Page 70 of Shallow Remains

“Top Gun Maverick.”

“Great pick.” He lowered the backrest of his electric recliner and elevated his feet, getting comfy. “Want the seat heater on low?”

“Sure.” She loved how at ease they were together. “Things are good with Xanthe?”

“Things are great.” He smiled and popped a few M&Ms into his mouth. “She keeps me on my toes. Her mind’s always going, and I never have to guess what she’s thinking or feeling because she just tells me straight up.”

“That sounds refreshing.” She wished everyone was like that so she wouldn’t have to figure out what they were really thinking.

“It is. And she’s fucking amazing with my mom.” He shook his head, his smile turning thoughtful. “I fall for her all over again every time I watch them together.”

Aww. “That’s great.” His mom lived in Seattle and had battled serious mental health issues for most of Blaine’s life. It had all come to a dangerous head several weeks ago. Luckily, she was on the correct meds and dosage now with a new doctor in charge of her care and was doing much better.

“What about money? Any friction there?” Blaine didn’t mind her blunt questions. She’d been waiting for the chance to ask him in private.

“Thankfully, no. It’s been a big adjustment for her, but she would never take advantage of me in any way. She’s dedicated to her work and made it clear she wants to maintain her own finances as much as possible. She doesn’t expect or rely on me to pay for anything. I respect her for that, but I always pay when we go on dates or whatever.”

“I respect it too.” It would have been so easy and maybe even tempting for someone to take full advantage of his wealth after entering a relationship with him. Maddy was proud of Xanthe for wanting to stand on her own, would’ve hated Blaine to be used that way.

“She’s definitely the one, Mads.”

“Yeah?”

He nodded. “I’ve already looked at rings.”

Whoa. Those were words she’d never expected to hear coming out of Blaine Slater’s mouth. Definitely not this soon.

He chuckled at her shocked expression. “I know, right? I won’t ask her yet, but I’m thinking maybe Christmas or New Year’s.”

“Or maybe a date completely unrelated to a holiday so she won’t ever suspect it’s coming. And I hope the ring has an orca on it somewhere.”

“I’ll take all that into consideration. Anyway, what about you?” He nudged her arm. “You doing okay?”

“As okay as I can.” She gathered a little handful of popcorn, still warm. “I told Lachlan about Syria.”

His eyebrows shot up. “That’s good, Mads. Really good.”

“I trust him.” She stuffed the popcorn into her mouth, chewed while the movie loaded on the wide screen. “How did you know you loved Xanthe?” Her feelings for Lachlan were conflicted but intensifying fast, and she wasn’t sure how long she would stay on Skelly.

They’d made no promises to each other. It might be that she was too damaged to have a real and meaningful relationship. And for all she knew, she was just a temporary fling for him.

But it felt much stronger than that to her. It felt real. And the bits of inner peace he gave her were addictive.

Life would be so much easier if people just said what was on their mind. No guessing required.

“When our plane went down,” he said without having to think about it, “we got to shore, did what we could for Charlie. And as I’m looking at Xanthe across the fire, seeing the incredible strength and determination as she’s freezing and scared but holding it together… I knew right then because it scared the living shit out of me how close I’d come to losing her forever.”

“So I’ll need to have a near death experience to tell for sure. Got it.”

Blaine laughed. “God, I’ve missed having you around.”

“I’ve only been gone a few days.”

“Still. One sec.” He pulled his phone out when it beeped. His expression turned serious.

“Everything okay?” she asked, something inside her tensing automatically at that look on his face.

“It’s my contact.” He met her gaze. “She’s one of the best hackers in the world. She hit a wall and stopped digging to avoid triggering a breach. But based on the information she’s already found, whoever’s been looking for you from Turkey was and might still be on the CIA’s payroll.”