“Sick mom? Really?” She crossed her feet at the ankles. “You think up lies easily.”
“Say whatever the hell you want.” He tapped the toe of her high heels with his Ferragamo-clad foot. “But let me help.”
“No, thanks.” She tapped him right back. “I can take my own vacation without you.”
His foot worked up to her ankle. “Can you just walk away from this?”
Her lashes fluttered for an instant before she said, “It’s just physical reaction.”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
“It can be.” She pulled her foot back and crossed her legs.
Gorgeous legs. Miles long. The sort made for wrapping around a man’s waist.
“Then come away with me for a week, err on the side of caution.” He winked. “I promise to come through for you.”
“Argh!” She stomped both heels on the carpet. “Can’t you just talk to me? Drop the charming, polished act and just speak.”
His grin spread. “You think I’m charming?”
She shot to her feet and grabbed her bag by the handle. “Forget it—”
He stepped in front of her. “I’m sorry. I just… I don’t want you to leave. What the hell do you want from me?”
“Honesty. Why are you pushing so hard when this is already settled? Our work here is done, and I’m not a defenseless kid.”
“Hillary, damn it…” He struggled for the words to convince her when she’d hamstrung him by telling him not to use any charm. Kissing her again wouldn’t gain him any traction right now, either. “You confuse the hell out of me. I’m worried about you, and hell, yes, I want to make love to you on the beach in every continent. But I also want time with you.”
“Honestly?”
“As truthful as I know how to be. Spend a week with me. Be safe. Get me out of your system so you can return to your regular life without regrets.”
“What makes you think you’re in my system?”
“Really? Are you going to look me in the eye and tell me you don’t feel the attraction, too? And before you answer, remember I was there when we kissed.”
“Okay, I’ll admit there’s…chemistry.”
“Explosive chemistry, but it’s clear neither one of us is ready for something long-term. So let’s let whatever this is between us play out before we return to our regular lives.”
She studied his face, and he could have sworn she swayed toward him. But it was just her head moving back and forth.
“I can’t, Troy. I’m sorry.” She backed away, pulling her roller bag with her. “I’m going home to Washington, to my normal, wonderfully boring life.”
Ouch.
There wasn’t a comeback for that.
Stunned, he watched her walk away. She was actually leaving, opting for her everyday job in D.C. rather than signing on for the adventure of following their attraction wherever it led. Some might call it ego for him to be so stunned, but honest to God, he was floored by the power of their attraction. He knew it wasn’t one-sided. That she would turn her back on the promise of something so unique, so fantastic—so very much not boring— blew him away.
He wasn’t sure exactly why it was so important to him that he follow her. The attraction. Keeping her safe. The challenge of her saying no. Maybe all three reasons.
Regardless, she’d vastly underestimated him if she thought they were through. If she wouldn’t come with him then he would simply have to make do with helping her hide out in the nation’s capital.
* * *
She’d actually done it. She’d walked away from Troy Donavan.
That made her either the strongest woman in the world—or the most afraid. Because the thought of spending the next week or two with Troy was the scariest and most tempting offer she’d ever received. Walking away hadn’t been easy, and she still didn’t know if that made her decision to do so right or wrong.
Her roller bag jammed in the revolving door.
Figured.
She yanked and yanked until finally the door bounced back and released her suitcase. Freed, she stepped outside the hotel, scanning for a cab. She would worry about the expense of changing her ticket return date later.
Of course it was raining, turning an already-muggy early morning all the more humid and dank and overcast. Four more aggressive commuters snagged cabs before her. Exhausted, frustrated and close to tears, she sat on her suitcase again.
“Need a ride?”
Hillary almost fell off the bag.
“Colonel Salvatore?” She steadied herself—darn heels she’d vainly chosen because of Troy. “I’m just trying to catch a cab to the airport.”
Her eccentric contact again wore a gray suit and red tie, his buzz-cut hair exposed to the elements. She couldn’t help but think about Troy’s linen fedora and all the thin-brimmed hats he wore in the photos of him that filled the press.
“Then let me take you. I owe you that, as well as arranging for your change in flight plans.”
Resisting would be foolish, and she really did need to leave before she raced back up to Troy’s suite—which she couldn’t even do since she didn’t have a penthouse key card. “Thank you. I gratefully accept.”
A driver was already opening the doors to a dark SUV with tinted windows. She slid inside for what had to be the most awkward car ride of her life. Colonel Salvatore didn’t speak for their whole drive through the city to Chicago’s O’Hare International. He simply typed away on his tablet computer. After five minutes of silence, she focused her attention on final views of the city slicked with rain. Who knew when or if she would return?
Her eyes drifted over to study the colonel, the former headmaster of Troy’s military high school. Troy had said he “helped out” but how deeply did that connection go? She’d been working with local authorities when she met the colonel…. None of it mattered. Time to put the past—Barry— behind her and start fresh.
Right?
But once they reached the airport, the SUV didn’t stop at the terminal. “Colonel?”
Holding up a hand, he focused on whatever he was working on at the moment.
“Sir,” she pressed as the muffled sound of jet engines grew louder, closer, “where are we going?”
He clapped the cover closed on his tablet. “To the private planes. I’m taking a personal jet.”
“But I’m going to D.C. Regular coach status is okay with me.”