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“Wow,” she said. “Guess you earned your money after all. Soooo, what’s Daisy like?”
He held up a hand. “Don’t go there.”
Janet tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Something happened with you two. I can tell.”
“How? How can you tell?”
“Ha. You didn’t deny it. I knew it!”
“I don’t kiss and tell.”
“Ah! So, you kissed her.”
He pushed a hand through his hair. “No, that’s not what I meant.” Crap, everything he said was getting him into trouble. Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut?
Janet sat back in her chair and smiled. “Love looks good on you.”
“What?” Noah practically came out of his seat. “No one said anything about love. How could you possibly come to that conclusion from what I’ve said?”
“Nothing to do with the words comin’ out of your mouth,” Janet said. “Everything to do with the look in your eye when you talk about Daisy.”
“Humph.”
“I watched the live stream of the award ceremony. When they announced her name and put the spotlight on her, I could tell in one second, by the way you looked at her, something was going on. And now you’ve completely given yourself away.”
“Did you come in here just to harass me?”
“Not specifically, no. But I won’t deny it’s been fun.”
“You can go now,” he said with a smirk, and she laughed.
Janet returned to her desk, and he stared after her, thunderstruck by what she’d said. How on earth did she think he could be in love? With Daisy.
They were so different. Which was why it was so hard to understand the draw. A draw he could no longer deny. He might not be in love, but he was most definitely attracted to her. Not just that Barbie doll body, but her sense of humor and thirst for adventure. He started the trip thinking she was unorganized and unserious, but over the last week, he’d been proven wrong again and again.
He’d judged her harshly and prematurely. Sure, she came across as ditsy, but ditsy didn’t mean stupid. And he wasn’t just saying that because she finished his crossword puzzles and whipped his ass at chess. She was smart in a lot of ways. He’d also come to realize that what he’d seen as flighty was really just happy and optimistic. And what was wrong with those qualities? Just because he had neither.
Still, he’d been hired to guard her, not befriend her. Certainly not to bed her. How would Edward feel if he knew he was paying for hanky panky? Was there a way Noah could discreetly subtract a few hours from the bill? Create a line item on the invoice and call it “personal time”? That would read better than “glorious, best-sex-ever with your daughter, so, no charge.”
The job was done, and he had to get back to real life. People didn’t fall in love in one week. Especially polar opposites, like him and Daisy. Setting all that aside, he did feel bad about the way he left things. Should he at least call to apologize? Or just let it go?
He put it on a list of things to deal with later. Right now, he had to focus on his presentation for this new job. He’d done a pretty thorough outline while on the road, but it was far from ready. He spent the week and the weekend finishing and polishing it, and presented the final product on Monday morning.
“Did you wow ’em?” Janet asked when he returned from giving the presentation.
“You know me? All razzle dazzle,” Noah said, loosening his tie. “Glad to have it done.”
Now that he could focus on something besides work, he got back to his Daisy conundrum. He still owed her an apology. Just as he summoned the nerve to make the call, Janet entered his office.
“Forgot to give you messages,” she said, handing him a short stack of old-fashioned pink slips. “Tucker called and wants to see you.”
And just like that, the blanket of guilt enveloped him again. All thoughts of Daisy fled—any joy she’d brought to his life, gone.
Janet left, and Noah corralled his emotions before calling his friend. Tucker said he needed to speak to Noah and asked that he come by his office as soon as possible. Noah said he’d be there after lunch.
After the shooting and aftermath, Tucker had become a mortgage broker and did very well for himself. Making much more than he would have if he’d stayed on the force. Not that money was all that mattered, but there was no point in denying it helped.
“Hey, man,” Tucker greeted. “Long time no see. Whatcha been up to?”
