would love her so very much he’d be willing to risk it all to keep her safe.
Harm bit into his sandwich, thinking about Talia’s husband, Michael. Any man who would bring his woman out to the wilds of Africa without a backup plan had to be too focused on his own dreams and desires to think about the needs of the woman he promised to love, honor and cherish. Somewhere in those marriage vows should have been another promise...to protect. By dying, Michael had left his wife exposed to all the dangers inherent to life in Africa. He should have had a plan in place for her should he be injured or killed.
The man obviously didn’t love her enough, or he would have left instructions on what to do in the event of his death.
Talia was a lone woman in a country where she didn’t have family or a support system. And from the sound of it, the local witch doctor was using her femininity against her and turning the community against her as well.
“T-Mac, you need to focus on women within your reach,” Pitbull said. “Talia lives in Africa. What kind of relationship could you have if she’s half a world away from you ninety-nine percent of the time?”
T-Mac shrugged. “Love will find a way. I mean, look at you and Marly. All she had to do was blow up her airplane and voilà!” He waved his arm to the side. “She’s moving to the States.”
“Let me get this straight,” Harm said. “Are you planning on blowing up the resort? Because if that’s your plan, you’ll have to go through me to do it.”
“Well, no, but my point is, things have a way of working out.” T-Mac frowned. “You don’t have to take me literally.” He stared across the table at Harm, his eyes narrowing. “Wait. What does this mean? Do you have feelings for our pretty hostess?” His eyes widened and a smile spread across his face.
Harm’s brow dipped. “I didn’t say that. I’m just saying she’s got enough problems without worrying about one of her guests destroying her livelihood.”
T-Mac’s grin broadened. “You like her.” He glanced around at the faces of the other four men in the kitchen. “The most confirmed bachelor of all of us has a thing for Talia.” He whooped. “Hot damn. This ought to be fun to watch. The harder they are, the bigger the fall.”
“I thought it was the bigger they are...” Marly commented. “And what do you mean, Harm’s the most confirmed bachelor? I thought you were all pretty happy being single.”
“I thought we were, too,” Pitbull said. “Then Diesel met Reese, I fell for you, and Buck reunited with Dr. Vega. Apparently, even the most confirmed bachelors are susceptible to falling in love.”
Harm shook his head. “Not me.”
T-Mac laughed. “I’d be willing to give up my pursuit of the beautiful Ms. Talia to see the cynical Harmon Payne fall to the greater power of love.”
Harm frowned at T-Mac. “Yeah, well, it isn’t going to happen. You know as well as I do that we’re not cut out for relationships. Not in our line of work.” He cast a quick glance at Dr. Vega and Marly. “No offense. You might be the exceptions. Although what you see in Pitbull and Buck, I’ll never figure out.”
Thankfully, Marly and Dr. Vega laughed.
“It’s finding the right woman who can handle the long separations,” Buck said. He took Dr. Vega’s hand and smiled down into her eyes. “It takes a very independent woman who is capable of standing on her two feet. I think Talia meets that criteria.”
“She’s a business owner in a challenging industry and country,” Marly pointed out.
“She obviously doesn’t need a man to function,” Dr. Vega said.
“And neither do either of you two women,” T-Mac said.
The ladies nodded.
“But we choose to be with our guys.” Marly laid a hand on Pitbull’s arm.
“Not because we are dependent on them, but because we want to be with them,” Angela Vega said with a smile.
Harm shrugged. “Again, I believe you ladies are the exception.”
“Be careful, Harm,” Marly warned. “You can’t paint all women with the same brush. Many of us are of stronger stock.”
Angela studied him with narrowed eyes. “What happened in the past that turned you against relationships? Did you get a Dear John letter that broke your heart? Or am I getting too personal?”
Harm stiffened. The doctor’s words hit far too close to home.
“Yeah, Harm, who rocked your love boat?” T-Mac asked.
“That’s it.” Harm glared at his teammates. “My love life—”
“Or lack thereof,” T-Mac inserted.
“—is not up for discussion,” Harm continued. “If and when I have a love life, which is highly unlikely, you all will be the last to know.”
“I have a feeling we’ll know before you,” Diesel said. “You’ll be in a huge state of denial.”
“Like you are now,” Buck added.
“Whatever.” Harm spun toward the door. “I’m calling it a night.” He marched toward the door, ready to get the hell out of the conversation.
“You can run from the truth,” T-Mac called out, “but you can’t hide.”
He was so intent on leaving the kitchen, Harm didn’t notice Talia coming from the opposite direction until he plowed right into her.
She bounced off his chest and might have fallen if he hadn’t gripped her arms to steady her.
Laughter erupted behind him.
“See? You can run...” T-Mac said.
“I’m sorry. I should have been more careful,” Talia said, looking up at him with her clear blue eyes, a smile curving her soft lips.
“No,” Harm said, his voice gruff. “My fault. I should have been looking where I was going.” His first inclination was to pull her into his arms and crush her to his chest. But the lingering chuckles behind him reminded him of the conversation his teammates had subjected him to.
He wasn’t in the market to find love. But if he were, Talia was an amazing woman. Strong, sensitive, loyal and beautiful. Damn. “I can’t go there,” he muttered and set her to the side.
“What do you mean?” she asked, her eyebrows forming a V over her nose. “Go where?” She looked past him to the crowd in the kitchen. “Did I miss something?”
T-Mac slapped a hand to his knee and gave a bark of laughter. “Boy, did you.”
Harm had no desire to be humiliated in front of their hostess. “Good night.” He continued toward the staircase and took the steps two at a time, laughter following him all the way up.
He hoped his teammates wouldn’t share their discussion with Talia. He didn’t want her to
