“Because he hasn’t left?”
“Because I don’t think he’s sticking around waiting for the next great whatever to pull him away.” And it wasn’t like he was asking her for money or anything. He just stuck around. Yeah, he ate her food, but it wasn’t like a teenage kid that left the cupboard with nothing but crumbs.
“He’s sticking around because he cares, Lori.”
She wanted to blow him off.
“Is that so hard to believe?”
“That he cares? He’s my brother, he’s prewired to care.”
“Yeah, but this is beyond a family obligation. This is when it counts.”
Her vision tunneled when she turned her eyes on him.
“Are you going to jump on the you need a bodyguard bandwagon again?”
“You do.”
“Let’s change the subject . . . oh, I have one. Have you ever used a dating app?”
“No.” His answer was too quick.
“Yes, you have.”
Reed didn’t meet her gaze.
“There is nothing to be embarrassed about. Lots of people use them.”
“A friend of mine asked me to sign up to see if his girlfriend was cheating on him.”
“Was she?”
“Yes.”
She paused. “What did he do?”
“He dumped her.”
“While you were on the app, did you go out with anyone on it?”
“Lori?”
“Yeah?”
“You need a bodyguard.”
She groaned and pointed out the window. “Oh, look . . . a unicorn.”
Early fall in Santa Barbara had some of the best weather in the country. Not only was it still warm during the days, but the nights didn’t get the memo that fall was descending upon them.
The resort hotel Reed arranged had every amenity a couple seeking an evening away from home could want. An open-air lobby greeted them with massive circular tables with floral arrangements that towered five feet. The warm breeze off the Pacific and fresh scent of the ocean calmed Lori’s nerves after the drive.
They walked through manicured gardens and meandering pathways flanked by palm trees and lush green shrubs and the ever-prevalent bougainvillea until they arrived at their oceanfront suite. They walked through Spanish-influenced arched stucco columns and heavy wooden doors into luxury.
“This is stunning,” Lori exclaimed as she dropped her purse on the bed and crossed to the French doors that opened onto a balcony. Once outside, she rested her hands on the railing, closed her eyes, and let the sun drench her face.
Behind her, Reed dealt with the bellman who helped them with their bags.
Reed moved behind her, circled his arms around her waist, and rested his head on her shoulder. “I don’t think I’ll ever look at the water again and not think of you,” he confessed.
Her insides did one of those girlie things that happened when someone you cared about took your relationship to another level with just a few words.
“Me either.”
His chest rose and fell on her back. “Sometimes I wish we could just stop everything going on around us for a moment in time.”
“Like now?” she asked.
“Yeah, like this exact moment.”
Only he didn’t pause, and the clock kept ticking. “Pool, beach, spa? What is your pleasure, Counselor?”
“How about some pool time overlooking the ocean?”
“Perfect, all the love of the ocean without the sand.” He kissed the side of her head and moved back into the room.
She watched him walk away. Something was bothering him that he wasn’t talking about. By the end of their stay, she would flat-out ask him if he didn’t fess up.
They swam, soaked up the sun, had a couple of umbrella filled froufrou drinks, and even managed to talk politics without so much as a cross word. They took their time showering together, concentrating on all the good parts.
By the time they sat down to dinner at the five-star restaurant the resort offered, Lori felt as if she’d been there for a couple of days instead of a handful of hours. “I really needed this,” she said for the hundredth time since they arrived.
“Every weekend should be spent on vacation,” he told her.
“But when would you go to the store and finish all those necessary chores you put off all week long?”
They sat drinking wine as the sun sizzled over the ocean. And just when she thought there might be a cooler breeze than expected, one of the waiters arrived to turn on the patio heater to ensure they were comfortable. “Okay, how about every other weekend on vacation?”
“I like it. There should be a bill on the congressional floor mandating it. Imagine how productive the workplace would be if weekends were really days that you spent off?”
