Page 188 of To Catch a Sub

“There wouldn’t be. It’s a proper little English village. Looks like every village from Midsomer Murders.”

At her raised brow he clarified. “It’s a crime show. My grandparents watch it, and it makes small British villages seem like some of the most dangerous places on the planet.”

She laughed softly, then frowned. “You said we were going to where you grew up.”

“We are.”

“I assumed we were going to sightsee. And stay in a hotel. I don’t think Leamington Hastings has a hotel.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t.”

“Then where are we going?”

“I told you, to where I grew up.”

“The house where you grew up?”

“Yes.”

“Landon, I can’t meet your parents!”

“Well, my mother died when I was six, so it’s my dad and my grandparents on my mother’s side.”

“I can’t meet your grandparents!”

“Sure, you can,” he said, relishing the way she sputtered. It was hard to surprise Colette, but he’d managed it.

The train pulled in to the station a moment later. He handled their bags as Colette climbed down, moving somewhat gingerly.

He didn’t go to her, but waited. It had been fun to spring the family angle on her, but he wouldn’t force her to come. If she wanted to, she could be back on a train to London in less than an hour. He’d go with her, of course. It was going to take a long time before the urge to protect her at all times faded.

If he thought she’d allow it, Landon would stay by her side every day for the rest of their lives. Marry her, if she wanted, or just live with her if the idea of marriage had been tainted.

Of course, he hadn’t fucking said any of this to her. A fact Andrei had delighted in pointing out to him while he was packing.

He also hadn’t told her he loved her. At least not directly. Not while looking into her eyes and holding her, which is how he assumed one was supposed to confess their love. He’d come close, but something always happened. That’s why he wanted to get away, to take her out of London to someplace where they could relax.

Colette glanced at the ticket booth at the far end of the wide platform and he tensed.

She gripped the strap of her purse, an uncharacteristic sign of nerves, and walked over to him. Landon relaxed and smiled.

“Don’t smile at me, Landon Malik.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re taking me to meet your family.”

He led the way out of the station. “Why is that a problem?”

“I’ve never…I’m not the type of person you take home to meet your family.”

“Yet here we are.”

Once out on the street, he scanned the waiting cabs. An older man with a cap down at the end raised his arm, plucking the cap from his head to wave it.

“You realize we don’t actually know anything about one another.” Despite the exasperation in her voice, she followed him along the line of cars.

He was very aware that, despite literal years of searching for and investigating her, he didn’t know things like where she’d grown up, or if she had siblings. “We know what matters.”