Page 15 of Island Whispers

“You can,” he corrected gently. “Slow inhale. Count of three.”

He counted. She breathed.

He remembered every detail about their one night and she’d mentioned her love of dark chocolate. So it must’ve been the idea of receiving chocolate from him that made her panic.

What other conclusion was there? Fierce or not, she seemed fragile right now and he had to deal with the situation as it was instead of how he wished it was.

He held her hair, refusing to think about how those silky, floral-scented waves had drifted over his bare skin. He’d fallen asleep with the scent of her surrounding him and damned if he hadn’t slept poorly every night since.

One night shouldn’t have made him an addict.

Breathing slowly and carefully, her panic attack subsided. He chalked it up as a small miracle, hoping she might be less prickly.

She wobbled just a smidge as she straightened. He released her hair, staying within reach, but she moved away.

He smothered his regret. “Better?”

“Yes. Probably.” A frown pleated her brow.

“Is there anything I can do?” Other than make a note that his romantic ideas gave her severe anxiety attacks.

“Can you hit rewind on today?”

“No. Sorry.” Although today wouldn’t be the day he would do over. He was still hung up on the night she’d disappeared. “Ready to try this again?”

“Sure. I have work to do.”

Of course she did. “I’m a professional. I know how to stay out of the way.”

She gazed up at him, the skepticism clear in those warm brown eyes. “You really are going to stay glued to me.”

“That’s the job.” And also, exactly where he wanted to be. Based on the recent reaction, she probably wasn’t interested in what he wanted. Keeping his thoughts to himself, he walked her back to the door.

“I’m not always such a mess,” she murmured.

“I’m aware.”

She stopped, resting her hand on his arm. “And I’m not always the woman you met in Charleston,” she whispered.

He resisted the urge to lean in. It wasn’t smart to get any closer to those sweet lips he remembered so fondly. “Whoever you are, Nina Billings, I’m looking forward to getting to know you.”

She entered the code and when the lock released, he pulled open the door and held it for her. “Glad to see you have good security in place,” he said. “I’ll do a full overview as part of the service.”

“All right,” she agreed, sounding weary. “The security is new. The Chamber of Commerce asked us to implement upgrades after some trouble a few months ago.”

“Hey!” A woman wearing an Island Bloomers apron was approaching. “What’s going on?” Her gaze darted between Nina and Boone. “Are you okay?”

“Molly Trumble, this is Boone Reynolds. He’s a bodyguard with the Guardian Agency.”

“Bodyguard?” Molly’s eyes went wide. “You’re serious. Oh, my word. Henry will flip.”

“Who’s Henry?” Boone asked as Nina moved into the design room that divided the store front from the back room.

“My delivery driver,” she said.

“He saw her drop off the car and then leave with the other guy.”

“Logan,” Boone supplied.

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