Chapter 12
“Mr. Windham, you asked to see me?”
“Yes, Anita. I’m going to have a houseguest for the night, and I’d like put her in the bedroom across the hall from mine.”
“A woman? You’re letting a woman stay overnight in your home?” My housekeeper of twelve years was more than surprised. “And she is sleeping across the hall?”
“She’s in a bind, and I want to help her out.”
Her lips twisted to let me know she wasn’t buying that story completely. “This isn’t romantic?”
I smiled. “You’re terribly nosey.”
“I’ve seen you through the best and worst of times. Forgive me for being curious about any woman you bring here that is not family. You’ve done it so rarely that it’s a bit surprising.”
Anita was like a second mother, and she and my mom were the best of friends. Unlike my other employees, she took liberties that weren’t allowed by others. I rubbed my thumb back and forth over my eyebrow. “I’m not sure if it’s going to be a romantic evening or not.”
“Ah . . . so you want it to be romantic, and she’s not having it.”
“I’m pretty persuasive when I want to be. If I decide I want it to be romantic, it will be. In the meantime, can you to do a couple of things for me? Number one, call Carl, my private investigator, and have him look into her background. Here is her name.” I handed Anita a small piece of paper, with what I knew about Gina. “I need something ASAP. I don’t want any other crazy surprises popping up on me. And, number two, pull a couple bottles of my favorite wine out of the cellar.”
“Mmmhmm . . . I know that look. I’m guessing there isn’t much of an internal debate at all, Mr. Windham. Poor woman doesn’t have a chance.”
I chuckled to myself and winked at Anita. No. She really didn’t stand a chance.
*****
I snapped to attention and reached for my purse when the door to Brody’s office opened. I must have dozed off to sleep. My gun was in my purse, so I kept it close—just in case.
“Did you get all of your calls made?”
I was still waking up and probably appeared more wary of him than I really was. “Most of them, yes. I’m still working on sleeping and travel arrangements.”
“I’m having a room prepared for you. Stay here.”
“You’re going to let a perfect stranger sleep over in your house? Tell me that’s not crazy?”
“We’re not alone. I have staff everywhere and cameras too. For as much as you’ve attempted to scare me, as if that would actually work, I can handle you.”
The way the words flowed from his lips, I wasn’t sure if he was talking about me and my situation or if he was talking about me in the bedroom. I couldn’t lie to myself, Brody was very attractive and created a buzz deep within the pit of my stomach. A feeling I hadn’t experienced in a very long time, not since Alexandro.
“Why don’t I show you up to the bedroom? You can take a shower and grab a quick nap. By then, I’ll have figured out what to do about dinner.”
I honestly didn’t know what to say. The man had just been in a shoot-out with me. It was pretty obvious that I was the intended target, yet he was the very definition of calm—composed. Brody wasn’t rattled in the least. I didn’t know if that should raise a red flag or it were something to be commended. Stop it, Gina.
Either way, it shouldn’t matter. I needed a shower and a nap. He’s offering the basics, and it’s a very tempting thought. “Even if I wanted to take you up on your offer, I don’t have a change of clothing.”
“Stop the fight that’s going on in that pretty little head of yours. As beautiful as you are I can see the stress of today’s episode all over your face. Maybe if I can get you to relax, you can lose the attitude, and we can actually talk.” Reaching out, he took my hand and placed it in his.
I didn’t like how his touch made me feel. My entire arm tingled. I used men for what I needed and discarded them when they served their purpose. Brody was different, at least the physical attraction was different. Physically, parts of me that have lain dormant were waking up. That made him dangerous.
Brody was trying to get through the wall I’d erected to protect myself. And, covering me when bullets were flying was pretty impressive even if it was a foolish thing to do. Here I was, staring at a man I’d known for less than a day, and already I felt safer in his presence than with anyone else.
Getting caught up in lust with anyone right now was the last thing I needed. Considering I was attracted to him, I would need to tread carefully. For now, I needed some rest so that I could think clearly. I adeptly removed my hand from his. “I don’t have an attitude as you call it. What you see is what you get. However, think I will take you up on your offer.”
“Good. There was no real point in arguing with me. You’ll learn pretty quickly that it’ll only a matter of time before you start seeing things my way.”
“You’ll learn pretty quickly that I’ll only do what I want to do.”
“I have no problem convincing you of what you want.”
I lifted an eyebrow as if to say excuse me?
He laughed.
