Page 56 of Wanted

When Lionel comes up for a shower, I’m still on the phone talking to Alison, this time onto lighter topics. She tells me about the latest town gossip, about the planning for the cleaning day on the river and things like that. Alison is enrolled in many committees, in Carrollton a leaf of a tree doesn’t fall without her finding out.

“Are you ready?” Lionel asks me when he comes out of the bathroom. He’s dressed quite casually, worn jeans that fit him well and a gray T-shirt that hugs all the muscles in his chest.

He reaches out his hand, and I take it without thinking.

“What did you cook for us?”

He just smiles, neither of us saying a word as we walk down the stairs with intertwined fingers. “When we reach the foyer you have to close your eyes, okay?”

“What if I fall?”

My lion kisses me on the forehead before answering. “Don’t worry, I’m going to be there to catch you, you never have to worry about falling.”

The irony of the situation doesn’t escape me.

But when I get to the terrace, my worries reach an epic size when seeing what is there.

Alison’s words come back to my mind. This Lionel is lethal.

And he really is making me fall, and nothing can stop it.

Chapter Eighteen

“What did you do, Lionel?”

He stole my breath away. A part of me screams to hold my horses. It’s like an avalanche, a thousand things go through my head at the same time. Lionel has upped his game and in no way was I prepared for the rule change.

“This can’t be.” I know I have to build my walls up again and find a way to protect myself. But my heart hits the gas, it only cares about thundering toward a stroke. “What is all of this?”

I swear a bit of color goes up Lionel’s cheeks, but he tries to hide it as he shrugs and smiles mischievously.

“I-I… had this in my office,” he explains. “I-i-it wasn’t a big deal.”

But for me it is, it’s as big as Mount Rushmore.

“No one has ever done something like this for me,” I mumble, and it’s true.

“Wait until you see what we’re going to have for dinner,” he replies. He looks gorgeous. This new Lionel with messy, clean hair, without a drop of gel, and a trace of a beard does things to my lady bits. “Then you can hang a gold medal around my neck.”

A giggle bubbles up in my throat.

“Frozen lasagna,” I reply, looking again at what is in front of us. “ I suppose you didn’t have much free time with all the stuff you did.”

He smiles, making the butterflies flutter again. “I’m a resourceful man, I should remind you, Mrs. Kral. You can’t build an empire without learning a trick or two.”

A smile is drawn on my face without being able to help it. “Don’t tell me you cooked for me, I feel special.”

“Good, because you are,” he says full of conviction. “And speaking of food, everything is burned to perfection and ready to serve.”

My eyes are still glued to the front. Lionel has set up a white screen he must use for his presentations on one side of the pool. On the opposite side, there’s a pedestal with a projector. A blanket is spread out on the ground with some cushions. The patio lights are off, so the space is only gently filled with the gold ambient lighting coming from the house.

The atmosphere is romantic, seductive. I should walk away, go to seek refuge in a closet or under the bed, maybe even run away to Carrollton, but I’m staying. With him.

I take his hand and stand on the balls of my feet to kiss Lionel on the corner of his mouth.

“Thank you,” I mumble as I try to walk away, but his right arm is already around my waist holding us chest to chest.

The entire planet has disappeared, I can’t hear anything other than the beat of my heart.

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