Page 7 of Saved by my Baby Daddy Spy
If I’m being honest with myself, the way he looks at me and the way I respond to him terrifies me.
He brings out the person in me I wish I could be.
When I’m with him, the timid person I’ve been my entire life fades away. I’ve been a chronic people pleaser my entire life, but with him, I don’t feel like I need to be. He seems happy enough to just be around me. Even when I’m snarky with him, he doesn’t dismiss me. He lightens the mood and sets me at ease without truly trying.
In a room full of people who make me feel like I don’t belong, he is the one person I immediately feel comfortable with.
It’s going to be a long night, but it might be a little better with him by my side.
He comes back to the table with a drink in either hand. My head is already feeling a little lighter after a single glass of champagne. I don’t know what the Midori sour in his hand is going to do to me.
Why do I feel like I’m going to regret this in the morning? Oh well.
Chapter Two
Holden
Guiltwashesovermein waves as I stop just beyond the doors to the reception hall and look through the window. Hannah is sitting alone where I left her. Nobody bothers to look her way or talk to her, not even her own family.
Why the hell does nobody realize how amazing that woman is?
I told her that I was just running to the washroom, but that wasn’t the truth. Not even a little bit. I have a meeting with another agent just across the street.
I can’t tell her what I’m really doing though.
Telling her what I actually do for a living is only going to get her hurt in the long run and I don’t want that. I had hoped that we’d never see each other again after that night but I guess the universe has different plans for us.
Even if dangerous people didn’t go after her, the lies I would have to tell would cause a rift between us.
My job is why I’ve been single for so long. Most women — at least in my experience — don’t like it when you take off for weeks at a time without being able to contact them. One would think that I would know how to manage a long-distance relationship at forty-two, but I still have no clue whatsoever.
After watching her for another moment, I head outside.
The night air is cool against my skin as I cross the street. I wait in the shadows between two buildings, watching people walk in and out of the surrounding bars and restaurants.
As I wait, I tuck my hands in my pockets and keep my head dipped low. I fumble in my pockets until I find the lone cigarette and lighter.
I don’t smoke, but it’s an excuse for anyone who might question where I went, it’s the least suspicious thing a guy can do .
Hannah appears on the top steps of the reception hall. She looks around for a moment before sitting down and running her hand through her curled hair. I spend a few seconds thinking about the way it felt to run my fingers through her hair.
She looks down at the ground and seems to draw in on herself. Though she’s had her moments of boldness throughout the night, I’ve watched her retreat into herself regularly.
In fact, I’ve never met anyone else — who doesn’t work as a spy — more interested in disappearing into themselves.
Every time someone passed a little too close to us or stopped to say hello, she would shut down. I tried to draw her back out of her shell after each instance, but it became harder and harder every time.
I should keep waiting here. The other agent is running late, but he might still show up.
Except, Hannah is sitting alone and looking miserable.
I sigh and tousle my hair, torn between what I should do and what I want to do.
My instinct takes over, and without conscious thought, I find myself crossing the street, coming to a halt directly in front of her. Hannah looks up at me like she’s seeing a ghost.
“Are you all right?” I ask as I lean against the railing. “What are you doing out here? You should be inside enjoying the party.”
Hannah shrugs and picks at an invisible piece of lint on her dress. “Being in there is a lot. I don’t really know anybody and talking to strangers isn’t exactly something that I’m good at.”
