He raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I don’t think you should put that much faith in me.”

She let out a startled laugh. “Why not?”

“I can’t make that decision! No one in their right mind would trust me with that big of a decision. People on my dad’s campaign used to pick out my clothes every day.”

She made a face. She got the impression that his life on the other side of the wall wasn’t exactly happy. He kept casually mentioning how people didn’t like him, or didn’t trust him. While she didn’t exactly believe that, there was clearly someone out there making him feel that way.

“Maybe they should have focused more on not letting you get kidnapped and less on your clothes,” she said.

He laughed. “I’m going to mention that to them, actually. I’m going to get some really great mileage from that guilt.” He leaned back on his hands. “I’m not going to tell anyone. About you.”

“No?”

“No. It’ll become a huge story, and I’ll have to explain your reasoning over and over and…” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t speak for you. You can tell people one day, if you want.”

She bumped her shoulder against his. “See? I should definitely put my faith in you.”

“What?”

“That sounds like a pretty great decision to me.”

He looked down, like he was embarrassed, and then back up at her. They held each other’s gazes for several seconds past normal, and heat began to crawl up her neck. She could still feel the warmth of his body against hers, when he’d put an arm around her in the van. The way she’d been able to feel his heartbeat. The moment had ended far too quickly.

She wished they had another day. More than a day. She wanted more time with him to ask about his family and his life and whether it was painful to play tennis naked.

“I appreciate that,” he said softly. “The faith.”

“Well, it’s only right for me to return the favor. You’ve put a lot of faith in me.”

His eyebrows drew together, like he was confused. “Why wouldn’t I?”

She barked out a laugh to hide how absolutely delighted she was by that question. “Because you’ve only known me for a couple days?”

“That is more than enough time to realize how amazing you are.”

Her cheeks warmed, but she didn’t try to hide the blush this time. Maybe she wanted him to know the effect he had on her.

She felt his hand lightly on her back, and then he slipped his arm around her waist, drawing her closer. The way he tucked her into his side felt so easy, so natural, and yet it made a thrill of excitement race up her spine.

“I’ve got a lead.”

Queso’s voice broke the spell, and they both turned to him.

“I think they moved it to the service center, where we fix the trucks.”

“Is it close?” she asked.