Duty At What Cost?

‘What do you feel?’

Wolfe paused, quite sure she didn’t want to hear what he was really feeling. ‘Bark.’

She laughed and shook her head. ‘And for a minute there I thought you were going to go all deep and meaningful on me.’

‘Mmm, not me.’ Wolfe caught her lingering gaze and moved back to the worn path.

‘You grew up on a farm, didn’t you?’

‘Yep.’ He hoped his short answer gave away just how little he wanted to talk about his past.

‘What was it like?’

No such luck...

‘Dusty.’

‘Pah!’

He glanced at her and couldn’t help chuckling at her disgusted expression.

‘Do you know you close up like a crab whenever I ask you anything personal?’

‘Clam.’

‘That’s what I said.’ She studied him as if she was trying to work him out. ‘Why do you make it so hard to know you?’

Wondering what to say to that thorny question, Wolfe was relieved when his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that it was his brother. ‘Excuse me, but I have to take this.’ He pressed the answer button. ‘Ad-man, what’s up?’

His brother hesitated on the other end of the line. ‘Oh, sorry, bro. Have I caught you in the middle of a run?’

It took Wolfe a second to understand his brother’s comment, and then he became conscious that his breathing was tense and uneven. Great. ‘Just work. Don’t tell me you’re still in the office, too?’

‘With you living it large in a European castle, guarding a beautiful maiden, where else would I be?’

Wolfe told his brother he’d trade places with him in the blink of an eye but even as he said it he knew he was lying. Quickly changing the subject, he tormented his brother a little more and then ran through a few work-related issues before ringing off.

‘Well, that was convenient.’

Wolfe lifted his gaze to the woman who was slowly driving him mad and realised that other than his brother she was the only person who had ever teased him about his behaviour.

Feeling overly hot, even though the air temperature had dropped a couple of degrees, he focused on the small cluster of flowers she held in her hands, not unlike a bride waiting to walk down the aisle. Shaking off that disconcerting image, he made his voice curt when he spoke. ‘We should head back inside.’

‘Okay.’ She sniffed the small posy and fell into step beside him. ‘Was that your brother?’

He thought about changing the subject, but knew if he did her interest would only grow, not wane. ‘Yes.’

‘You sound close to him.’

‘I am.’

‘So, no sibling rivalry?’

He shook his head. ‘We’re less than two years apart so we did everything together.’

‘Does he travel around like you?’

‘No. He’s based in New York.’

‘Does he have a wife? Kids?’

Wolf stopped so abruptly she’d taken two more steps before she noticed.

‘This is starting to feel like an inquisition.’

She shrugged one slender shoulder. ‘I’m just trying to know you a little better.’

‘By asking questions about my brother?’

‘You won’t answer questions about anything else.’

That was because he had never seen the point in talking about himself. And, if he was completely honest, because he was starting to like her in a way that transcended the physical and that scared him. It was dangerous to bond with a client. It caused sloppy work and unrealistic attachments to develop.

‘Look, don’t worry about it.’ She gave him a half smile that seemed paper-thin. ‘When you’re like this...’ She gave another one of those Gallic shrugs that drove him bonkers. ‘I forget you work for my father.’

If she had tried to wheedle information from him, or tried to make him feel guilty, he would have held his line. Faced with the stoic indifference he now knew she used to mask her true feelings, he caved. Or perhaps it was just that she looked so beautiful in the light of the crescent moon.

‘What do you want to know?’ he asked, not a little gruffly.

‘What do you want to tell me?’

Wolfe blew out a breath. It was so typical of her to make him work for something he didn’t even want.

‘My father died ten years ago.’

Ava stopped and looked at him. ‘I’m sorry. Were you close?’