Page 69 of Protecting Peyton

“Consider it a promise.”

I could hardly fathom how lucky I was not to have left the building ten minutes ago. I would have left all these wonderful people behind. I would have been gone like a wisp of smoke, and they would have had no idea why. I would have had no idea that the danger was all in my head.

A shiver overtook me. I’d been scared out of my wits over what had been meant as a nice and flirty gesture.

But, going to dinner with this walking temptation was its own kind of danger. I had to get control of things before they got out of hand. “One more thing…”

“What?”

I gathered up all my courage. “That kiss… We aren’t doing that again.”

“I wouldn’t count on that, Angel.”

I let out an exasperated huff. “I mean it. I really do.”

“Of course you do,” he joked.

“I do. Never again. You have to promise me.” I hoped my words convinced both of us.

“I won’t make that promise. You’re too good a kisser.”

“That just means you haven’t kissed many girls.”

“Wanna bet?”

No way.With his looks and charm, the women he’d seduced would probably fill a stadium.

“Stop it. I mean it.” He was the fantastic kisser, but breaking down my defenses with a compliment was playing dirty, and this was a dangerousconversation, very dangerous. Change of subject time. “What did you learn from Frankie?”

He laughed. “Nice try. I can hear you getting flustered, so I’d rather talk about kissing.”

“Maybe dinner is not such a good idea,” I threatened.

“Look, the guy I’m meeting about your door just pulled up. I’ll call you in a bit, okay? You can figure out where you want to go to dinner. How’s that?”

I wiped my nose again with a tissue from the box on the side table. “You pick.”

After saying goodbye, I straightened up, checked my reflection in the window, and went back to my desk.

Constance arrived a few seconds later, admiring my flowers. “These are lovely.”

I nodded. “Yeah, they are.” Now that I understood their meaning, I could appreciate them.

“He sent me white ones this morning. You know that is the first time anyone sent me flowers as thanks for doing my job.” She leaned over to inhale the scent of my roses. “You have quite a guy there.”

I nodded, and my eyes moistened again. March was quite a guy, only he wasn’t mine and never could be. I lifted the vase. “I better get these some water.”

CHAPTER 16

Zane

I’d replayedit over and over in my mind. Peyton had been totally into the kiss. That kiss was definitely a red-hot beginning kiss, not a cold-fish end kiss. We were going to kiss again, and go on from there. I’d felt the desire coiled up in her, yearning to be released, and I was the man for that task.

“That’s it,” Ray said, bringing me back to the cold reality of her broken door. Ray was the contractor Lucas had recommended, and he clicked closed a padlock on the entrance to her condo. “Safe and secure until I’m done. Three days for the door to arrive, one to hang it, and then you can be back home.” He handed me one of the keys to the padlock and kept the other.

I pocketed it. “Thanks, man.” It didn’t matter that we’d had to screw ugly galvanized hardware into both the door and the jamb to secure them. All this had to be replaced anyway.

In four days, Peyton would be able to move back in and avoid me.