Page 24 of Hidden Shadows
She pursed her lips as they walked through the fairgrounds. On the Sunday before Christmas, it was busy.
She cleared her throat. “So, I thought we’d start with some ice-skating.”
He nodded. Just…nodded. There was no “That sounds great, Fin.” No little stories about how he’d skated in his youth. Not that she’d expected the latter, but any actualwordswould be nice.
“I think the last time I skated was about four years ago when I went to a rink with Andi,” Finley said, trying to draw some conversation from the man. “I wasn’t great.”
Another nod.
She sighed and moved faster, walking to the line to wait for ice skates. She told herself to keep her mouth shut. If he wanted to give her the cold shoulder after their kiss, that was up to him.
That lasted all of thirty seconds before she couldn’t take the silence anymore and spun on him. “Are you gonna be like this the entire week?”
“Like what?”
Oh, he knewlike what. “Moody, unsmiling, and barely saying two words a day to me?”
“I’ve said more than two words to you today.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s why I saidbarely.”
“What would you like me to say?”
“I don’t know, maybe ‘Did you sleep well?’ or ‘The snow’s beautiful’ or hell, you could even throw in an ‘I’m looking forward to the fair today.’”
When the line moved, he stepped forward. “I assumed you slept well because you stepped out of your room smiling. I prefer the sun to snow. And I don’t look forward to this fair.”
Well, if there was ever a man who personified the Grinch, it was this one.
She stopped at the skates booth, surprised when Nixon gave his size. She’d been sure he wouldn’t join her on the ice, maybe using the excuse that wearing skates would make it too hard to chase down a bad guy.
When their skates were on, she stepped onto the ice first, grabbing the railing around the perimeter so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She and ice did not mix well. But this wasn’t about being great, and she wanted to portray that to her followers. The fun part was giving things a go.
She was just letting go of the railing, moving across the iceveryslowly, when Nixon came gliding up beside her.
What the hell? The man skated like he’d been training his entire life! Were men like him just so physically gifted that they could doeverything?
“How are you so good at this?”
“I had a client who was a professional skater. I made sure I learned the basics in case I needed to get to her quickly.”
She paused. Wow, that was dedication. “Why did she need a bodyguard?”
“Similar situation to yours. Some asshole fan was targeting her.”
“Was she okay?”
“Yeah. I got the guy about two months into the protective detail, when he was hiding in the bushes outside her townhouse.”
A shudder rocked her body. “How do these people find our addresses?”
Nixon met her gaze. “When people put their lives online, they give away more than they think. There are usually stores in the background of photos. Street names. Even just posting the food you eat when you go out can give you away. Then, once these assholes know where you are, they start seeing patterns in your routine. Like maybe you go to Pilates on Wednesdays and the grocery store on Fridays.”
Her skin chilled, a sick feeling churning in her belly. She posted a lot of her life online. But that was her job. Her follower count and interaction was what booked her events and paid her mortgage.
“That’s sick,” she said quietly.
“Obsession is a great motivator.”
