Page 43 of Grant’s Flame

“I’d do it all again. In a heartbeat,” I said, my voice quieter now that we were inside the shop and away from the bustle of the touristy street. “So, what are you looking for in here?”

She turned a pair of earrings between her fingers a few times before setting them down and answering. “I wanted to bring something back for Hannah. Why don’t you find something for Reina?”

With a scrunched face, I decisively shook my head. “I’m not sure giving my executive assistant jewelry strikes the right tone.”

“I’m not suggesting a diamond ring, Grant. What’s wrong with a nice pair of earrings? Look how pretty these are.” She thrust a random pair in my direction, and I took them like an obedient shopping companion.

I barely glanced at the dangling disasters before setting them back on the counter. “I think I’ll stick to the nice-sized holiday bonus I give her every year. It works for us, so why upset the apple cart?”

Rio shrugged and carried two items toward the register, where a smiling local woman waited to help her. “Suit yourself. Let me just pay for these, and I’ll be ready.”

“Take your time. How does lunch sound?” I called out to her while I riffled through a rack of bathing suits. A little black two-piece caught my eye, and I wondered how much of a fuss the woman would kick up if I bought it for her.

Little crocheted triangles made up the skimpy top, and there wasn’t much more to the bottoms. Another saleswoman appeared by my side while Rio continued her animated conversation with the woman behind the register.

“That one looks great on.” She smiled warmly and then nodded toward Rio at the other end of the shop. “For her?”

“Maybe. I’m not sure if she would let me buy it for her, though. She can be…stubborn,” I finally filled in.

“I’ll get a bag, and you can just round off the price if you’re paying cash.” She leaned even closer so we could conspire about the purchase. “That way, you can surprise her when the time is right?” she suggested, hoping to close a sale.

I had to hand it to her—she knew the art of the deal.

“Yeah, all right.” I quickly pulled out my wallet and handed the woman some cash, and she darted off for a bag. We finished our mission well before Rio wrapped up her conversation and made her way back to me.

“Ready?” she asked cheerfully, and we moved out onto the sidewalk. “I wasn’t hungry until you mentioned food. Now I’m starving.” While standing on the balls of her feet, she gripped my forearm for balance and tried to see over the throng of people. “I think there was a fish taco place a couple shops down that way.” Rio sank back down to her flat feet but looked up at me over the tops of her sunglasses. “Isn’t that the direction of the marina?” she asked with a bit of confusion.

“I think this place really agrees with you. You’re positively radiant right now.” Before she could protest, because fuck, I knew she would, I bent and wrapped my arms around her waist and hauled her body flush against mine, lifting her off the ground.

“Looking lost like an obvious tourist?” she asked while stifling a giggle. People grumbled as they had to divert their course to walk around us, but I didn’t care. While I had her body pressed against mine, I couldn’t think of much else.

I kissed the tip of her sun-kissed nose and then her glossy lips before letting her slide down the front of my body until her feet touched the ground again. The sticky strawberry goo she had on her lips was on mine then too, and I tasted it with a grimace.

“Oh my God, I wish I had my camera out for that. That was priceless.” Mischief transformed her entire face, and I was the one wishing I had a camera at the ready. This woman captivated me in so many different ways, I felt like a love-sick teenager again.

Except, when I was a teenager, I never had time for feelings like these. I was busy watching my back on the streets and worrying about staying one step ahead of law enforcement when Bas and I were up to trouble—which, let’s face it, was all the damn time.

“How can you stand that on your lips all day?” I asked, digging into my pocket and hoping I remembered a handkerchief, even though I had on casual shorts.

“It’s the small price a girl pays to have lips all the boys want to kiss,” she answered.

The mere thought of any other “boy” kissing what was mine had a menacing sound clawing up my throat before I could intercept it.

“Easy, killer,” she said, patting the center of my chest.

Quickly grabbing her delicate hand, I held it over my thundering heart. “I don’t think I could be responsible for my actions if I had to witness you kissing another man.”

Though she held my gaze for a beat or two, I couldn’t read her expression through her sunglasses. Talking about having an exclusive relationship would likely send her running for the hills, and… Well, shit. What did I know about the subject myself?

So when she blurted out one of her random topic shifts, I actually felt a sigh of relief escape my lungs. “I think maybe I’ll indulge in a beer today. What do you think? Doesn’t that sound good?” Rio asked, rather than address my premature possessiveness.

Still, I couldn’t help but chuckle as we started walking again. Even though I was grateful for the topic change, it had to have been the clumsiest I’d ever witnessed, even from her. And she was giving her go-to tactic a hearty workout this trip. Anytime the subject shifted to one she didn’t want to discuss, whether it was because she was uncomfortable or didn’t want to face particular emotions, she would hurl us headlong into another conversation without a warm-up or introduction. The routine topic whiplash I sustained had really sharpened my communication skills during the trip, though. If I still had a job when we got back to California, the new talent would serve me well in the boardroom.

“Two for lunch, please,” Rio said with a shiny-lipped smile when we approached the eatery’s hostess podium.

“Inside or out on the patio?” the server asked my girl—until she caught sight of me and began something close to a visual molestation.

While I worked on my charmingly chill skills, Rio was clearly growing impatient with the woman’s blatant perusal. One glance at her terse profile, even from my vantage point, had me bending over to cut off the woman’s fire while it was still manageable embers.