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“Hey,” he says sternly. “You are neither needy nor pathetic. There aren’t many people I’ve worked with who could deal with this the way you have, and believe me, Hallie, I’ve protected a lot of people.”
I give him a small smile and wipe my eyes, only imagining the mess I look with snot and tears everywhere.
“Have I told you how incredible you are and how much I love you?” I ask him, brushing my hand across the dark stubble on his face.
“Not for about an hour.” He chuckles. “I’m happy for you to tell me you love me as often as you’d like, though. I love hearing you say the words.”
“And I love telling you.” He holds me for a few more minutes before I pull out of his embrace. “I wonder what it was I saw, then, if the house is locked up?”
“Probably your mind playing tricks on you. There’s been a lot going on, and we’re all a little stressed.”
I sigh. “Yeah, probably. Maybe I’m losing it.”
“No, baby, you’re not. Come on. Let’s get showered before dinner.” I go to get up when Sawyer’s phone rings.
“I bet that’s Logan.” He slides me off his lap and stands. “Hey, man… no, I’m good. It’s all clear… I didn’t have time to wait, Logan. You know that… she’s okay. Shook up.” He looks at me and smiles, and I give him a small smile back. It sounds like I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want him to go over to the cabin alone. “What… no!” He sounds annoyed, and I frown as he turns away from me. “I can’t talk about this now. Is there anything I need to know?” He pauses while he waits for Logan to answer him. “Okay then. I gotta go… I will… bye.” He ends the call and takes in a deep breath before he turns back around to face me.
“Is everything okay?” I ask nervously.
“Everything’s fine.” His voice is clipped, and it takes me aback.
“You sound angry.”
He runs his hand through his hair and sits down next to me. “I’m sorry. I’ve just done something I’ve never done before, and it doesn’t feel good.”
“What do you mean?”
“I lied to Logan. He asked me if there was something going on between us, and I said
no.”
“Why would you lie to him?”
He stands and paces the small space in front of the sofa. I frown, and nerves flutter in my stomach as I wait for him to explain.
“There’s one rule Logan has, and I broke it the second I laid eyes on you.” He runs
his hand through his hair again before coming to a stop in front of me. “I fell for my client.”
“And no close protection officer has ever fallen for their client before? I find that hard to believe.”
“Maybe, but it’s pretty much hisonlyrule. He’d remove me from your case and assign you someone else the minute he found out.”
All his talk ofcrossing a linewhen he first kissed me all makes sense now. I don’t want someone else. I want him, but clearly us being together will put his job, a job he loves, on the line. I would never ask him to choose between his career and me. He must see the look on my face, and he pulls me off the sofa and into his arms.
“I won’t let that happen, Hallie. There is no way I’ll leave you.”
“God, this is all so messed up.” I pull out of his embrace and take a step back. “I’m going to have a shower and lie down. I need some time alone to think.” I go up on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek before turning and walking out of the room. I don’t want to walk away from him, but I need some time to get my head around everything.
“Hallie, wait.” I stop in the doorway but don’t turn around. He sighs, and it takes everything in me not to go to him. “I love you,” he says quietly.
“I love you too.”
And I do.
I love him more than I ever thought possible.
And I know he feels the same.
