They were probably K-stani Extremists, just as Meg had said. She had been contacted by a man who was IDed as having ties to the Extremists. The videotape from her condoas parking garage confirmed at least that.

Yet shead definitely lied when shead told Nils that the Extremists had targeted the new ambassador for death.

In retrospect, it hadnat made much sensea"why should they want to get rid of the ambassador? But Nils hadnat thought twice about it at the time. K-stani Extremistsa motives didnat necessarily follow any rules of order or logic. Still, he should have wondered.

But targeting Osman Razeen . . .

Now that made sense.

Razeen was a longtime leader of the Islamic Kazbekistani Guarda"called the GIKa"a former political party outlawed by the K-stani government a decade ago. A few years back, Razeen had attempted to unite the GIK with the more radical Extremists.

Needless to say, he hadnat succeeded.

In the Extremistsa somewhat volatile opinion, Osman Razeen had betrayed them, betrayed Islam, and therefore needed to die.

The Extremists and the GIK were all terrorists in the eyes of the K-stani government, and in the eyes of the U.S. as wella"particularly after the GIK claimed responsibility for a bomb that killed over two hundred U.S. military personnel.

So while Meg had lied about the Extremists wanting the ambassador, it was probable that shead merely substituted the ambassador for Osman Razeen, that the rest of what shead told him was the truth. And it was possible that that substitution was her only liea"that and her lie by omission when shead failed to mention the second gun hidden in her boot.

Of course, who knows what else shead failed to tell him. If all along her plan had been to take Razeen out of the embassy, she probably had some way to contact the Extremists. She hadnat mentioned anything about that to anyone.

Still, lying by omission was the easiest way to lie. Nils had told her that himself. aIf youare going to lie, stick as close to the real truth as possible. Donat give yourself too many things to remember. If you do, thereas too many potential screwups waiting to happen.a Head said those very words to Meg in DC nearly three years ago.

Nils closed his eyes. It was the day after head followed her over to the foreign service offices. The day after head managed to bump into her again aby accident.a Theyad had dinner the night beforea"just two old friends, reconnecting after months apart.

For the most part, theyad managed to keep the conversation light. And the few times Meg had mentioned her dumb shit of a husband, Nils had kept his jaw tightly clamped shut.

He hadnat said any of the things head been dying to say. That she shouldnat be wasting her time with that loser. That anyone whoad cheat on her didnat deserve a second chance.

Nils also didnat mention that Daniel Moore was the main reason he was in DC for this pain-in-the-ass inquiry. Moore wanted heads to rolla"Nilsas in particulara"for publicly embarrassing the staff at the American embassy in K-stan six months ago. He was pushing hard to bring charges up against Nils and his team of SEALs.

That wasnat going to happena"Nils had been reassured by both Team Sixteenas CO and Adm. Chip Crowley himself. In fact, the admiral had shaken his hand and thanked him for getting Abdelaziz out of K-stana"for a job well done.

But Daniel Moore was high enough on the food chain in the foreign service office to demand this inquirya"this complete and utter waste of Nilsas far-too-precious time.

Nils was going to have to go in there, answer a bunch of tough questions without revealing any details of what had been a highly covert op, anda"worst of alla"he was going to have to apologize.

He could do it. He could give the most poetic, most sincere sounding apology and not mean a single word. And he would do it, because Admiral Crowley had asked him to.

Head stand there and look Daniel Moore in the eye and apologize for something head not only done right, but head also done well.

But wouldnat it be sweet if, as he stood there making that apology, he was rememberinga"in detaila"how head nailed Mooreas wife?

Mooreas extremely hot wife. Whom the bastard not only neglected and cheated on, but whom head let move half a world away, in a separation that had lasted nearly six months.

Nils couldnat believe Meg wanted to get back together with the prick.

And now he was going to have to make that apology looking into the prickas eyes with the knowledge that after the inquiry was over, Moore was probably going to go home to her and . . .

