Close Protection

Chapter 26 Milosh

26 MILOSH

‘Are you sure you don’t want us to stay?’ Amelia asks Daphne for the seventeenth time.

‘No. I don’t. It’s your anniversary week, you should be anywhere but here,’ she answers before bringing another forkful of breakfast to her mouth.

‘See,’ Henry chirps, looking at Amelia who is sitting right next to him. ‘She’ll be fine, Meels, and Milosh will be here if anything happens, even though nothing will.’

It’s been a week since the Teddy incident and everything’s been pretty quiet.

Amelia’s concussion has subsided and Daphne’s walking at her normal speed now with her stomach healing. Her neck scar is barely visible and her arm, that was getting rewrapped regularly by Josh, and has now progressed to the large Band-Aid stage. We haven’t done any training sessions since Teddy, to allow her to rest, and with her being either in her room or the snug I haven’t had much reason to talk to her so have kept pretty much to myself, until now.

With Amelia and Henry set to leave for their two-week-long anniversary trip to Italy, Amelia asked if she, Henry, Daphne and I could all have breakfast together before they go.

‘And she’s going to the gala tonight,’ Henry continues, ‘so she won’t even need us.’

‘Actually,’ Daphne cuts in, ‘I don’t think I’m gonna go tonight.’

We all stop and collectively look at her while she casually sips her orange juice.

‘What do you mean you’re not going?’ Amelia gawks, and to be honest I can understand her reaction. Daphne has been going on about this gala for weeks, probably months, now, so for her to suddenly not want to go causes alarm bells to ring in my ears.

‘I mean, I’m not going.’ She shrugs. ‘It just doesn’t feel right any more.’

‘Daph, you have to go,’ Amelia almost pleads. ‘You’ve got the outfit, you’ve got the date,’ she points to me, ‘and there’s going to be plenty of security, literally nothing bad could happen. And you’ll be able to see your friends and your cousins who you haven’t seen in a while.’

‘I know, I know, I’ve just lost the desire to go. That’s all.’

‘Are you feeling okay? Is it your stomach?’ Henry asks sincerely, his face crumpled with worry as he turns to Amelia. ‘Maybe we should stay home.’

‘No, no,’ Daphne rushes out. ‘It’s nothing like that, I feel fine. Please don’t stay here on my account.’

‘I don’t know,’ Amelia says, ‘you do look a little grey.’

‘What?’ Daphne almost shrieks. ‘No, I do not.’ She turns to look at me. ‘Do I look grey to you?’

‘Oh, don’t ask Milosh, that’s cheating.’ Amelia rolls her eyes. ‘That’s like me asking Henry if I look ugly.’

Daphne completely ignores her as she stares at me, waiting for an answer.

‘You look fine.’

Almost instantly, Henry starts laughing, whereas Amelia looks like she wants to chop my head off.

‘Right, well, if you’re not grey, I see no reason for you not to go tonight,’ Amelia counters.

Daphne groans then turns to look at me. ‘What do you think?’

‘I think you should go,’ I respond, my voice low.

Am I saying she should go just so I get to see her in whatever dress she picked out? No.

Am I saying she should go because I’ll be able to spend some time with her? Absolutely not.

Am I saying she should go on the off-chance we have to do that fake girlfriend-boyfriend thing and I get to kiss her and touch her the way I did when we went shopping? That’s absolutely ridiculous, of course not.

But am I aware that those things may happen if she does go? Definitely.

She studies me for a moment, completely ignoring Amelia and Henry’s mockery.

‘I think you should go,’ Henry imitates me.

‘No, he’s more gruff, like this – I think you should go ,’ Amelia tries.

‘What do you mean he’s more gruff? I’m as gruff as they come.’

‘Hen, he sounds like he has ties to the Mafia, you sound like someone from Kingsman or The Gentlemen .’

‘Right? So how is that not gruff?’

‘It’s sexy, not gruff. His is sexy and gruff.’

‘What are you even talking about right now? I’m literally the definition of sexy and gruff.’

‘Of course you are, sweetie,’ Amelia soothes, stroking her small hand up and down his arm. The size difference is almost comical. ‘Of course you are.’

