7. Rhett #2
“It was hard to find, but their reviews knocked everything else out the park.”
Ana leans into me, a soft push. “Who would have guessed you’d be a hopeless romantic?” she teases.
I tense. This isn’t a date. I’m not trying to be romantic.
“Relax, Romeo. We’re just two friends having delicious food.”
I want to tell her how much that means to me. I want to tell her why I can’t touch her the way she deserves to be worshipped. I can’t without exposing every sin that I am.
We’re seated at a table in the corner. The place is fully booked but not overly loud.
We eat and talk and laugh. I can’t remember the last time a night felt so .
.. good. The kind that passes time like it’s too precious.
I found out she has a fear of public speaking and performing, but at the same time she longs to overcome that because she enjoys it.
Her life’s a paradox to conquer. She’s so fascinating.
Ana is modest about her violin playing, but I don’t believe her.
I can picture her, how exquisite she would look standing by a grand piano as her accompaniment.
Fuck, my mind even wanders deplorably to that image and how I don’t think I’d survive the sight of her splayed across the glossy black top.
She loves animals and begged her parents for years to get a dog, but they never caved.
“I wanted to move out for my last year of university, but with the campaign, my father insists I stay home until it’s over. If he takes office I don’t plan to go to the White House with them,” she says, taking a sip of her red wine.
I could listen to her talk about herself for hours. Weeks. This night isn’t enough when, with everything I’ve learned, I’ve become greedy for more.
“Would you stay in D.C.?” I ask, so relaxed in my seat as I watch her finish off her tiramisu. The soft sighs she gives at each bite drive me wild.
“I’d like to go to Colorado, actually. I’ve heard the scenery there is beautiful.”
“Not a city woman then?”
“It has its perks,” she says. Then her eyes drift sideways as she envisions her dream home. “I’d like a house with a wraparound porch overlooking mountains and forests.”
“With a swing.” I paint it in her fantasy.
She grins, and it’s the most breathtaking sight.
“Yes. And a big garden for the dog.”
“Labrador?”
“Or a poodle.”
“A Labradoodle then. You don’t seem the type to choose.”
Ana tilts her head with amusement. “Two days and you think you have me all figured out.”
I smirk. “Not even close, little bird. But I have six months—there’s no need to rush.”
“You are absolutely a hopeless romantic, Rhett,” she teases. “In a completely platonic way, of course.”
I huff a small laugh. She doesn’t even know why I’m guarded against the idea of romance and physical touch, but she’s so damn considerate.
She doesn’t deserve to be a means to me getting what I want.
Maybe she’ll never have to know. After the six months I can merely disappear and she’ll live her life to the fullest.
“I lost my fiancée three years ago,” I say. I never intended to expose the deepest wound in me, but I feel like I owe her something for just being ... her .
Ana straightens in shock, but I smile, and it’s genuine, just like the sadness that clouds her face.
“She was killed, and I haven’t found the man yet. I just wanted you to know ... if I ever seem distant to your touch during the displays we have to put on from next week, or if I get sharp about your safety, you deserve to know there’s a personal reason.”
“Rhett, I ... I’m so sorry,” she says with such sincerity it’s the first time I’ve ever appreciated the condolence.
Her hand reaches for mine placed on the table and I don’t flinch away. I have to become comfortable with it if this is to be believable, but what’s slowly killing me inside is how easy it is. How much I want this, the first touch of warmth strong enough to be felt through the ice.
“I guess I can try not run you out of your job and make this work,” she says.
She’s incredible. How easily she can disperse a cloud of sorrow so delicately.
I squeeze her hand. “Nah, don’t change for me. I’m looking forward to you giving me hell. It keeps things interesting.”
Her smile is one of wicked beauty. “Very well. You have yourself a deal, Agent Kaiser.”
The way she addresses me like that is sexy as hell. A title that might have been mine in an alternate fate.
I pay our bill after much protest from Ana and link hands with her on the way out until I’ve closed her car door. When I take off I throw away all caution— I have to get used to this —and take her hand again while I drive.
“Thank you.” She breaks the silence. “This was really nice.”
“No need to thank me. It’s just my job.”
She gives a soft chuckle, which I smile at.
The phone in my pocket vibrates in a specific three-interval buzz, so I know who it is. It brings back the reality of why I’m here, holding this stunning woman’s hand and pretending I’m the best man her father could choose to protect her.
I may have fraudulent credentials and a black soul thanks to how I ended up in this position, but one thing will stay the fucking truth.
Anastasia Kinsley is mine. Her safety, her well- being, her damned happiness.
No matter what else I have to do, perhaps even use her for, she is under my full protection now, whether she likes it or not.