Two could play at that game. She narrowed her eyes. “I promise I’m legit. Look at the list. I’ve been in here before. We rode in his airplane to the Magic Lamp Park.”
“Take a flying carpet and head back, lady. I don’t have time for this.”
Avery’s mouth fell open. “Hey!” She threw off her seat belt, opened the door, and jumped out to pound on the window. “You can’t talk to me like that!”
The guard pressed a button on the wall.
Avery’s desperation hiked. “Listen. I did a really bad thing to a really nice man, and I need to get in there and tell him I was an idiot and that I love him.”
The guard put his hand on the Taser at his belt as he reached for the knob. Suddenly, three other guards appeared, weapons drawn. Avery flattened herself against the door before remembering there was one inside there too.
“Hands up,” barked one of them. She wasn’t sure which, because her head was spinning. This was not good.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ben
Ben was in his recliner, readingForbesForbes. Savannah was lounging on the couch. In an attempt to keep her mind off Avery, he’d bought her a new series of books, and she was plowing through them at record speeds.
The sound of a bubbling stream came through the speakers in the ceiling and hidden in the walls. A sense of calm permeated the house. Which was fantastic, except that it was exactly distracting enough to keep his thoughts off of Avery. He’d come up with a dozen different arguments as to why they should be together in the last half hour alone.
“Excuse me, Mr. Wilaby?” Herb appeared in the doorway, his hands clasped behind his back. “May I have a word?”
“Of course.” Ben followed Herb into the hall, where Savannah couldn’t hear their conversation. “What is it?”
Herb gulped, the extra skin on his neck wrinkling. “There’s been a disturbance at the front gate, and your assistance is requested at the security checkpoint.”
Curious. There hadn’t been an issue since they’d moved in. However, if there was a new threat against his daughter, Ben wanted to know about it. He pointed to the library, where Savannah was lost in the diary of a wizard. “If she surfaces, will you let her know I’ll be back soon?”
“Of course. I’ll stay close.”
“Thanks.” Ben took the golf cart down to Security Checkpoint 1. There were two buildings set aside for security. The guards lived and trained on-site. But part of each building was set aside for the business of keeping The Cove and its residents safe. Ben was met at the door by Jean-Claud, the head of Bravo Security. “What’s the problem?”
“She refuses to leave.” Jean-Claud pushed open the door and made his way down a hallway. His heavily ladened belt creaked.
“Who?” Ben asked.
“Her.” Jean-Claud pointed to a window with his thick, square finger.
Ben peered in to see Avery slumped in a chair against the wall. She chewed her lip and tapped her foot. His heart lurched as if it had been sitting quietly, waiting to see her again before it could beat.
“Should I have her arrested?” asked Jean-Claud.
Ben reached for the handle. “Let’s see what she has to say first, shall we?”
“Would you like me to come in?” Jean-Claud offered.
“I think I can handle this one.” Ben swung the door open and swaggered in. She’d come to him. It could be that she’d forgotten something on the plane and come to reclaim it. He shouldn’t let his heart beat so fast.
Avery’s head came up and she scrambled to her feet. “Ben!” Her eyes went wide and her face lit up, making Ben’s heart hammer all the more. She threw herself at him, and he caught her, partly out of reflex and mostly out of a desire to hold her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I had to talk to you. I made a mistake.”
He rubbed circles on her back with his palm. “Which one are you talking about?”
She shoved at him but didn’t shove him away. Her cheeks dusted pink. “This is harder than I thought.” She fiddled with the front of his shirt, her eyes lowered. “Okay. So I thought that real love is all the same, but then I realized that it’s not.”
