Protecting His Kidnapped Family - Leslie North Page 0,31

her little arm at Serena. “We’ll be fine, Mom.”

By the time Serena got back upstairs a few hours later, she felt like a new woman. Gone were her worn clothes and scruffy long hair. In their place was a spiffy new shoulder-length cut and a cute little cocktail dress for dinner that night. She’d also had her finger and toenails painted in a shade of fuchsia to match the flowers on her dress. In her hands were multiple shopping bags containing new tops and sweaters and jeans and pants and lingerie and socks. She’d also picked up a bunch of new things for Gracie and a couple of items for Noah, though he was harder to buy for. She wasn’t sure what his style was beyond the camo and T-shirts—or the jeans and sports coat she’d seen him in the night they’d met.

She made some educated guesses, given he was a guy and what guy didn’t love playing James Bond every once in a while? When the elevator dinged and she stepped out, she felt as excited as a kid at Christmas. The TV was on in the living room and Noah was on the couch, a sleeping Gracie in one arm and an ice bucket with a bottle of wine chilling in it on the coffee table in front of him.

“I hope you didn’t give the baby any of that,” she teased.

“What? No,” he said, swiveling slightly to see her, then stopping short. His poleaxed expression was compliment enough for her. “Wow. You look…”

Serena grinned. “Like it? I tried on a bunch of different stuff, but after wearing pants for so long, I wanted to feel like a girl tonight.”

“Beautiful,” he murmured, standing slowly as if in a daze. “You look beautiful, Serena.”

“Thanks.” Heat shimmered inside her as their eyes caught, held. Oh yeah. He was definitely getting some tonight. Was there anything hotter than a man with his kid? At the moment, she couldn’t think of anything. She set her bags aside, then rummaged around inside one of them for his gift. “Here, I got you something.”

She handed him the square blue box with one hand and took Gracie from him with the other. The baby stirred and stared at her with wide blue eyes, one tiny hand reaching up to grasp a strand of her hair. “Hi, baby girl. Do you like Mommy’s new do, huh? Do you?”

Gracie squealed with glee.

Noah opened the box and scowled. “You didn’t have to do this. It’s too expensive.”

“I know I didn’t have to,” she said, leaning slightly to see the glimmering silver of the Omega Planet Ocean Watch with Blue Dial she’d bought him. She’d asked the clerk what watch 007 would wear and the man had told her this one, so that was what she went with. She bit her lip. “I wanted to. After everything you’ve done for me and Gracie, I wanted to give you a gift. Don’t you like it?”

He inhaled deeply and looked up at her. “I love it. It’s incredible, but you don’t owe me anything for doing my job. Seeing you and Gracie happy and safe is enough for me.”

Her heart squeezed and her core melted. “Please, take it. I want you to have it, Noah.”

He pursed his lips and stared down at the watch again. The seconds ticked by slowly, until finally he smiled. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then headed toward the bedroom. “Now, get ready because the man from the tailor shop downstairs will be up soon to fit you for your tux.”

“Tux?” Noah’s dark brows drew together. “What do I need a tux for?”

“The casino. The high-limit room only allows guests in formal dress in to play and I feel like gambling tonight. After all, I’ve been pretty lucky today so far.”

14

By the time Noah got through with the tailor and the alterations were made to his new tux, he had to admit he felt like a million bucks. As he admired his reflection in the mirror, it still took him a moment to wrap his head around the fact that this was real.

Twenty-four hours prior, he’d been scrambling to find a way to get Serena and Gracie out of this place and back home to the US without getting them all captured or killed—all while praying that Gracie’s fever wouldn’t get worse. Now, the bad guys were caught, the baby was better, and Serena had turned up after