by Nina Lane
She had to be outside. He’d ordered her to get out of the villa, and he didn’t care how harsh his order had been. All he cared about was her safety.
He started down the steps. A flash of blue caught the corner of his eye behind a line of trees. He turned, instinctively rounding the side of the house to an area blocked off from the gardens. He froze.
“Get Stone over here.” The young man holding Mia moved into a stream of light. His hand was gripping her throat, the other wrapped around her waist.
Gavin held up his hands in a nonthreatening gesture. Mia was holding the kid’s arm, her expression scared, but not panicking. By contrast, the boy was highly agitated, his pupils dilated and sweat dripped down his temple.
“What’s your name?” Gavin asked.
“Danny.” His gaze darted past Gavin to the crowd. “Where the fuck is Stone?”
“Let her go first, and I’ll get Mr. Stone.”
“No way.”
Gavin’s pulse raced. Danny’s knuckles were whitening on Mia’s throat. Her breathing rasped through the air. The noise of the crowd receded into the distance. He stepped forward. Danny moved, and a knife blade flashed.
Shit. Gavin stopped. Sweat trickled down his neck.
“Don’t fucking try it.” Danny dragged Mia backward, moving his hand from her throat to put the knife blade at her jugular. “He screwed me over, and now you’re all going to pay.”
“You didn’t plant a bomb here, Danny. We both know that.”
“You don’t know shit,” Danny snapped. “That fucker Stone owes me millions. Millions. He stole from me. And if he won’t pay me what I’m owed, I’ll kill his whole goddamned family.”
Mia gasped. The pressure of the knife increased, drawing a thin red line at her throat. Gavin smothered his rising fear.
“All right, Danny,” he agreed. “But you know I can’t leave you alone with her. Let her go, and I’ll go get Mr. Stone for you. I was just talking to him. I know exactly where he is.”
“Exterior circle is clear, sir,” one of his men said into the radio.
“Danny, I need my radio. It’s in my belt. I’m going to reach in and get it, all right?”
“And tell everyone what’s going on?” Danny shook his head, pulling Mia backward. “You reach for your radio, I slash her throat.”
Gavin held up his hands again. He didn’t—couldn’t—look at Mia. If he saw how scared she was, he’d lose his mind.
“Danny, I can’t go anywhere until I know she’s safe,” he said. “At least take the knife away from her throat.”
“Don’t tell me what to do!” Danny yelled.
The knife dug in harder. Mia flinched, her skin draining of color. Adrenaline charged through Gavin’s body. He was a split-second from rushing forward and tackling Danny when Mia spoke.
“I’m sorry, Danny.” Despite her fear, her voice was steady and gentle.
The unexpected remark made Danny hesitate. “What the hell are you sorry for?”
Mia loosened her grip on his arm and stroked her hand across it, her gaze briefly meeting Gavin’s. He knew in an instant what she was doing. Pride flickered beneath his fear.
“I’m sorry for all this shit you’ve been through.” Mia moved her fingers to touch Danny’s bare wrist. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to know each other better sooner. We have a lot in common. We like to have fun, go out, meet new people. And when I told you I was seeing someone, I didn’t tell you it was just a casual fling with a guy who’s the polar opposite of me. A man I don’t have anything in common with.”
Her gaze shifted to Gavin again. He felt like a shard of ice had just penetrated his chest.
“So why did you turn me down?” Danny asked, his grip on her as tight as ever.
“Maybe it was a mistake,” Mia said. “But you and me, Danny, we get each other, you know?” She covered his hand—the one holding the knife at her throat—with her own. “We’re both looking for jobs, starting a career, trying out different things. I’m not surprised you came up with a great idea for a candy product but didn’t get any credit for it. You’ve always been a really smart guy.”
“Right?” He shook his head, his eyes darkening with new anger. “What the fuck is it with people always keeping me down? I didn’t get that sales job either. Fucking entry level. I don’t get something soon, I’ll be slinging burgers for the rest of my life.”