They continue bickering, but I tune them out as soon as Daphne says, ‘Okay, I’ll go.’ She says it quietly so only I can hear her, and, man, if that doesn’t make me feel special.

‘Good,’ I respond, trying to damp down a smirk when she gets shy and flustered under my gaze, reaching for her orange juice like it’s a lifeline.

After a sip, she places it down and begins to lift out of her seat. ‘Meet me in my room in half an hour,’ she whispers into my ear, so close her lips brush the skin. She walks out of the dining room without so much as a goodbye, and I have to gather myself before I stand so I tune back into Henry and Amelia’s conversation.

‘I’m literally the cutest, most princessy person you’ve ever met.’

‘No, Daphne’s cute and princessy, you’re like that sexy lady-in-waiting, if that’s a thing.’

‘Ugh, I don’t want to be a lady-in-waiting.’

‘Well, tough luck, gorgeous, that’s who you are. Actually, no, you’re more of a hot librarian.’

‘What?’ Amelia gapes.

‘Yeah, I definitely see that.’ Henry sits back in his chair, his eyes coasting over Amelia and his voice dropping low. ‘You’re all professional and hot… and sexy, and hot and—’

Okay, yeah, that’s my cue to leave. Jeez, they really do need a vacation.

I pull my chair up and stand, and only then do they break off their increasingly uncomfortable conversation. I mean, I get it, they’re two very attractive people. With Amelia’s tanned skin, light brown hair and hazel eyes matched with Henry’s large build, tattoo sleeve and symmetrical features, they’re a very good-looking couple. But just because they match well does not mean I need the ins and outs of their marriage.

‘Where did Daphne go?’ Henry asks, looking around the room as if she’s just gonna sprout up out of thin air.

‘She left.’

‘That was really informative, thank you, Milosh.’

I shrug and walk out before he can say anything else, and go to my room to get my swim shorts. Daphne said to meet her in her room in half an hour so that gives me enough time to get in a few laps.

‘Come in,’ I hear Daphne call out from behind her bedroom door. I enter her room and am greeted with a freshly showered Daphne, clad in what I’ve recently learned is called a loungewear set.

Her hair is straight again and it cascades delicately down her back. And her face is completely bare. She fiddles with her hands as I shut the door then close the distance between us, meeting her in the middle of her room.

‘Okay, so, now that I know we’re definitely going to the gala tonight we need to go through a few things.’ She perches on the end of her bed so I go to sit on her reading chair. ‘Number one, you’re gonna need to play my boyfriend again, if that’s okay with you. Isabella will be there and that girl can’t keep her mouth shut, so it would be weird if we don’t act like a couple.’

‘Okay.’

‘Okay, yes?’ She looks at me sceptically.

‘Okay yes, Miss Green. Continue.’

‘All right.’ She eyes me weirdly before continuing. ‘Number two, if we’re gonna do the whole relationship thing we need to make some boundaries around touching.’

‘That sounds wise.’

‘Okay, well, let’s stick to handholding and simple, cute touches but no kissing unless absolutely necessary. Cheek or forehead kisses are fine, though. Is that all right with you?’

My jaw ticks, but I just nod in response.

‘Okay, and last thing. If you’re my boyfriend, chances are you’ll know how to dance. Do you know how to dance, Mr Petrov?’

‘Why would anyone see me dancing?’

‘It’s a gala. There will be dancing. Very boilerplate stuff, like waltzing.’

‘Oh.’ I pause. In my twenty years of living I’ve never once needed ballroom dancing as a skill. I can dismantle a bomb, I know the pressure points in the body that cause the most pain and I can speak five languages. I actively sat out of any dances at the military balls because there was no one I wanted to dance with. But none of this helps me now. ‘No. I don’t know how to dance.’

In response to my answer, this girl’s face lights up like I’ve never seen. You’d think I just solved world hunger from the way she’s glowing at me.

‘Great! I get to teach you.’

Oh, boy.

She gets off her bed and walks to her bedside table, picking up her phone and connecting it to her speakers. A familiar slow song starts and Daphne walks towards me holding her hand out for me to take.

