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“I told you, I don’t know. Someplace sunny.” She didn’t mention Abu Dhabi because that probably would sound like pie in the sky, and she realized her chances of booking anything for there in the immediate future were slim.
“Surely you have a destination you are hoping for?”
“I didn’t,” she said grudgingly.
“But now you do?”
“Abu Dhabi. I know I’ll probably end up in Mexico.” Last-minute bookings for cruises to Mexico and all-inclusive resorts were always being offered in the ads on the sidebars of her favorite travel sites. “But I’m going to look anyway.”
“Do not let me keep you, then.”
Jenna hung up, ignoring the disappointment she felt to be saying goodbye to the man she knew was not good for her. He’d hurt her, more than once.
Maintaining their friendship, much less pursuing something sexual with him, was not a good idea.
And yet, she didn’t like that he’d given up so easily on the idea of seeing her before he left Seattle.
An hour later, Jenna was staring morosely at her computer. Not only were there no last-minute trips to Abu Dhabi she could get in on, but she’d realized that she didn’t want to settle, and that left her not booking anything at all.
Dispirited, she got up to make herself a cup of tea when her doorbell rang.
Not expecting anyone, she checked the peephole in her door. Dima stood on the other side, his expression expectant.
She should be irritated, and she was, but she also felt pleasure at the sight of him. A small voice in the back of her mind rejoiced that he had refused to leave town without seeing her.
Even after everything.
And that was seriously scary.
She could not afford to catch deep feelings for a man she simply couldnotmake a future with.
She opened the door to her small single-level ranch-style home. Her brother had suggested a condo in a secure building, but Jenna had wanted her own space, and she’d never regretted her decision to buy a single-dwelling house instead.
She pulled open the door. “Dima, what are you doing here?”
“Bringing you dinner.” He held up a bag of takeaway from one of her favorite restaurants.
She had a choice. Jenna could refuse him entrance, or she could let him in. If she let him in, she was tacitly agreeing to talk to him.
That did not mean she was agreeing to continuing their sexual relationship, she reminded herself. And she had not yet asked him if he had done anything to protect others from Skylar’s willingness to sell secrets to the highest bidder.
“Come in.” She stepped back to let him inside.
One of his security guys came first, takingthe tour, as she thought of it before declaring the house clear. He left, pulling the door shut behind them.
“Won’t he be conspicuous standing on my stoop?” she asked.
“My security does not stand on stoops. They will take up noninvasive positions that allow them to watch your house from all approachable angles.”
“Do you ever get tired of all of that?” she asked, leading the way into the L-shaped living and dining area.
He set the takeout bag on the dining table. “Security, you mean?”
“Yes. You can’t ever just run down to the corner store and buy a candy bar.”
“I’ve mostly always had them.” There was a shrug in his voice even if he was too controlled to follow through with his shoulders. “I’ve never oncewantedto run down to the corner store for anything. And as we discussed before, it’s as much about my wealth as my royal lineage.”
Jenna shook her head, and swept the brochures into a pile and removed them from her dining table, where she’d had them spread out in hopeful array. “I would hate living like that.”
