Before We Kiss (Fool's Gold #14)(22)

“I think there’s another executive suite on the top floor,” she said, not looking at him. “If you want something nice for you and your guest.”

His dark gaze settled on her face. “Guest?”

“Date? Girlfriend? Significant other? Whatever you want to call the woman you might be bringing to the event.”

“I’m not bringing anyone. Taryn is the only one of us with a date.”

She kept her gaze firmly on her notes and even pretended to write something. “Okay, then. A boring, standard room for you.”

“What about you?”

Her head came up and her eyes locked with his. “Are you asking about my love life?”

“No.” He turned away. “It’s not my business. I apologize.”

She remembered he was the guy who had never admitted he knew her, let alone that they’d shared a night together. A man who obviously didn’t talk about personal stuff very much.

“You’re allowed to ask,” she told him. “And no, I won’t be sharing my room. This is business, and even if it wasn’t, I’m not seeing anyone.”

Which fell into the category of TMI, she thought, although she didn’t regret making things clear between them. Crazy, but there she was. Ridiculously happy that neither she nor Sam was seeing anyone else.

* * *

CDS—OR WHAT the locals called the bodyguard school—was located just east of town. Sam knew all the guys who worked there. They played basketball together several mornings a week. But he’d never been to their offices, or the obstacle course and trail run on the edge of their property.

Now he parked and walked inside. Dellina was already there, talking to Angel. For a second Sam allowed himself the pleasure of simply looking at her. She wore sweatpants with a T-shirt. Her long hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. Her ever-present tote was overflowing with papers and folders and she had a clipboard in her hands.

The more-casual Dellina was just as appealing as the dressed-for-business version. She was efficient, friendly, and when she moved her mouth it was all he could do to keep himself from dragging her into the closest private space and kissing her for the next three days.

She got to him. He could admit it—mostly because he wasn’t going to do anything about his reaction to her. For one thing, they worked together. No way he was wading into that kind of a mess. For another, he liked her. So why would he want to ruin that by getting involved? Every relationship he’d ever been in had ended with disaster. Even his one-night stands had created some problem or drama. He had the world’s worst luck with women. He’d accepted that and could live with it. Mostly. There were times when he thought about what nearly everyone wanted—a traditional family. But that wasn’t going to happen.

She looked up, saw him and smiled. The second her lips curved, he felt the kick to his gut. Breathing seemed impossible, his blood heated and sensory memories from their lone night together filled his brain.

“I’m nervous,” she said by way of greeting. “I’ve never been overly coordinated.” She turned back to Angel. “You’re not doing much to make me feel better.”

Angel grinned. “Scaring civilians is the best part of my day, dollface. I can’t help it.”

“You can but you don’t want to. There’s a difference.” She walked over to Sam and showed him the clipboard. “Okay, this is the route we’re considering. It’s challenging, but not impossible. Or so Angel swears.”

“Would I lie?” the former sniper asked.

“That remains to be seen,” Dellina told him.

Sam told himself to stay still and keep breathing while he figured out what was wrong. A growing sense of anger and urgency seemed to be swelling inside of him. He wanted to hit something—specifically Angel. Except he generally liked Angel. So what was wrong?

Before he could decide, Ford joined them. The other man shook hands with Sam, then greeted Dellina.

“I told Angel to go easy on you,” Ford told Sam. “You’ve got corporate types in for the weekend. We’re not in boot camp. Plus, I know you, Kenny and Jack are pretty washed up.”

Sam narrowed his gaze. “What did you say?”

Ford shrugged. “It’s not like you have a real job anymore. Or ever. Kicking a football? They paid you for that?”

Dellina’s mouth twitched. “Boys, can we stay focused on the task at hand, please? We need to try the obstacle course. Then the three of you can decide who is more manly.”

“That would be me,” they all said at once.

Dellina laughed.

They went outside. Angel explained the basics of the course. There was an area with cones for sprints, followed by a balance station. Beyond that was a pull-up bar, several tires, a large pipe to crawl through and then a wall to scale.

Sam studied it all, then nodded. This was going to be fun. He was about to ask Ford to time him so he could beat his best run the next time through when he saw Dellina biting on her lower lip. The action was momentarily distracting until he realized she wasn’t trying to be sexy.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“That’s pretty challenging,” she said. “How fit are your guests?”

“The range will vary.” He’d never met any of the spouses.

“Let’s do a walk-through,” Ford said. “We’ll talk modifications as we go.”