God, Nils wanted her.

He sat there at dinner, tied in knots, convinced that this woman wasnat going to sleep with hima"not tonight, probably not in this lifetime. Yet despite knowing that, he was still happier than head been in months. Simply because she was smiling at him again.

Meg had mentioneda"really just in passinga"that while Amy was gone, she was hoping to find the time to paint the girlas bedroom.

That was how Nils had found himself, at 1015 the next morning, on the twelfth floor of a modest DC apartment building, elbow-deep in pale pink paint.

And that was how he found himself walking down Pennsylvania Avenue at 1145a"after Meg aconvinceda him that they should escape the paint fumes in the apartment while the first coat dried, and go out to eat.

Yeah, head taken a lot of convincing.

aSo where are you taking me for luncha"the White House?a Meg turned to give him one of those smiles that melted his guts. aWould you believe me if I told you I have a personal connection to the Oval Office and Iam welcome there any time for lunch?a aYes.a She laughed. aFor a Navy SEAL, youare pretty gullible, Nilsson.a aNo, itas just . . . some people canat lie, and, sorry, Meg, but youare one of aem.a aWhat, do I have a guilty twitch that gives me away?a Nils laughed and put his hands in the pockets of his shorts. He had to. Head been about to reach for her. To take her hand or put his arm around her shoulders. What was he doing here? This was an exercise in total frustration.

aI donat know,a he said. aTell me a lie, and Iall watch for one.a She laughed as he took advantage of the opportunity and let himself really look at her. She had laughter lines around her eyes, and a wide, generous mouth that was almost always curving up into a smile. He knew she was older than he was, but he couldnat even guess by how much. Not that it mattered to him. Her attitude was pure eight-year-old. She loved life completely and it showed it her eyes. It made her ageless and so beautiful, it hurt.

aI donat even know where to start,a she admitted. aI donat know any lies.a aSee?a he said.

aNo,a she said. aWait. Help me out here. Give me a cluea"what do people lie about?a aRelationships. They lie when they cheat on a lover. Although those are mostly lies of omission. I mean, itas not as if when you come home, your wife says, aSo how was your day, dear? Have any adulterous affairs with anyone I know?a so that then you can lie and say, aNo.a a aThatas not funny.a aSorry.a He was sorry. But what he really wanted to say was that her getting back together with her cheater husband was also extremely unfunny. He opened his mouth, but she stopped him with a touch on his arm.

aLetas not go there,a she said. aPlease?a For several heartbeats, Nils just gazed into her eyes. Please.

How could he do anything but acquiesce?

They walked for a minute in silence, heading west on Constitution Avenue now, with Nils wishing she was still touching him, wishing head had the nerve to tell her that he wanted to talk to her about Daniel. As her friend, he wanted to make sure shead thought this reconciliation thing through.

As her frienda"yeah, right.

Meanwhile, head completely killed their conversation. What had they been talking about anyway? Lying? Great.

aPeople lie about their past,a he told her. He knew all about that. aSo why donat you tell me a lie about when you were a kid. I knowa"tell me about when you were sixteen and you ran off to join the circus.a Meg looked at him, eyes wide. aBut I did run off to join the circus when I was sixteen. Well, it wasnat really a circusa"it was one of those traveling carnivals.a For a half second, Nils actually believed her. But then she went on.

aLife at home was so miserable, I figured anything was bettera"a aNah,a he said. aNope. You lose. Your delivery was really gooda"that big eyes thing was a great touch, but you need to remember who youare lying to. I know you pretty well. Youave already told me you had a storybook childhood. Parents who backed you no matter what you did, two adoring younger sisters, right? Bonnie and . . . Kelly?a aKiley.a She looked at him with admiration. aI canat believe you remember that.a aYeah, well, I didnat remember it.a aClose enough.a aNo,a he said. aNo such thing as close enough. Not if youare trying to get away with a lie. You have to be exact, every time. No slipups. See, what you did wrong was you took what was already a big liea"running away to join a carnivala"and you made it more complicated than it had to be by lying about the way it was at home, too. If youad told me youad run off to join the carnival because even though things were great at homea"the truth, right?a"your mother once got you so mad that you wanted to scare her. And then you think of a time when your mother got you really pisseda"something that really happened, and you plug that little truth into your big lie and . . .a Meg was laughing.

