He turned to see Angela walking toward him. She’d changed out of the clothes she’d worn to church, and now wore a pair of fleecy pants, a long-sleeve T-shirt, and some thick socks. She looked very cozy and huggable, but she had a concerned look on her face.
“Is everything okay?” she asked as she neared him.
“Would you believe me if I said I just wanted to see you again?”
Her eyes widened briefly at the question. “I’m not sure. I mean, we just saw each other thirty minutes ago. I just don’t think you’d give in to that urge, even if you had it.”
“Well, you’d be wrong,” he said. “I would take any opportunity at all—and might even make up a few—to see you again.”
“I’m glad.” She smiled at him briefly, but then it faded. “Seriously though, is everything okay?”
“Come sit with me,” Jude said, motioning to the loveseat near where he stood.
Angela crossed her arms as she walked to the loveseat to join him. He waited for her to sit down before he sank down onto the cushion beside her.
It took a moment for Jude to realize that she was bracing herself for whatever he was going to say.
Reaching out, he touched her hand. She immediately uncrossed her arms and slid her fingers between his.
“It’s nothing super serious,” he said. “It’s just a work thing that has come up.”
“A work thing?”
“Duncan needs to fly to Saudi Arabia to deal with a business matter.”
“Saudi Arabia?” She frowned. “Is that… is that one of the places you travel to with him?”
“Yes, I’ll be leading the security team for this trip.”
“Oh.” She stared at him. “Is this a dangerous assignment?”
“It has the potential to be,” Jude said. “Though in all the times we’ve traveled there, we haven’t experienced any significant security events.”
“So why do you have to go?” she asked.
“The further we are from home, the more security Duncan takes. Nowhere is as safe as here. This situation in Dubai is an internal one at the company, but it can quickly turn external if we’re not careful. Duncan just doesn’t want to take any risks.”
“I’ll miss you,” she said, seeming to accept the inevitable.
“I’ll miss you too.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“Probably at least a week. And I need to ask you a really big favor.”
“What?”
“I need you to stick to the estate while I’m gone. I haven’t had the chance to bring in your bodyguard yet, so if I’m not here, I’d rather you stay on the estate unless it’s an emergency.”
Her fingers tightened around his as she seemed to consider his request, then she nodded. “I don’t have any real reason to leave. I don’t need anything from the store since we just went, and I’ll simply wait until you’re back to go to church again.”
“Thank you,” he said. “I don’t want to have to restrict you like this again, so when I get back, we’ll look at bringing your bodyguard to the estate.”
“Do you know who it is already?”
Jude nodded. “I’ve been considering someone from New York. But I want you to meet her first. We’ll deal with it when I get back, just in case Duncan needs me to go with him somewhere else.”
“Will we be able to message or talk while you’re gone?”
