Page 6 of The Agent
“I know it’s not gentlemanly but let me go first,” he said, lifting his hand away almost immediately.
She was amazed at how swiftly and silently he climbed her stairs. A man of his proportions should have sounded like an elephant on the uncarpeted oak treads. Maybe he really was part panther. By the time she got to the top step, he was already entering the guest room. She heard the closet and en suite bathroom doors open and close, and then he was back out in the hallway.
As he walked toward the door to her bedroom, she tried to remember if she’d left anything too personal out in plain sight. Since she’d done the wedding party’s hair and makeup at her hair salon, the Mane Attraction, she hadn’t left a scatter of cosmetics on her dresser or bathroom vanity. In general, she was tidy, partly by preference and partly because she hadn’t wanted to give her ex-husband fodder for his constant criticism.
Tully disappeared into her room while she stopped on the threshold again. Seeing his muscular, confident body moving around her most intimate space made something fiery coil low in her belly. He knelt to check under the bed, his hand braced on the pale blue quilt for balance. Seeing his masculine fingers splayed across the velvet she slept under fanned the heat into a flame.
She must have had more to drink at the reception than she realized.
When Tully opened her closet door, she closed her eyes to avoid seeing him touch her clothing. Still, she could hear the rustle of fabric and slide of hangers as he pushed them aside to check the depths behind them.
She retreated to the hallway before he went into her bathroom. She didn’t want her brain remembering the vision of this man in his well-fitted tux outlined against the delicate cream tile.
Natalie was examining the abstract landscape she’d bought from a local artist when Tully came out of her room.
“There must be another room up here,” he said, looking down the hallway. “The guest room doesn’t take up enough space in the floor plan.”
She was impressed, but she reminded herself that he was an expert at his job. “There’s a storage room down here.” She led him toward the back of the house, opening a low door and flipping on the light switch. Boxes of Christmas decorations stood against one wall beside a couple of trunks. A few miscellaneous pieces of furniture were lined up along another wall.
“You travel light,” he said with a note of approval in his voice as he surveyed the nearly empty room.
“I’ve only lived here about eighteen months,” she said. “There hasn’t been time to accumulate much junk.” And she’d brought virtually nothing from her married life with her.
“I know folks who would have filled this up the day they moved in,” he said, following her out of the room and toward the stairs. “Your interior is clear. I’ll take a look around outside before I leave.”
She turned. “That’s above and beyond. You really don’t have to tromp around outdoors in your tuxedo.”
“Hey, I’ve got my boots on.” He grinned. “That’s one good thing about refusing to wear prissy patent leather loafers.”
She laughed. “I won’t tell Derek what you said about his shoes.”
“Oh, I told him myself,” Tully said.
“That I believe.” Holding on to the bannister tightly to counteract whatever alcohol seemed to be overwhelming her better judgment, Natalie descended the stairs. Tully made somewhat more noise behind her this time. She supposed he was no longer trying to sneak up on an intruder.
When they reached the front entranceway, Tully moved in front of her, his penetrating gray eyes softened by concern. “You don’t strike me as someone who gets spooked easily. You want to tell me what this is about?”
For a moment she was tempted to tell him about the creepy emails coming from a different address every time. He was a pro at this sort of thing, so it would be a relief to just drop it on his broad shoulders. But she stopped herself. They weren’t exactly threatening, just unsettling.
“One of my customers at the salon had her house broken into last week. She lives only about a mile away,” she lied with a rueful smile. “It made me feel a little anxious about coming home to an empty house. You’ve been so generous to indulge my case of nerves. I feel completely safe now.”
He searched her face again before he nodded. “Glad I could help. I’ll text you that everything’s clear outside before I leave.”
“You really don’t have to—”
He held up his hand to halt her words. She could see by his expression that he was going to inspect the outer perimeter of her house no matter what she said.
“Thank you for the ride home and the security inspection. I appreciate them both.”
“The pleasure was all mine.” Before she could puzzle out how to say goodbye, he leaned down and brushed a feather of a kiss over her cheekbone. She had to stop herself from leaning in to feel more of those warm, firm lips against her skin. “Good night.”
He was out the door but turned to look over his shoulder, the porch light finding golden highlights in his brown hair. “Set the alarm behind me.”
She watched him tread lightly down the stone steps and disappear into the darkness beyond. After closing the door and sliding the dead bolt home, she stood for a moment, feeling a wrenching sense of loss.
An unwelcome question danced its way into her mind.
If she’d asked him, would Tully have stayed?