aWhat?a he asked. Her laughter was so contagious, he found himself smiling back at her.

aI canat believe youare teaching me how to lie.a aIam not,a he said. aTeaching you. Because youare never going to use any of this. I mean, when are you going to lie? Never. Maybe when you rob Fort Knox, right?a He snorted. aLike thatas going to happen.a aI donat have a lot of opportunity in my job to practice lying,a she agreed. aUnlike you.a She gazed at him, all teasing gone from her face. aIf I hadnat guessed that you werenat Abdelaziz, would you have told me, John? You know, after the real Abdelaziz was safely on board that U.S. aircraft carrier?a He didnat answer right away, and she smiled. aI know you, too, you know, and right now, youare deciding whether to tell me the truth or to lie. I wonat be able to tell the difference. But I would appreciate the truth.a The truth.

aNo, I wouldnat have told you,a he admitted.

Just as head expected, she didnat like the truth, and he tried to explain. aI didnat want you to get into trouble, and if Iad told youa"a aDidnat it occur to you that I might want to help you? That I would be able to help you? Come on, John, we were already friends anda"a This time he cut her off. aBut we werenat,a he said. aNot really. You were friends with Abdelaziz.a Christ, why had he said that? Talk about writing all your insecurities on your ass and then mooning the world.

Meg, of course, didnat miss it. aHow often do you do that kind of role-playing thinga"you know, take on different personas?a All the time. In fact, every minute he was awake.

Nils could do a convincing version of slightly bored and very relaxed even when facing enemy fire. But for the life of him, he couldnat seem to pull it off right now. Or maybe it would have been convincing to most people, but not to Meg. He was certain that despite her protests otherwise, this woman could see right through him.

aNot often,a he told her. aMost of our missions are coverta"we go in and out without anyone knowing weave even been there.a She was watching him as they walked, and he couldave sworn that she could see everything that he wasnat saying, streaming out behind him in a long, tangled, messy trail.

But she didnat call him on it. She nodded. aI canat even imagine what it is that you do.a aMostly I do what you do. Iam a languages specialist. I translate . . . stuff.a Meg laughed. aYeah, except you probably donat do your translating the way I doa"in an office, on a desk, with plenty of good light and a definite shortage of people shooting at me.a aPeople donat shoot at me.a That was the trutha"at least most of the time. But Nils knew she didnat quite believe him.

They walked for a moment in silence, until Meg turned to him and said, aWhere did you grow up?a aLong Island.a aWhatas with the accent?a aWhat accent?a aMy point exactly,a she said. aNow, Iad figure you were lying about Long Island, except that youare smarter than that. You know Iad wonder about the accent, so you must really be from Long Island. Unless you figured Iad figure you had to be telling the truth because you had no New York accenta"a aAmagansett,a he said. aOut by Montauk and East Hampton. You know, silver spoon country. Old money. We donat do accents.a He did his best slightly bored aristocrat for her. aHow droll of you to think otherwise.a It got the laugh he was hoping for.

aSo whyad you join the Navy?a Meg asked.

aYou mean, instead of the family business?a Nils smiled. Everything he was telling her was the truth. It was entirely up to her as to how to interpret it. aYou would have had to meet my father to understand. He died two years ago, had a stroke about five years before that. He couldnat speak and was in a wheelchair, but he was still capable of driving the nurses crazy at the retirement home.a aYour mother . . . ?a she asked.

He shook his head. aSheas been . . . gone a little bit longer.a That one wasnat quite a full lie, but it was close. His mother had been dead for so long he almost couldnat remember what it was like back when she was alive.

