too serious. “I prefer it, actually. I feel old when you call me Miss Fitzgerald.”
Chase swept her with an all-encompassing look that missed nothing and caused heat to bloom low in her abdomen.
“I find that hard to believe,” he finally said, “considering you’re like … what, twenty-five?”
“Ha!” Kate gave a bark of laughter. “Thank you, but now I know you’re trying to flatter me. I just turned thirty-one.”
She could see by his expression that she’d surprised him.
“Really? I didn’t think you were much older than your client. Maybe it’s the freckles.”
Kate couldn’t suppress the pleasure she felt at knowing he had thought she was younger than she actually was. Unless he figured she was immature? He’d already implied she was nuts for having come over here by herself, when clearly no other celebrity representatives had felt the need to do so. But what he didn’t know was that her relationship with Tenley went beyond business. Tenley was more than just a client, more than just a sister. Tenley was like her own child, and she’d do whatever she needed to do to ensure her comfort and safety.
“I used to hate my freckles for that exact reason,” she said ruefully. “People always thought I was younger than I am.”
“I don’t know,” he said, studying her face. “I like them.”
To her dismay, Kate felt herself blushing. “That’s because you’ve never had them or been teased about them. Just how old are you?”
He grinned. “I’ll turn thirty-one next month.”
So they were essentially the same age. Kate felt a wave of relief, which was ridiculous. It wasn’t as if she had any interest in Chase Rawlins, regardless of his age. But a little voice whispered that she was a liar.
“When do the dining facilities open in the morning?” Kate asked, in an effort to move the subject to safer ground. She so did not need to be thinking about him in a romantic way. “Please don’t tell me I have to be up at some ungodly hour or risk going without breakfast.”
“For the most part, the peak hours are during the traditional meal times. But we also have a midnight chow, and then the dining facilities open for the day at 4:00 a.m.” He slanted her a quick grin. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t go hungry.”
Kate felt her pulse leap at his smile, and wondered how he would react if she told him she wasn’t hungry for food, but for him. Shocked by her own thoughts, she focused her attention on her surroundings. As they walked between the rows of tents and housing units, Kate’s feet kicked up dust and despite the fact the sun was dropping lower on the horizon, the intense heat hadn’t yet begun to abate.
“How do you tolerate the climate?” she murmured, passing a hand over her eyes. “I’ve never felt so hot.”
“Believe it or not, you do get used to it. In fact, it gets surprisingly cold at night.”
Kate cast an appraising eye toward the mountains, where the sun was just touching the peaks. She’d heard that the desert grew cold at night, but right now she had a hard time believing it. “I’ll take your word for it.”
Chase stopped in front of a long building constructed of corrugated metal. “These are the female facilities. The men’s showers are just on the other side. If you’d like, I’ll wait for you here.”
Kate stepped inside the women’s bathroom, relieved to see there were plenty of shower stalls. Traveling for forty-eight hours had left her feeling sticky and uncomfortable, and she couldn’t wait to get back here with a bar of soap and a change of clothes.
She washed her hands and then splashed cool water on her face, studying her reflection in the mirror over the sink. She looked pale. Her freckles stood out starkly against her skin, and her hair was coming loose from the ponytail holder. Pulling it free, she combed her fingers through it and then secured it in a loose knot at the back of her head. Pinching some color into her cheeks, she rejoined Chase outside. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a small, plastic device and handed it to her. Kate realized it was a beeper.
“If you need to use the bathroom during the middle of the night,” he said carefully, “I want you to ask one of the female soldiers to walk here with you, or I want you to contact me. This is a beeper that goes directly to my phone. Just press this button, and I’ll be at your tent in under five minutes. I’ll walk here with you.”
“I’m sure I can walk to the bathroom by myself,” she said, studying the small device. Raising her gaze, she gave him a leering smile in an effort to lighten him up a little. “Unless, of course, you want to scrub my back.”
To her astonishment, two ruddy spots appeared high on his cheeks and he stared at her for a moment as if he thought she might actually be serious. Kate waited breathlessly for his response.
“This is a combat environment, Miss Fitzgerald,” he finally said, dragging his gaze from hers. “There are more than twenty thousand troops stationed here, and while I can personally vouch for my own men, I can’t say with one-hundred-percent certainty that you would be safe walking across the base at night. So I need you to promise me that you’ll ask one of the female soldiers to accompany you, or you’ll contact me, understood?”
Kate swallowed. There was no way she’d call this guy in the middle of the night for any purpose, especially not one so personal. Just the thought of being alone with him after dark caused her imagination to surge. “I’m sure the last thing you want to do is escort me to the ladies’ room.”
“My job is to keep you safe. If you decide to go somewhere without me, I can’t guarantee that safety. So you will call me.”
His tone said clearly that it wasn’t a request, and Kate nodded as she dropped the beeper into her pocketbook. “Okay,” she promised. “I’ll call you. But only if you stop calling me Miss Fitzgerald and start calling me Kate. Jeez.”
They walked in silence after that, until they reached a large complex of buildings. Dozens of soldiers milled around outside, smoking cigarettes or talking, while other groups walked past them with purposeful steps.
“Here we are,” Chase said, pulling open a door to a large building as Kate breathed in the enticing aromas of roast chicken and grilled hamburgers.
The dining facility was essentially an enormous cafeteria, complete with soup and salad bars, a drink fountain, separate lines for hot entrees or sandwiches, and one section for desserts. There must have been at least five hundred soldiers either eating at the long tables, or waiting in line, and the noise level was so cheerful and normal that Kate had a difficult time remembering that they were in Afghanistan. The air-conditioning was a welcome relief from the dry, dusty heat outside, and she wanted to slither to the ground and press her overheated skin against the cool tiles.
“C’mon,” Chase said, accurately reading her thoughts. “Let’s start you with a salad and plenty of fluids. Traveling can dehydrate you, and I don’t need you to become sick.”
He steered her toward the salad bar and, without asking her what she preferred, took a plate and began heaping it with salad greens and toppings.
“Is that for me?” she asked doubtfully.
“What?”
