by Maya Banks
break since we got so much done this morning. Well done, everyone. I’ll see you back here in two hours. Don’t be late.”
“That’s our cue,” Joe said. “Time to go shopping.”
The others snickered, and even Swanny couldn’t call back his groan. This was so not on his list of favorite things. But it got him two hours to spend with Eden, so he couldn’t complain.
Eden hurried over, her face alight with happiness directed at Swanny. His stomach did a quirky flip-flop number, because how could he not react to the warmth she spread no matter where she went?
“Ready to hit the stores with me?” she asked with a grin.
“Yep,” Skylar said with actual enthusiasm. “You know where we’re going?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. It’s not a long walk, but I don’t know how you all will feel about that. It might be rather conspicuous for us to take armored vehicles and try to find street parking outside the boutique,” Eden said with a chuckle.
The guys exchanged looks, questions in each of their eyes.
“I think as long as we flank Eden and make sure she’s covered and we have a very tight perimeter around her, walking would be okay,” Swanny said. “Just how far is this, Eden?”
“Three blocks,” she said cheerfully. “Not bad at all. And it’s such a lovely day. It would be great to get a breath of fresh air after being trapped in the studio and hotel for two days.”
Swanny lifted an eyebrow in Nathan’s and Joe’s direction. Joe just shook his head. “I don’t know why you’re looking to me now. It’s not like you’ve listened to a damn word from me on this job anyway. You clearly took the lead on this, so you make the decision and we’ll make sure she’s covered on all angles.”
Joe didn’t sound pissy that his authority had basically been subverted, and for that Swanny was grateful because he knew he wouldn’t back off even if he and Joe did get into a pissing match.
Swanny turned to Edge. “I think you and I should flank Eden. Since she’s tall she needs someone taller than her on either side. A sniper isn’t out of the question after what happened before. Nathan and Joe can position themselves in front of and behind Eden and Sky can place herself between Eden and whoever takes lead. That’s a lot of people to go through to get to her.”
Eden stood gawking at his team, her eyes wide as she took in everything they said. Maybe she wasn’t taking this seriously since in her mind the first incident had been random. He’d have a talk with her later about taking her safety very seriously, right before he delved into the discussion about their relationship or if they even had one.
“You ready, then?” Swanny asked Eden. “You’ll have to lead the way figuratively since Joe will be taking the lead, but you’ll have to direct us to where we’re going.”
Eden hoisted her designer purse over her shoulder and said, “When we leave the building, take a right. Go three blocks and it’s on the same side of the street as we’re currently on. I’ll tell you when we get there.”
“All right then, let’s saddle up and get the hell out of Dodge,” Nathan quipped.
CHAPTER 22
EDEN grinned as she sat on a sumptuous couch just inside the section where the dressing rooms were and watched the men grumble and tug at their necklines as they walked out to let her view them in their posh evening wear.
Skylar seemed to be enjoying herself every bit as much. She smirked over the men’s expressions, their groans when Eden would frown and shake her head and say, “No, not quite right.”
So, she was having a bit of fun at their expense. Eden herself rarely went shopping for dresses for important events because there was no shortage of designers literally begging her to wear their apparel, and three gowns had already been delivered to her hotel for her to choose from for the soiree. Although the party would be mostly the Aria staff, production team, directors and staff, there would still be key important people and plenty of paparazzi to photograph their arrival, which was what the designers counted on.
And for the launch, Aria had already chosen the gown they wanted her to wear: the flashy red dress with the long slit up one side of her leg that she’d worn in the commercials. This was their launch for their new ad campaign, so they wanted the woman from the television to come alive. She’d be playing the role of that woman the entire evening. Flirtatious. Sultry. Mysterious. She wanted to roll her eyes at some of the things her job required, but overall it was a job she loved.
She loved traveling and meeting new people even though at heart she was a homebody, much more comfortable as the real Eden she could be when she was with her family. But her job gave her the best of both worlds. An opportunity to see the world and yet still be able to come home to her father and brothers. It was a career she wouldn’t change a single thing about.
