Page 37 of Mountain Void

Lorenz smiled. “You know, I think you might just be right.”

“Your colleagues seem nice.”

“They are.”

His voice was calm, matter-of-fact.

“They didn’t ask many questions about me.” She glanced sideways at him. “What I mean to say is, you didn’t give them much of a chance to ask questions.”

Lorenz met her eyes then. He’d never been a coward.

“I didn’t know what you’d prefer.” His voice softened. “I’m not embarrassed, Charlie. But I didn’t want to say anything that would—make things hard for you.”

Typical Lorenz.

It would be frustrating, if it wasn’t so sweet.

Charlie shifted her weight slightly.

“You love your job,” she said, struggling to keep her voice casual.

“It’s good work.”

It was the closest Lorenz would ever come to bragging. Good. Also thrilling. Dangerous. Important. The only type of work, perhaps, for a man like him, who’d run marathons on every continent and was always looking for his next challenge.

She smiled faintly.

“I’m not surprised.”

His gaze lingered. “And you? Teaching was always what you wanted to do.”

“I love every single day with my second graders.” Her job was the only thing that had never disappointed her.

“I’m glad. I want you to be happy, Charlie.”

Happy.

Was she happy?

She didn’t think so. Content, yes. And maybe that was enough. Maybe the obsession with happiness was over-rated.

But this wasn’t a discussion she was willing to have. Not with Lorenz. Not tonight, maybe not ever.

Eager to change the conversation, Charlie glanced toward the entrance where Carmen had disappeared. “I guess I lost my ride.”

Lorenz’s lips curled into a smile, and damned but she’d missed his smiles. “I was looking for an excuse to ask if I could drive you home. I guess I can stop looking now.”

Charlie tilted her head, studying him.

“Did you rehearse that line?”

“Maybe.” Lorenz looked entirely unapologetic. “I had a second version prepared, if you want to hear it.”

Despite herself, she laughed softly. “You used to be terrible at flirting.”

“Used to be?”

“You once compared my eyes to glacier meltwater.”