Free Above All Else: A Bad Boy Military Romance (Easy Team Book 2) by Gemma Hart Page B

Angelica wiped her eyes. “Oh man, Xan! How could you be so clumsy!”
                  Sofia grinned at me. “Exactly my thoughts.”
                  I wanted to keep my stony expression and anger but I was momentarily stunned by Sofia’s grin. It was the first time she had smiled at me without reserve. Without hesitation. And I was blown away by its brilliance.
                  “How about taking some orders so people can eat?” I said gruffly to Angelica, to cover my momentary surprise.
                  Angelica ignored me and pressed, “Then what? What happened then?”
                  I rolled my eyes at this teen’s persistence.
                  Sofia smiled again, a softer smile this time. Her eyes were bright with successful mischief and she couldn’t have looked more beautiful.
                  “So I went down, wrapped my jacket around his waist and told him my name was Sofia and that it was nice to meet him,” she finished.
                  Angelica clapped her hands as if she had just finished watching a play. And I had to admit, Sofia did have a nice speaking voice. She knew just where to emphasize her words and just the right tone to hit to tell the story. I supposed being a public figure, that was a necessary skill to have. But I figured that somebody who had had as little political experience as Sofia had had, wouldn’t have such skills.
                  The girl was a constant ball of surprises.
                  Just like when I had thought her life had all been champagne and roses, she reveals the incredible abuse she had suffered as a child. Just when I thought she was too prissy to endure thrift store shopping, she befriends the shopkeeper and bonds over make up. And just when I thought her too haughty to joke and tease anyone who wasn’t royalty, she comes out with some ridiculous and insane story that is told with such panache, you’d think she was a trained actress.
                  As Angelica finally took our orders, I had to remind myself that no matter how casual the setting, I was still on a mission. I was working. Sofia, despite her thrift store jeans and flannel shirt, was still a runaway princess.
                  I had to remember that.
                  But seeing her raise those sparkling blue eyes at me, humor still lighting them up like stars, I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to.

Chapter Seven
Sofia
                  I stretched in bed, still reveling in the novelty of the soft cotton sheets that surrounded me. I looked across and saw the pillowcase worn and pilled. I looked up and saw the sturdily built walls of the guest bedroom. Actually the whole house was sturdily built.
                  It had been odd when Xander had told me he had helped design and build this house. I knew Dukes and Earls who liked to say they had just “built” a new summerhouse. But what they meant was they had hired a bunch of people to do all the work for them, and what they did at most was decorate.
                  But Xander had built his house with his own two hands and I could tell he took pride in it. The way he cared about his land and home and the way he took pains to keep it fixed up spoke volumes.
                  I imagined it must be hard to take care of a place like this if he was always away.
                  Easy Team.
                  I still wasn’t exactly sure what the organization was. It sounded to me like a group of mercenaries, from the conversations in Commander Wolffe’s office. But mercenaries always brought such negative images to mind. Xander didn’t seem like someone who would ruthlessly kill anyone because he got paid to. He seemed to have morals and high ethical standard he kept himself to.
                  But that had to be