The Bodyguard (Norcross #4) - Anna Hackett Page 0,52
she watched him read the message.
God, he was so purely masculine. She could happily sit here and watch him for hours. She’d prefer to do other things with him, if she had the choice. Her belly coiled. Being with Rome was just easy. There was no pretense; she didn’t have to be anything special to him.
“Anything?” she asked.
His brow creased. “Ace said the house is being rented by a company called Antiquarian. It’s European. Heard of it?”
The name tickled something in the back of her head, but nothing came to mind. “No.”
“Ace is going to keep digging.”
She flopped back in the seat.
“He said the Black Fox gang is planning another theft. He found info on the Dark Web.”
She gritted her teeth. “They’re so greedy.”
Suddenly, the front door of the house opened.
“Rome.”
They watched Chantal skip down the steps. Her hair was no longer up in a ponytail but mussed and loose. Her face was flushed and she was smiling.
“Three guesses what she’s been up to,” Sofie muttered. “She’s married, with two kids, and her husband and family are back in England.”
The woman started down the sidewalk in their direction.
“Shit.” Rome turned his head.
Sofie followed suit and saw the silver SUV driving down the street toward them. Chantal was walking to meet it. She was going to see them.
Rome grabbed Sofie, yanked her across the center console, and kissed her.
Oh. This was much better. She kissed him back.
He cupped the back of her head and she leaned farther over the console, ready to crawl into his lap.
Then he bit her lip and smiled at her. “She’s gone past.”
She blinked. “Who?”
“Chantal. The person we’re surveilling.”
“Oh, right.” Sofie sat back in her seat. “I really suck at this private investigator stuff.”
Ahead, Chantal got into the silver SUV.
“Luckily you’re better at jewel thiefing.” Rome pulled the car out to follow.
“Thiefing isn’t a word.” Sofie paused. “I’d stop if the Black Fox gang was brought down.”
“You know it won’t bring Victoria back.”
“I know that.” Sofie sighed. “I guess I hoped that it would lessen the pain.”
“Time does that, Sofie.” There was so much understanding in his voice and she knew he was thinking of Lola.
She touched his thigh.
“I read once that grief is like a box with a ball inside it,” he said. “Inside the box is a button, and when the ball hits the button, you feel the pain of your loved one’s loss.”
She nodded.
“At first, the ball is huge and hits the button all the time.” His hands flexed on the wheel. “But over time, the ball shrinks. It doesn’t hit the button as often.”
He stopped at some lights and looked at her. “But every now and then, it still manages to hit that button, and it still hurts.”
“I like that analogy,” she said.
“We’ll always miss them, Sofie, but we still need to live.”
“And accept that there was nothing more we could have done to save them,” she added.
He watched her for a beat, then set the car in motion. He held her hand as they drove back to San Francisco.
They watched Chantal head back into her hotel.
“Surveillance is over,” Rome said.
“Thank God. It’s so boring.”
He smiled. “Come on, Princess, we’ll find you something more exciting to do.”
Chapter Fifteen
The next day, Sofie had no engagements.
They spent the day at his place, and she dove into her charity work. Rome leaned against his kitchen island, watching her. She’d spread papers all over his coffee table, and sat cross-legged on the couch, with her silver laptop close by, and her phone pressed to her ear.
“That’s great. If we can add additional funds today, that would be amazing.” She was quiet a moment. “Priya, you are a miracle worker. Okay, let’s discuss the event in London next month.”
She was so organized. He knew that she was discussing millions of dollars’ worth of charity funding, and scheduling events to help so many people.
Incredible. She was beautiful, funny, generous, kind, and he wasn’t anywhere near good enough for her.
His hands clamped on the edge of the island. She was a princess, she traveled the world doing these charity events, not to mention stealing back stolen gems.
He didn’t like that last part so much. It was dangerous.
What the hell did he have to offer her?
She looked up, caught his gaze, and smiled at him. He felt it move through him.
He pushed the questions away. Whatever happened, for now at least, she was his.
His to protect and his to pleasure.
She ended the call. “Done.”
“You have a lot of work going on.”
She