Stone refrained from reminding her of his plan to never get married. His reasons were solid. Amongst them a blood oath with his brothers to remain bachelors until retirement. Love distracted men, and in their line of work, distractions became deadly. “Let me get this straight. The gig is an undercover one, and I’m to pretend I’m this woman’s boyfriend?”
“Didn’t I mention that?” Clarabelle gave him a serene smile. A smile that hid so many secrets. “I could have sworn I did so.”
“You did not.”
Clarabelle had always been scattered, but ever since coming back into their lives a few years ago, thatscatteredhad become magnified to the point of concerning.
“It must have slipped my mind, what with all the worrying I’ve been doing over you. It was bound to happen,” Clarabelle said, dropping the worried mother card with the finesse of a Vegas blackjack dealer.
“There’s no reason for you to worry about me.” As much as he’d like to call her on her tactic, he couldn’t. Not too long ago, he’d thought he’d never see her again. Having her back in his life, bizarre as it was, meant the world to him. “Mom, I’ll be fine.”
She tutted. “Physically, I’m sure you will. But a lot has happened in your life over the last several years.”
“As it has in yours.”
“It’s really no wonder that things have gone bonkers for you,” she said as if he’d not spoken. “I suspect your brothers will face the same hurdle any day now. Well…not the injured finger, but the glitchy part.”
“As long as I’m glitching, I have no business working as a bodyguard,” he said, grabbing on to the built-in excuse to say no.
“Oh, fiddle, faddle,” Clarabelle said, waving a dismissive hand. “It’s not like your client will be in any real danger. You’ll just need to scare the weirdos away without using your weapon of choice.” She whispered the last part as if afraid the walls of their office had ears.
“And I need to do that without her finding out the family secret.” And it was one damn startling secret. Or it had been to the woman he’d just started seeing right before Clarabelle had reappeared and turned his and his brother’s lives upside down.
Stone, believing he’d found his perfect match, had given serious consideration to changing careers for her. Completely besotted, he’d gone so far as to hint to her of the family secret byadmitting he believed in things otherworldly. He’d been certain he’d found a woman who would indulge this side of him.
He’d been wrong. Lesson painfully learned.
“True.” Clarabelle repositioned herself so her eyes were level with his and studied him. “Is that what’s bothering you? Not being able to tell a woman your secret until after she saysI love you?”
After Stone’s failed relationship experiment, he and his brothers had decided that in the future—if one of them were to ever again become a love-besotted fool willing to change careers for a woman—they would, at the very least, wait until after love was declared by both parties before they mentioned the family secret and leaving the business. “Considering I have no plans to fall in love and get married, no, that’s not it.”
Clarabelle waggled her finger. “If I’ve told you all once, I’ve told you a zillion times, that just because one woman couldn’t handle your true-blue, honest-to-goodness identity, doesn’t mean none of them can. I went to battle for you to have the right to get married while maintaining your position, and I would have never done that had I thought there weren’t women out there that would understand.”
“That’s not the only reason we made the pact to never marry. If you recall, the agreement was in place before you showed back up in our lives and did the thing you did.”
“I gave you a skill set that has helped the three of you tremendously in your new venture as security specialists. And all but eliminates any real danger you face, which makes your pre-me-back-in-your-life pact unnecessary.”
“That you did, and we are grateful.” As a result of their new weapon of choice, they were able to eliminate most danger before it could get off the ground. But not all. His recent injury proof positive. “But the fact remains I’m currently out of commission. Not suitable for this new gig you’ve booked me.”
“I’ll be the judge of your suitability, and I judge you just fine for the job.” Clarabelle had insisted on filling in for their current receptionist, who was out on parental leave. “It’s not like you’re going to be protecting the president or something. You’ll be providing security for a real sweetheart, Sophie E. Clark. She’s a new columnist atNaked Runway. She took over for the Prince of Manhattan.”
The mention of Scott Landshire made Stone smile. “I’m still recovering from his wedding celebration.”
“Anyhoo, I’ve scheduled for you to meet with Frankie Peterson who will be running lead on this assignment. And at that meeting, you’ll be introduced to Sophie. This will provide you with an opportunity to better understand what it is you’ve agreed to do…via my acquiescence.”
Chapter 3
One week later, Stone stood in line at Espresso Runway, waiting to give his order. The place, tucked away in the ground lobby of the building that housedNaked Runway’soffices, wasbustling with early morning traffic.
The woman in front of him stepped forward to place her order. “Could I have a Fairytale Latte, please? Make it with oat milk, a shot of vanilla, and a swirl of caramel. Oh, and could you sprinkle some cinnamon on top? And if it’s not too much trouble, a dash of edible glitter? It’s like a sip of magic to start the day.”
Stone grimaced. What in the hell kind of order was that?
“I’m sorry, we don’t sell a Fairytale Latte,” the barista said. “Nor do we have edible glitter.”
“Oh,” the redhead said. “Then, let’s make it a…” She paused dramatically, glancing at the menu. “A Grande Couture Cappuccino, please? With almond milk, a shot of rose syrup, and a sprinkle of pink sugar crystals on top.”
“Will that be all?” the barista asked, not glancing up.