‘This song is what got me into ballroom when I was younger. It literally takes you through the steps of a waltz.’ She smiles as I rise and take her hand. It’s soft in mine as she stops me, moving to stand in front but still keeping our hands linked.

‘I think I’ve heard it before,’ I say.

‘Really? Well, it’s called “Can I Have This Dance”, from High School Musical .’

‘Hallie used to play this song all the time at the children’s home,’ I explain.

‘Ah, well then, she has good taste.’ She smiles. ‘Okay, so this arm is going to come and rest just here.’ She pulls my hand onto her upper back, keeping my elbow out. ‘And this hand stays in mine. Now, normally the man is supposed to lead but I’ll have to teach you the steps first before we do that.’

‘Okay.’ That cute concentration face appears as she takes me through the basic steps and tests my rhythm and pace. I try to focus on the movements but all I can think about is how close she is and how good she smells. It takes me back to last week when she was cleaning and bandaging my hands. She was so cute and caring, it made my heart ache.

Is that what it’s like to have someone fuss over you?

If so, then sign me up because I want her to fuss over me every day of the week.

We practise dancing for two hours before we call it quits. She looked pretty impressed with herself, and me, so I think I’ll be all right tonight.

It’s seven o’clock when I hear Daphne’s honeyed voice invite me into her room once again.

As soon as I open the door, I’m taken aback.

‘Beautiful,’ I murmur, closing the door behind me.

Her hair looks different now as it flows down her back in vintage-looking curls, and her face is lightly dusted with make-up. Her neck is bare as she holds her necklace box in her hands, and then there’s her dress.

The dress she picked out is a silky light pink – almost white – colour, going in at the waist and fanning out only slightly when it reaches mid-thigh and then tracks all the way to the floor. The top of the dress is off the shoulder, covering her Band-Aid and perfectly sculpting her upper body.

‘It’s Alexander McQueen.’ She glows up at me.

‘Mmm,’ I rumble. ‘That’s nice, but I wasn’t talking about the dress.’ I couldn’t care less who made it. All I care about is how she looks in it. And she looks like art.

Like regal, graceful, elegant art. Almost too striking to touch.

Almost.

All she needs is a tiara and you could easily convince me she’s royalty.

‘Oh.’ She’s flustered, looking down at her feet. ‘Thank you.’ She looks back up at me and frowns slightly. ‘Why’s your bow tie undone?’

‘I was hoping you could help me with that,’ I drawl, closing the distance between us and coming to stand in front of her.

She nods, placing her necklace box on her bed before reaching up to attend to my tie for me, her delicate fingers working with the precision of a sniper. I know exactly how to tie a bow tie from all the military balls I’ve been to but I just wanted to see that concentration face again, and I always seemed to get them wonky when I did my own.

‘There.’ She smiles. ‘Now, stand back, I want to look at you properly.’ I take two steps back and await her verdict.

‘Where did you get this from? It fits you perfectly.’ Her eyes peruse my body languidly, her gaze travelling from the black leather dress shoes to the custom tuxedo and then up to my hair.

‘When Hallie and Averie came over they also brought me a suit they had made by a designer friend of theirs. I couldn’t tell you the name of the designer, all I know is that they told me to send over my measurements, so I did.’

‘Wow,’ Daphne breathes, feeling the material between her fingers and taking a closer look at the cut. ‘You’re gonna need to send me their numbers so I can find out who it’s by.’

‘Sure.’ My body tenses when her hands graze my neck as she assesses the lapels of the jacket and again when she analyzes the buttons. Stepping in closer to get a better look.

‘Gosh, you smell good,’ she mutters, so low I almost don’t hear it. I ignore the words because I don’t think she meant to say them out loud, and wait until she takes a step back to finally release a breath. We’re still standing close, just not pressed together any more.

‘Well, Mr Petrov, I think you look rather lovely.’

‘Is that so?’

‘Mm hmm. Very much boyfriend material.’

I look at her for a moment and remember the lack of jewellery on her neck. ‘Would you like me to help you put your necklace on?’

She nods, picking the box back up and handing it to me, turning around as I carefully take the absurdly expensive diamond necklace out, casting the case back onto the bed.