And, well, she knew realistically she likely had only a few more years, so there was still plenty of time for her to turn her thoughts to stuff like marriage and children.
“Eden?”
Guiltily, she swung her head up to see Swanny standing in the doorway of the dressing room. She hoped that her face hadn’t given her away because he’d been very much on the fringes of her mind when she’d begun to think about the possibility of marriage and children. Which was pretty stupid considering they were still very much feeling their way around each other. But she’d always been impulsive and one to put the cart before the horse, so to speak.
She drank in the sight of him. He looked so damn delicious that she wanted to shove him back into the dressing room and have him against the wall while she devoured his mouth and a whole lot more.
He was dressed in a white silk dress shirt with a black coat and slacks. Usually a tie should accompany such an outfit, but there was something decidedly sexy about that top button being undone and getting a glimpse of that hard chest.
It was simple yet elegant and it made this beautiful man look even more powerful and dangerous than she already knew him to be.
“It’s perfect,” she finally announced.
“Thank fuck,” Swanny grumbled. “We’ve already wasted thirty minutes of your lunch break and we haven’t even started shopping for you and Sky.”
“Oh, I’m already taken care of,” Eden said blithely. “And getting something for Skylar will be a snap. Her coloring is beautiful and with all that gorgeous blond hair, I already have a very good idea of what will look great on her.”
Swanny stopped, his features scrunching into a scowl. “What do you mean, you’re already taken care of? Wasn’t that the whole purpose of this trip, to find you a dress for the party in two nights?”
Her lips curved in a grin. “Dahling,” she said with exaggerated emphasis, “in my line of work, designers provide almost all my clothing for public appearances. They vie for my attention because they want the publicity. They provide a free dress in return for free publicity. Win-win. I have three gowns already delivered to the hotel for me to choose from, and I wouldn’t be surprised if more showed up.”
“You little heifer,” Swanny said in a menacing tone. He shot her a glare that only made her laugh. “You totally set me up, didn’t you?”
“Who me?” she asked, batting her eyelashes innocently. “I can’t help it if you looked so cute grumbling your way through several outfits.”
Swanny shook his head and then ducked back into the fitting room to take the suit off.
Skylar cracked up. “Well done, Eden. Well done, indeed. I quite enjoyed that. I have to say, you draw out a side to Swanny that most of us haven’t seen.”
Eden gave her a serene smile and picked an invisible piece of lint from her shirt. “He’s too easy and it’s so much fun to see him all riled up. He’s too cute.”
Skylar choked on her laughter. “Cute? I have to say I’ve heard Swanny described in many ways, but cute has never been one of them.”
Skylar then cocked her head to the side. “You really dig him, don’t you? I mean, it’s not an act with you. You truly like him.”
Eden flushed.
“I’m not saying that to make you uncomfortable or put you on the spot,” Skylar hastened to say. “It’s just that not many people look beyond his appearance to get to know the real man underneath. He has a huge heart, as I’m sure you know by now. I think it’s really cool that you’re so accepting of him. All of him. You look very good together.”
“He’s a very special man,” Eden said quietly.
“On that we agree,” Skylar responded.
They looked up to see Swanny come back out dressed in his jeans and shirt, and as good as he’d looked in his suit, Eden’s mouth watered at those form-fitting jeans and the T-shirt that stretched over his broad shoulders and muscled chest.
He slung the suit on its hanger over his shoulder. Then he shot both women a glare. “Let’s go see how the other guys fared since they didn’t have you two tormenting them and making them go through half a dozen suits. I bet they chose the first one they picked out.”
Skylar snickered and Eden lifted an eyebrow. “Oh, how little you know. I sicced the very nice saleslady on those three and told her my specifications. I can assure you that she made certain they didn’t just grab and run. You were the lucky one, having me and Sky being the only witnesses to your pain.”
