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“Wait, my darling. You cannot be angry with me for my concern. You are worth the wait. What a tragedy it would be to have come all this way and not spend a moment with you. I will wait, my love.”

Rhett bristled once more. “Say it again.”

“Good bye, Luca.” She quickly ended the call before Rhett lost his temper and threatened Luca with bodily harm.

“What the hell was that?” he demanded. “How did he get through?”

“Maria called and I answered.” She planted her hands on her hips. “How could I not after yesterday? He wrestled the phone from her hand.”

“I’ll kill him.”

“You won’t.” The phone hummed in her hand. She glanced down and then turned the device to show the text message to Rhett.

“I feel sorry for your managers,” he grumbled.

“That makes two of us.” Belatedly realizing she still held his wrist, she released him. “Thanks for the moral support.”

Standing so close, his gaze dropped, just for a second. The flare of heat in his gaze startled her, until she remembered her shirt open, her bra on full display. Embarrassed, she clutched the fabric to cover herself. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, excuse me…” In her haste, she dropped the phone.

And he caught it.

“Take your time,” his voice trailed after her. “They can’tstart the meeting without me and I’m not going anywhere without you.”

“That’s silly. Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll come meet you once I get myself pulled together.”

Literally pulled together. She straightened the top and tied it at the side. She couldn’t believe she’d been standing there in her bra in front of him.

While Luca made noises about a future that scared the hell out of her.

“We’ll go together, or I’ll reschedule.”

The nerve. He knew she’d feel worse if he did that.

If only she had the time to redo her makeup, she’d splash some water on her face. Her cheeks were so hot, she thought they might never cool down.

“Rhett?”

“Right here.” He stood in the bedroom doorway, his back to her. “You doing okay?”

“Not even a little bit,” she blurted without thinking. “I can’t believe this. I—you.” She fanned herself with both hands. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“Please, don’t be.”

“You must think I was?—”

“Flustered,” he supplied. “You handled it like a champ. Like a professional.”

“He’s a pain in the ass and we both know it,” she groused. “I swear he took arrogance classes from Antonio.”

“Want to tell me what he did before stealing the phone from Maria this morning?” Rhett dared her to talk with one raised eyebrow.

“Definitely not the day for that, thank you.”

“I got an email from Harper this morning. The Guardian Agency is digging in. It wouldn’t break my heart to make their job easier.”

She gulped as she pulled on another pair of wedge sandals.Whatever they found wouldn’t involve her beyond the documented facts of being raised in the same neighborhood. Any information she added to that wouldn’t change anything. She hadn’t filed a report at the time and it was years past the legal window to do so.

She smoothed lipstick over her lips and fluffed her hair around the headband. “I’m ready. I haven’t made us horribly late, have I?”