“That doesn’t seem fair. The bed’s huge. You should take it.” I gestured at him, at the length of him. “You’re too—”Big. He’s so big.Don’t say that, Grace. “Tall. You’re too tall for the sofa.”
“The sitting room is right by the door.” He didn’t look at me. “I need to be closest to the entry point.”
“But—”
“So I’ll take the sofa.”
I wanted to argue, but his tone made it clear the discussion was over. Fine. If he wanted to fold himself onto that purple couch like some kind of tactical origami, that was his problem.
“I’m going to shower,” I said. “Unless you have a security protocol for that, too?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. Not quite a smile, but close. “Lock the door. Don’t answer if someone knocks.”
What if you’re the one knocking, Galahad?
Shut up, Grace.
“Noted.” I grabbed my bag and retreated to the bathroom before I accidentally used my outer voice. The door clicked shut behind me, and I almost leaned against it. Almost touched my lips, imagining how he’d kiss or what his mouth felt like. Instead, I settled for letting out a long breath that I definitely knew I’d been holding.
God, how was I going to manage a whole week with him?
The bathroom was, predictably, ridiculous. Little bottles of products that I would have to stash in my bags to take home sat on the sink counter. The floor was white marble, with a soaking tub large enough to swim in, gold mosaic tiles covering the walls, a separate rainfall shower, and a toilet behind a door with a telephone. A telephone!
I turned on the water and stripped out of my travel clothes, trying not to think about Garrett on the other side of the door. Trying not to think about the way he’d held my hand on the plane, or how his eyes softened sometimes, or the fact I’d be sleeping in a bed with no door between us for the next several nights.
He’s doing a job.Nothing more.
The hot water helped shake off the day a little. By the time I emerged, wrapped in the fluffiest robe I’d ever touched, I felt human again.
Garrett sat on the purple sofa, laptop open on the coffee table. He’d removed his jacket, and the dark henley he wore underneath stretched across his shoulders in an entirely unfair way.
“Feel better?” he asked without looking up.
“Much.” I settled onto the opposite end of the sofa, tucking my feet underneath me. “What are you working on?”
“Caulfield’s background. Recent authentication cases.” He closed the laptop and shifted to face me. “I want to change the location of tomorrow’s meeting.”
“Change it? Why?”
“The address he gave you is his office. It’s his territory, which means too many variables I can’t control on short notice.” He leaned an arm on the back of the couch. “Arthur recommended a pub nearby called The Raven’s Vigil. It’s a public setting with multiple exits and easier to monitor who comes and goes.”
“You said I can’t mention the egg to anyone. Wouldn’t lots of peopleseeit at a pub?”
“If Arthur recommended it, that means there are seats or booths where other people won’t be an issue.”
“You think something might happen?”
“I’d rather be prepared for something that doesn’t happen than unprepared for something that does.” He genuinely believed we might be in danger. Not hypothetically. Actually.
“Okay.” But there was always an upside. What was the upside to this? “I can try some authentic fish and chips.”
He nodded once and stood. “I’m going to shower. Afterward, we can order room service and get some shut-eye.”
“Sounds good.”
He grabbed his bag and headed for the bathroom. The door closed. A moment later, I heard the water start.
I grabbed my phone and climbed on top of the bed to settle in for a read. But all I could do for the first few minutes was stare at the door. Garrett was on the other side of it. Naked. In the same shower I’d just used, with the same water running over his skin, the same steam filling the air. I thought about the tattoos I’d glimpsed in Tristan’s kitchen—the trident on his shoulder, the intricate designs wrapping around his biceps. Thought about the scars scattered across his torso.
