“I wouldn’t have stepped in if I were.”
“That’s so cool. Thank you.”
Falco nods once more. “Address?”
Throwing back the covers, I reel off the address and leap from my bed. “I think my brother was the last one who used the cabin. I’ll need to get the keys from him.”
“Understood. Give me a couple of hours and I’ll have it sorted.”
True to his word, two hours later I sit next to Falco as he drives us out of the city and toward the hills where the family cabin has nestled for as long as I can remember.
Talking to my brother and making him give me the keys was easier than I anticipated, but he seemed distracted. Given how full steam ahead Mom is with the wedding planning, I don’t blame him.
No one else comes with us.
No other guards, no security team, no one.
Just us.
I settle into my seat, a blanket Falco brought draped over me. He said it was for comfort, and I’m touched he even considered it.
He drives without saying a word, taking winding back roads and alleys as if he’s making sure we don’t leave a trail. Soft classical music pours lazily from the radio, and the world passes me by in a blur.
“Thank you,” I say after we’ve finally left the city behind.
“It’s fine.”
“Not just for this. I mean thank you for everything. For saving me, again. For having my back with my mom. For not giving up on me even when I kept pushing.”
Falco doesn’t look at me, but the corner of his mouth twitches. “It’s my job to take care of you.”
My heart sinks slightly, but before the feeling of doom can fully swallow me he continues.
“And I take that seriously, Aerin. You are my priority. I swore an oath to your father, and I mean to abide by that, but to do that, you are my only concern. No one else. Nothing else. Keeping you well and safe is the only thing I care about.”
He speaks with more warmth than any other guard ever has, and I get the feeling he’s talking about more than the bare bones of his contract. Although that’s got to be just wishful thinking.
From that time in the shower, the closeness when we were running together, working out in the gym, the kiss that wasn’t really a kiss, and even him tucking me into bed after rescuing me; all of it blurs in my mind. He’s just doing his job, technically, and yet if I squint it feels like so much more.
Maybe I’m just too desperate for attention that isn’t preplanned.
“Have you ever been up this far before, into the woods?” I ask, curious.
“No.”
“Never?”
“Nope.”
“Do you like nature?”
“It’s alright.”
“Did you ever camp as a child?”
“No.”
“Not once?”
