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“You’re looking very studious.”
I snapped up at Olivia’s voice to find her leaning against the doorway with a soft smile on her freshly washed face, her wet hair curling around her shoulders and dripping on her t-shirt in dark spots. Tight workout shorts accentuated her toned thighs and shiny red polish highlighted her tiny bare feet.
“Just catching up on some reading.”
“Anything exciting?”
“The interviews from your staff at Colomba.”
“Oh.” Her wide eyes ran over my face as if searching for a clue. “And?”
“Not much we didn’t already know.”
She nodded and moved to get her own water bottle. “So what now?”
“Now I keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
“Which is?”
“Looking into all leads and keeping you and Elizabeth safe.”
She nodded, her eyes drifting to my computer, then back up.
“What?”
“It’s nothing.”
The troubled expression on her face called her a liar. “Clearly, it’s something. What is it?”
“Are we safe?” She sucked in a breath and shook her head. “I mean... nothing’s happened in a while. Do you think, maybe, things might be getting back to normal?”
Was she seriously in that much of a hurry to get rid of me? I slowly closed the lid of my laptop, my gaze laser focused on her. “Nothing’s happened in a while?”
“Yes.”
“So, what do you call what happened to my truck in your driveway? Or at your studio just a few days ago? Redecoration?”
“Redeco... no! That was... that could’ve been...” She took in my lifted brows. “Fine. You’re right. I’m just so sick of all of this!” She sank down into a chair across from me. “I hate having my life turned upside down like this, and I’m sure being here is no picnic for you either.”
“I—”
“Yeah, I know,” she said before I could reply, “you’re getting paid to be here. Pretty good, too, I’m sure, knowing my brother. But still.”
I sat back with my arms folded across my chest. “I am, but that’s not what I was going to say.”
“Sorry. What were you going to say?”
“I was actually going to say that I enjoy being here with you, job or no job.” God, what this woman brought out in me. She looked so pleasantly surprised, as if nobody had ever said that to her before, so I forced myself to push on. “Yes, I’ll admit, when I was first given this assignment, I wasn’t too happy. I had a good gig, I was comfortable. Then my boss calls and tells me he needs me to work exclusively for his best client for double the pay, and I would be a fool to turn that down. But what this job lacks in glamour, it more than makes up for in other things.”
Her entire body looked like it was turning into soft goo at my words as she leaned toward me, her hands gripping her water bottle. “What kind of things?”
“Like...” Her breath hitched and I had to bite back a growl. “Pizza. And church with your parents. And being called Man Jusin.” I let my gaze drop to her mouth. “Like being able to protect someone as sweet and kind and talented as you.” I didn’t dare say what I wanted to say, which was how often I let myself think about the taste of those sweet lips and the feel of her silky skin.
“Oh.” Now she sounded breathless.
“Yeah, oh. Now can we drop this nonsense about things being back to normal? Until we catch whoever has been fucking with you, you’re stuck with me.”
Her eyes flashed up to mine.