“Excellent.” The king interrupted him neatly. “You will keep us informed of what she’s doing, where she’s going?”
Instantly, Garrett bristled. That wasn’t protection; that was being an informant. Not once in all the years he and his twin had run their agency had they resorted to snapping pictures of cheating spouses and damned if he was going to start down that road now.
“I’m not interested in being a spy, your majesty.”
A dismissive chuckle sounded. “A spy. This isn’t the situation at all. I’m asking that you protect my daughter—for a handsome fee—and along the way that you merely observe and report. What, Teresa?” Garrett heard furious whispers during the long pause and finally the king came back on the line. “Fine, it is spying. Very well. Observe and not report?”
He still didn’t like it. Then the king spoke again.
“Garrett, my daughter wants her holiday, but she’s managed to lose every guard I’ve ever assigned her. We would appreciate it very much if you would watch over Alexis.”
Which was why he had finally agreed to this.
Garrett came back out of his memories with a thoughtful frown at his image. He had the distinct feeling that this was not going to end well.
But what the hell else was he supposed to do? Tell a man, a king, that he wouldn’t protect his daughter? And still, he would have refused outright if the king had insisted on the spying.
But damned if he could think of a way to get out of guarding her. The king didn’t want Alex’s presence announced to the world, for obvious reasons, and since Garrett had already met her, and was a trained security specialist besides, how could he not take the assignment?
If he had said no and something happened to Alexis, he’d never be able to live with himself. His frown deepened as he silently admitted that the truth was, he already had one dead girl haunting him—he wouldn’t survive another.
Four
At the knock on her door, Alex opened it and smiled up at Garrett.
The slam of what she had felt around him the day before came back harder and faster than ever. He was so tall. Broad shoulders, narrow hips. He wore black jeans, a dark green pullover shirt—open at the collar, with short sleeves that displayed tanned, muscular forearms. His boots were scuffed and well worn, just adding to the whole “danger” mystique. His features were stark, but somehow beautiful. His eyes shone like a summer sky and the mouth she had thought about way too often was quirked in a half smile.
“I’m impressed.”
“You are?” she asked. “With what?”
“You’re ready to go,” he said, sweeping his gaze up and down her before meeting her gaze again. “Not going to have me sit in the living room while you finish your hair or put on makeup or decide what to wear?”
Her eyebrows lifted. He had no way of knowing of course, but she had been raised to be punctual. The King of Cadria never kept people waiting and he expected the same of his family.
“Well,” she said, “that was completely sexist. Good morning to you, too.”
He grinned, obviously unapologetic. “Wasn’t meant to be sexist, merely grateful,” he said, stepping past her into the living room of her suite. “I hate waiting around while a woman drags her feet just so she can make an entrance.” He gave her a long, slow look, then said, “Although, you would have been worth the wait.”
She flushed with pleasure. A simple compliment simply given, and it meant so much more than the flowery stuff she was used to hearing. As for “entrances,” she got way too many of those when she was at home. People standing when she entered a room, crowds thronging for a chance at a handshake or a photo. A band striking up when she was escorted into a formal affair.
And none of those experiences gave her the same sort of pleasure she found in seeing Garrett’s reaction to her. Alex threw her hair back over her shoulder and tugged at the hem of her short-sleeved, off-the-shoulder, dark red shirt. She had paired the top with white slacks and red, sky-high heels that gave her an extra three inches in height. Yet still she wasn’t at eye level with Garrett.
And the gleam in his eyes sent pinpricks of expectation dancing along her skin. Funny, she’d been awake half the night, but Alex had never felt more alert. More…alive. She should have done this years ago, she thought. Striking out on her own. Going incognito, meeting people who had no idea who she was. But then, even as those thoughts raced through her mind, she had to admit, if only to herself, that the real reason she was feeling so wired wasn’t her little holiday. It was Garrett.
She’d never known a man like him. Gorgeous, yes. But there was more to him than the kind of face that should be on the pages of a magazine. There was his laughter, his kindness to his little cousins—and the fact that he’d ridden to her rescue.
And the fact that the black jeans he wore looked amazing on him didn’t hurt anything, either.
Alex watched him now as he scanned the perimeter of the room as if looking for people hiding behind the couches and chairs. Frowning slightly, she realized that she’d seen a similar concentrated, laserlike focus before. From the palace guards and her own personal protection detail. He had the air of a man on a mission. As if it were his job to keep her safe. Doubt wormed its way through her mind.
Was it possible this had all been a setup? Had her father somehow discovered her whereabouts and sent Garrett to watch over her?
Then she silently laughed and shook her head at the thought. Garrett had been at Disneyland with his family. Their meeting was accidental. Serendipity. She was reading too much into this, letting her imagination spiral out of control. Alex was projecting her concerns onto Garrett’s presence with absolutely no reason at all to do so. The man was simply looking around the penthouse suite.
She was so used to staying in hotels like this one she tended to forget that not everyone in the world was blasé about a penthouse. Inwardly smiling at the wild turns paranoia could take, she ordered herself to calm down and patiently waited for Garrett’s curiosity to be satiated.
Finally, he turned to look at her, his features unreadable. “So. Breakfast?”
“Yes, thanks. I’m starving.”
He gave her that grin that seemed designed to melt her knees and leave her sprawling on the rug. Really, the man had a presence that was nearly overpowering.
“Another thing I like about you, Alex. You admit when you’re hungry.”
She shook off the sexual hunger clawing at her and smiled back at him. “Let me guess, most women you know don’t eat?”