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“Nadia. We gotta go.” Paul caught my attention, and I left the bed.
“Do I have time for a quick shower?”
Paul nodded in consent.
I went in and cleaned up. When I was done, Paul was waiting outside the door with a towel.
“I thought we had to go,” I murmured playfully.
“I make time for you.” He kissed me and moved the towel over my body, then handed me a set of lingerie that included a cami to wear under one of my tailored suits. I twisted my hair into a chignon. “Is my bag still here?”
“No, Laurence has it in the car. Let’s go.” He took my hand, and we left.
We had only made it to the lobby before Paul stopped us. “One more thing to do before we go.”
I was puzzled, but spotted Toto sitting alone up ahead. Has he been waiting here all night?
I folded my arms. “Paul, what are you doing with Toto?”
His chin lifted. “Everything gets back to me. No one treats you like that on my watch.”
“Paul, you can’t always protect me from the world.” I frowned.
“I can from that fucker. I am a backer for a lot of art, including film. He doesn’t get to act like an asshole. Besides, it’s good for him to realize he has limits. I won’t compromise on this one.”
I blew out my breath. “If it has something to do with you, fine, but in some situations, I’ll have to be treated like everyone else.”
Paul went still for a moment, and I knew he was struggling with his instincts. He was always protective. But he gave me a nod, and my hands relaxed at my sides as we walked to where Toto was left waiting for him.
Toto quickly rose to his feet and rushed forward with an exorbitant smile and widened hands. “Mr. Crane, it’s so good to see you again. Um, well, I wanted to personally apologize to you—”
“To Nadia,” Paul said in a clipped tone.
Toto moved to face me and flashed his bright teeth. “Of course, Nadia. I had just flown in from London; I was jetlagged and over-caffeinated. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you or the crew. I want to apologize and personally invite you to my next shoot. Uh, you did a great job.”
A small smile formed on my lips. “Thank you, Toto. But I wasn’t the only one who was there.”
“That’s right. You should formally apologize to everyone,” Paul added.
Toto’s smile tightened. “Yes. Of course. I will. Thank you.”
Paul gave him a curt nod, and placed his hand low on my back. Laurence took his side, and we all moved with fluidity past the hotel door and into the car. While I had to answer to Toto, he would have to answer to people like Paul. There always seemed to be someone higher on the food chain. It was good for all of us to remember that.
I squeezed Paul’s hand and placed my head on his shoulder. He leaned over and kissed my forehead, and when he exhaled, my insides warmed.
The ride from the hotel took longer with all the prep for the Formula One Race. When we finally reached the helicopter, we flew to Nice. Laurence and Ben helped transfer us into the waiting car, and we rode to the private air hangar to one of Paul’s planes. We were about to board, but I saw someone else on the tarmac.
Ingrid?
I stiffened. “What is she doing here?”
“No idea.”
I’d expected Paul to ask me to wait for him on the plane, but he held my hand as we moved toward her. Her eyes shifted between us on approach, and she gave us a wave in greeting.
“Hello, Paul, Nadia. Glad I caught up with you. I hoped to pick Paul’s brain a little longer on the ride back to the city.” Her tone was cheery.
“You agreed to work with my team in Germany.”
