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If she stays in one place. If I could convince her to let me protect her permanently.

To be with me—permanently. It wouldn’t matter where; the mission would remain the same. Keep her safe.

Love her.

Instead of longing for sleep, I feel like I’m waking up.

I let go of Teri’s hand to turn into our short driveway and pull into the square garage that attaches to one end of the house. My eyes check every shadow. I didn’t see anyone tailing us at the store. Nothing around the perimeter has been disturbed.

That makes me twitchy. Are our precautions working that well, or are they simply too good for me to detect? Could they have genuinely bought our fake, clumsy wedding? I supposea rebound quickie marriage for a gorgeous, disillusioned ex is believable.

“Come on. Let’s get in the house,” I grunt and grab the groceries.

“Is something wrong?” Teri jumps out of the car, her voice instantly high and breathless with fear.

“No. I don’tseeanything wrong.”

“That’s good, right?”

“Yes, but... Well, sometimes if you don’t see anything wrong, you still have to look for trouble. Come on, your chocolate will be a puddle if we don't pop it in the fridge.”

MY COMMENTS MADE THERESEtwitchy, which I regret, especially after the peaceful moments we shared on the drive home, holding hands in contented silence.

The rest of the day passes with us moving about each other, but notwitheach other, until it’s time to make dinner. Teri is in the kitchen, muttering her way through the contents of the cabinets, pulling out pots and looking for utensils.

“I should take you out to a nice restaurant. That’s what people do on their honeymoons. They don’t cook.”

“Yeah, well, they’re too busy doingotherthings. I have time,” she snaps, jerking a meat fork out of the drawer. “Steak? I can cook, in case you were worried.”

“Hey, I’m sure you can cook. I just... Well. I would still like to take you out to a nice dinner.”

Teri stills in front of the cast iron pan she sets on the stove. “I think Matteo thought romance was all about the public stuff. ‘Look at the jewels my wife has. Look at the dress I brought her. Look at the concerts we attended and the fancy restaurants we dined at.’ I loved it, too.”

I know she’s not done. Teri sniffs in loudly and hurries to cover the steak with salt and pepper, muttering something about this place needing a spice rack.

My hands are gentle on her shoulders. I shouldn’t touch. If I touch, I won’t want to stop.

Therese relaxes under my palms at once. I rub in small circles, moving closer. When her back hits my chest, my arms wrap lower, holding tightly around her waist, my lips just above her hair. “What is it? What else?” I murmur, eyes closed so I can focus on the scent of her skin, the warmth and softness of her.

“It was all public because it was a cover. And it was all sex because that was convenient. Why not fuck the stupid farm girl you dolled up and paraded around?”

Anger at Delgado for what he’s done to Therese far outstrips my anger at what he did to some other lowlife who probably deserved to be stabbed. “You’re not a dumb farm girl.”

“My dad sells tractors! That’s close enough,” Therese half-sobs. Her shoulders are shaking against me, tears and hysterical laughter overtaking her. “I’m so sorry. Sorry I was too dumb to slow down, to question him, to wonder why he wanted me instead of anyone else. Matteo could have had his pick.”

I’m surprised that a witness under this kind of stress has held it together for so long. I push Therese’s hands into the sink and scrub off the meat juices before turning her to me and folding her into my arms. “He didn’t want anyone else because you were... Youaresomethingspecial, Therese LaFontaine.”

“Therese Gray,” she corrects, wiping her eyes.

“I could tell you all the reasons a man would want you to be his wife, but deep down, you know them. You’re angry, rightfully angry, that Delgado exploited your gifts and set you up as his cover, parading you around as a honeymoon couple on an extended trip so no one would look too hard at his comings and goings.” I stop there before I can say (or worse,demonstrate) that I’d like to prove I want something beyond flashy appearances. That I want to romance Therese in private, intimate ways that mean something. That I’ll restore her faith in sex and intimacy as an expression of love between two people.

But I probably wouldn’t. I don’t know how. Oh, I know the mechanics of the act, but I’d be a clumsy failure in practice.

Wouldn’t I?

“You’re so good to me, Reggie. So far beyond duty.” Teri looks up at me with trust and appreciation in her eyes. “You say all the right things.”

I knead her shoulders, and she closes her eyes, breathing up against me, daring me to kiss her lips once more.