“Charlotte was amazing, as usual.” Dulce’s praise meant a great deal to her. “She’s offered to go to Kalispell and meet with Ariana, the little girl who’s struggling to adjust.”
“Montana?” Hawk stepped close to Charlotte, and her heart skipped a beat at the power radiating from his body. And,holy smokes, he smelled good—like pine trees, blue skies, and man.
“I think I can help Ariana, but I need to be with her to accomplish that.” Charlotte might be a bit of a nervous Nelly and insecure about some areas of her life—like the way she felt whenever she was in the presence of the handsome man standing next to her—but she had complete confidence in her abilities as a therapist.
“About that,” Cole continued, “Hawk and I have come up with a plan that might delay your trip to Montana, at least temporarily.”
She looked back and forth between the two men before her gaze landed on Hawk. “Why do I get the feeling I may not like this plan?”
“We need you to go back to your office.” Hawk lifted a hand and moved closer to her. “But don’t worry, I’m going with you.”
“And just exactly how am I going to explain your presence in my office? We don’t exactly get a lot of visitors up there.” And at a little over six feet of gorgeously mysterious manliness, he wasn’t exactly easy to miss.
“Simple. I’m going to be your boyfriend.” He tossed the words out there with such incredible ease.
“Ex—excuse me?” Her voice became oddly high on the wordme. “You’re going to be my what now?”
No way she’d heard him correctly. And no way would anyone believe it.
“Your boyfriend. I’ll go to your office with you, and if anyone asks, that’s what you’ll tell them.” A slow smile lifted one side of his mouth. “It’ll be fun.”
“I’ve never mentioned having a boyfriend, so it would be kind of weird for me to suddenly show up with one.” Especially one who looked like Hawk. “You can just tell me what I need to do, and I’ll go in by myself and do it.”
“Nope, not gonna happen.” He shook his head and moved right into her personal space. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”
Gulp.
“Hawk’s right.” Cole’s voice cut through the haze of lust threatening to drop her to her knees. “The people on that list have a lot to lose, Charlotte, and they will stop at nothing to protect themselves. Which means you are in a great deal of danger, and I have complete faith in Hawk’s abilities to keep you safe.” Cole’s tone was deadly serious. “So, starting now, you don’t go anywhere alone until we resolve this issue, and—”
“You’ll stay with me at my place.” Hawk put a fingertip beneath her chin and tilted it up to him.
“You’ll definitely be safe there.” Cole said.
“I love that plan.” An impish smile appeared on Dulce’s face, and her eyes lit up.
“Don’t you have other, more important things to do, Hawk?” Charlotte added, “And I was in such a hurry to leave my place this morning, I forgot the bag I packed.”
“Nothing is more important to me than you and your safety.” Hawk’s fingertip skimmed her jaw, and his deepdeepbrown eyes locked with hers before his hand fell away. “
Holy magnetism.The pull she felt toward him and the way his voice sort of growled was like nothing she’d ever experienced before. She would’ve followed him through fire.
“What about the loaner car?” Charlotte didn’t want to abuse the man’s kindness by keeping the car longer than agreed.
“Write down the information for the garage and leave the keys here,” Cole said. “We’ll take care of it.”
“And I’ll need to swing by my house and grab my suitcase.” She was such a knucklehead for leaving her bag behind.
“We’ll stop by your place and get what you need,” Hawk said.
“Please, Charlotte.” Dulce clasped her hands together and gave her a pleading look. “I would feel so much better knowing Hawk’s watching over you.”
“But … what about my work?” She’d need to come up with an excuse for her absence. “And my mom?”
No way in hell was she putting her in danger.
Cole and Dulce exchanged a look. Some kind of unspoken words passed between them. She nodded, and they turned to Charlotte.
“Your mom will stay with us.” Cole’s tone was matter-of-fact. As if he hadn’t just invited a relative stranger to stay in their home.
