“What about dessert?”
“I’ll let you choose that,” he says, grabbing some steaks and putting them in the cart. “Anything chocolate works for me.”
“How about Oreo and Nutella cheesecake?” I ask him, knowing the recipe by heart.
He stops in his tracks. “You can make that, no shit?”
“No shit.”
He smiles and I return it.
“You’re not so bad, Shayla,” he says, turning his face away from me, but I see the corner of his lips kick up.
“Right back at you, Vinnie,” I say, watching him as he bends over to pick up something. My gaze zones in on his tight ass. “Right back at you.”
He stands and turns around, once again catching me ogling him. This time though, he just smiles cheekily and sends a wink in my direction. Red-cheeked, I look at the bakery section, pretending a loaf of bread just became the most interesting thing in the world.
I hear his deep chuckle from behind me, and it makes my lips twitch. It’s not my fault the man is good-looking, and he isn’t even really my type—I generally go for professional men. I do love me a man in a suit, but something about his rugged looks and bad-boy charm has me curious. Yes, he can be an asshole, as I found out yesterday, but today he’s being nice, playful even. I can see that he’s on alert, checking our surroundings and noticing every detail, but he still manages to be relaxed. Today has almost been like two friends hanging out instead of a bodyguard and his client running errands. How things can change in just a few hours. We pay for the groceries and load them in the back of the car. On the way back to the house, Vinnie’s phone rings and he puts it on speaker.
“Vinnie?” a woman says into the phone.
“Yeah, Faye. How’s everything? You’re on speaker, by the way.”
“Am I? Oooh. Hello, whoever it is in the car with you,” Faye says, making Vinnie flash me an amused glance. “I’m just calling to see how you are.”
“I’m fine, Faye,” he says gently, making me think he cares about this woman. “How’s the princess? And the tummy?”
“Both good,” Faye says, and even I can hear the smile in her voice. “It’s Lana’s birthday today, so remember to call her.”
“I will,” Vinnie says. “What are you guys doing for it?”
“Party at the clubhouse,” Faye says, giggling. “Anna was supposed to make her a cake, right? We were going to make her a cake in the shape of a penis, but then Anna calls me this morning and was like, ‘I can’t make the penis cake; it’s too hard!’”
Faye starts laughing, and I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing with her. “She didn’t even realize what she said! I laughed for like five minutes before she got it. Good times.”
I hear a woman yell in the background, “You try making a penis cake! It is hard!”
“You called me just to tell me that story, didn’t you?” Vinnie asks, smirking. “What cake is Lana getting, then?”
“Red velvet with cream cheese icing.”
“That we bought from the store!” I hear the other woman yell.
Vinnie laughs, then says, “Tell Anna I said hey, and I’ll call Lana tonight to wish her happy birthday. You all stay out of trouble, you hear me?”
“Okay,” Faye says into the line. “We miss you, Vinnie!”
Vinnie looks a little uncomfortable, but says, “I miss you all too.”
Faye cuts the line, and Vinnie and I are left in silence.
“They sound fun,” I say, hoping he’ll offer me some information. I know nothing about the man next to me except that he’s a biker, he knows my cousin, and that he’s both sexy and infuriating. I’d definitely like to know more, starting with who those women are, the ones he seems to be so close to.
“They are” is all he says though, leading me to wonder if one of the women belongs to him. I ignore the feeling of disappointment that hits me, knowing it has no reason to be there. Yesterday I wanted to strangle him, and today, what? I’m upset he might be taken? There’s definitely something wrong with me. What did it matter if he has a girlfriend? By the end of the week he’ll be gone and I’ll never see him again anyway. On to the next bodyguard, until I’m probably hunted down by my father’s enemies.
Yeah, I know just how serious the situation I’m in is. I can pretend otherwise all I want, but the truth is, eventually they’re either going to catch me or I’m going to have to leave the country with a whole new identity. I spoke to Talon about the latter, and although he doesn’t want me to leave, he says it’s an option he’s considering. I know Talon is working on something because he told me he just needs a little time. I really don’t want to leave, so I’m hoping we figure something else out. I have some ideas, but I think for now I’ll keep them to myself.
“Any last stops?” he asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Nope,” I say, popping the p. I look out of the window. “I’m good.”
“All right. See, we survived our first outing without any of those bastards finding us,” he jokes, turning up the music a little louder. “We’ve got this.”
“Don’t even joke,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Besides, we haven’t made it home yet, and you might have just jinxed us.”
“I don’t believe in any of that shit,” he replies, silencing his phone as it rings again. “You make your own luck.”