‘Pick up your hair for me,’ I request, draping the jewellery around her neck once she does so. ‘Done.’ She turns around and drops her hair.

‘You look beautiful, Miss Green.’

‘Thank you, Mr Petrov.’

I notice a stray hair so I tuck it behind her ear for her, holding her gaze while I do so.

A knock at her door forces us apart as George enters.

‘Oh, Milosh, I didn’t realize you were in here.’ He frowns briefly before recovering and focusing on Daphne.

‘Daphne, darling, I just wanted to… I have a little… well, this is for you,’ he says eventually, making his way into the room, thrusting a pink box wrapped in a gold bow into her hands. ‘It’s an early birthday present.’

‘Oh.’ Daphne looks at him with a mixture of surprise and glee, and it’s the sweetest expression I’ve ever seen on her face. ‘Thank you, Daddy.’ She opens it delicately, removing the bow carefully before peeling off the wrapping paper.

‘It’s only small, and there are more gifts to come,’ George prefaces, looking apprehensive. ‘This is just something I thought you might like for tonight.’

Daphne lifts the box lid to reveal a bottle.

‘Oh, it’s perfume, thank you!’

‘It’s actually your mother’s old fragrance. I know it got discontinued many years ago, but I got this one made especially for you.’

Her lips part as she takes in what he says. She lifts the perfume fully up out of the box and sprays it on one of the throw blankets at the end of her bed, lifting it to her nose once it’s settled.

‘It smells exactly like her,’ she whispers, her eyes glossing over. ‘Thank you, Daddy, thank you so much.’ She hands me the perfume and makes her way over to George as he wraps her in a hug.

‘That’s all right, darling. I thought you might want to wear it tonight, unless you already have perfume on.’

‘I’ve already put mine on for the night, but as of tomorrow I’ll be wearing this!’ She beams as she pulls away from him. She takes the perfume from my hand and walks into her dressing room leaving me and George in the main room.

‘Well, good, I’m glad,’ he calls out, rocking back on his heels awkwardly. ‘I also wanted to let you know I’ve got a bit of work to do tonight so I will be coming, I’ll just get there a bit later than you. Ideally, I’ll be there around ten-ish.’

The door knocks again and this time Amelia and Henry enter.

‘We’re leaving now, but we just wanted to say goodbye,’ Henry announces, glancing around the room. ‘Where’s Daphne?’

As if on cue, she floats out of her dressing room looking like the princess she is.

‘Wow, Daph, you look gorgeous!’ Amelia gushes.

‘She’s right as always, sweetie, you look beautiful,’ Henry adds.

‘Thank you!’ Daphne responds, practically glowing.

‘All right, well, we do need to get going now, so you guys have fun,’ Henry says, looking between me and Daphne, George clearly forgotten in this equation.

‘Hey, Daph, could you just go stand next to Milosh? I wanna see how you two look together.’

I sigh in agitation, because I know exactly where this is going.

‘Wow!’ Henry quips. ‘Don’t you two just look like the perfect couple.’ George goes to stand next to Henry and Amelia and starts nodding his head.

‘Wow, you’re right, I can really see it.’

‘All right, that’s enough.’ I glance over to Daphne. ‘Are you ready to go?’

‘I just need to grab my bag,’ she says, making her way back into the dressing room. I watch her as she walks away, only to find three pairs of eyes looking at me when I turn back.

‘Ah, jeez,’ George groans, ‘it’s like Henry and Amelia all over again.’

Henry starts laughing, Amelia looks horrified and I roll my eyes, all in time for Daphne to walk out, bag in hand, completely oblivious to it all.

‘What?’ Daphne asks impatiently.

‘Nothing. Literally, nothing at all,’ I deadpan. ‘You ready?’

‘Mm hmm.’

‘All right, let’s go.’

‘You guys take my car,’ says George. ‘I’ll take the driver so I can work in the back.’

‘Okay, bye Daddy.’ She places a kiss on his cheek before saying her goodbyes to Amelia and Henry and walks out in front of me.

‘Hey.’ Henry stops me by the door, his expression serious. ‘Keep her safe, all right?’

‘Of course.’

This girl means a lot to him. But I’ve come to realize she means even more to me. And there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to protect her.