Protect Me Not ((Un)Professionally Yours 2)

“Prefer to focus on one to the exclusion of the other, you mean? Do you know why I like that picture of the pigeon?”

“Why?”

“Because it made me smile. He looked so damned smug sitting there, the king of the world. Master of all he surveyed. You captured it perfectly.”

“And the others don’t make you smile?”

“Do they make you smile?”

“They’re melancholy, I get that…but I like them.” Damn it, he could hear the defensiveness creeping back into his voice.

“I like them too, Ty. I think you’re quite talented, and I wish you’d display some of them.”

“No point, really. Nobody would see them.”

“You would.”

“We should probably get going,” he muttered gruffly, keen to change the subject. Her face fell, making him feel like a dick. “Unless you want another coffee?”

“No, thank you. I’m going to be up half the night as it is, thanks to this cup.”

He grinned and shot her a licentious wink. “And that’s bad, why?”

His words had the intended effect of producing a blush and a giggle and things immediately felt better.

On their walk back to the car park, she handed his camera to Chance and told him to take a few pictures of them. Ty couldn’t even bring himself to feel self-conscious about it as he held her close and smiled for the camera.

“You’d better stay in contact,” Linda warned Chance—teary-eyed—as she hugged him at the end of his last day in the shop.

“Do you know who you’ll be guarding with your life next?” Jazz asked. He looked a little emotional too, even though he hadn’t known Chance for very long.

“Let’s just say, you’ll probably be catching glimpses of my arms, or shoulders—or possibly the back of my head—in the gossip rags soon,” Chance said cryptically. “She’s pap bait.”

“Ooh, clues? Give a signal if I’m on the right track.”

Chance laughed. “I’m not making any promises.”

“Reality star? Royalty? WAG? Entertainer? Politician? Chance, you’re not even blinking!” Jazz protested. Chance laughed even harder.

“I’m going to miss you guys,” Chance said warmly. “But I’ll be around next week for a few hours to oversee the installation of the new security system. I’m going to make damned sure they do a proper job of it for my favorite florists.”

“Let us know when, in advance,” Josh said. “And I’ll ask my mother to cook something for us.”

“I hope you guys intend to get some work done while I’m gone,” Vicki warned, but she was smiling as she said it. Chance had been on duty all week because Ty was going to Cape Town with her, and Brand wanted him to have a short break beforehand. Ty had promised everybody he would drop in to say his goodbyes after their return from South Africa.

Vicki had spent every night with him since their date last Saturday. She’d had her period, Sunday through Wednesday, and Ty had pampered her with chocolates, hot water bottles, and back rubs. Vicki had rewarded his sweetness in so many naughty, fun ways.

They were living in a happy bubble, never speaking about the future. About what would happen after their trip to South Africa. They both were in denial. Vicki knew that it was just a matter of time before it all came crashing down around them.

She didn’t know how much privacy they would have in the Cape. Not when she would be staying at her brother’s house. She wasn’t sure where Ty would stay. Miles’s home was huge, there were more than enough guest rooms, but—as Ty would likely point out—he wasn’t a guest.

That uncertainty remained with her as they boarded Miles’s corporate jet, just after seven, that same evening. They had a sixteen-hour flight ahead of them, with a short fuel stop in Addis Ababa along the way.

Hugh had none of his security team with him—Brand had promised to take care of that in South Africa. But, of course, Vicki had her own personal CPO along, because overprotective big brother.

Not that she was complaining. Not when it meant she could spend these last few, precious days with Ty.

But things already felt so different between them. With Hugh present, Ty had distanced himself. He sat to the back of the plane, leaving Vicki upfront with her brother.

When she had asked him to join them, he’d merely shaken his head, and offered a curt, “I’m fine in the back.”

A little hurt by the brusque attitude—even though she understood the reason for it—Vicki had retreated into silence. She stared unseeingly out of the window, while Hugh was wrapped up in some paperwork.

She was well aware of their cabin attendant—Katie—lavishing extra care and attention on Ty. Vicki refused to look at him, not sure she wanted to see his response to all of that giggling. Although, knowing Ty, he wouldn’t be too impressed with the woman’s flirting. Sure enough, the giggling stopped a few minutes into the flight.