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SEAN
Isat at my desk, whistling as I looked at the picture of me and Vera. Waking up with her this morning had been the best way to start the day. I just had to make it a regular occurrence.
I got exactly one knock on the door to warn me that Mince was barging in. He lumbered to the empty chair in front of my desk and threw two folders for me to look at. Two new jobs.
“Do you want to provide a twenty-four-hour security to Mrs Moneybags or do the wedding?” Mince asked.
I flipped through the pages, even though I already knew that working all day every day wasn’t something I could do anymore. I had Glen to worry about and Vera to come home to.
The girl in the photo looked familiar, but I didn’t recognize her last name. Except… “Don’t Maydays own a hotel chain? Why would they get security from a firm connected to their competitor?”
“That’s the funny thing. Damian recommended us to them. I think the girl is friends with your brother’s girlfriend.”
Right. That’s where I had seen her. She was one of Lara’s friends from her home country. Now I didn’t need to feel bad unloading the job on Mince.
“I’ll take the wedding,” I said.
“I figured. How’s Glen?”
I grinned. “Good. Vera got him to climb out of his shell a little.”
Mince looked at the picture on my desk and lifted an eyebrow, making countless scars on his face shift. “She did?”
“Yeah.” I fought the urge to say that she only looked like she’d bite everyone’s head off if they got in her way. Seriously, the girl was a softie. “She’s nice. Doesn’t even make me eat bell peppers.”
Mince chuckled and got up to leave, grabbing one folder and leaving me the wedding job. “Good luck with that bride. You’ll need it.”
I waited for Mince to leave before digging into the job description. The groom had just gotten a divorce a month ago because his side girl got pregnant. And now that side girl was the bride who was worried that the ex would poison her on the wedding day. Why couldn’t my job be more normal?
My eyes caught Vera’s image again. Wait. Had we used a condom last night?
Damn. I had gotten so caught up in the moment that I hadn’t even thought about protection. That was a dumb move. Vera deserved better than this.
Of course, I’d do the right thing. Hell, I actually liked spending time with Vera. And it’s not like I was scared of long-term relationships. That wasn’t why I hadn’t dated anyone. It was me I was scared of.
* * *
Vera was ten minutes early, as always. I watched her plow through the crowd, her head held high, her glare like a physical force, pushing people out of the way. When our eyes met, her gaze softened.
What the hell had I been worried about? I’d never raise a hand against her. And if I had gotten her pregnant, she’d be a great mom, and I’d love her for it.
Instead of a hi, Vera put her arms around me, got up on her tiptoes, and gave me a kiss, then, just as I was starting to melt, she whispered into my ear, “There’s a guy following me. I think that he thinks that this is a noir film.”
I glanced around us, spotting a vaguely familiar guy in a fedora hat on the other side of the street. It must’ve been someone my grandparents hired. I’d be tempted to say my dad was behind it, except my dad wouldn’t care enough to follow my fiancee around.
“And here I was, thinking you’re happy to see me,” I joked, except I really had thought the kiss was genuine. Why I’d think that was beyond me. I had told Vera I wasn’t looking for anything permanent. “How was the doctor’s appointment?”
“Great,” she said. “He passed with flying colors.”
She petted my chest, then gestured at the department store. That’s where I hoped to find a gift for Glen, or at least some idea of what to give him. What did sixteen-year-olds even want these days besides video games? Or seventeen-year-olds.
“You raised two teenagers, right?” I asked Vera. “What did they like?”
“Social media,” Vera answered, her phone out already. “Let’s see. Memes about school. Memes about current events. Memes about sports. This might take a while.”
Of course, Glen was on social media. Damn it. I hadn’t thought about monitoring it, and I should’ve. There were so many weirdos online.
“Well, he’s not posting anything that will come to bite him in the ass when he applies for a job,” Vera said. “But he also isn’t posting anything useful.”
