“Like …” He motioned for her to continue.
“Like watching movies or television. I can count the number of movies I’ve seen on one hand.” She splayed her fingers. “We sit on a rocker on the porch or take walks on the beach or dance.” She tipped her head towards him, and he had the strangest urge to kiss her. “Islanders love to dance.”
“Surely not.”
She laughed. “It’s true. And we are never without a partner, because we dance with the water, the air, and the sun.”
He trailed a finger down her rounded cheek. “That would be reason enough to visit.”
“I would like that.” She moistened her lips, bringing his focus to her pink mouth once again. She had the best lips he’d ever seen. Full. Rounded. Inviting.
“Do you work with the princess on the island too, or just when she travels?”
“All the time. She is always with me.” Neese lifted her head off his shoulder, seeming to come to herself.
Tatum regretted bringing up her work. “Except for now.”
Neese tugged her cheeks up in a small smile. “I think it’s time to return to the ball.”
A knot formed in Tatum’s stomach. He’d messed up somehow—broken the spell they’d woven by sneaking out like naughty children. He wanted it back. “Right. Now, where is that trellis?” He looked up and down the back of the building.
Neese swatted his arm. “You cannot make me climb in this dress. I’ll break my neck.”
“And what a lovely neck it is.” He ran his fingers over her collarbone.
“Tatum?”
“Yes?”
“Would you like a meeting with the princess?”
He brought the back of her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her soft skin, buying himself time to think of the correct answer. Nelson was counting on him to get this contract;hewanted the contract. This was their ticket to an easier, safer way of life. A life where he had the freedom to entertain the idea of a relationship with someone like Neese—or maybe Neese. Neese would be good. “I do. But I don’t want you to think that is the reason I brought you out here.” He steered her through the garden paths that would take them around the side of the hotel and to the back door of the lobby. From there, she could enter the ballroom with no one the wiser as to how she got out.
He slowed before rounding each corner, listening for footsteps, the click of a gun, or someone breathing—signs that the assassin had come for him. The guy was an amateur—a thorn in his side that could easily be removed when he wasn’t entertaining a lovely woman in a beautiful dress. She’d complained about the dress, but he couldn’t find a thing wrong with it.
“Whydidyou bring me out here?”
“I’m not quite sure …” Bravado? His protective nature? An impulse? None of that rang with truth.
Attraction.
He cursed silently as the word rang through his head like the Liberty Bell declaring freedom from his old life. After tonight, he’d be hard-pressed to go back to the Middle East. Forward was the only direction he could travel. Move forward or die.
“That’s good. I’m not quite sure why I followed you. It’s strange, this feeling you give me of having a true friend.”
Ouch. “Friend-zoned already?” he teased, even though his stomach cramped at the thought. Neese had impacted his existence in a short amount of time. How could she not feel the heat that arched between them?
She tipped her head. “Friend-zoned?” The words were unfamiliar on her tongue. “Yes, you are definitely in the friend zone with me.” A wide, pleased-as-punch smile spread across her face.
Tatum chuckled. Neese didn’t know thefriend zonewas a place a guy didn’t want to be; the meaning was lost in translation. But that was okay. He’d rather be in her friend zone than not. Being in her friend zone sounded like a good thing—especially when her brown eyes warmed and her cheeks turned pink.
He opened the door for her and followed her into the hotel. No one paid them any attention as the crossed to the ballroom doors.
“The princess will be at the XX Café tomorrow at one.” She removed his jacket and held it out for him. “Would you like me to hang it up for you?” She motioned over her shoulder towards the coat room. “I’m familiar with the process.”
He laughed and took it, brushing her fingers in the process. “No thank you. Will you be at the café?”
“Maybe.” She glanced up through lowered lashes, looking coy and so breathtakingly beautiful his heart almost forgot how to beat.