Their storybook night, complete with making love with the moonlight shining in the open French doors, ended too soon. As she drifted to sleep in Reed’s arms, she decided that whatever was bothering him would wait until breakfast. Maybe a restful night would take away his edge.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
All night he’d wanted to confess. The trip was his way of taking her miles from home, where she couldn’t run off, where she had to listen to his story and how he’d managed to get where he was. And somewhere, in all his fucked-upness, he would convince her he wasn’t a bad guy.
Only now, she was sound asleep in his arms, and he was staring out the open window, letting the sound of the ocean keep him company.
He’d tell her in the morning.
Slowly, his body sank into the mattress and his mind numbed enough to sleep.
A buzzing woke him hours later when the sun started to brighten the morning sky. Half-awake, he recognized his cell phone was the source of his alarm. Because the ring had been silenced, the only sound was the buzz and vibration on the bedside table. He rolled over, planning on ignoring it and enjoying the warm body snuggled next to his, when the thing went off again. He flung his arm out, grasped the thing, and took a quick look at the flash on his screen.
Eyes blurry with sleep, he had to squint at the picture text that came through. When it came into focus, his resting heart rate shot high.
A picture of his office wall, the one hidden behind a double-framed map, was open wide and staring at him. He touched the power switch to blank the screen of his phone and looked down at Lori, who was still fast asleep.
Careful not to wake her, he slipped from the bed, put on his boxers, and walked outside. He opened the picture again and took a better look. It was his office, his notes. He checked the number on the phone. It was local, but no one he knew.
Who is this? He sent the unknown intruder a text.
Have you heard of honor among thieves, Reed?
He waited, not completely sure who played this game. It does appear that this is much bigger than one widow.
Sasha.
I’m flattered. I’ll be in touch.
He didn’t bother to see if she’d text him again.
The cold space beside her when she expected something different woke her. Lori reached out, didn’t find Reed, and opened her eyes to see him sitting beyond the doors as the sun rose. He tapped his cell phone against his thigh in silence.
She tucked her hand under her head and watched him without words.
The weight of her stare turned his head.
“You’re up early,” she told him.
“Did I wake you?” His words were polite. His tone was off.
“I think it was the silence.”
He picked himself up off the chair and moved into the room. “I can order coffee.” He crossed to the phone on the small desk.
“I’m okay right now.”
His hand hesitated over the phone.
“What’s wrong, Reed?” she finally asked.
He hung his head between his shoulders. “I don’t want to do this,” he muttered.
Lori repositioned her head. “Do what?”
“This,” he looked at her. “Have this conversation.”
“Whatever it is, we can talk about it.”
He shook his head, looked out the door as he sat on the edge of the bed. “I can’t stand the thought of you hating me.”
Air caught in her lungs, and she sat up in the bed, pulled the sheets up over her chest. “Why would I hate you?” Her mind scrambled for a reason. “Is there someone else? We never talked about being exclusive, if there is . . .”
“No. No.” He still didn’t look at her.
“Then what?”
He pulled in a long slow breath. “I was a cop. Joined the academy as soon as I turned twenty-one.”
“Okay. Why . . .” Her mind scrambled, trying to think why this was an issue. “Did you commit a crime and get thrown off the force?” And even if he had, he didn’t appear to be that man now.
“Nothing like that. I left.” He rubbed his cheek. The scar she’d noticed when they first met came into view. She didn’t even see it anymore. Never had she asked about it.
“What does this have to do with today?” She pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
He closed his eyes. “I didn’t meet you by accident.”
Her pulse started a rapid tap, and the smile she’d been keeping on her face slowly faded.
“I was on that ship in Barcelona to follow you and the women you were with.”
Lori dropped her eyes from his back and looked everywhere but at him. “Why?”
“I was hired by a private party to conduct an investigation.”
“You’re a PI?”
He nodded.
She pushed her back up against the headboard. “Hired to follow me?”
“Yes, kinda.”
“Kinda? Who hired you?”
He turned his head and winced. “That isn’t important.”
“The hell it isn’t. Did Petrov—”
“No! It wasn’t him.”
Who? For what reason? Lori looked down at herself. Naked under the covers after one of the most romantic nights she’d ever had in her life. “You seduced me to gain information?”