He smelled so good. Like a fireplace and the first fresh breeze of winter.

The way his arms were locked around me made me completely forget that he was only doing this for show. It felt like he wanted me. Like he was truly happy he had a reason to be hugging me to bits. His hand stroked along the back of my hair, then trailed down to caress my back.

We rocked slightly as if we were slow dancing, and as we turned, Leif whispered, “He’s gone.”

Somehow I couldn’t manage to take my hands away from his neck. Being so close to such a huge guy would have been terrifying just a few days ago. Now, Leif’s sweetness mixed with a sense of security made me want to never leave his embrace.

He noticed that I was trembling. “Oh, Hayden,” he whispered, rubbing my back tenderly. “I’m so sorry. Did he scare you?”

I nodded against his chest. “He’s never come into the office before. He’s never come near me since the day after our coffee when I took off on him.”

“Shh,” he murmured soothingly. “I’ve got you now. We’re going to go have a delicious dinner, and then I’m taking you straight to your door. Perfectly safe. How does that sound?”

“Thank you,” I said, not wanting to remove my cheek from his shirt, yet forcing myself to step back.

Leif tipped my chin up with his finger to study my eyes. “Take a deep breath, Hayden. It’s over.”

I nodded and pushed his finger down, making him chuckle.

“That’s my girlfriend,” he said with a conspicuous wink and looking around the office. “Let’s get your stuff and get out of here.”

I grabbed my things and he let me out to an understated dark gray SUV. The corner of my eye automatically registered the black car half a block away.

“I prefer walking to driving as much as possible,” Leif said as he helped me into the front seat. “But we’re going across town.”

As soon as he got in, he pulled smoothly away, then made a series of right hand turns as quickly as possible. With the luck of a red light, we ended up right behind Craig’s car.

Leif chuckled. “I’m sorry, but honestly, this dude just doesn’t have a clue how to do this.”

After an awkward pause and a few cars honking their horns, Craig turned right, then Leif veered left. After another left and a bit of a rush to get through a yellow light, he eased off on the gas.

Leif reached over to squeeze my hand. “I should have warned you. I’ve studied all sorts of defensive driving, how to shake a tail, that sort of stuff. It’s second nature.”

“Thank you. This might be the first dinner I’ve had in a month where I know he’s at least a mile away.”

I had meant that to be amusing, but Leif frowned. “If you ever change your mind about me confronting him, or possibly calling the police, just let me know.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“So, what do you do?” he asked after a pause, clearly changing the topic.

“Our company makes magazines for hotels,” I said. “They’re mostly ads, but we research and create little articles featuring all sorts of locations, since if the people reading them are traveling, they might be thinking about their next few trips.”

“Did you say you were taking French and Spanish? Is that why?”

“Yeah. Technically I’m just an intern right now, but once I finish those two last classes, they’re hiring me full time in September.”

“That’s great,” he said, reaching out to pat my hand and grin.

I looked around to notice we were in a neighborhood I rarely came to, down by the waterfront. Since it was only a Thursday, it wasn’t too busy, but everyone there seemed to be basking in the golden hours just before sunset.

Leif parked the car, then ran around to open my door. It was such an old-fashioned gesture that I was touched.

He took my hand, and he led me into a beautiful restaurant called Endless Waves. We were seated on the second floor open terrace, with a perfect view of the beach.

“This is incredible,” I breathed

, staring out across the water.

Tags: Haley Travis Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net