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She looked peaceful, her sandy blondish hair was messy on the pillow and her face that had been so determined earlier, was relaxed and lovely in sleep.
Elizabeth’s own anger had abated during her nap, and she was thinking more clearly now that she wasn’t sleep-deprived and stressed out from the near attempt on her life. She was still stressed, but at least she wasn’t sleep-deprived anymore.
Elizabeth let Alex sleep; she surely needed it.
She went to the kitchen and started fixing lunch for herself—fixing lunch for them both. She hadn’t lived with anyone since her roommates in college. This was going to take some getting used to.
Elizabeth wondered how long this would go on for. Would things calm down once the police caught the man trying to kill her, or was he simply one person in a long line of threats that would never end? Would she have to be followed around by a bodyguard for the rest of her career?
She supposed there were worse things than being shadowed by someone as attractive as Alex, but the idea that she may never be truly safe again still left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Elizabeth was just putting the bacon and cheese omelets onto plates when Alex stomped through, looking thoroughly bad tempered. Elizabeth guessed that Alex’s anger hadn’t cooled during her nap.
“You should have told me you were awake.” Alex was clearly trying to keep her voice civil, but annoyance leaked through into her tone.
“I thought you looked like you needed the rest.”
“I’m supposed to protect you, and I can’t do that if you’re running amok while I’m asleep.”
Her tone put Elizabeth’s back up and she felt her anger from earlier returning. “I wasn’trunning amok. I was just a few rooms away making us some lunch. You’re welcome, by the way.”
She put one of the omelets down in front of Alex with unnecessary force.
Alex scowled at her. “We need to talk about your schedule.”
Not this again. Elizabeth knew that Alex was worried about James and searching for something she could control. She had no control over what turns his medical condition might take, so it made sense that she would try to regain that control somewhere else.
Just because it was understandable didn’t mean Elizabeth was going to be Alex’s guinea pig.
“We’ve already talked about my schedule. There’s nothing more to say.”
“Yes, there is. Going to any more public appearances before the police catch the person who shot at you would just be stupid. If you’d like, you can get vetted reporters in here to film you giving your statement, but you’re not to expose yourself by giving speeches in front of crowds.”
“You’re my employee, not my boss,” Elizabeth snapped. “You’re not in charge of my schedule, and I’m due to give a speech about my bill passing this evening, which I will be attending. I will give you the location so that you can check it out beforehand, if you want, but unless you find the place rigged with C4, I’m going.”
“You can’t! You’re just going to get killed, and then where will the LGBT+ community be without you to fight for them?”
“Don’t you raise your voice to me, Alex. Just calm down; you’re being unreasonable.” Alex’s face was stern and she was so protective, Elizabeth felt a flutter of something like desire that she wasn’t expecting.
Alex’s blue eyes blazed. “Don’t tell me to calm down! You’re literally throwing yourself in the path of a gunman! What about that situation screamscalmto you?”
Elizabeth seldom lost her temper; she couldn’t afford to, doing the kind of work that she did. On those rare occasions that she felt herself close to doing so, she knew she needed to remove herself from the situation until she had calmed down. This was one of those times.
“I’m going for a walk in the garden.”
“Not alone, you’re not,” Alex snarled.
“Fine! But you’d best keep your mouth shut. I want a quiet, peaceful walk, or I’m sending you back here, you understand?”
“Fine!”
The walk was hardly as peaceful as Elizabeth had hoped, what with Alex fuming several feet behind her. Elizabeth could practically see the steam coming out of her ears.
She could feel her own rage boiling just beneath the surface. She was beginning to think that this whole thing was a bad idea. Alex was clearly devoted to keeping her safe, which you would think was a good thing, but Alex needed to learn some flexibility.
Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder. She was a little surprised that Alex’s glare wasn’t burning the vegetation as she checked the area in every direction. Alex was clearly used to getting her way. Elizabeth knew that she’d been in charge of her own unit in the marines. She was used to her orders being followed.
Unfortunately for Alex, Elizabeth was also used to her orders being followed. Maybe they just weren’t a good match. Alex clearly had no interest in learning to be flexible, and if they were going to bang heads like this over and over again, it would drive them both crazy.
