She eyed it excitedly. “Another birthday gift?” This was larger than the last two, and just as nicely decorated.
“You know the present is actually what’s inside, and not the box itself,” he said with a wry smile.
“Okay, okay.” Tiffany untied the ribbon and pulled open the box. Whatever it was was encased in tissue paper. She pulled the paper away, and then held it up.
She glanced up at Ivan with an amused surprise. “It’s…a Taser.”
“Yeah,” he answered, his voice relaying his enthusiasm. “Isn’t it cool? It’s a C2 model, so it’s small and can fit in your purse. I got red. It’s stylish and comes with live and practice targets and cartridges, backup battery pack, a holster—”
“It’s a Taser,” she repeated. “What do you think’s going to happen while you’re in Venice?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it is, you’ll be prepared.”
Tiffany threw herself into his arms. She hugged him fiercely. “You’re a thoughtful and strange man, Ivan Mangum. And if I come up against an unsuspecting bad guy while you’re gone, thanks to you, I’ll know how to beat him to a pulp, and then fry his ass.”
“That’s my girl,” he said proudly.
They both shared a laugh as Ivan’s cell phone rang.
“It’s my pilot,” he said after he hung up. “We’ll be leaving soon. I’ve got to get going.”
Tiffany nodded. They shared another kiss and headed to the door. She followed him to his car.
“Call me and let me know you arrived in Venice safely.”
“Roger that.” He engulfed her in his arms and gave her one final kiss. “Have fun with the girls.”
Tiffany smiled. “You know I’m starting to think you’re going to Venice just so you don’t have to go on the Love Bird tour.”
A shocked expression covered his face. “Would I leave you here to fend for yourself against the Love Broker?”
“Isn’t that why you got me the Taser?” she countered.
He laughed heartily at that. She walked him out to the truck. He rolled the window down.
“Have a safe trip,” she called out.
He waved. “I will. I’ll call you tomorrow when I get in.”
“You’d better,” she said. Tiffany waved, and remained there until Ivan’s Range Rover was out of sight. When it was gone, she turned around and slowly walked back into the house.
*
It was eight o’clock the next evening when Tiffany got Ivan’s call.
“Hey, baby. How are you?”
“Ivan, what are you doing up at this hour? Have you even been to sleep?”
“I slept on the plane. I had to hit the ground running when I got here, so I haven’t been to sleep yet. I’m working on the route plan for tomorrow so that I can go over it with my guys in a few hours. There’s going to be a lot of traffic due to some huge celebration going on. My client is pretty well-known here, so security is going to be an added challenge.”
“Yeah, well, you’d better come back to me in one piece,” she warned. “Not even a scratch.”
Ivan chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”
She smiled at that.
“What are you up to?”