“It totally sucks,” Mia said sympathetically. “You try so hard and no one gives you a break. Except for this one.”
In a move so fast it happened in a blur, she drew her knee forward and slammed her foot back, her sharp, pointed heel making contact with Danny’s kneecap. He yelped in both surprise and pain, his hold on her loosening.
Gavin lunged forward. Mia yanked herself free of Danny’s grip and stumbled back. Danny lashed out with the knife, slashing Gavin across the arm. The blade tore his sleeve, but didn’t penetrate far. Gavin grabbed Mia and shoved her behind him.
Danny turned, his eyes wild with rage. He charged toward Gavin, knife first. Gavin stepped aside, grabbed the younger man into a headlock, and gripped his wrist. The knife fell to the ground.
“You’re done.” Gavin took a pair of cuffs from his belt and latched them around Danny’s wrists.
“You sonuvabitch,” Danny spat, struggling to escape his grip. “You can’t do this. I’ll fucking kill you all.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Gavin muttered.
Still holding Danny, he turned to ensure Mia was still behind him. Pale and shaken, her hair a mess, she stood shaking in a delayed reaction. He ran an assessing gaze over her, forcing himself to remain clinically detached. Aside from the cut on her throat, she appeared physically unhurt.
Relief flooded Gavin’s chest, hard and fast. He hauled Danny around to the front to the villa, ignoring his screech of pain, and gestured to one of his men.
“Get him to the police department,” he ordered. “I’ll call in to the chief letting him know what happened and that you’re on the way.”
“You dickhead.” Limping, Danny wrestled futilely with the brawny security officer who led him to the truck. “You’ll never get away with this, and neither will Luke Stone.”
Gavin made a quick call to the chief of police, then checked in with his second-in-command to explain the situation. He returned to Mia. She stood with her arms wrapped around herself.
The sight of her—vulnerable, strong, and more precious to him than breathing—hit him deep in a place he hadn’t known existed. He stopped in front of her, his hands fisting, suppressing the urge to haul her into his arms, hold her tight, touch every part of her to ensure she was okay.
He no longer had that right. He’d vowed that everyone would stay safe on his watch. And yet the one person who had gotten hurt was the woman who now meant more to him than his own life. He hated himself for not protecting her.
“Are you… are you all right?” he asked.
She gave a short nod, her lips pressing together. “I assume we’re not going to blow up?”
“Everything is fine. The package was a present that had gotten broken. Scented oils and incense.”
She gave a faint, humorless smile. “I suppose that could be dangerous, in the right circumstances.”
Gavin’s insides iced over. He couldn’t stand seeing her like this—remote and closed-off. She was in shock, but it was more than that, like she wanted to keep him away. He should have been almost grateful for the fact that she’d already figured out she needed to keep him at a distance, but all he felt was pain. Words tangled in his throat.
“I’m sorry I ignored you for so long,” he finally said. “You didn’t deserve my coldness, not a warm, lovely girl like you. You’re… you’re like sunshine.”
She looked past his shoulder, her eyes growing suspiciously bright. “If only you knew how many times during the past year I wished you’d say something like that to me. Or even just ‘Hello, Mia.’ Anything.”
He started
to speak, but she shook her head. A tear ran down her cheek. His body reacted like he was going into battle—everything tightening, locking down. He struggled to breathe.
“I know you t-thought I was this flakey little airhead,” she said, her breath hitching, “but every time I saw you sitting at the bakery, so stoic and rigid with nothing but your laptop and a stupid cup of black coffee, I just felt like you needed me.”
Gavin’s heart almost broke in half. For a second, he didn’t even know what the feeling was. He’d never felt the machinations of his heart as much in his whole life as he had in two weeks with Mia Donovan.
He started toward her. She held up a hand. He stopped.
