Page 20 of Mistletoe and Malice
Miss Hudson’s voice drew Colton’s attention to the staircase, and he couldn’t pull his eyes from the woman he’d last seen in a conservative business suit. The bright blue, sparkling gown hugged her in all the right places, with short sleeves and a mid-thigh-high slit up one side of the straight skirt. She’d pulled her long black hair up on her head in a simple bun with a ring of diamonds encircling it. Blue teardrop-shaped gems dangled from diamond stud earrings.
What a chameleon she was. From jeans and a sweater Saturday night, to the tasteful red suit she’d donned for work today, and, now, to this stunning gown. Hair up, down, pulled back, or left loose. It didn’t matter. She was always striking and comfortable in her skin.
He cleared his throat and held out his hand for her coat. “You look quite nice yourself, Miss Hudson.” An understatement, but it would be inappropriate to tell her she was breathtaking. “Your parents just left. We should be about five minutes behind them.”
“Thank you.” She let him take her overcoat when he reached for it and turned her back to him. He pulled the coat up to her shoulders, and she faced him again with one of her thousand-watt smiles. “You could be a little less serious, Mr. Blankenship. It is a party we’re going to.”
“For us, it’s work. Shall we go?”
She sighed as her grin disappeared. “Do you ever loosen up?”
“On my own time.” They followed the others to the SUV parked in the circular drive, and he opened her door.
“When is that exactly?” she asked as she slid into the back seat.
“When I’m not with you.” He closed her door and walked around to the other side, climbing in beside her.
“So, not until this detail is over, is what you’re saying.”
Clearly, she wasn’t going to drop it. “It’s the job. That’s why it pays so well.”
“Does it? Pay well?”
“Well enough. By most people’s standards.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What does that mean? That I wouldn’t understandwell enough?”
“You do live in a different world than ninety-nine-point-nine percent of us.”
“Then you think you know me, based on my socio-economic status. Seems an unfair judgment, Mr. Blankenship.”
He glanced away as the SUV made its way down the drive to the gate before regarding her again. “You’re right. I pegged you incorrectly based on supposition. I apologize.”
“YousupposedI was a rich, spoiled socialite, and you’d be spending your days following me while I shopped.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, maybe.”
“Why’d you take this job if you didn’t want to do it?”
“Mack asked me to take it. And I never said I didn’t want to do it.”
“Hmm. Good work ethic. Very commendable. But don’t any of you guys have families?”
“I do.” Paul checked both directions before turning onto the road. “I’m married with a little boy. Valerie and Landon.”
“How old is Landon?”
“Four.”
“Don’t they miss you?”
“At times like these they do. But I was with the FBI for six years before we got married, and two years after, and was never home. I left a couple of years ago after we had Landon. With Petersen, I get to pick most of my assignments. Sometimes I work a specialized detail, then work in Tech Ops or Transportation for a month or two. Or take off a few weeks after an especially long detail.”
“What about you, Trevor?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “Girlfriend. Gemma. We’ve been together a little more than a year, so she understands the demands.”
“Did you work in another capacity prior to Petersen?”