“Poor bastards,” Swanny muttered. “I think this qualifies for hazard pay. I’m definitely going to take this up with Sam.”
“Quit being a baby,” Eden scoffed. “Let’s take your suit to the saleslady and then we’ll outfit Skylar. I can’t wait to get my hands on her. She’s going to look amazing before I’m finished with her!”
With an exaggerated, indulgent sigh, Swanny meekly—or as meekly looking as a man his size could pull off—carried the suit to the beaming saleslady, who took it back to be wrapped with great care.
Eden clapped her hands, rubbing them together in anticipation, just as the other team members joined them. “Now for Skylar.”
Skylar’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “I’m being dressed by a supermodel. How many women can say that? I’m going to look fabulous! Man, I haven’t looked forward to a swanky gig like this like ever. But I’m already fantasizing about a to-die-for dress, some kick-ass total fuck-me shoes and being made up by an honest-to-God professional makeup artist. And I get to hang out with Eden Sinclair! I can’t believe I’m getting paid for this.”
“Whoa, sweetcakes,” Edge growled. “Remember the job you’re being paid to do. Am I going to have to put you on a leash for the night? If we’re having to watch out for you, our attention will be split between you and Eden, and that’s not what we’re being paid to do.”
Skylar put her nose in the air and sniffed, sending him a glare. “Party pooper. Can’t a girl have some fun?”
Eden threaded her arm through Skylar’s and herded her toward the designer dress section, where the saleslady was already hanging up several selections for Skylar to try on.
“We girls will have fun,” Eden said emphatically. “We’ll just stick together and have fun. If we’re in the same spot, then their attention will never be divided, right?”
Skylar sent her an admiring look. “I like the way you think. It’s diabolical and pure genius. I love that you have an evil streak.”
Eden grinned. “They need to be kept on their toes anyway, right? Since all this is to them is a glorified babysitting job.”
Eden caught the wince on Joe’s face as they caught up to her and Skylar and the color that rose into his cheeks and also the scowl that lit up Swanny’s face as they both realized she’d obviously overheard Joe’s assessment of their current “mission.”
She and Skylar both bit into their lips to keep from reacting. Skylar’s eyes sparkled with amusement and her expression was one of anticipation as well as a mischievous streak that for some reason her teammates weren’t quite aware of. Or didn’t seem to be, anyway. Eden wasn’t familiar enough with the team dynamics to know what exactly they thought or knew about Skylar.
Figures, though, that they likely didn’t know. Men were thick. They probably saw her as one of the guys. Safer that way. But Eden knew to her bones that Skylar wasn’t just a kick-ass operative for a badass organization. She’d seen enough of her to know she enjoyed pushing the right buttons and yanking the chains of all her teammates without them even likely knowing they were being had.
That kind of wit was a trait Eden thoroughly enjoyed in other people but especially in Skylar, because it suited her to a T. If anything, she likely kept her guy teammates on their toes, which amused Eden all the more.
For a moment, Eden had a wistful thought of what it would be like if she and Skylar could be friends. Real friends. Without the job issue at stake. If she had anything to do with it, she planned to keep up with Skylar once the danger was over and KGI was off to its next mission. Her thoughts drifted to Swanny, her mood instantly diminishing. She slammed the door quickly on that train of thought. It did her no good to become upset over what was to come when she had beautiful days ahead of her. No matter how short the time span was. She fully intended to savor every moment she had with Swanny and suffer no regrets whatsoever when it came time to say good-bye. Well, except the regret of saying good-bye.
“How long will this take anyway?” Joe queried, glancing at his watch. “We’re down to an hour twenty until lunch break is over, and I’m starving.”
Eden stifled her laughter over the almost whiny tone reflected in Joe’s question. As she’d guessed, the shopping trip had been a form of torture for them, but on the other hand, seeing four exceedingly handsome men decked out in fine evening wear? She might have to carry around a handkerchief all night to wipe the drool from her mouth.