Almost.

aIam sorry,a Meg said. Most people didnat mean it when they said they were sorry, but Meg did.

aYour folks are both still around, right? Still living in . . .a Nils made a face. aDonat tell me . . . Iall get it . . . Massachusetts . . . western Boston suburb . . . Ah, hell, help me out here.a aNope,a she said. aThis time weare talking about you. Iam still trying to figure out which part of that story you just told me was the lie.a aWhy would I lie to you?a he asked.

aI donat know,a she mused. aI havenat figured that out yet either.a Sam found John Nilsson sitting on the floor in what had been Meg Mooreas hotel room.

aI should have searched her,a Nils said, shaking his head in disgust, as Sam hunkered down next to him.

aYou were at a disadvantage,a Sam told his friend, aconsidering that youave wanted to get with her for three years now. She was crying on your shoulder, mana"you were distracted.a He laughed. aAnd you know, I still donat know if there should be an again added to that first sentence. You are one secretive bastard, Johnny.a aSheas going to die. The FBI are going to track her down, and theyare going to use deadly force and . . . Ah, Christ.a Sam stared out at the blandly decorated hotel room, pretending not to see the tears in Nilsas eyes. aWe could find her first.a aYeah, right.a Nils laughed, but there was no humor in it. He used the heels of his hands to brusquely wipe his face. aLike I have any kind of a clue where she went when she left DC.a aWell.a Sam cleared his throat. aThatas the interesting part. Remember that long-distance tracking device WildCardas been working on?a Nils looked up sharply, meeting Samas gaze for the first time. His eyes were redrimmed; it was obvious the man hadnat slept more than a few hours in too many days to count.

aSheas moving south on Route 95,a Sam told his friend. aIam on duty in about five minutes, so unless you want to wait for my shift to enda"a aHell, no. Sorry, buta"a aI figured. Thatas why WildCardas in the lobby with his laptop. If the two of you leave now, with a little luck, you can find her and be back by dinnertime.a aFor the next few weeks,a Eve told Amy and the Bear, aRalph and I worked with Nicky. We were determined to erase his fear of learning, of being labeled stupid. We focused on having fun. I remember, Ralph made us dress up as smugglers from the days of the Napoleonic Wars and took us exploring the network of caves that ran all along that part of the coast.

aAnd we did our own archeological diga"uncovered mostly mud and a few suspiciously familiar looking spoons Iam sure Ralph seeded in the site. We went fishing and studied the local marine life, flew kites and learned about weather and wind, and had picnics by the sea. And as we sat on our blanket, Ralph would beg me to read aloud to hima"to him, not to Nick, mind you. Of course, Nick couldnat help but overhear.

aAnd slowly but surely Nicky came to life again. We started to read not just from books, but from plays as wella"with both Ralph and me playing a role. And one day Nick cleared his throat and asked if he could take a part, too. Ralph was so low-key about it. I was about to faint, I was so thrilled, but Ralph just matter-of-factly figured out a method for feeding Nick his lines. It was the most wonderful day.a She smiled ruefully at Amy. aAt least until we returned to the estate for dinner. Ralph had been watching me during our walk homea"I could feel his eyes on me. And I knew Iad done a poor job that day of pretending to be indifferent to him. Ever since that night in the moonlight, Iad been careful not to be alone with Ralph, and I tried not to let him see just how much I adored him. But that wasnat easy to do. Of course he never spoke of it when Nick was around, but he didnat understand why I always ran away from him.

aAnd that evening, just as I suspected, he asked for a private word with me. Nick went inside, and . . . there we were.a The early evening sun was still hot against her face. Her clothes were dirty and damp from perspiration and the sea spray. Tendrils of hair had long escaped her twist and they hung lankly around her sunburned face.

