“I’m not going down the path of keeping secrets from Candace,” I say. “And I think it would be irresponsible of me to let down my guard without backup. But let me talk to Candace.”
“You want a drink, man?” Blake asks. “I’ve got the good stuff.”
“I’d rather have a box of donuts,” I say, scrubbing the back of my neck. “I need a clear head.”
“That I can manage,” Asher says, standing up. “We ordered this morning.” He heads out of the room.
Blake’s eyes meet mine. “You’ve changed, Rick Savage. You would never have suggested you need help in the past.”
Because I didn’t give a shit if I lived or died before I got Candace back, I think, but I don’t say that. I know enough about Blake’s past, before he met his wife, Kara, to know he knows.
“Did someone order donuts?”
At Candace’s voice, the room’s attention shifts to the doorway where she stands, looking like a brunette angel, holding the box of donuts. She grins at me. “I hope you don’t mind me barging in on the party.”
Just seeing her lights up the moment, every moment she shares with me. I still can’t get over how she affects me, every single time I see her. I stand up and cross to meet her, taking the donuts and kissing her. “Good timing, baby.” I set the donuts on the table, give Blake a look, and then turn back to Candace. “Come talk to me.” I capture her hand and lead her toward a private office, and then inside, shutting the door behind us.
“Oh God,” she says, turning to me. “What’s wrong, Rick? What is—”
I tangle fingers in her hair, maneuver her against the wall, and say, “Not a damn thing now that you’re here,” I murmur, and then I kiss the hell out of her. “God, woman, you taste like the woman I have to marry.”
She laughs. “And you taste like the man I have to marry.” Her hand flattens on my chest. “Tell me what you need to tell me, but I read that room. There’s a problem.”
She misses nothing. I force myself to let her go, backing up to lean on the desk where I can study her and read her reaction better. She steps behind a chair and grabs the back. “Is it bad?”
“No,” I assure her. “Not bad. In fact, Blake and Asher find no reason for us to be worried.”
Her fingers curl into the cushion at the back of the chair. “What do you think?”
“I’m uneasy.”
“That word,” she says. “That’s what that investor makes me feel. That’s what I felt when I thought I was being watched. Uneasy.”
I push off the desk and press a knee on the chair, my hands settling on her shoulders. “Our wedding will be safe. We’ll have Walker handling security. But I want to go on our honeymoon and feel just as safe.”
“You want to put it off? I mean, we could go to the Hamptons and look around instead? All I care about is being with you.”
“She’s so damn easygoing. “We’re taking our honeymoon, but Blake offered us security, a chance for me to let down my guard and just be with you. We won’t know they’re there.”
“Oh. Well, that’s very generous of everyone involved. But I feel bad for them to have to just hang out while we have fun. Don’t you?”
“Not bad enough to not want you to have extra protection. And I’ll pay them well. So will Blake, but I’ll make it extra worth their time.”
“And they’ll decline,” she says. “You know they will.”
“Maybe we can come up with a gift for each of them that they can’t turn down.”
Her eyes light. “I like that. Who would be coming alone? Because you know, Adam keeps talking about a Rolex.”
My brows shoot up. “Adam? A Rolex?”
“The Batman Rolex. He says he can’t buy it for himself. That’s just silly stupid, to spend that much on a watch. But damn it’s a beauty. His words, not mine.”
“He has boatloads of money,” I say. “Why doesn’t he buy the damn watch?”
“But have you ever seen him splurge on himself?”
“No, actually, I haven’t. And I don’t know who will be coming, but I almost bet Adam will be on board.”
“Because he’s a good friend. And he needs a Batman Rolex,” she jokes.
“A brother,” I say. “I’d die for that man. And yes. Get him the damn Batman Rolex.”
“I will, and as for dying for him. I know you would, but please don’t. I worried when you were gone this time. I’m going to have to find a way to deal with the dangerous side of your life.”
She worries. She’s the only person who has ever worried about me. Well, maybe my mother, but she had so much to deal with my father that she had no room for much more, even me. “I already told Walker I wanted lower-risk jobs and to stay stateside.