She’d be the envy of every woman there, having the undivided attention of the KGI team. No one had to know they were her security team, after all. And then she almost laughed. Talk about fodder for the tabloids. She could see the headline now.
Supermodel Eden Sinclair on a night out with her male harem.
Hey, a girl could dream, right?
That was one tabloid she might actually read and frame any of the good photos that came of the flurry of picture taking.
“There’s a café between here and the studio. They serve awesome croissants and to-die-for coffee,” Eden offered. “We should have plenty of time to grab something. I’m going to wait for dinner and divine room service, but you guys can get what you like.”
“Croissants?” Edge asked, his nose wrinkling skeptically. “Do they have anything a bit more substantial?”
She could see the same question in the other male members of the team and chuckled.
“Of course. You can get all sorts of baked goods. Sandwiches on fresh bread. A croissant with pretty much whatever you want on it. It really is good food. They have a pretty substantial menu, but you may want to send at least one of you ahead to order, because since it’s lunchtime, and it’s a favorite with the locals, it’s likely going to be busy.”
Swanny frowned at that, and Eden could see the battle he waged over leaving her even one man down from her protection squad, as she’d grown to think of them. Or rather protection army.
She felt like some kind of pampered, privileged, important member of royalty. Far more important than what she was in actuality. But she wouldn’t lie, even to herself, and say she wasn’t enjoying the extra attention and the fact that they were all so attentive—and determined to keep her safe at all costs.
“I think it’s safe to say that I’ll make it back with only four of you,” Eden said dryly. “Joe could go place the order, since he and Skylar both were taking lead. That still gives you a tight perimeter around me. I doubt any of you want to starve because Skylar and I are dress shopping.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Edge said hopefully. His stomach rumbled, obviously voicing its agreement.
Joe looked chagrined that he’d somehow drawn the short straw on being the pack mule for the food.
“Hell, I don’t even speak the language,” Jo
e muttered.
“It’s not that hard to point at what you want and hold up the number of fingers to indicate quantity,” Eden said in amusement. “Besides, the citizens of non-English-speaking European countries speak better English than we do. I’ve never had a problem here.”
“Okay, fine, I’ll go,” Joe grumbled. “But no bitching if you don’t like what I pick out.”
“Just none of that froufrou shit,” Nathan said. “Try to make it edible, at least. At this point, I think I’d eat just about anything anyway.”
“Is there a place you can just get a burger and fries?” Edge asked hopefully. “Or a good steak?”
“Save it for dinner tonight. I don’t know if you’ve had the room service steak, but it’s pretty darn good,” Eden replied. “We shouldn’t go overly long today. We got ahead by putting in a full day’s work yesterday. That’s the way this director works. He pushes hard the first day. Tests the waters, so to speak, so he can plan the rest of the filming time accordingly. Since everything went off without a hitch yesterday, he’ll relax from here on out. Unless we hit a snag, and well, if that happens, all bets are off and we’ll be in the studio until the wee hours of the morning if necessary.”
Joe issued a short wave and all but ran from the clothing boutique as if the hounds of hell were on his heels. Eden and Skylar both giggled, which instantly gained them suspicious looks from the three remaining men.
Swanny turned to Eden as she held up the first dress for Skylar to try on. As soon as Skylar disappeared into the dressing room, Swanny got out what was obviously causing him irritation.
“So you’ve worked with this asshole in the past and willingly agreed to work with the dick again? I don’t get it. Are you some kind of masochist? He’s lucky I didn’t beat his ass for talking to you the way he did yesterday.”
Eden’s features softened and she beckoned Swanny to sit on the small two-seat sofa in the waiting area of the dressing room.
