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He straightened, seemingly filling the wide doorway. “No.” His gaze roamed from her head to her toes and back. When Rhett did that, it felt like a warm caress as opposed to being ogled. “You look lovely. No one would blame me if I rescheduled the whole damn meeting.”

“Nonsense.” This time when her cheeks heated, it felt wonderful. “We had a plan for the day.”

“Let me call in a favor and get Luca evicted from the Inn.”

“That sounds amazing,” she admitted. “Let’s discuss it after your meeting.”

Seeing no other way, she hooked her hand through his elbow and steered him out into the main suite. He grabbed his laptop and they headed over to the conference room.

While he conducted his meeting, she could come up with another excuse to keep her secrets buried. If she didn’t have to share her darkest, most appalling story, she wouldn’t. While they were off to a good start, Rhett wouldn’t be her husband forever and therefore he shouldn’t bear all of her emotional baggage.

She didn’t want to look too closely at why that made her sad.

Chapter Fourteen

Rhett waslivid with Luca’s intrusion on what had been a delightful morning. That ridiculous call had thrown Trina into such a tizzy, she’d come out of the bedroom half dressed. He hadn’t had a moment to congratulate her on handling the jerk so well before she noticed her disarray and rushed off, embarrassed and uneasy again.

If he ever had a chance, he’d punch Gallo into next week. No, that wasn’t exactly the lesson he should be taking from his boxing training, but it’s what he felt and he wouldn’t shy away from it. Definitely not in the privacy of his own thoughts.

And thanks to the awful vibe, he felt guilty that he couldn’t do the polite thing and banish the memory of her breasts filling the lace cups of her bra. That sensual glimpse would fuel his fantasies for quite some time. He found her generous curves irresistible and the sexy scent of her skin even more so. What he wouldn’t give to tell her all the ways he’d love to touch her.

If she could accept him.

She seemed to think he was doing all the sacrificing here, but having her close was exciting and fun. Talkingwith her, watching her mind work, was fascinating. She understood the demands of the industry better than anyone he’d dated.

And here he was, stuck in a tentative limbo on his wedding day, because Luca had crossed the line way back when.

The more time Rhett spent with Trina, the more he understood she was working day by day to overcome an assault. It was the most likely explanation for her general uneasiness with physical contact and her jerky, fearful reactions when someone crowded her.

Not that he’d let that happen while they were together.

When he thought back to their time in France, he cursed himself for not recognizing the signs. Granted, he’d been a kid. Too self-absorbed with his own goals to attempt to understand why she was behaving differently. Instead, he allowed his battered pride and ego to fuel the divide when he should’ve shown compassion and concern for a family friend.

Only hindsight offered perfect vision.

He would find a way to make it up to her. Not that he could actually fix anything after all these years, but there had to be a way to make her future brighter. Well, marrying her was a good start.

She kept asking what was in it for him. Redemption was one hell of a reason. But it wasn’t the only reason. In little more than twenty-four hours, she’d changed his perspective. Trina made life brighter, made him seek out the happier moments. He’d almost stopped believing there was someone out there he could share a life with.

Under the guise of making notes during the staff meeting, he sent a text to Max providing Gallo’s full name, the town where Trina was raised, and the dates just ahead of her arrival in France. It was the best place for the Guardian Agency researchers to start hunting for the root cause of Trina’s trouble with the jerk.

Rhett requested that he not be told about anything they found unless it was an immediate security concern. When he heard Trina’s story, it would be from her and no one else. As for security, he figured as long as they were in Key West she was out of Gallo’s reach.

He wished he could keep her here until Gallo gave up, but that didn’t seem likely.

After that email was sent, he reached out to his own Guardian Agency team downstairs and asked them to get things rolling on additional security in and around the Brookwell Inn. Her security team was solid, but he wanted additional undercover folks in place before they returned.

With his personal concerns handled, he returned his full attention to the staff meeting. Nothing unexpected popped up and soon they were done. As promised, Trina hadn’t said a word. When it ended, and his staff swarmed them with congratulations and well-wishes, she was all grace and warm chatter. He couldn’t have scripted a better bride.

Not that he’d ever thought to do so.

Eventually everyone filed out, expressing their excitement about tonight’s reception. “You’re holding up well,” he murmured.

Trina smiled up at him and she positively glowed. “You make it easy.” She snuck a glance at her smart watch.

He braced for more bad news. “What now?”

“Nothing at all.” She shocked him, wrapping her hand around his arm. “You promised me some touristy fun and brainstorming time.”