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“I can stay withmy sisterfor a while if I have to.” her chin is up defiantly.
I fight the urge to smile. “Good. Just tonight should be enough, but you’ll get to see Carra in the morning either way, okay?”
“Is this really for real, Kieran?” she asks, a slight tremor in her voice.
“As real as it gets.”
I turn to Declan. “Can you make sure she gets out safely? Her things will need to be moved out and stored at least until Thursday. That’s when the estate keys are supposed to be handed over. We are just taking care of a few minor details and utilities are being taken care of, so we are just waiting for that to be all done.”
“Everything I have will fit in one of those big SUVs,” Ariel says. “The apartment was furnished when I arrived. I don’t have much.”
“Perfect,” Declan says with a smile that’s more than a little devious. “I’ll store your things at my house. Say we leave here at seven? The Boss is at dinner, and I’ll make sure the rest of the security detail are busy… with a distraction.”
For a long beat, Ariel just looks at us. She gives herself a little shake. Her cheeks puff, and she blows out a short breath. “This is really happening?”
I reach for the photos on the wall and start taking them down. Has to be her sister, looks just like Ariel. There’s a big bunch of kids packed around the woman painting with finger-paints. “It is happening.”
She watches carefully as I stack that photo and others on the desk. I’m not surprised that there aren’t any photos of her and Carra, but I’ll make sure that changes in the future. I know how tight they are.
As I remove the last photo from the nail and place it with the others, she lets out an almost relieved sound. Some of the tension drains from her shoulders. Then she theatrically pushes at a stack of papers on her desk toward the edge until they fall into the trash can. “Wow, that felt good. I’ll wrap up in the kitchen and get working on my suitcases.”
Declan disappears for a moment, while we stack some of her other personal belongings on the desk. He returns with a couple of produce boxes. “I’ll bring one of the vehicles around to the loading dock promptly at seven. We’ll slide out the delivery gate.”
Ariel cups her face in her own palms. Blows out another breath and laughs softly. “I’m trusting you with my life, gentlemen.”
“A fact we take very seriously.”
“I echo that,” Declan adds.
“I’m going to take that at face value and let you guys do what you do, keep people safe.” She comes around the desk and reaches up to hug me. “Thank you for getting Carra out of here.”
“You’re welcome. Now, let’s give her one hell of a surprise. She doesn’t know you’re coming to work for us.”
Laughing brightly, Ariel pushes me away. “Go. Do your thing. We’ll see each other tomorrow. And I’ll seeyouat seven, Declan. I’ve got hot sauce to dump into some food in the meantime.”
Declan laughs with disbelief, “The infamous heartburn?”
With a wicked glint in her brown eyes, Ariel makes a twisting motion in front of her lips. “I’ll never admit a thing. On a totally unrelated subject, I heard an interesting fact about some hot sauce recently… it doesn’t taste hot on the way down. But boy, does it burn once it’s in your belly.”
CHAPTERTWELVE
“Wow, I’ve never seen so much pink in my life!”
I’ve also never seen a space transformed so quickly. Buckets of flowers in every shape and size, almost all pink, fill the sitting room.
I never knew I liked the color before, but something happened today. It’s like I’ve gotten a boost of girl hormones from hanging out with Eva.
Of course, she’s plied me with frou-frou appetizers, to-die-for truffles, and copious amounts of the best champagne I’ve ever tasted.
After a while, I just gave in. As is evident by my girly sigh. “They are so beautiful, like an ocean of pink!”
Eva and I lean back on the plush velvet chaise as the florist’s assistant parades vase after vase of fresh flowers into the room. It’s late afternoon now, and I’ve been pampered and lavished and have almost forgotten that this is all just dress-up.
From his spot near the window, the florist watches over the whole thing like he’s a ringmaster. He’s kind of dressed for the part, in a finely-tailored suit with flashy silver jewelry on his wrist and thumb.
Eva pops a chocolate truffle in her mouth. After she chews, making an expression of pleasure, she says, “I thought it would be good with the emerald stones, but Ivan’s the expert. I just told him about the gown.”
The florist, now ready to get to work, throws off his coat, rolls up the cuffs of his black dress shirt, and smiles broadly. “And this shade…” He passes me some kind of fluffy pink flower that smells like heaven. “This color is beautiful with your porcelain complexion.”
