“Very.” She gave her head a little shake. “I remember thinking whoever got to smell you all the time was a lucky girl.”

“Man, I missed out on months and months of you smelling me. I don’t know if I’m happy about knowing this news or not,” I joked, but really was quite serious. Would’ve been nice to have met before all this mess. Maybe we’d already be married . . .

“Aww, baby, that’s so sweet,” she told me, shaking her head at me like I was crazy but she loved me anyway.

“I love it when you call me baby.”

“I know you do, and that’s why I say it,” she said softly in that gentle way she had. The one that made me insane to possess her and have her splayed out naked underneath me where I could take my time crawling my way up inside her, making her come and come some more, calling out my name—

“What are you thinking about, baby?” she asked, interrupting my inner erotic ravings, just as she should have done.

I told her the honest truth, in a whisper, of course, so nobody else could hear me. “I’m thinking about how many times I can make you come when I get home from work tonight and have you naked, and I’m all over you.”

Brynne didn’t respond to my little speech with words. Instead, her breath hitched as she swallowed hard, making the hollow of her neck and throat move slowly in tandem with the flush that started creeping up to her face. Mouthwatering . . .

The slight breeze made strands of her lovely brown hair dance across her face occasionally, necessitating that she brush it away every so often. Brynne had that certain special something— a joie de vivre that others recognized. When I had her in my view like this, it was hard to ever look away. I knew it was hard for others too. I didn’t like other people noticing her and looking. It was terrifying for me, and I knew why. Their attention made her vulnerable as a target, and that was something utterly unacceptable to me.

My eyes tracked the courtyard out of habit, scanning the patrons of the delicatessen as they came and went. It was a nice day for July, and crowded. The Games were going to turn this place into a mob of ungodly proportions. That worried me too. There were thousands of people coming into London for travel now. More athletes and teams were arriving each day. Thank the bloody gods I didn’t have that load on me. My VIP clients were going to be enough of a crush and a headache.

I was still cautious all the time with Brynne, and I had very good reason to be. Until I knew who’d sent the text to her phone I wasn’t taking any chances. Especially with Neil in the States. He’d be returning on Saturday with what I hoped were some leads on who this motherfucker was. If it led back to Senator Oakley’s camp, then that shit scrape was going down. I knew a few in government, and I would reel in favors if it came down to that. Calling my bluff on a serious threat to Brynne was like poking the rattlesnake with a stick. I was prepared for whatever I had to do in order to protect her.

“Are you finished?” I asked, noticing she’d stopped taking bites of her sandwich.

“I am. It’s baby steps right now.” She laid her palm on her stomach. “Literally.”

“I know, but you have to eat. Dr. Banana Probe said so. I heard him clearly and he is the absolute authority on these things.” I gave her an arch of the brows.

“Well I’m pretty confident that the good doctor would avoid food too if he spent as much time as I do hung over a toilet, puking his guts out after eating some.”

“You poor thing—and you have a very good point, my beauty.” I leaned in to kiss her lips. “What have I done to you?”

She scoffed and kissed me back. “I think that’s fairly obvious, considering where we just spent the last hour.”

“But the medicine helps, right?” I brushed her cheek, keeping our faces close. I really f**king hated seeing my girl suffer.

She nodded. “Yes. It works miracles.” She stood up to go throw away her sandwich wrapper in the bin. Even that small feat garnered attention from those in the immediate vicinity. I spotted at least three men who eyed her and one woman. No wonder photographers wanted her for their pictures. Damn the cocksuckers.

Brynne was oblivious to every bit of it, which just made her more of a rarity.

We stepped into Fountaine’s Aquarium and grinned at each other when we crossed the threshold, both remembering the day we’d spoken as strangers and fate had a say about a few things. The shop was busy and we had to wait in the queue until another attendant came up front to help.

Beside us stood a woman wearing her child in a backpack sort of sling contraption. I remember Hannah using a similar device for Zara when she was a baby. Except this child was not happy about it. Not even a little. I felt quite sure that if the little bloke could’ve spoken, the air in the shop would’ve been tinged blue with f**k yous and bugger offs. He screamed and kicked, trying to worm his way out. The mother of this creature just ignored it as if there was nothing untoward about a wailing and writhing mini-human on her back screeching loud enough to shatter the window glass.

I took a glance at Brynne and got wide eyes from her. Was she thinking what I was thinking? Will our baby do this? Oh, please, God, no.

We moved up in the queue, with only one more in front to wait through when the red-faced minion with the full-sized lungs really started working it. I thought my head was going to explode. The woman backed up, effectively shoving the little demon right up in my face. The shop was so close I got cornered up against the counter with nowhere to go. I reared my head back as far as I could, thinking maybe calling the shop to schedule would have been the best idea.

Brynne was trying very hard not to laugh at me when the situation deteriorated even further, which I didn’t imagine to be possible. Oh, it was very possible. The creature let loose with a bum blower less than a foot from me. Not only did it possess the power to peel paint off walls, but it sounded very wet, which affirmed it couldn’t have been merely an arse cruncher for him. That tyke was squirming in a load of shit to which I was far too close right now. The mother turned ’round and gave me a glare as if I’d done it. Fucking hell, get me out!

Brynne was shaking beside me with her hand over her mouth, when the clerk asked what he could do for me. I tried not to leap over the counter and beg him for an oxygen mask. I don’t know quite how I transacted my business with the screaming and the revolting odor, and then Brynne rushing for the door saying she’d wait outside. Yeah, get out, baby, before you asphyxiate. Run, and don’t look back! Smart girl I’ve got, no secrets there.