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prologue
It started with a smile.Sometimes the best things in life begin with a smile.
Six months ago, I was minding my own business, burned out from government jobs and spying on coked-up Wall Street big wigs who still think they’re living in the heyday of the 80s. I work in security and surveillance, and I’m damn good at my job. I cut my teeth in military intelligence and honed my skills in the FBI.
My work is my life. I’ve never had time for anything else.
Before Summer Luna waltzed into my world, I never mixed business with pleasure. The thought never entered my mind. As a matter of principle, women were never my targets. Invading their privacy was minimal and nothing more than collateral damage. Most of my clients are men who want to get the upper hand on business associates or politicians who need compromising information on their rivals. Some of it is shady as shit, but I keep my nose clean and bail whenever they want me to cross the line. I’ve been in the business long enough to know when something isn’t kosher, and if they try to hire me to prey on women, the only thing it gets them is a call from the FBI. It’s a dangerous world, and I won’t help make them more vulnerable.
Then I met Baron Caulfield. I knew him by name and reputation. Who doesn’t? I may have served overseas but haven’t lived under a rock for the past twenty years. And by some sheer life-altering coincidence, Baron and I had a mutual friend who slipped him my information.
Who knew it would change the course of my life?
As a rule, I don’t work with actors. They’re prima donnas who are too busy gazing into a mirror to follow simple directions. You can’t effectively protect someone who refuses to cooperate. But I needed a change of pace, and my buddy persuaded me to take his call.
I was pleasantly surprised. It was easy money from a guy with strange but honorable intentions. Baron was in love with his best friend’s little sister and wanted a new life with her in New York. He’d just ditched his life in L.A, his entourage, bodyguard, and the sycophants who showered him with daily praise. He asked me to install a state-of-the-art security system in his swanky new love nest, set him up with a new security detail, and help him watch over his girl as a special favor. He said off the bat that he wasn’t worried about other men---he just wanted to keep her safe from crazy fans who may want to do her harm. I could live with that. She loved him---he loved her. And I suspected she knew he was on her tail all along. It was a cushy assignment without real excitement, but I soon discovered it came with a few fringe benefits.
It came with that smile.
Summer Luna wasn’t my assignment. She was the dark-haired girl dancing playfully around her cousin, Sunny, Baron’s girl.
There was no flirtation or smoldering glances---she wasn’t smiling at me. Neither girl could see me glaring through binoculars from across the street.
That sounds horrible when I say it out loud. I’m not a peeping Tom. At least, I wasn’t. I’m not sure I can say that anymore.
The first time I saw her, I admired her beauty for no more than a second and returned to my work. That’s the kind of man I am---always hyper-focused and dedicated to the task at hand. But there was something about the slight curve touching the corner of her full lips that made me take a pause.
My rabid interest caught me by surprise. I blinked twice, shook my head then brushed off the thumping beat of my racing heart. After all, too much coffee can have the same effect on a man who’s lost far too much sleep. When she hugged her cousin goodbye, my eyes followed her down the sidewalk, glued to the motion of her swaying hips. As she turned the corner, I laughed at myself for moving to the edge of my seat, hoping if I craned my neck, I could somehow defy the laws of physics or develop superhuman sight.
A few hours later, I chuckled at my impatience, wondering when I’d see her again. Surely, too many lonely years had taken their toll. I’d sworn off relationships after the last fiasco that never ended. It was hardly my ex’s fault. When you spend most of your formative years in the military, you learn there’s only one way to keep your head above water. You cut yourself off emotionally or face the consequences at the bottom of a bottle. Better men than me work through it and find comfort in their families. I’ve been on my own for too long to depend on anyone else, and you can’t be in a relationship if you refuse to participate.
It took me years to figure that out, and I haven’t wanted to try again.
Weeks later, I tracked her down at her place of business, a dance studio in Brooklyn, something I swore I wouldn’t do after discovering Summer is only a year older than her cousin---months past her twenty-first birthday. It goes against my moral code, ethics, and sense of decency. Horrified by my lapse in judgment, I slammed on the brakes and swore off my pursuit. A man of thirty-eight has no business pursuing someone so young.
She hasn’t lived, loved, seen the world, or taken those risks that define us. Everyone deserves to have those experiences. I couldn’t live with myself if I stole them away from her.
That was five months ago---when I still believed I stood a chance in hell of resisting her charms. It’s no use pretending she hasn’t stolen my heart and carved her name over every goddamn inch. I’ve been at this far too long and keep coming back for more. How often can a man convince himself that he’s not in love?
But once again, I find myself standing outside Luna’s Dance Studio, only minutes from my once-a-week private lesson, wondering if tonight is the night I play my hand.
I should walk away now. Summer’s too young, sweet, and innocent for a jaded war-torn man like me.
But there’s just something about her smile.