“It’s not always a cliché to say that directors are a moody, demanding and cranky breed of people. Most all of the ones I’ve worked with are perfectionists. Anal doesn’t even begin to cover it. But it’s what makes them so good at what they do. They have a talent for bringing out the best in their subjects. Of catching just the right look, setting the right tone, capturing the essence of what the advertiser wants. Lonnie can be difficult, yes. No doubt there. But you can be assured that when he calls it a wrap, it will be nothing short of perfect, which is what Aria wants, what Lonnie wants and what I want as well. A lot is riding on the success of this campaign. Not only for Aria and Lonnie and his reputation as a director—one of the best—but for me as well because I’m the spokesperson, the chosen face for Aria’s new line of products. So it’s a very symbiotic relationship between us all and we all want the same thing.”
“So you’re saying I’m overreacting and don’t have an understanding of the business you’re in,” Swanny said, looking slightly chastened.
Eden smiled at him. “What I think is that it’s very sweet of you to want to protect me from physical or emotional hurts. And in the beginning of my career, I admit I was young and not nearly as thick-skinned as I am now, and I didn’t take criticism well. It hurt my feelings and I was often in tears because I felt like I was a failure. It was actually Lonnie, ironically enough, who sat me down and told me quite bluntly that I couldn’t let what happens on the set affect me so deeply. That I wasn’t a special snowflake and that all his models received the same treatment, the same demand for perfection he was asking from me, and if he didn’t think I could deliver, he would have never signed on to do shoots with me.
“He acknowledged all the things you and I have just said about him. He was very direct about it. He told me he was a dick to work for and at times could seem unreasonable but only because he knew that his models, the few he exclusively dealt with, had the talent and the guts to make it in this business. But if I was going to let him make me cry every time he grew impatient or demanded more than what I was giving him, I needed to consider pursuing another career.
“But at the same time, he said he hoped I’d stick it out because he swore he’d never been wrong about a subject and he claimed to have known from the first time he looked over my portfolio and we worked that first gig together that I was going to be a star and he’d hate for me to allow my feelings to take that opportunity away.”
“He doesn’t sound like a complete asshole,” Swanny said grudgingly.
Eden swallowed back her laughter. Swanny looked as though he’d swallowed nails having to make that particular admission.
“So I take it his talk with you worked, then?” Swanny said after a moment. “Because it’s obvious you’ve definitely reached the top of your field and you’re working with him on this shoot.”
“Yes, it did actually,” Eden said quietly, remembering those hard first few months when her confidence faltered and she felt as though she’d gotten in way over her head. “It was more his profession of faith in me, and my knowing he wasn’t a touchy-feely kind of guy, and I was grateful for it. Because I was very close to walking away from it all. I was miserable and struggled with all the demands being placed on me. But once Lonnie spoke to me and laid it out so bluntly, I felt like a burden had been lifted and it suddenly didn’t seem quite so impossible that I could really do this.”
“I’m glad,” Swanny said in a husky voice. “If you hadn’t stuck it out I would have never met you. Never gotten the chance to have you in my arms.”
Eden flushed just as Skylar came out of the door of the dressing room. The doors were thick and heavy but still, she hoped Skylar hadn’t heard at least the tail end of their conversation.
Skylar did a little twirl as Edge and Nathan stuck their head into the small waiting area outside the dressing rooms.
“Suh-weet, Sky!” Nathan exclaimed. “Definitely your color.”
Swanny looked at his team leader as if he’d grown two heads. “Since when have you gotten so in touch with what colors complement a woman’s appearance?” It wasn’t that he disagreed. Skylar did look dynamite, but then in his opinion she was just as beautiful in camo paint and fatigues.
“Since I got married and have gone through a myriad of questions from Shea about which color shirt looks best on her,” Nathan said dryly.
“You look damn good,” Edge said gruffly. “I think it’s perfect.”
“I feel like Cinderella,” Skylar said, executing another twirl. “All shimmery and sparkly. This is to die for. All it lacks is a kick-ass pair of heels!”
Magically, or perhaps since the saleslady had all but glued herself to their asses the minute they walked into the door, she hurried in carrying a delicate pair of strappy sandals with an iridescent shimmer that were beaded and blingy at the toes and around the heel of the foot.