Instagram again?”

“You make it sound like I’ve spent the whole trip on social media.”

“You kinda have.”

“Au contraire, wise ass. I’ve only done one live at the airport yesterday, before you showed up, and a handful of stories.” No posts. Which meant she was due for one sooner rather than later.

“Now, now, watch your language. That’s not the kind of talk fitting for an up-and-coming world famous photographer.”

“I don’t know why you’re so opposed to social media.”

“I just don’t think you need to advertise who you are. Let your work speak for itself.”

“Oh, you terribly misinformed individual. That’s not how the world operates these days. Success means engaging your followers so they’ll continue to support your work. And if you’re lucky, a huge e-zine like Flights and Sights will re-post your stories so you end up with even more followers.” Zandra shifted. “Aren’t you on Instagram?”

He shook his head. “No reason to be.”

“Facebook?”

“No.”

“Twitter?”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but no.” He straightened and rearranged his Seahawks ball cap. “Look, I’m a soldier. I train Special Forces. Believe me, I don’t need to advertise that.”

That made sense. “Yeah, well, at least you get to pursue your dream.”

“Working on it.”

“Working on it?” Zandra frowned. That was a weird response. “Didn’t you always want to be in the Army? At least, that’s what Jackson said when he’d made the decision to enlist with you.”

“Working on it,” he repeated.

Clearly that topic was off-limits. Maybe time for another tactic. After all, if they were spending a lot of time together, didn’t it make sense that she got to know him better?

“Did your mom raise you all by herself? I don’t remember you talking about your dad. Or any other male figure for that matter.”

“Twenty questions? Really?” He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the phone in her hand. “I thought you were doing a post.”

She tucked the phone into a pocket of her backpack. “I just think it’s really weird that I don’t know all that much about you,” she said, settling into her seat.

“Why would you?”

The question hung between them, and along with it an un-nameable…something. She swallowed and thought back to those years when Blake and Jackson first became friends. Sure, all three of them had laughed a lot and played pranks on each other. While she’d noticed him, he hadn’t registered as anyone other than her brother’s sidekick.

“We’re four years apart, Zandra. By the time I’d left for college, you were starting your sophomore year and more into watching guys like Sean Devereaux play football.”

Oh, yes, Sean Devereaux. Her teenaged hormones had zoned in on the 6’1” guy as soon as she’d seen him in a football jersey. “You remember that?”

“Pfft. He helped us win games. How could I forget?”

There was something he wasn’t saying, something important, something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on but was there nonetheless. “Yeah, well, I hear he’s practicing law at his father’s firm now.”

“Good for him.”

Zandra shrugged. “I suppose it’s only natural to follow in a parent’s footsteps.” Not that she thought it was natural. Why should she have her future chosen for her just because she was born into it?

“You’d be surprised.”

Something in his tone caught her attention. “Was your dad in the military, too?”

“Yeah, he was a soldier but got out of the Army about the time my sister Lily was born.” Blake blew out a breath. “Then he was killed a few months later defending a gas station attendant who was attacked by a bunch of thugs.” His voice was low and eerie enough to make Zandra shiver. “They never did prosecute the bastards.” He said it slowly, with a straight face and a matter-of-fact tone.

“That makes you around four when it happened.” She’d gone to school with Lily, but they were little more than acquaintances. Where Zandra was into fashion and boys, Lily was reserved, spending most her time reading.

“Something like that.” He stretched out his legs and nodded. “Fortunately, I had my grandfather around. That’s why we moved back to Seattle, so he could help out while my mom went to work.”

Zandra stared, tried to assimilate his words. Her own father drove her nuts, sure, but growing up without one? She couldn’t imagine it, didn’t want to imagine it. There was nothing she could say that didn’t sound like a platitude, so she opted for sincerity. “Sounds like it was a rough time.”

“It wasn’t ideal.” He shrugged. “But I wouldn’t be who I am today without having had that experience.”

She tilted her head to one side. “Wow. That’s kind of deep.”

He shrugged again but didn’t offer anything more.

Zandra stared at Blake’s profile, at the tilt of his chin and the way he turned and looked at her like she was the only other person in the train car. Just who was he, anyway?

The train slowed, signaling its entry into the next station, and Blake sat up. “Time to get off and switch trains.” He grabbed his backpack. “Let’s go.”

What would it take to get him to drop his guard for just a few hours? To loosen up just long enough to know what really, truly made Blake Monroe tick?

She had a feeling he’d fight tooth and nail to keep that from her.