Page 39 of Hiding out with a Royal Billionaire

He raised his eyebrows and she dipped her head in acknowledgement. “Okay, but it still happened. A full on make out session just hours after…” She stopped.

“After he kissed you.” Chase considered her. “We could have a solid revenge make out session of our own…”

She eyed him and actually considered his offer before shaking her head.

He let out a breath of relief.

“What? That’s just rude”

“How often do you think a guy wants to be on Brooks’ bad side in a week’s time?”

“I guess never.”

“Exacto.”

He and Isabella were out on the wharf doing whatever agents did, while Chase was stuck babysitting her, or whatever he was doing, it felt like babysitting. She leaned back against the wall. “I guess we just sit here and wait.”

Hours later they found themselves on a small fishing boat, an old grizzly man with kindly eyes agreed to drop them at the first vacant island and to share his phone. Brooks had called in his team. And they were at last heading out again on open water. Skye had avoided any one-on-one time with Brooks, but she sat alone in the aft of the boat, letting the wind whip through her clothes and he joined her.

She knew he was there before he said anything and it felt nice. And she hated that it felt nice. “We’re a mess.”

He moved closer, his shoulders up against hers. “I don’t dare warm you up, but your arms are ice cold.”

She didn’t answer.

“My director wants me to offer you a spot on a team…with training.”

What!” She had not predicted that.

“I told him you’re gonna be the queen of your nation, but he wasn’t phased. He said you’re the best new first timer field agent he’s seen in a long time.”

Skye laughed. “Well, that’s something I don’t get to hear every day.”

Brooks was quiet. “I wish I could see it that way.”

“How do you see it?”

“I was ready to die there, or escape, or figure things out, do whatever it took, because I knew you were safe on the other side of the Mediterranean.”

She rocked back and forth on her toes.

“But when I saw you, everything fell out from under me. My confidence, even my brain just left. I couldn’t handle the thought of you in so much danger. I had to get us out and I froze.”

Skye turned to look at him with her back up against the boat railing. “Well, I couldn’t handle it when they told me they’d lost you. Everything important in my life faded and only one thing mattered. You. I couldn’t sit there for one more minute. Look, I know you’re mad at me for coming, I know I made things more difficult for you, but I can’t just sit still while you’re in trouble. Not when I had the means to help.” She snorted. “Or thought I did.”

“None of us had any idea such a large team waited just outside the safe house. We need to up our security cameras in the forest there.” He reached for her hand. “I go on missions. All the time. And you can’t come.”

“I can’t come.” She looked away. “Well, why not? If the director whoever wants to hire me, why can’t I come? You’ve been my best friend for forever. I go where you go.”

“Skye, that’s silly. You didn’t go to school with me. You don’t follow me around to the Prince Society meetings…probably a bad example.”

“Totally.”

“But in any case, there are things I do that you don’t do and vice versa.”

‘But this is different.”

“I know.” He tugged on her shirt. “Come here.”

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