Page 97 of Breaking the Rules
“Oh, something new and different for us.”
She felt him smile against her hair.
“Do either of us even know what normal is?” he wondered.
“Maybe we could learn. We could take some time off after all this. I hear there’s this really nice lake town in Colorado where normal people live.”
“My parents would love to have you back,” he said, brushing a kiss across her mouth.
“We’ll find our own normal,” she predicted. “Whatever it may be.” At least she hoped they would.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Waverly decided to give Xavier some space to play general and was helping Anatoli assemble two-dozen sandwiches for lunch when Dante slunk into the kitchen.
“Aren’t you supposed to be a spy?” Anatoli asked him innocently.
Dante preened and reached for a chicken salad on wheat. “I’ve been known to run an operation or two.”
“But how does a spy get caught in his girlfriend’s bedroom by her father?” Anatoli wanted to know, his Russian face perfectly deadpan. “James Bond would never be caught by a father.”
Waverly let out a peal of laughter. “Excellent burn, Anatoli,” she commended, offering him a fist bump.
“Very funny. Hilarious,” Dante said, taking a bite.
Waverly stowed her sandwich knife and wiped her hands on a paper towel. “You got a minute?” she asked Dante.
He gave an elegant shrug. “Lead the way, my love.” He gestured toward the back door.
“Don’t start that, or Xavier won’t be so quick to holster his gun next time,” Waverly warned him. They stepped out into the balmy California fall. The backyard stretched on before them, a hidden paradise of avocado trees and emerald green lawn. The freeform pool curled around the outdoor kitchen and thatched roof cabana.
Waverly stuck her hands in the back pockets of her jeans as they wandered toward the back wall of the estate. “So we haven’t really had a chance to talk.”
“No, we haven’t. It’s been a special brand of chaos, these past two days,” Dante agreed, rolling up the sleeves of his blue and red checked shirt, another special find by Roz, Xavier’s right-hand wardrobe magician.
“I have so many questions,” Waverly sighed.
“Like why did I leave you with a bullet hole in your side?” He kicked at an avocado on the ground with a glossy loafer.
“No,” Waverly said firmly. “You had no idea I was shot.”
“I’d have come for you.” He looked at her, his blue eyes earnest.
“I know you would have. Jesus, Dante, I thought you were dead… or thought that you could be dead.” She shaded her eyes against the sun. “I got back in that house, and there was blood outside the office door.”
“I can’t believe you went back in the house,” he shook his head. “Petra’s cowboy-slash-butler-slash-security-guard got winged in the shoulder. Stepanov’s security hustled me out pretty fast under fire, and then they shoved me in a van and took my gun, and we went after Petra. Two of the able-bodied men went back for Anatoli after he called in. By the time they got back in the house the next morning, it had been cleaned, and the security videos had been corrupted.”
She let out a breath, walking through the scene in her mind again. “I’m glad you’re not dead.”
“Me, too,” he said, giving her that boyish grin that had charmed women from screens for the last decade. “So exactly how did you end up letting Saint back in your bed?”
Waverly gave him a playful shove. “You of all people should understand the power of the irresistible male.”
“Waves, the way he looks at you? It’s not just a hot fuck he’s after.”
It was her turn to kick at the ground. “I know,” she said. “We’re going to give this couple thing a real try.”
“Is that wise?”