“Yes, I wanted to get a reaction out of you by flirting,” Mia continued, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. “But I also felt like you needed… light. You needed to loosen up, have fun, put some sugar in your coffee, for God’s sake. And maybe I was foolish to think I was the one who could help you do all that, but I just liked you so much. I liked your strength, how you’re so dedicated to Luke and Sugar Rush, how successful you are at your job. I liked that you focus so intently on everything you do, how you command such respect from your team. I liked that you give people your undivided attention when they’re talking to you.
“But I didn’t realize until we got together that everything I felt was more than admiration. More than wanting to make you my project and loosen you up. I’ve been falling in love with you for over a year. And the moment you finally kissed me is when I fell in love with my whole heart.”
He couldn’t speak. For a brief, glorious instant, he rejoiced in her confession, ached to return it, to admit that the intensity of all his feelings for her could be distilled into the single word love.
Then that instant was eclipsed by the hard, crushing reality of them. Mia Donovan with her genuine goodness, her natural facility with people, and her longing to create beauty didn’t need a man who would crush her vision with his instinctive, unyielding need to eradicate potential threats. A man who saw danger in helium balloons, pizza delivery, and scented oils. A man who had failed to protect her.
“Mia.” Her name was his breath, the beat of his heart, every single part of him that saw a reason for light and hope. “I can’t…”
“You can,” she said. “But you won’t.”
No, he wouldn’t. Couldn’t.
“I love you, Gavin.” She gazed at him, her eyes filled with an unbearable sorrow that speared him to the core. “But I see now that you’ll never let yourself admit that you just might love me, too.” She turned to the steps of the terrace, her shoulders rigid. “You should get back to your security team. They need you.”
“I need you.”
But by the time Gavin got the words out, choked and twisted, Mia was gone.
Chapter
EIGHTEEN
It took her half an hour to stop shaking and to suppress the tears. Mia closed herself up in the upstairs bridesmaids’ room, knowing Gavin wouldn’t come after her while he was still on duty. Even if he wanted to. She gulped down a few breaths and gathered the remnants of her composure.
Though she hated that her memory of Polly’s wedding would be stained with both Danny’s assault and a break-up with Gavin, Mia took some consolation in the knowledge that she—and Gavin—had been the only ones affected.
As far as she knew, thanks to the unobtrusiveness of Knight Security, no one else was even aware that there had been an “incident.” Gavin would have to give an explanation to the Stones and Danny’s date, but Mia knew he’d come up with something plausible. The rest of the wedding party and guests had had a lovely evening and would only rave about the eldest Stone brother’s nuptials.
And sooner or later, Mia would have had to face the reality of her and Gavin’s relationship. Maybe it was better that it happened here, in the midst of a pure celebration of love, where she could see the futility of Mia & Gavin with painfully sharp clarity.
After taking a few moments to fix her hair and makeup, she retrieved her chiffon scarf from the reception hall to conceal the thin knife line at the base of her throat. Then she forced a smile on her face and returned to the garden, where the party was winding down after the fireworks show.
“There you are.” Polly came toward her, as radiant as she’d been at the beginning of the day. “That was incredible. I can’t believe you and Hannah kept it a secret from us.”
She linked her arm through Mia’s and started back inside to the reception hall. The security team patrolled both the perimeter of the gardens and the foyer, but she knew Gavin wouldn’t have allowed the guests back inside unless he’d personally declared the entire place safe.
The guests bustled around, still exclaiming over the fireworks as they finished up leftover cake. Gavin was nowhere to be seen, though several of his men hovered around the perimeter of the room, like shadows in their black suits.
As the party wound down, Mia went upstairs to fetch Polly’s overnight travel bag. The newlyweds were heading to San Francisco to stay at the Four Seasons hotel for the night before leaving for their honeymoon the following morning. They made the rounds, saying goodbye and thanking all their friends, before Luke’s brother Tyler ushered everyone onto the villa steps for the couples’ final departure.
A shiny, classic Mustang, personally restored by Tyler as a wedding present to the happy couple, waited at the base of the steps. Hand-in-hand, Luke and Polly made their way out amidst cheers and a rain shower of dried flower petals.
