We exchange a glance and both burst out laughing.
“Well, you’ve cheered me up, anyway,” I admit.
“I’m glad to hear it.” He smiles and opens his mouth to add something, then stops and presses the button he’s clipped to his seatbelt. “Go ahead.”
I’m getting used to this, so I just wait, watching, as he listens to someone talking into his earpiece.
Immediately, though, I know it’s not good news, whatever it is. His smile rapidly vanishes, and his expression briefly turns furious before he remembers I’m watching him and quickly smoothes it away.
“Copy that,” he snaps. “I’ll be back in five.” He releases the button and returns both hands to the wheel.
“What was that about?”
“Nothing.” He indicates at a junction and turns onto Shortland Street.
“Luke—”
“It’s just something work-related. Nothing to do with you.”
“Are you also someone else’s CPO, then?”
“No… but I work with a whole security team, and I have other tasks during the day.”
“Well, I think I should have a hundred percent of your attention, so…”
He doesn’t smile; I’m not sure he was even listening.
“Luke,” I say softly as he turns into the car park, “what’s going on?”
He huffs a sigh as he drives into my parking space. “It’s nothing for you to worry about,” he states, turning off the engine.
“I’m not a child.”
He meets my eyes then. “You do not have to tell me that.”
“Are you referring to my boobs again?”
That makes him give a wry smile, but he doesn’t answer.
“You would tell me, though,” I add, “if it was anything important. Anything that involved me?”
He hesitates. Then he says, “Yes, ma’am.”
“If I find out you’ve been lying to me, I’m going to be really upset.”
He scratches at a mark on the steering wheel. “I understand.”
“Everyone thinks they can control me. Dom, my parents, Marcus and Caesar… Don’t be the same, Luke. I’m not an idiot. I like you, and I feel safe with you. But I deserve to know if anything’s going on that affects me directly. I don’t need to be sheltered, or protected, not in that way.”
He looks down at the keys in his hand for a moment. Then, eventually, he meets my eyes. “I understand,” he says again.
Clearly, he’s not going to tell me anything more. Disappointed, I get out of the car and slam the door, then walk toward the elevator. I feel tired; I shouldn’t have drunk the wine at lunch. I’m going to get myself a coffee and a muffin, and throw myself into work for the rest of the afternoon. Maybe then I can put everything else out of my mind.
Chapter Seven
Luke
By the time I get to the elevator, the doors have closed, and Aurelia is on her way up. I blow out a breath and take the stairs. She’ll be fine now she’s in the building; we have cameras on every floor, and a policy that requires all visitors to sign in and wear a badge. She’ll probably go straight up to her office on the second floor.
