by Nina Lane
“Sorry.” Danny grinned at her, his eyes sparkling. “You look especially lovely tonight, Mia.”
Susan elbowed her in the side and wiggled her eyebrows none too discreetly. Mia returned Danny’s smile. They’d frequented the same bars over the past few months, but hadn’t yet socialized beyond that. He was the kind of boy she’d always liked—cute and engaging with a ready smile. A recent grad of San Francisco State, he was also in a similar “what next?” stage of life as she was, so they had a lot to commiserate about.
“Any luck with the job search?” she asked.
“Applied at a new upstart in San Jose.” He tilted his head back for a swallow of beer. “You?”
Mia shook her head. “Planning Luke and Polly’s wedding has taken up so much time that I haven’t been able to job hunt much. I’ll have to start soon, though.”
She wasn’t looking forward to it, either. She was bound to feel a little dispirited after the wedding was over and Polly no longer needed her help. She’d offered to help cover shifts at Wild Child when Polly and Luke were on their honeymoon, but that would only last so long.
“Hey, I have some leads you might be interested in,” Danny remarked. “Or you could totally get into modeling or acting.”
She lifted her eyebrows in a “really?” look, which he responded to with an abashed smile.
“Sorry.” He took a swig of the ale. “I lay it on thick when I get nervous around a beautiful girl. But you could totally be a model,” he added hastily. “I mean that sincerely.”
“Thank you.” Mia shifted to try and escape Susan’s persistent elbow nudges. “Sincerely.”
She glanced at her watch. Any other night, she might have suggested they all head to a different bar—one without sticky tables and watered-down drinks—but she had to work the following day and there was still so much to do for the wedding.
“I’m going to head out.” She picked up her purse and squeezed out of the chair. “I have stuff I should finish up at home. Everyone, have a good evening.”
A chorus of goodbyes followed her as she headed out to her car. Usually being out with her friends eased her growing uncertainty about her life, but tonight she felt worse. Five years from now, would she still be working at the insurance agency, watching the clock until she could leave at five and head directly to happy hour in a dank, crowded bar?
She didn’t want a life like that. It was painfully close to the one her parents had lived, except they’d never even enjoyed happy hour. They’d had dead-end jobs, tedious routines, and a stale marriage held together by sheer inertia.
Granny hadn’t wanted Mia to live that kind of life either, encouraging her to “follow her heart” and “create beauty” when her parents had dictated that she become a business or economics major.
She’d seized her grandmother’s advice with both hands, determined to burst through life in a shower of glitter and sparkles. Too late, she’d discovered that glitter and sparkles didn’t pay the bills. And she had yet to find any jobs seeking applicants who were “good at following your heart” or “excellent beauty creator.”
After returning to her apartment, Mia showered, painted her toenails a shiny purple, and watched the Miracle Max scene from The Princess Bride because “to blave” always made her smile. She was just getting herself a bowl of ice cream when a knock came at the door.
She set the bowl on the kitchen counter and went to peer through the peephole. Her heart jumped. Gavin Knight stood on the doorstep. She tightened the belt of her bathrobe and yanked open the door.
She ignored the way her pulse sped up at the sight of him—all big and masculine with his steel briefcase and square-jawed, implacable expression. His wire-rimmed glasses softened the hard lines of his face only slightly, giving him a Clark Kentish vibe that appealed to all the parts of her that loved secrets and alter egos. Not to mention nerdy superheroes.
Reminding herself of all the times he’d ignored her, she hardened her still-simmering attraction to him. “Yes?”
Gavin’s blue gaze skittered over her floral cotton robe, as if he hadn’t expected to see her undressed. It was eleven p.m., for God’s sake. What had he expected?
“Yes?” she repeated.
“I apologize for bothering you,” he said. “I left the office later than I expected. I need the wedding plans. You didn’t email them to me.”
“I don’t have them online,” Mia replied. “Polly and I have all the plans in binders and folders. Which you are absolutely not taking from me.”
“Then I’ll review them now and make copies tomorrow.”
His voice was implacable, like he had no intention of moving from her doorstep until he’d gotten what he came for.
“I’m sorry,” she said sharply. “But I’m busy at the moment.”
“I’ll wait.”
Good god, he was serious. He planted his feet apart, his shoulders squaring. He didn’t move closer to her, remaining a good distance away as if he didn’t want to threaten or scare her with his imposing presence.
Not that he would have. She’d been irritated with him for ignoring her flirtations, and now she was getting downright mad over his persistence about the wedding, but he radiated a strong, protective authority that she’d liked so much from the moment he’d first walked into Wild Child. She could never be scared of him.
She could, however, be peevish with him.
“Come in, then.” With a huff, she stepped aside, pulling the door open wider. “The sooner we get this over with, the better.”
He entered and cast a quick, assessing glance around at her French Country décor with the vases of dried flowers, vintage floral chairs, distressed bookshelves, and the comfy, sky-blue sofa laden with heart-shaped pillows and stuffed animals.
