Chapter 22

TWENTY-TWO

Several hours later, at the end of the evening, Falcon leaned against the doorframe to the little office that Bella and Diana were meeting in. Bella had her lawyer on speakerphone, and she was handling the negotiations like a woman who knew what she was doing.

She was strong, confident, and impressive as hell.

He didn’t understand why she felt she was living small. She was a powerful force in every moment.

Vulnerable with him as well, but that vulnerability didn’t make her weak. Maybe it added to her power.

Why couldn’t she see herself the way he saw her? The way she was?

“All right, then,” Bella said, hanging up the phone. “We have ourselves a deal. My lawyer will email the letter of intent shortly, and I’ll send it on to you after I read it. We’ll sign in the morning.”

Diana clapped her hands. “This is fantastic. I created this business with my daughter. She got married and moved to Chicago to open a gourmet ice cream truck there. It’s going so well that she wants to add three more trucks. She’s been asking me to move out there and help with the business, but I couldn’t leave unless I got the right offer, which is you. I’m using this money to invest in her business and move out there to help her with it.” She hugged Bella. “Thank you for making our dreams come true!” She grabbed her phone. “I’m going to call her now. She’ll be so excited!”

Diana hugged Falcon, and then headed off down the hall. “Sweetie? It’s Mom! We have the money!”

Falcon grinned as Diana shrieked into the phone. “Damn, they’re happy. That’s so cool you made her dreams come true.”

Bella was smiling, too. “She’s so happy. That’s so amazing.” She looked at Falcon. “It’s amazing what a difference money can make. I could have just given her daughter the money and invested in the business if I’d known.”

“It’s more fun to earn it. They’ll have a great time. Did you see their bond? It’s about family for them.”

Bella’s smile faded as she watched Diana disappear around the corner. “It is, isn’t it?” She looked at Falcon. “Am I making a mistake? Walking away from family? I don’t want to walk away from them. I love them. They’re my whole world. I just—” She stopped. “What am I doing, Falcon? I spent so much of my life alone and now I have a family, and I want to walk away from them?”

“No.” He put his arm over her shoulder, pulling her in close. “You’re not walking away from them. You’re adding to your life.”

“By trapping myself here? A catering business is an on-site business. I have to be here to run it. What if I don’t want to be here? What if I want to go home?” Her voice rose in panic.

“Hey.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Take a breath, sweetheart.”

“I can’t! I just agreed to buy a business I don’t even know if I want! I’m used to freedom. And now I can’t leave!”

Falcon couldn’t help it. He started laughing.

“What?” She shoved at his chest. “You’re laughing at me?”

He caught her wrists. “No, Bella. I’m laughing with you. You’re trying to be brave, and it’s scary. That’s normal. It’s all good.”

“It’s not good.”

“It is.” He pressed a kiss to her knuckles. “I’ll be honest. It’s scary as hell letting myself get involved with you, but I’m not going anywhere.”

Bella stared at him, then she started laughing. “I’m like a catering business?”

He grinned when she laughed, knowing he’d broken through her panic. “You’re exactly like a catering business. That’s what I was thinking this afternoon when my soul was falling into your eyes.”

Her smile widened. “Is that what was happening?”

“It was. I was thinking, am I drowning in her eyes, or are the croissants ready for serving? It’s confusing for a guy like me who has been outside the world of plated food for so long.”

She giggled. “Plates and utensils can be so confusing.”

“Right? You get me.” He pulled her in for a kiss. “I love how you get me, Bella. It’s so refreshing not to have to pretend I know how to sit at a table.”

She put her arms around his neck. “Falcon, no one would look at you and expect you to know how to sit at a table.”

“No? What would they expect?” He backed her into the wall, leaning his hips against hers.

“A wild animal scavenging for food in the dark of night?”

“Hmm…I like that.” He bent his head and nibbled on her neck. “We’re the last ones here, Bella. Maybe we should celebrate your business deal.”

She leaned her head back to give him access. “Champagne and strawberries?”

“I thought I saw some whipped cream in the fridge.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That’s just sticky.”

He slid his hand behind her neck. “No whipped cream then.”

She caught her breath as he began to nibble on her lower lip. “I didn’t bring the condoms.”

He grinned. “I did.”

She started laughing. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. If someone comes after you, we might have to go on the run. I didn’t want to be stranded in a safehouse with you without proper protection.”

“Protection? Like your gun?”

“Exactly like my gun.” Then he leaned in and showed her exactly what kind of protection she needed. And she quickly made it clear that it was the kind of protection she liked.

A perfect pair.

For now.

Until the inherent conflicts between them made it impossible to have a future together, of course.

But he’d worry about that later.

Much, much later.

Because right now, he had to protect her.

Because that’s what good bodyguards did.