“Cool. We’re all sorry.” She rotated her hand in agive me the rest of the storymotion. “We’ve got an hour before you need to get your butt in there, maybe less. So keep talking.”
Lachlan nodded. “Five months passed after Iceland. I noticed a huge change in Gina the next time we got together.” He shook his head. “I guess I’d changed too.”
“Was that when she married Jeremy?” Elissa asked softly. “I mean, she did marry him, right? He’s the ex Fia was talking about?”
Lachlan only shook his head. “I shouldn’t have pushed,” he said, then continued his story.
* * *
Lachlan, age 40
Lachlan hadn’t seen Gina for five months, not since Iceland. Now he waited in a smoky bar in Paris—smoke he was happy to contribute to, at least until Gina arrived. God bless the Parisians flaunting indoor smoking laws. He needed something to steady his nerves for the conversation he wanted to have. She was already late and that wasn’t helping. Maybe she couldn’t get away.
Maybe she didn’t want to.
Stop thinking that wayhe told himself.She loves you. Never doubt that.
He watched people coming in from the cold in ones and twos. Each woman made his heart stop for a second, but none of them was Gina. He always—always—knew her the second he laid eyes on her no matter what she was wearing or how she moved. To him, she had a radiance that she couldn’t hide. He’d seen it from the minute he laid eyes on her. Though, as he’d told her in Iceland, it was dimming. He wanted to put a stop to that before it was too late.
The door opened again and there she was. Gina peered into the smoky bar. Her disguise was flawless as usual but he’d still know her anywhere. God, he couldn’t believe they’d been doing this for years now, meeting when they could, sometimes when their jobs brought them to the same city, sometimes flying halfway across the world to steal a week or two together.
She moved through the room, and to any casual observer she looked calm. But Lachlan knew she was hyper-aware of every glance that slid her way, those perceptive golden eyes scanning the room. Any moment, she’d feel his gaze on her, as surely as he always recognized his Sunshine. Then she turned her head his way and she saw him, sitting in a shadowy booth with his back to the wall. Their gazes locked, and his stern mouth curved into a smile.
Heat unfurled inside Lach as Gina walked toward him, desire and danger tangling into an intoxicating mix. This was the life they had chosen, stolen moments and secrets in the dark.
But not for much longer, if Lachlan had anything to say about it.
“You look haunted,” he said when she slid into the seat across from him. He found her hand under the table, his calloused fingers entwining with her own.
“I wasn’t sure if I could get away.” She leaned in, lowering her voice. “There was a situation in London.”
His grip tightened. “Are you okay?”
She squeezed back as she smiled. “I’m fine. I promise.”
Lachlan signaled the server for two drinks, his mouth a grim line. “There’ve been a lot of close calls lately, Sunshine. What’s going on?”
Her calm demeanor cracked almost imperceptibly.
“What is it?” he asked softly. “This isn’t like you, lass. What’s going on?”
“I think I just want to get out.” She looked around the bar.
Lachlan grabbed his wallet to pay for his whiskey. “I have a place around the corner. We can head straight there. Do you need food? We can?—”
“I mean,out.” She looked at the table.
“Oh.” Trying not to give away his joy at her words, Lachlan stood and pulled her up with him, barely giving her time to grab her bag before practically dragging her out of the bar.
It wasn’t until they were outside that he realized she was laughing.
“What?” he asked, a smile already overtaking his lips.
“Tell me how you feel without saying anything.”
Hiding-joy fail. Lach gave in and laughed. He turned his face up at the dark sky which decided just then to release cornflake-sized snowflakes. They hurried over the slick cobblestones of Montmartre to thepied-à-terreLach had borrowed from a friend. He wanted this trip to be special, even if they only had a single day together.
He opened the door and pulled Gina inside, then pinned her against the wall. He loved the gasping sound she made just before his lips covered hers. She returned his kiss just as passionately.
