Would-Be Christmas Wedding. Debra & Regan Webb & Black

sister, she wouldn’t know Mission Recovery existed if she hadn’t been married to a man like William. She told herself it was too soon to have any opinion on situations that fell into the delicate area of security clearances.

      Still, she needed to know if he was here as friend or foe. “Ah, that explains it.”

      “Explains what?”

      She shrugged. “The way you scout a room and keep track of people. Don’t worry. It’s not obvious to most women.”

      He gave her an arch look.

      “I have relatives who are also in security-related jobs. Par for the course this close to DC,” she added, wishing he’d take the bait and elaborate. Wishing she had the courage to demand clarification. It felt so uneven to be this attracted to a virtual stranger without any idea if his responses were sincere. It was an odd sensation to realize someday in the field someone would look at her and wonder the same thing.

      “It’s a habit we all develop, I suppose.”

      “A matter of survival,” she agreed. “Or so they tell me.” Come January she’d be getting the training firsthand. No more inferring from the vague references her family made. It was an exciting thought, and she grinned with anticipation.

      “Now, that’s quite a look, Mrs. Manning.”

      “Cecelia,” she corrected. “I’m changing jobs after the holidays and whenever I think about it, I get excited.”

      “What type of change?” He pulled open the door of the restaurant and she stepped into the dim alcove.

      “Just something more active.” If he could hedge, so could she. It was good practice, anyway. “My company had openings in another department. All the recent charity endeavors made me realize I’m ready to get out from behind a desk.”

      He gave his name to the hostess and they were seated immediately. “What have you been doing?” he asked when they were settled in a cozy corner booth.

      “I focus on basic administration for the human resources department. It’s utterly boring, sifting through the same documents day in and day out. The job served its purpose while our daughter was growing up, but I’m ready to branch out now.”

      “You seem eager to try something new.”

      “Precisely.” A man as perceptive as Emmett had probably already noticed that her hormones were willing to start that something new with him at the first opportunity.

      The waiter came by with water and offered the evening’s specials. They ordered drinks and the sampler of appetizers and Cecelia returned to her task of trying to unravel Emmett’s motives.

      “How long will you be in town?”

      “Probably just through the weekend.”

      “Probably?” she echoed. Where had her conversational skills gone? He’d been trained to divert the curiosity she was so clearly showing, but she could do better.

      “I’m really just here for you. For the gala,” he added as though it was an afterthought. “Haven’t had much cause to pull out the penguin suit lately, figured I should enjoy it. After that, it’s back to work.”

      “In DC?”

      “Same as everyone else in this area,” he said with that half smile that made her want to sigh.

      She agreed with a nod. “You won’t take time off for the holidays?” Before her brother’s announcement this afternoon, she’d been determined to boldly invite him to join her on a beach in the Caymans in a few days’ time.

      “Someone has to keep the office running. All the other guys have family.” He shrugged. “I volunteer to stick around on holidays and put out the occasional fire so they don’t have to.”

      “That’s thoughtful of you.”

      One shoulder hitched in a casual shrug. “When you have kids, you should be there for them.”

      “That was my philosophy.”

      But now it was her turn to do something solely for herself... The problem was, this part may have been a mistake.