Chapter 16 #2
“He’s protecting me. I mean, yeah, it’s not exactly platonic, but once the job is done, he’ll go back to his life.” Harmony was sure they would understand.
Lacey and Claudia exchanged a look, then fell into each other with laughter.
“Why is that funny?”
“It’s not,” Lacey said. “I’m sorry. But it is because we both said the same thing. And we were both very, very wrong.”
“That man is not looking at you like you’re a job. Besides, they have rules, and he’s breaking them all.” Claudia toasted her water glass to her words.
“Rules?” Harmony asked.
“Oh, yes. First rule is if you imprint on the client, you take the job,” Lacey said.
“I’m not a client, though,” Harmony argued.
“That’s probably good because the second rule is don’t fuck the client. Clearly, he broke that one,” Claudia said, raising one eyebrow.
Harmony’s cheeks heated.
“Damien doesn’t break the rules. He follows them.
They have them for a reason, and they don’t go around them.
They always work with a partner, wait for backup, let someone know where they are, and they have each other listed as emergency contacts and as people with access to their security systems and medical records.
They’re not just coworkers, they’re a family.
And he brought you here to meet us. He doesn’t think of you as a client,” Lacey said.
Harmony drew a breath, letting their words sink in. She had been hoping maybe Damien was feeling some of the things she was feeling, but she didn’t want to risk getting hurt, so she convinced herself it was all one-sided.
But Lacey and Claudia knew Damien better than Harmony did. They knew what he was like before Harmony met him. They understood him.
And they were giving her hope.
“Of course, maybe you’re not feeling the same,” Claudia said.
Harmony shook her head. “No, I am. I just…”
“Didn’t want to have false hope,” Lacey provided.
Harmony nodded. “Yep.”
“It’s not false. That man wants you for his dinner,” Lacey said.
“And dessert,” Claudia added.
Harmony’s cheeks flamed. She pressed her hands to them.
Lacey and Claudia grinned.
“You guys are making me blush.”
“Don’t look now, but here come our men,” Claudia said.
“Hey,” Damien whispered, wrapping his arms around her from behind and settling his body against her back. “You doing okay?”
Harmony nodded, realizing Lance and Austin were checking in with their women, too. Harmony put her hand on top of Damien’s and wove her fingers into his.
“I think we’re going to head out,” Lance said. “Austin said Samuel needs to get some sleep soon, and so does Lacey. Thanks for letting us crash your evening.”
“It’s always good to see you guys,” Lacey said, hugging Lance.
“Are you ready to head out, too?” Damien asked Harmony.
She nodded. “Sure. Let them get some sleep.”
“We need to get to bed, too,” Damien whispered.
Harmony’s cheeks heated all over again. Along with the rest of her body.
Damien kissed her cheek, then moved around the island to hug Lacey, then Claudia. He shook hands and hugged Austin and Lance while Lacey and Claudia came over to Harmony.
“Get my number from Damien so we can get together again sometime soon. When it’s safe for you,” Lacey said.
“Me too, me too!” Claudia said. “We can all go out for a coffee or a drink or manicures or something. Don’t friends do that?”
Harmony snorted. “I sure wouldn’t know, but it all sounds fun to me.”
“Perfect. We’ll figure out what our friendship is going to look like together,” Lacey said.
The three of them hugged, laughing and promising to be in touch.
Austin and Lance both hugged Harmony quickly, telling her it was nice to meet her and they looked forward to seeing her again.
Harmony walked out with Damien, feeling like everything about her life had changed, and for once, not in a bad way.
“They’re all amazing,” she said as Damien backed out of the driveway.
“Yeah, they are. They loved you. As I expected.”
“I loved them, too. I’ve never had good friends. It felt like I could talk to them about anything, and they weren’t going to judge me or make me feel silly.”
Damien shook his head. “No. They’re not like that. They’re amazing.”
“I’m happy we went over there.”
“Thank you for wanting to go. And for suggesting the extra food. It turned out to be a very good thing.”
“A happy surprise for them to be there, too. Do you spend a lot of time with all of them?” Harmony asked.
“Not as much as I’d like to. I worked with Lance when he was protecting Claudia, and Lacey’s dad was a mentor for me. You met Jude, who’s my partner most of the time. We all know each other well, though. We’re like a big, dysfunctional family.”
Harmony chuckled, thinking that was pretty close to how Claudia and Lacey described their team.
“You’ll meet everyone else eventually.”
“I would like that.”
Damien glanced over at her and smiled. He reached for her hand and held tight to it the rest of the drive back to his place.
Where he did have Harmony for dessert. Twice.
“Do you want kids?” Harmony asked Damien while he was fixing breakfast the next morning.
Damien nearly dropped the spatula he was using to scramble eggs for them. He tightened his grip and drew a breath. “I haven’t really thought about kids much. Why do you ask?”
“Just curious,” Harmony said.
She was absolutely not just curious. Damien knew that.
There was a reason she was asking. He just had to figure out how to get her to tell him the truth.
“I love my nephews, and I think kids of my own would be amazing, but I’ve never found someone who was willing to accept the life I’ve chosen for myself. My job. It’s not easy.”
“What do you mean?” Harmony asked, setting her coffee mug down and giving him her full attention.
Damien turned off the stove and plated the eggs. He added bacon to each plate and two slices of butter and jelly toast. He carried everything over to the coffee table and sat next to Harmony.
He was stalling. He was falling for Harmony hard and fast, and he didn’t want to scare her away by telling her what his life was like.
But he had no choice. “How things have been for us isn’t what my life is usually like.
My boss has given me this time to be with you, to keep you safe, but normally, there’s someone else who needs my protection.
Sometimes it’s a female. Sometimes it’s a family.
Sometimes it’s a male. But whoever it is, when my number is up, I have to do my job. ”
“What you do is important. You’re always helping people.”
Damien sipped his coffee. “It is. I love what I do. But when I have to spend a week in an undisclosed location with a woman who is in danger…”
“Ah,” Harmony said. Her cheeks turned pink, and she leaned away from him. “I get it. You’re single. And when you’re stuck watching someone, it’s only natural you would end up together. I mean, that’s what happened with us.”
“You think I’m sleeping with you because of my job? That I sleep with all my clients?”
“Not all of them, no. I know it’s one of the rules not to. But you’re saying you’re stuck with a woman and things happen. People feel big things when they’re in emotional situations. I misunderstood what was going on between us. That’s on me.”
“No. I’m not… Fuck. I’ve never slept with a client. Not one. Not ever.”
“What? But you just said…”
“I was trying to say I’ve never been with someone who understood my job. Who was willing to trust me not to cheat on them when I’m protecting someone. I can’t share information. I can’t be in touch. I can’t make promises to be home for things. When I’m working, I’m fully immersed in the job.”
“Which is how it should be. You have to keep your focus.”
“I know. I agree.”
“So if you’ve never slept with a client, why are we together?”
Damien snorted. “Well, for me, it’s because I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the day we met.
Because I started falling for you when you cut in front of me in line.
I didn’t want to let go of your hand that day.
I wanted to call you mine and never let you out of my sight.
For me, we’re together because I’m… I’m in love with you. ”