Page 14 of Island Whispers
She nodded and, for just a moment, appeared utterly defeated. “I’ll introduce you.” Her hand hovered over the security panel. “I will not mention that we’ve met before.” She punched in the code.
“Understood.” Discretion being the better part of valor and all. Unable to resist, he leaned close and whispered in her ear. “But we will discuss it.”
She didn’t respond.
He backed up. “Nina, you could just go home.”
“No.”
He’d tried. Logan had warned him she was in a fierce mood. Boone needed all the insight he could get. He knew her body better than he knew her as a person. No time like the present to correct that imbalance.
“Was the family business how you found your way to becoming a florist?” he asked as they entered the shop.
“Yes. My mother loves flowers so we spent a lot of time in gardens. I worked my tail off as a teenager with the various landscaping jobs and although I enjoy working outside, I didn’t enjoy all the stuff my brother does so well.”
“Do you have enough business?”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You’re here to protect the bottom line too? How wonderful. I can show you the books later. Right now, I want to get in there and see how the day is going.”
He should’ve made up some excuse and told Jess to find another protector for her. But the mere thought of walking away put a pinch between his shoulder blades. “Nina—”
She held up a hand, shushing him. After a moment, he heard it too, another woman speaking with someone up front.
“You were saying?”
“If you need Jess to find someone else…” Giving her the option felt like opening a wound. He didn’t want to lose her now that he’d found her again. “What happened before doesn’t have to be a factor now. We’re adults.”
She folded her arms, her chin lifting. “What did you mean by romance?”
The question shocked him.
“You said you were going to romance me,” she pressed. “What does that mean to you?”
He recognized a test when it was standing in front of him. Heat flashed in her dark eyes, along with something he suspected was fear. Or at least doubt. “For me, romancing you is about learning what you want and what pleases you. Bodyguard or not, because of—” he cleared his throat, “—our previous meeting, romance is still an option for me.”
“You want this to become personal?”
It sounded remarkably like a dare. “We can find a balance. I want this to be as easy as possible for you. Your safety is my top priority, but I also want you to be comfortable. Whatever you need. We can talk it through privately.”
“Give me one thing—one example—right now.”
“One thing?”
“One romancy thing,” she specified.
He had to pass this test. “Well bringing you flowers is predictable, even if you weren’t a florist.” Standing here with her, he realized why she smelled so damn good all the time. He scrambled to focus and come up with a strong answer. He breathed her in.
“To romance you, Nina?” Studying her, he considered the few glimpses she’d shared of herself, in Jess’s office and during their one night.
“I’d bring you chocolate. A truffle,” he decided, warming to the idea. “Something dark with a mocha filling that would melt in your mouth.” He heard the catch of her breath and kept going. “The taste would linger on your tongue, rich and decadent, reminding you of the gift and the moment. And me.”
She stared at him, her eyes going wide. He watched as her warm olive skin paled. Then she shoved him aside, making a beeline toward the row of shrubs across the lane.
Momentarily baffled, he was a few seconds behind her. Bent over, hands braced on her knees, she was gulping air.
“Not like that,” he snapped. Gathering her hair up, holding it out of the way in case she got sick, he directed her to breathe through her nose, slow and steady.
“Can’t,” she gasped.