Page 40 of Love’s Strongest Soldier

He sat back, looking entirely too pleased with himself. I pointed my fork at him. “You’re a menace.”

“And yet here you are,” he shot back.

“Against my better judgment.”

“Your judgment seems good to me.”

Shaking my head, I returned to my pasta. It was delicious. After a few bites, I glanced up and found him watching me. It was like he couldn’t keep his eyes off me.

“What?” I questioned him.

“Nothing.”

“You’re staring.”

“I know.”

“Why?”

He set his fork down. “I like looking at you. Is that a problem?”

“Nope.”

By the time the dessert arrived, I was beginning to understand why he’d chosen this place. There were no flashing cameras. No business associates stopping by our table to discuss acquisitions. No family members calling to ask me to do something. No one needed anything from me right now, and it was a breath of fresh air.

For the first time in what felt like forever, I was simply sitting across from a man who wanted to spend time with me. Ghost noticed when I grew quiet. He waited until I looked at him before asking, “You okay?”

I nodded.

“You sure?”

“I’m fine.”

He studied me to see if I was lying, then he reached across the table and offered his hand, palm up. I stared at it. Something about that simple gesture made my throat tighten. I placed my hand in his. His fingers closed around mine.

“Talk to me,” he spoke.

I looked down at our joined hands before lifting my gaze. “Why did you do all this?”

He slightly frowned. “What do you mean?”

“This.” I gestured toward the flowers, the candles, the entire greenhouse. “All of it.”

He looked around, then back at me. “I wanted to take you on a date. I knew you liked flowers from all the time you spend out there in your garden and thought that you would love it.”

When I didn’t respond, he shifted in his chair, turning his body fully toward me. “You spend every day taking care of everybody else. Your family. Your business. Everybody who needs something from you.” I swallowed because he wasn’t wrong. I’d been taking care of people ever since I was young. That was the price of being the oldest child.

“And since I’ve known you, somebody’s been trying to take your life.” My fingers tightened around his. His expression softened. “I wanted you to have one night where you didn’t have to worry about any of that.”

I stared at him. “One night where you could just be Luxe.” He briefly paused. “Not the Saint-Mercier everybody needs. Not the woman that everyone’s scared of.” His thumb brushed against my knuckles. “Just my girl.”

My breath caught. He’d never called me that before. After two little fucking words, I suddenly didn’t know how to function. I blinked rapidly, refusing to let the tears fall that gathered in my eyes. I wasn’t about to cry in front of this man over some flowers.

Ghost leaned forward and said, “Hey.” I forced myself to look at him. “You don’t always have to be strong when I’m around.”

My little plan flew right out the window when he said that. A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it. I quickly wiped it away.

“I hate you.”