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"Even security?" she asked.
"When our safety can be assured, yes."
Oh, she noticed that caveat. He wasn't backing down about her having a bodyguard. Rowan let it go.
She'd lived with some level of security most of her life, though it had increased after marriage. She'd only known full autonomy since leaving Cyrus.
And if having a bodyguard was the price she had to pay for being Lysander's lover, she would pay it happily.
CHAPTER 13
The morning of the Vasileiou Gala dawned bright and sunny, as most did this time of year in Athens.
Rowan watched the sunrise from her spot on the terrace, a cup of coffee in front of her. Lysander had risen at 4:30 for an international video conference. Rowan usually went back to sleep after he left the bed, but not this morning.
She was going to see her parents and her ex-husband, as well as his family. Tension thrummed through her at the prospect.
Her mother had called to confirm that Rowan would be at the gala. Confirming her intention to attend, Rowan hadn't mentioned who her date would be. Nor had Rowan told her mother that she wouldn't be sitting with them.
"What has you up so early?" Lysander's deep voice had Rowan turning from the sunrise to face him.
He was dressed immaculately in one of his bespoke suits, a crisp white shirt and perfectly knotted tie. She was sure her lover had made an impressive sight on the video call, as he always did.
Anyone interacting with Lysander Baros knew the man was put together and powerful. But she, little ole' Rowan Johnson, had seen him disheveled and naked.
It gave Rowan an intrinsic thrill to be one of the few people in the world to know more than just the public persona. She had witnessed the real man: the loving son, the passionate and surprisingly earthy lover, the charming friend.
She had a bookcase in his inner sanctum and closet space in his bedroom suite.
"I couldn't go back to sleep after you left. I thought I would watch the sunrise."
Lysander put his hand on her shoulder, his thumb brushing along her neck. "One of the things I enjoy most about this property is the ability to watch either the sunrise or sunset in comfort from a terrace, or a balcony."
"I do too."
"But the sunrise is not what got you out of bed this morning."
She sighed and shook her head. "No, it isn't."
"Are you stressed about seeing Cyrus tonight?" Lysander asked, his tone carefully neutral.
"Not as tense as I am about seeing my parents," Rowan admitted.
Lysander moved to take the chair on the other side of the small table. His dark gaze bore into hers. "Why?"
"Unlike your mother, mine constantly looks for fault and isn't shy about voicing her criticism."
Rowan grimaced. "Unless she helped pick it out, my dress is never right for the occasion. Same with the amount of makeup I choose to wear, and she's appalled I won't get a weekly manicure like she does."
"Does it help to know that I think you look lovely?" he asked, waggling his sexy eyebrows.
She laughed. "How do you know? You haven't seen what I picked out for tonight."
"It won't matter. You are beautiful, with or without makeup. So long as your clothing isn't some monstrosity intended to hide your figure, it will be gorgeous because it will be on you."
Warmth spread through Rowan. "That's a very nice thing to say."
"I am not a nice man."
