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He looked back to Lila and gave her his best sheepish smile. “I know we agreed I wouldn’t visit until next week. I’m sorry.” He squeezed her close. “I shouldn’t crash your time alone with your grandma. But the agency cut me loose earlier than expected.” He shrugged. “I couldn’t stay away.”
Lila stared while her grandma studied the two of them with a shrewd gaze.
“Apologies for showing up empty-handed,” he continued. “Normally, I bring flowers along when I’ve been away.”
Connie’s eyes twinkled again. “Is that so?”
“She has a thing for lilies.”
“That’s true,” Connie agreed, her graying eyebrows arching slightly.
Lila was gawking again. The detail was something a partner should know. Definitely a partner who’d just shown up in her hometown. And details were his thing, as essential in his line of work as oxygen. “Forgive me?”
“This time.” The edge in her voice gave him a boost. She was tough and though she might make him pay later, she wasn’t going to wreck this quite yet. “How did you find me?”
Or maybe she would. “The location sharing thing, remember?”
Her gaze narrowed for a second and when her expression cleared, he wasn’t sure the smile could be classified as warm. “Right.” She dragged out the word.
“Obviously, it’s pointless on the yacht,” he explained to her grandmother. “But we use it when we’re in port. Or did.”
“I’m afraid Lila hasn’t mentioned you at all,” Connie said.
“I was working my way up to it,” Lila said.
Travis was half-afraid that was a true admission. He worried that maybe she feared she had to warn her grandmother someone might come looking for her in connection to a big-ticket robbery.
“It’s so new,” she continued. “The two of us, I mean.”
“I can see that,” Connie beamed, her eyes alight with mischief. “Let’s go sit down and get acquainted.”
When Connie turned to lead the way to a lounge area that bridged the far side of the lobby with the bar, he tugged Lila close. “We’re good. I promise I’ll explain.” He breathed in her scent and before he knew it, his lips were brushing her cheek.
She jerked under his touch and looked up at him. Suddenly, her mouth was right there. Soft and lush and tempting. Her gaze dropped to his lips and need thrummed through his blood. A quick kiss would fit the cover he was trying to establish.
Yeah, right. The demanding beat of his heart had nothing to do with the case or her protection.
“Lila, can I—”
“Yes.” Her reply whispered across his lips. Her mouth was hot and sweet. Perfect. Her fingers curled, gripping his shirt. Pulling him closer or steadying herself? Didn’t matter. He was kissing Lila. The reality surpassed any fleeting fantasy he’d entertainedin recent months. His hands at her waist held her steady, kept her close, even when she broke the kiss.
“We’re in public,” she murmured. “Small-town rumors are worse than the truth.”
What a weird way to put it. He wanted to know that story and why her voice carried a trace of pain. Hell, he was ready to march into battle and clear away any haters, past or present.
“Lila!”
They both glanced over at Connie and the seats she’d found for them.
“That deserves a discussion,” Lila murmured through her teeth.
“We do need to talk,” he agreed.
“You’ll come to my room once she heads home.”
Heat shot through his veins, his body happily misinterpreting that demand. “Done.”
This wasn’t him. He didn’t struggle with self-control. During an op, his focus didn’t waver. Right now, he was so consumed with her he barely recognized himself.
