Page 44 of Viktor

“Driving. Airports are not her thing.”

“Yeah, Delia gets nervous around so many people in airports too.”

“You flying in?”

“No. We’re driving. I can’t afford to ship everything there then pay the hotel fees for holding it. Add in the cost of the tickets, the hotel, and everything else, it’s cheaper to drive. There’s a few on the west coast I’m going to that I’ll have to fly, but anything along the east coast I can drive to.”

“Dimitri!”

“Fuck, she’s waving a Sharpie at me. I gotta go before she stabs me with the damn thing. I have to sign my shit too.”

“Talk soon, baby doll.”

“Bye, doll.”

“Baby doll?” Viktor regarded her curiously, a hard edge in his eyes.

“He calls me doll and I call him baby doll. It’s our thing.”

“Becca’s fine with that?”

“She sure is.” Sara set her phone down on the desk and waded back into the mess. She plopped down in the spot she’d made for herself. It took every ounce of strength she had not to ogle Viktor’s very chiseled chest. Why didn’t he put his damn shirt on?

Viktor grunted and leaned against the desk. “I already mapped out where we’re stopping to eat.”

“Did you, now?”

“Hell, yeah. I checked my show and found the places I want to stop.”

“Your show?” What was he going on about?

“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” He cracked a smile. “I love that show. I’ve eaten at a lot of the places.”

“I didn’t peg you for a foodie until we went to dinner in Charleston, but you are, aren’t you?” A lot about Viktor kept surprising her. All the Kincaid men did, for that matter. Delia had taken to Mason like a duck to water, and he was never impatient with her. She’d been his shadow while he installed the security system, and he hadn’t gotten irritated once. He explained to her what everything was. He’d even let her help him do some stuff. Then, every night, he had a tea party with her before bed and took over Sara’s role of reading her a story. Delia insisted on it, and Mason seemed to enjoy it. She’d made him watch her favorite cartoon at least ten times already. He’d done all this and never once scowled. He was well on his way to being a good man.

“Ha, woman. I love food. I can even cook.”

“You can cook?”

“Hell, yeah. I watch the Food Network all the time. I try all that shit out. We have a full kitchen at the office. My team are my guinea pigs.”

She chuckled, imagining all of them sitting around, staring at what he put in front of them and praying to God he didn’t poison them.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

She glanced up and met the sight of his bare flesh, his abs on full display. Why didn’t he put the damn shirt on?

All the keychains and charm bracelets she’d spent the morning making needed to be put into baggies, and she still had to sign all the bookmarks.

“Will you put your shirt on?”

He threw his head back and laughed. She wanted to smack him. It wasn’t funny.

“Mommy!”

Delia came running into the room and tripped on the first box she met. Viktor caught her before she face-planted. “Whoa, there,malyshka. What’s the big rush?”

Her face screwed up and she burst into tears, burying her little face in Viktor’s chest. The sound broke his heart. “Hey, now, tell me what’s wrong, and I’ll fix it.”