Page 13 of Moonstruck at Midnight
“You are anything but boring, and you are one of the few people I can talk to about—things,”he said, softening his facial expressions. “And after all you’ve been through, yes, I believe you are mature for your age but never boring.” He reached for my hand, which had me breathing a bit faster.
“I just want you to be happy,” he said, taking a deep breath.
“Believe me. I do, too.”
“Taking care of you makesmehappy, and I wouldn’t risk losing the opportunity to keep doing it.” He said it in a tone that informed me the conversation was over. But I wondered what he meant byrisk.
Caleb pressed on his earpiece while still looking at me as if it was his last opportunity to do so freely, conscious that I was about to close the communication door. He muttered something in Hebrew and stood up, offering his hand. “Come on, Aaron’s bringing the car around. You must have a lot of things to do.”
I thanked him as he helped me up from my seat.
“You know I’ll always be there for you.” I smiled.
“I know that,” he replied, gesturing for us to resume our walk to the car, “but you can go back to closing that door on me.”
I swallowed and considered his ability to read minds highly probable as we walked back to the car in absolute silence.
“THESE ARRIVED FOR YOU, Miss Murphy,” Annette informed me, elegantly cocking her head at a dusty pink peony flower arrangement on the foyer table. Caleb was standing behind me under the threshold with his bodyguard stance firmly in place. Annette handed over a white envelope withGuillerminawritten on it. It had to be from my father or the Embassy staff.
Happy Birthday,Billie!
I would’ve loved to celebrate your 20th birthday with you.I’m sorry I’ve gone missing these past few weeks.Perhaps I can explain next week over dinner and make it up to you?I hope you enjoy the flowers and the rest of your day.
Sincerely Yours,
Thomas
Annette pressed her lips together, trying to hold in a smile. “They’re beautiful,” she said. “That is one lucky guy.” She’d read the note beforehand. It was protocol.
Someone needed Annette’s attention, so she excused herself and left. My stupid smile must’ve given away my excitement. I even forgot Caleb was standing behind me.
“Who’s the lucky guy, Miss Murphy?” he asked with a poker face. I mimicked his facial expression and tried to reply as casually as I could that Thomas had sent them. “Is there anything else you need, Miss Murphy?” I guess I didn’t try hard enough. If I was thrilled about the flowers, then Caleb was whatever the exact opposite of that was.
“Come on. It’s justflowers,” I said, failing at thetry to act casual about itthing again.
“I need to talk to Aaron,” Caleb said with a forced smile. “I’ll see you later, Red.” I sighed as he rushed down the steps into the parking area.
Reading Thomas’s note got me all giddy and excited. I wanted to jump up and down and let everyone know about it. There was absolutely nothing I could do to avoid the cluster of feelings from leaking out of my face. And I guess Caleb didn’t enjoy the fact that Thomas had sent me flowers as much as I did. He had just told me a few minutes before how he preferred Thomas didn’t contact me. Was he jealous? Annoyed? I couldn’t read him.
I walked up to my room. My legs had that after-run ache in desperate need of a hot shower to soothe them. I blow-dried my hair afterward and climbed into bed wearing my bathrobe, allowing myself to relax for a bit before I left to meet my father at the Embassy fora surprise.
Twenty minutes later, I got dressed and walked out the front door, beaming, after having just seen the flowers again. Caleb was now clean-shaven and dressed in his usual black suit—back to beingMr. Cohen.
I couldn’t keep myself from smiling as we drove around the block toward the Embassy. But curiosity seeped from within as I wondered what happened for Thomas not to seek me out in the previous weeks—not that he owed me any explanation, for sure.
It was sweet of him, though, to remember, as I had only briefly mentioned how I would be leaving Paris on April 12th, the day after my birthday. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a way to thank him for the flowers. They were beautiful.
We arrived at the Embassy in seconds and drove through the front gate, where Jimmy, who was a part of my father’s lead security team in Paris, awaited us. Caleb got out of the car and shook Jimmy’s hand while he explained something I could not hear from the inside of our armored vehicle.
Caleb approached my window and asked me to open it.
“Your father will be out in a couple of minutes, and before you start asking questions, Idoknow where we are going, andno, I’m not telling you. It’s a surprise for your father to reveal.”
Damn it.
I patiently waited for my father, but I got out of the car and hurried in his direction as soon as I saw him. “Happy birthday, kiddo!” He yelled and embraced me. A tear rolled down my cheek. And then another.
Every time I saw my father, I remembered Istillhad a family and that I wasn’t alone. Spending so much time on my own, mostly due to the nature of my father’s work, would often take an emotional toll on me.