And yet Ralph looked at her as if he saw none of her imperfections.

aWhy wonat it work?a he asked, completely dissolving the past few weeks, bringing them right back to where theyad left off that night theyad come back from London. The ever-present glint of humor was gone from his eyes. He was utterly serious.

Eve had to tell him the truth. But she couldnat squeeze the words out past her heart, which was lodged firmly in her throat. She just shook her head and started for the door.

He caught her hand. aI have to know. Is it because . . . are you promised to someone else? Someone back in California?a aNo,a she said before she could think straight, before she realized that lying and saying yes would make Ralpha"always such a gentlemana"back away for good.

aThen thereas hope,a he said. aI dream of you at night, Eve.a She turned and rana"as fast and as far as she could.

aI stayed up for hours that night,a Eve told Amy and the Bear, awriting Ralph a note, explaining that I was much younger than he thought. I wanted to be honest with hima"to do the right thing. But my good intentions were completely blown to Hades the next day.a Nick had woken her up, pulling back the heavy curtains in her room to reveal brilliant sunshine and a near perfect morning. Mrs. Johnson was packing them a picnic basket, he announced. They were going out for a jaunt in the Daisy Chain.

Ralph knew her weaknesses well. And although shead planned to excuse herself from the dayas adventures, to drop her note into his hands and vanish from sight for a few million years, she found herselfa"a short hour latera"floating on the almost ridiculously calm surface of the usually far more turbulent English Channel. The note shead written was in the pocket of the dress shead thrown on over her bathing suit.

aToday we shall read a play,a Ralph announced grandly, after theyad eaten their fill of Mrs. J.as delicious cold chicken, aby Master William Shakespeare.a He took out his familiar tin of butterscotch candies. Butterscotch, he always said, went famously with the Bard.

Nicky was tempting fate, risking an unplanned dip in the ocean by dangling himself off the bow, but he turned eagerly, coming back to join them on the deck. He caught the piece of candy that Ralph tossed to him. aIam Puck!a aExcellent,a Ralph enthused. He held out the tin for Eve, far too much of a gentleman to throw candy in her direction. aExcept for the fact that Puck doesnat play a part in Romeo and Juliet.a aOh, yuck, a love story?a Nick leaned over the rope railing and pretended to throw up over the side.

Ralph grabbed him by the waistband and hauled him back. aItas actually about murder and revenge, about two families who have been bitter enemies for years.a Eve saw that he had two worn copies of the play, yet he didnat open either of them once as he told Nick the opening of the story. He talked them right up to the scene where Romeo and Juliet first meet.

And then he gave one of the copies of the play to Eve.

aI donat suppose youad want to be Romeo?a he asked Nick. aOr possibly Juliet? Remember, in Shakespeareas day, women werenat allowed on stage and boys played all the female parts.a aYou wouldnat get me into a dress,a Nick swore. aNot if you paid me a thousand dollars. Iall be the audience today,a he decided. aAlthough Iad rather be fishing.a aIam sure old Will had one or two folks in his audience whoad rather have been fishing,a Ralph countered. aWhen weare done here, let me know if you think this story couldave distracted them sufficiently, too.a aItas not gonna work,a Nick muttered.

aIf I were a betting man, Iad be tempted to place a wager on that.a Eve stood up, gesturing to the top of the cabin. aThis can be Julietas balcony,a she told Ralph. aI can climb up there anda"a aAnd you will,a Ralph countered, scrambling up to stand right there. aI always thought no red-blooded Romeo in his right mind would stay on the ground below after hearing Juliet say, aO Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?a a He spoke in a high voice, struck a pose, and Nick collapsed in a fit of giggles.

aAlthough rather long in tooth, I will be fair Juliet.a He fluttered his eyelashes and Nick was with the program, although still a little grudgingly. aAnd Eve shall be my Romeo.a He jumped down off the cabin roof with a completely unladylike thud.

aYou wonat need this.a Eve wound her hair up and put Ralphas hat on her own head. She began unfastening her buttons. aAnd I wonat need my dress.a Ralph turned quickly away, the way he always did when she stepped out of her clothes on the beach. It was sillya"she was wearing a bathing suit underneath. What was the big deal?

