Page 70 of What Started In Deception

Things had been fine when he got back from the store. They’d been even better during breakfast prep. He and Lydia had joked around and laughed like they always did when they made a meal together, but after they took their seats, she started getting quiet on him. “Is everything okay?”

She nodded as she sent him a small smile, but even as her lips curved, it wasn’t hard to see that her eyes were troubled. “It’s fine.”

He shook his head, letting her know that he didn’t believe her. “What’s up, Lyd?”

Any remnants of her smile vanished as she shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I’ve been thinking about yesterday. About our visit with Gram-Gram.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

“I’ve also been thinking about Massachusetts and your questions—about what it is that you want to know about my family.”

He sighed, keenly aware that this was the last thing she wanted to talk about. It was tempting to tell her they could wait, but now seemed like the perfect time to move their conversation forward, especially when she was the one to bring it up. “I want to know normal stuff, I guess.”

“I don’t know what that means when ‘normal’ and the FBI are part of the same sentence.”

“Lyd—”

“They have offices in the main house,” she said in a rush, staring at her plate. “Uncle James and Will. If that’s where you want to put your bugs…”

He exhaled another long breath. “I’m not bugging anything on the compound unless there’s a reason to. At this point, this isn’t a Title III investigation.”

She shook her head as she fiddled with the crust on her bread. “I have no idea what that is.”

“It’s a court order that allows us to use electronic surveillance. There have to be very specific circumstances to get a Title III warrant. Judges don’t sign off on those lightly.”

She nodded, still looking at her plate. “Do you want me to make you a map of the house?”

“No, Lyd.” He stood, taking her hand. “Let’s go over to the couch.”

She stood, walking over to the plush leather with him.

He sat down at the end, resting his back against the arm as he let his legs rest on the three cushions. “Come sit with me.”

She frowned. “You’re taking up the whole thing.”

He smiled as he pulled her down into the V of his thighs. “Sit with me, Lyd.”

Her frown was back as her limbs tangled with his.

“Settle back against me,” he said, waiting for her to fix her legs and rest her back against his chest before he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

“What are you doing?”

“Stepping things up a bit—moving beyond the handholding and being affectionate. I’m being your boyfriend and snuggling you up while you do something that I know you don’t want to do.”

She let herself relax against him, then hesitated before she settled her hands on his arms.

“This is nice, right?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

He locked her up tighter, liking the feel of her damp hair against his cheek—that she was soft, smelled great, and fit just right, cuddled up with him. “Tell me about your family, Lyd. The stuff you would tell your partner who’s about to meet everyone for the first time.”

“Um, Uncle James, Aunt Cindy, and Gram-Gram live at the compound when Congress is in recess. Will and his family live there full-time.”

He nodded, figuring that sharing basic facts couldn’t have been too painful. “Okay.”

“Uh, we all call MacKenna, Mac. It actually sounds weird when I use her whole name.”