Not that he was looking at the actual furnishings, of course. Probably he was looking for possible security issues like a broken window lock or a lurking Kryptonite-powered supervillain.
“Well, sit down,” Mia ordered inhospitably, gesturing to the white farmhouse table in the kitchen.
He sat, his big frame and black shirt incongruous in the feminine surroundings. He removed his laptop from the briefcase and set it on the table. Mia collected an armful of binders from the bookshelf. Each one represented months of hard work and research they’d done to ensure Polly had the wedding of her dreams.
She started toward the table when Gavin pushed his chair back and stood. She paused, somewhat taken aback by how much room he took up in her little kitchen.
He retrieved her abandoned bowl of ice cream from the counter, set it at the place across from him, and sat back down.
What…?
“You’d better eat that before it melts,” he remarked mildly.
Mia shook off a silly sense of pleasure over the gesture. It had to be professional instinct that compelled him to notice little things like that. Being perceptive and observant were probably the top qualities required in a security operative.
She was just surprised that he’d noticed her ice cream considering he’d barely ever noticed her.
She plunked the binders down one by one on the table.
“This one is for budgeting and receipts. This one is for gown and bridesmaid dress samples, and pictures of different hairstyles. This one is wedding guests, invitations, and seating charts. This one is for caterers, musicians, and photographers. This one is the timeline for the ceremony, and the schedule of events. This one was supposed to be for the honeymoon, but Luke wanted it to be a surprise for Polly so he’s doing all the planning. So I’m using this binder for Polly’s packing list and the Wild Child schedule, so she doesn’t have to worry about the bakery while she’s away.”
Gavin eyed the multiple binders. Mia couldn’t tell if he was impressed with her organizational skills or if he thought she’d gone way over the top. Not that she cared what he thought, anyway.
She sat down and picked up the bowl of ice cream. The hostess in her wanted to offer him something to eat or dr
ink, but given the way he’d barged in here at this hour and without advance warning… he didn’t deserve her hospitality. Or her ice cream. Or her.
She ate a spoonful of ice cream and watched him open the first binder. His strong features were set with serious concentration, though up close the wire-rimmed glasses softened the hard lines of his face a bit. He wrote something on a legal pad, his penmanship compact and precise. She liked the way he held his pen, close to the point with a firm grip.
Her belly fluttered, even as she groaned inwardly. Despite trying to steel herself against him, everything about Gavin Knight still made her go all warm and melty inside. She’d thought her attraction to him was based on the fact that he was one of the few men who hadn’t fallen for her charms—but over the months she’d realized it was more than that. She liked his strength, his dedication, the loyalty he commanded from his team of security operatives.
Of course, she didn’t like his immunity to her, which was the reason she had to stop flirting with him. A girl had to know when to quit, after all.
“I’m reevaluating the existing plans.” He unfolded a piece of paper and spread it out on the table between them. “This is a diagram of the villa and surrounding grounds.”
Mia leaned forward to look at the map of the sprawling villa where the wedding would be held before the guests moved to the reception hall. Red and blue lines indicated the guest route and parking areas.
“What are the circles around the grounds?” she asked.
“I’ve implemented three rings of security around the perimeter of the venue.” Gavin pointed to the largest circle. “Outer, middle, and interior. The interior is the tightest.”
“I would hope so.” Her voice came out husky.
Oh, Mia. So much for not flirting.
Chapter
THREE
She was off limits. He’d been telling himself that for the past year. Every. Fucking. Time.
Every time he saw her in her short little skirts and tight sweaters, her thick blonde hair falling like spun silk down her back. Every time she made a suggestive comment in her honeyed voice, her body almost vibrating with a plea for his response. Every time his guard slipped and he caught himself staring at her round ass or her perfectly shaped lips.
Every time he imagined those lips wrapped around his cock.
Off limits, Knight.
She hadn’t been off limits in his head. There, he’d done a thousand dirty things to her—twisted her hair around his fist, pulled her head back, and devoured her rosebud mouth. Turned her around and spread her over the arm of the sofa to fuck her from behind. Ordered her to spread her legs and finger herself for him. Watched her twist her nipples as he came on her tits.
More than once he’d been tempted to break all his rules and teach her a lesson. Put her over his knee, lift up her skirt, and spank her for being a tease.
She’d been an increasingly painful test of his self-control. Only his dedication to Luke Stone and his family, which would soon officially include Polly Lockhart, prevented Gavin from crossing the line. As Polly’s best friend, Mia was close enough to the family that he’d kept his distance.
Tough to keep his distance when she was this close, though. Close enough that he could smell her sweet, citrusy scent. See the flicker of her tongue as she closed her mouth around a spoonful of ice cream. Her proximity was distracting.
At the bakery he could always sit a few tables away from her. He disliked acknowledging he needed a physical barrier from a seemingly harmless, fairy-like girl, but the more he saw her breasts rounding out her sweaters or her long legs in flower-patterned tights… the less he trusted his restraint.
Even now, his blood was on low simmer. He was trained to read people, to anticipate danger, to let nothing get in the way of keeping his principals safe. Not even his longstanding friendship with Luke had affected his ability to do his job. In some ways, his personal bond to the Stone family had intensified his effectiveness.