All he succeeded in doing was to make her completely self-conscious. Which was dumb, since her blue and green flowered bathing suit covered her far more than the skimpy suits her mother had worn, lounging by their Hollywood pool.

aYou better give Eve your pants,a Nick ordered his tutor. aShe doesnat look like much of a man in that. Better give her your shirt, too.a That would be a coup. Ralph never took off his shirt, even when they went swimming. But he did it now, pulling it over his head. And sure enough, there was a flush of pink on his cheeks as he handed it to her. He couldnat quite manage to meet her gaze, becausea"horrorsa"he was standing shirtless in front of her.

And the really dumb part was that he was built like a movie star. His skin was pale, thougha"but that was to be expected since he never took off his shirt.

aEvery time I see an English baby, Iam amazed.a Oh, cripes, she hadnat meant to say that aloud.

Ralph looked questioningly up at her, and, of course, she had to be gazing directly into his eyes as he figured out what shead meanta"that her amazement came from seeing the proof that an English man and woman had actually managed to quit having tea and apologizing to each other long enough to procreate.

Theyad had this argument about Englishmen versus Californiansa"completely in funa"before. She thought that the English were too bloody polite. But now it took on a whole new edge.

aYouad prefer it if I werenat polite?a he murmured as he handed her his pants, too.

With his clothes on and his eyes twinkling, Eve could forget that he wasnat sixteen or seventeen. But dressed only in his bathing suit, it was obvious Ralph Grayson was a full-grown man. The muscles in his shoulders and arms were well defined anda"it was hard not to starea"he had hair on his chest.

Thick and dark, it looked as if it would be soft to touch.

Eve jerked her gaze away, feeling her own cheeks flame, felt them heat even more as she realized the note shead written to him last night was still in the pocket of her dress. Which he was now rather grimly stepping into.

aYouad make a fortune in Hollywood,a she told him in her motheras voicea"light and breezya"as she pulled on his trousers. They were still warm from his body heat, and his shirt was slightly damp from perspiration. It smelled of his soap and the distinctive brand of cologne he wore. It smelled of Ralph. She breathed in deeply as she pulled it over her head.

His pants were much too big for her, and she pulled his belt as tight as it would go.

aIam not that good an actor, Iam afraid,a he replied.

aI didnat mean as an actor,a her motheras voice countered. aI meant as a gigolo.a With his British accent, pretty eyes, and gentlemanas manners . . . yeah, head make a bundle.

aIs that supposed to be some kind of California style compliment?a His voice was light but his eyes held danger.

Why was she doing this? She was playing with fire.

Nick was laughing at them both, unaware of the undercurrent of tension. aEve, you look like a boy with your hair up like that, but Mr. Grayson is the funniest looking girl Iave ever seen.a Ralph hadnat been able to button the top few buttons of her dress, and dark hair poked through the gapping neckline, in direct contrast with the tiny blue flowered print. It would have been funny, if she hadnat completely ruined things with her stupid comments.

aAct one, scene five,a Ralph told Eve, flipping through the pages of his playbook.

aIam sorry,a she blurted. aI donat know why Iam so rude sometimes.a aI do, and itas all right,a he said quietly. aIave got you figured outa"so you canat offend me.a He glanced up at her, and the smile he gave her was so sweet, Eve felt her eyes start to fill with tears.

aThe line is yours,a Ralph told her. a aWhat ladyas that which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?a a He looked at Nick. aRomeo spots me while Iam dancing,a he added, doing something that might be called dancing if you were from Mars, aand itas love at first sight.a The picture Ralph made, dressed as he was, hopping from one foot to another, swishing the skirt of her dress around, was unbearably funny.

Nick laughed so hard, he nearly fell off the boat.