Roped In (Armed & Dangerous #2)(53)

“Hi.” I was at a loss for words. It was the first time I’d seen someone in the house other than scary mobster men.

“Would you care for a glass of wine, water, or soda?”

“May I have a bottle of water?” That way I could tell if someone had spiked it.

She bowed her head and smiled. “I’ll be right back.”

It didn’t take her long to get my bottle and when I opened it, the lid was still attached. I guzzled it down and almost had the whole bottle gone when I heard his voice.

“Calm down, killer.”

When I saw his face, I gasped and choked on the water.

He rushed over and patted my back as I coughed it out. “You okay?” he asked, kneeling down beside me. He smiled and my heart broke. Connor had to have been wrong. There was no way Tristan would hurt me. Plus, he didn’t have an Irish accent like the guy from last night.

“Tristan, what are you doing here?”

He sat down at the head of the table and grabbed my hand. “I came to see you. After everything you’ve been through, your father thought it’d be good for you to see a familiar face. Plus, he felt it’d be a great idea for you to go on a vacation. I have family in Ireland and told him I could take you there.”

I forced a smile. “Ireland? Wow, that’s really sweet of you, but I should probably be getting back to work. My producer is dying to get me back in the studio.”

The door to the room opened and the maid brought in another bottle of water and a glass of wine for Tristan. She set my bottle of water down in front of me and lifted the lid that covered my plate. “Bain sult as,” she said sweetly.

I stared at her like she’d lost her mind.

Tristan laughed. “She said enjoy. It’s Irish.”

Act normal. Picking up my fork, I stabbed a piece of broccoli and put it in my mouth. “I didn’t know you knew how to speak Irish.”

She lifted the lid over his food and retreated from the room. “I know how to speak seven different languages. It’ll come in handy when I take you overseas. There’s so much to see and do over there. You probably won’t want to come back.”

“It sounds amazing. Too bad I can’t stay over there forever,” I laughed. The more he talked about Ireland, the more I started to believe he was the one. For the entire time I’d known him, he’d never mentioned anything about Ireland, other than the times he spent there in college.

“Do you want to go for a walk after lunch?” he asked.

I finished my food and guzzled down the second bottle of water. “Sure, if we can. The men here don’t like to let me walk around freely. It’s like a prison. I guess they’re afraid I’m going to run away or something.”

“Why would you want to do that? This place is amazing.”

I shrugged, pretending to be baffled. “I don’t know. Maybe they think the media will try to get in somehow. You know how they like to follow me.”

“That’s probably it,” he agreed. “They’re just being protective of you.” What a load of bullshit. They were being protective all right, but it wasn’t for my safety. “Ready to go for a walk? I saw the gardens when I pulled in. I know how you like stuff like that.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

He pulled out my chair and opened the back set of doors that led down a long hallway. Gesturing for me to go first, he followed closely behind, putting his hand on my lower back.

“I hadn’t seen this part of the house. How do you know where to go?” I asked, gauging his reaction.

“Just a guess,” he said.

Did he really think I was that na?ve? Obviously, he’d underestimated me. Once we got outside, I could breathe easier. I half expected one of his suited men to follow us around, but there was no one in sight.

“How are you holding up after the whole Nick thing? He took it pretty hard when you called it off.”

To avoid his stare, I bent down to smell one of the wild roses. “I know, but it was all pretend. I never wanted him to fall for me. We only did it to ward off the stalker.”

“Yeah, I know. Who do you think came up with the idea?”

Furrowing my brows, I glanced up at him. “He did, didn’t he?”

Tristan snorted. “Nah, I did. I was going to confront you about it and see if you wanted me to help you out. But . . . he did it first.”

“Oh wow, he never told me,” I replied, getting to my feet. Was that what Tristan wanted me to believe, or was it the truth? If the roles were switched, it made me wonder where I’d be now.

His gaze darkened. “Why would he, when he had you right where he wanted you?”

“Why didn’t you tell me it was your idea?”

He shrugged. “Would you have chosen me instead? You almost kissed me that night. I remember it, even if you don’t.”

Back then, I was attracted to him and I probably would’ve picked him over Nick. Now, I was thankful Nick approached me first. “That was a long time ago, Tristan. And it’s not like the plan worked anyway. Dane still killed Scott and shot Nick. If it was you in his place, you could’ve been hurt.”

“I’m not like Nick, Hadley. No one would’ve gotten past me. I could’ve protected you.” His phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, eyes narrowing when he focused on the screen. “I have to take this. Are you okay out here?”