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She picks up her phone, and suddenly, I’m having a déjà vu moment as she shows me a video clip from the security footage with Payton as the star of the show.

He’s grinning at the camera with this goofy, self-deprecating expression as he flips sheets of paper covered in black lettering, one behind another.

Del, I need your help.

I’m utterly smitten with Lily.

I want to woo her heart.

Will you help me?

Text me. You have my number.

Those tears return, burning the back of my eyes. “Wait? When did he do this?”

“Over a week ago.”

All the outings he requested…Del readily agreeing…all the pieces fall into place.

“And you went along with it?!” I practically screech.

Her expression begs forgiveness. “How could I resist, Lil?” She gestures to the frozen image of Payton, standing there with that adorable lopsided grin and pleading eyes. “Look at him.”

I am looking at him, and I’m melting inside. But I can’t explore those feelings. Not yet, anyway. “Well, you should have! We’re supposed to be protecting him.”

“Yeah, about that…” Avoiding my gaze, she picks at a spot on the steering wheel.

“Del?” I insert a tinge of threat in my tone so she knows I mean business.

“That’s what the picture at the hotel was about. I was updating Payton about his sister, who notified us the threat was over. They found his cousin on some little island. The poor sap was sunburned and near starving, but he’s alive. And it was an accident.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“He begged me not to. Said he needed a little more time.” Her expression almost reflects the longing I’ve been feeling for Payton. “Lil, how often do you get a chance at true love?”

Have I misjudged Del as just a party girl when, deep down, she’s a romantic at heart, yearning for something more than our fly-by-night lifestyle?

Still, she’s the one who taught me the ropes on not getting attached, how to stay emotionally distant, and how to guard ourselves while we protect our clients.

This goes against everything she’s said in the past.

“That was a huge risk, Del. What if I didn’t love him?” I sound frantic, even to myself.

She smiles the biggest grin I’ve ever seen on her face. “And there’s my confirmation.”

I hold shaking fingers to my mouth. What did I just admit to her…and to myself?

Am I in love with Payton? Is that what this is—this rush of desire and longing every time I see him?

The borderline emptiness I feel when he’s at an away game, and I have to watch from a distance?

I’m not even sure I want that position on his sister’s security detail because then I’d be back in England, and Payton would be here.

If I’m going to be completely honest, I’m not sure which terrifies me more. That what I thought I wanted doesn’t hold as much appeal anymore, or that I’m actually imagining…considering what my life would look like if I chose a different path.

One that included Payton.

“Guess the jig is up now that you know.” She checks her watch. “Almost time to pick him up and start planning our exit, I suppose.”

She stares at me, her expression pleading with me to consider another option.

“What exactly did you tell Dame Maxwell regarding our return?”

A devilish gleam I know all too well shows up in Del’s eyes. “That we’d need at least another week, possibly two, to disengage from the situation in such a way as to preserve Payton’s desire to stay incognito.”

I do something I’ve never done before—I hug her. “As you Brits say, that’s brilliant.”

She laughs. “Just playing my part as Cupid. What are you going to tell him?”

“Nothing yet. I don’t want him to know I know.”

“What are you scheming at?” She smiles as she studies me.

“I’m…not sure. May have to wing this one.”

Her expression turns mildly shocked. “No plan?”

“Nope.”

She grins. “I like this new version of you.”

“What are you talking about?”

Her epic eye roll reminds me of Mia. “The Lily who left England a few weeks ago never would have hugged me, let alone played things by ear.”

She’s right. I have changed. Here, I thought I was the one challenging Payton, but he’s challenged me to become more open and willing to consider a future that includes more than just a stable job.

I may not have a plan, but I do have some ideas.

First, I need to know Payton’s really falling for me.

That it’s not just because I’ve been the unavoidable elephant in his apartment.

Part of the appeal for him has to have been the chase, but will he still feel the same about me once he knows he’s caught me?

“So what are you doing to do first, doll?”

“Let him think he’s won me over.”

“Which he has.”

I give her the side-eye.

“What? You just admitted it, didn’t you? If it’s true, then it’s not an act.”

“Right, but he won’t know that.”

Del’s eyes light up. “Oh, this is getting juicy. Then what?”

Tugging my bottom lip between my teeth, I debate whether to be real about this with her. But I feel like I’ve gotten closer to Del in the last ten minutes than I have over the last several years. I had no idea she would do such a thing for me as breaking protocol for the sake of love.

I just hope she’s right. “Then we’ll see if he still thinks he’s in love with me.”

Realization lights up her eyes. “You want to make sure he’s really in it for you?”

I nod.

She rests a hand on mine, her expression earnest. “He’d be a fool not to want you more than anything, luv. More than that blasted puck of his.”

“Or maybe just as much?” Only trying to be realistic here.

“No, don’t you dare settle. Not now, not ever. And if he needs help sorting his priorities, give me a go at him.”

I’ve no doubt she’d tell Payton a thing or two. Or three.

But I’m hoping to match his wooing attempts with a few of my own.