Mia applauded and cheered along with everyone else, resolutely setting aside her own dismay in favor of happiness for her friend and genuine delight that the whole event had been such a success. Most of other guests began leaving, collecting wraps and wedding favors from the reception hall before making their way to the parking lot.
The bridesmaids, groomsmen, and other family members lingered in the hall, finishing their drinks and talking. The band was still playing, the musicians having been treated to plenty of food and drinks as well. Hannah and Evan were on the dance floor, their arms wrapped around each other as they moved to the strains of Wild Horses. Everyone looked happy, tired, and utterly content.
Mia sank into a chair, fatigue washing over her. Soon the trauma of the night’s events would hit her, but for now she tried to hold on to the feeling of pleasure that everything had gone well for Polly, Luke, and the other guests.
“Mia.”
She looked up. Julia Bennett walked toward her, magnificently elegant in a beaded Oscar de la Renta dress that made her look like a classic movie star. An older woman with steel-gray hair, also exquisitely dressed and coiffed, was at her side.
Mia got to her feet instinctively, like she was in the presence of royalty. “Hello, Julia. I hope everything went well from your perspective?”
“That’s why I want to talk to you, actually.” Julia waved for Mia to sit back down, as she and the other woman pulled out chairs at the table. “This is my dear friend Priscilla. She and her husband own the Hundred Acre Vineyards down in Temecula, and they’re celebrating their fortieth anniversary this October.”
“That’s wonderful. Congratulations.”
“We’d like to have the party at the vineyard,” Priscilla explained, scrolling through her phone. “Perhaps two hundred people or so. Wine tasting, of course, and a dinner. We’ll have a professional photographer, and Wine magazine will be on hand to write an article about it.”
“Sounds lovely.” Though she was a little confused by the conversation, Mia accepted the phone Priscilla extended to her. Onscreen were several photos of a sprawling, gorgeous vineyard and Italian-style stone villa.
“I haven’t decided on the entertainment yet, but music and dancing is always well-received,” Priscilla continued.
Mia agreed, handing the phone back as she glanced at Julia. To her surprise, Julia was watching her with faint amusement, as if she knew a secret Mia didn’t.
“Priscilla is interested in hiring you to
plan the anniversary party for her,” Julia finally explained.
Mia blinked. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Julia replied, the derisive undercurrent of her voice warning Mia not to sound like a teenager. “We’ve all been quite impressed with how well you planned the wedding. Everything was flawless, from the decorations to the ceremony itself and the timeline. I’ve heard nothing but compliments all evening, and I’m personally grateful to you for having done justice to my eldest nephew’s wedding. I’m sure you know I was wary when Polly refused to let me hire a wedding planner, but she made a hundred percent right decision. You did a beautiful job, Mia. Thank you.”
If Mia hadn’t been so stunned by the words, she would have started to cry all over again. Instead she just sat there, staring at Julia in disbelief. Just the thank you from Julia Bennett would have been more than she’d hoped for, but that combined with all the rest of it…
She bit her lip, which had started to tremble.
“I was happy to do it,” she managed to say. “I’m just glad it all turned out so well.”
“Priscilla asked me earlier this evening who’d done the event,” Julia continued. “And when I heard she was planning the anniversary party, I suggested that she talk to you about it. She knows that you’re starting out, but I assured her you were equal to the task. And of course, this wedding is an excellent referral in and of itself.”
“It most certainly is,” Priscilla agreed, opening her Prada handbag. “And I value Julia’s advice and opinion implicitly. Here’s my card. Give me a call next week, and we can get started.”
“I will.” Mia took the business card with a shaking hand. “I’d be honored to help with your anniversary party. Thank you so much for trusting me.”
“You clearly have a talent for creating beautiful events.” Priscilla stood, looping her handbag around her arm. “We’ll speak soon.”
She headed off toward a rotund, portly man who was lingering by the bar. Julia stood as well, eyeing Mia pointedly.