Not that he was searching for a justification to start up with the blonde beauty sitting across from him.
“Any public spectators will be restricted from entering the outer ring.” He tapped his pen on the map again. “I’ll be working with local law enforcement to provide a visible presence outside the venue. Has anything changed in the reception floor plan?”
“We added a few more tables to accommodate all the guests.”
“I’ll need to see the seating arrangements. And the entry procedure from parking to the venue is far too long and complicated. I will also be strengthening the parking control measures.”
“Well, the reason for the entry procedure is that guests need to walk from the parking lot to the courtyard,” Mia informed him, a sarcastic bite to her tone. “And Julia Bennett wanted them to enter through a wing of the villa that isn’t usually opened to the public. Like entering the Sistine Chapel through the Vatican museums.”
For Christ’s sake. Gavin barely suppressed a snort.
“That’s the way she described it, anyway,” Mia said.
He glanced at her, gauging that she wasn’t too intimidated by the beautiful and formidable Julia Bennett. The sister of Warren Stone’s late wife, Julia was a force to be reckoned with. Unexpectedly Gavin liked the idea that Mia Donovan could hold her own against the older woman.
“Sistine Chapel or not,” he said. “For security purposes, the route needs to be simplified.”
He took a red pen out of his briefcase and drew a line from the parking lot, up the slope toward the villa.
“The wedding is in two weeks,” Mia said. “Polly assured me you and Luke went over all the details.”
“We did. The situation has changed.”
“How?”
He sensed her curiosity bubbling just beneath the surface. Not surprising. He’d seen her interacting with people at Wild Child plenty of times. She was lively and eager, wanting to know everything about everyone.
“I’ll worry about that part,” he said. “You just need to do what I say.”
She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. Her robe gaped open at the neck, revealing a V of pale skin leading down to her round breasts. He’d noticed them enough times to gauge they were big enough to fit in his hands perfectly. He was tempted to slip his pen into the neckline of her robe and pull it down to expose her cleavage. His groin tightened.
“Is Polly in danger?” she asked.
“I don’t want any guests delayed at the entry point.” He tapped his pen on the map. “I’m allocating two more security officers for access control and five more to patrol the exterior during the ceremony.”
“Great. The guests will love seeing security dudes at a family wedding.”
“They will be dressed appropriately,” Gavin said. “My men know how to blend in at any event. And we will do a thorough sweep of the grounds before anyone arrives.”
“Really.” Mia’s voice held a sudden note of strain.
He looked at her. Concern darkened her green eyes, and her jaw was tense.
“Is Polly in danger?” she repeated.
Tough question. He considered before answering. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he also didn’t want to scare her. And he needed to confine the details to the small circle of people involved in the case.
“When you marry into a family as prominent as the Stones, you expose yourself to a certain level of risk,” he finally said. “But that’s the point of my job. To mitigate the risks. To ensure they never reach the level of actual danger.”
Her forehead was still creased with worry. A sudden, hard need to protect her rose in him. Before he could stop himself, he reached across the table to put his hand over hers.
“No one will get hurt,” he said. “Not on my watch.”
She looked at his hand engulfing hers. If she was reassured, she didn’t say so. Instead, she withdrew her hand from under his and scooped up another spoonful of ice cream.
“And not as long as I do what you say, right?” s
he asked.
His blood simmered at the thought of her doing what he said. Like turning around and lifting up her skirt to show him her pert little ass. Or getting on her knees to suck his cock.
“Correct.” He turned his attention back to the map. His palm was still warm from the heat of her hand.
She shifted, flicking her long hair over her shoulder. He felt the rustle of her body as if she’d moved against him. Was she wearing underwear?
“I need an updated program and timeline.” He focused on his laptop. “And guest list. I’ve done background checks on all the vendors, but if there have been any changes, I need to know about them now. No one, not even a delivery guy, gets past the gates unless I’ve personally cleared them. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
That “sir” spoken in her honeyed voice made his dick twitch. He shifted his gaze to her. She was watching him with faint amusement.
“You’re really like this, huh?” she asked.
“Like what?”
“This.” She waved her hand around the air in front of him. “All serious and rigid.”
“My job is serious and rigid.”
“Your job.” She rested her chin on her hand and studied him. “What about you?”
He stifled a humorless laugh. A girl like her didn’t need to know anything about him. Didn’t need his polluted life staining her pretty little world.
“What about me?” he finally asked.
“Do you know I’ve never seen you smile? All these months that you’ve been coming into Wild Child, not once have I seen you smile.”
That was almost surprising. With her silly flirting and constant talk about “having fun,” she’d made him smile countless times—to himself, at least.
He looked at her—peaches and cream, golden hair, blinking at him with those big doe eyes. A surprisingly real, easy smile formed on his lips. She stared back at him, surprise flashing in her expression before a responding smile bloomed across her face. Suddenly his world filled with sunlight.
Gavin dropped his smile before he was tempted to just sit there grinning at her like a goon.
