“Yes,” she said, injecting enough of a Russian accent to fool anyone. “I would like a cheeseburger to go, with fries.”
“Nothing to drink?”
She shook her head and held up her water bottle. After paying in cash, she stepped aside to wait and ran into a wall of muscle. The man took hold of her arms to keep her from falling down. An electric shock zapped through her. The scent of sandalwood filled the air around her.
“Pardon,” he murmured as she looked up at him. Her entire brain froze when she realized who was holding her.
She had seen Ian multiple times, but this was the closest she had ever gotten to him personally. All of the pictures and video she had seen of him over the years hadn’t done the man justice. Had his hair always been that thick? She curled her fingers into the palms of her hands to keep herself from reaching out and threading them through his hair. And why did he smell so good? Like that should be illegal.
His bright blue eyes watched her. She was sure he picked up on some kind of recognition, but he said nothing else.
“No problem,” she said, moving away from him. He hesitated before letting go of her arms.
She walked away, trying her best not to hightail it out of the restaurant. That would alert him. On the other hand, her being this close to him had her worried. The people she was watching would definitely like to get hold of a former MI-6 operative. He hadn’t been in service for a few years, but she knew they would see him as someone they could torture. And she couldn’t let that happen. She had promised Judith. He walked up to the wait staff.
“I have an order to pick up.” His British accent seemed less starchy here. When he spoke to her, it always seemed that he added an extra layer of dick to his voice. She kind of missed that.
“Of course, Smith,” the young woman said, her voice going soft with a hint of flirtation. A spark of irritation rushed through Lila, and she almost snorted, but she refrained. If she did, it would draw attention to her. That wasn’t something she wanted.
“It will be ready in just a minute. Sorry it’s taking so long.”
Where was her apology? Granted, she had just ordered, but she didn’t like the way the woman behind the counter was smiling at him. If she leaned over anymore, her boobs would fall out of her low-cut shirt.
“No worries,” he said, as he stepped away.
Amazingly, his attention zeroed back on her. Of course it did. The man had been a first-rate agent and now a security operative for Dillon Security. He would suss out any threats, and that’s what she was to him. A threat. Well, not to him personally, but to anyone who came close to his family. Still, she knew that most people in the spy biz would call her a threat.
He walked over to stand close to her and Lila had to fight the urge to inch away. Her stomach did somersault after somersault leaving her unsteady. Her heart was smacking against her ribs as she tried to calm it. The clatter of plates and silverware, along with the murmur of voices, filled the air. It made her itchy to be around this many people.
“I take it you called in your order also,” he said.
“Nyet. Apologies, no. I just ordered.”
He nodded and studied her for a long moment. Her fingers itched to fidget. It was one of the many reasons she would never be able to work in the field. Normally she fidgeted, but when she was stressed, she looked like some weirdo hyped up on drugs.
“Have you been on Kauai long?”
She shook her head. “Just three days.”
That was the truth. Her grandmother told her to always fill any story she gave people with a little bit of the truth. That way, it would sound more realistic. Granted, she’d been in Hawai’i for months. Her own investigation was swirling around the islands for some reason. The fact that Ian’s entire family lived here now made it that much easier to keep an eye on them.
“You seem familiar to me.”
She glanced at him. “I don’t think we’ve ever met.”
She forced her accent to deepen, which had his eyebrows rising. “Russian?”
“My blood, but I grew up in Ukraine.”
He nodded.
“I take it you’re from the UK?”
“Guilty,” he said his lips curving.
Her breath caught in her throat. That smile along with the stupid chin dimple packed a punch. No wonder he got away with being a spy for so long. Women constantly hit on him. When he had been in Vegas for his sister’s wedding, women had sent him tons of drinks. It was understandable. If she were a different woman, Lila knew that she would probably do the same thing. But she was Lila Eddington-Underwood, who didn’t make friends and definitely didn’t date. She had no idea how to handle herself around a man, especially a man like Ian Charles Smith.
“What did I do?”
