Page 71 of Close Protection
All she needs is a tiara and you could easily convince me she’s royalty.
‘Oh.’ She’s flustered, looking down at her feet. ‘Thank you.’ She looks back up at me and frowns slightly. ‘Why’s your bow tie undone?’
‘I was hoping you could help me with that,’ I drawl, closing the distance between us and coming to stand in front of her.
She nods, placing her necklace box on her bed before reaching up to attend to my tie for me, her delicate fingers working with the precision of a sniper. I know exactly how to tie a bow tie from all the military balls I’ve been to but I just wanted to see that concentration face again, and I always seemed to get them wonky when I did my own.
‘There.’ She smiles. ‘Now, stand back, I want to look atyou properly.’ I take two steps back and await her verdict.
‘Where did you get this from? It fits you perfectly.’ Her eyes peruse my body languidly, her gaze travelling from the black leather dress shoes to the custom tuxedo and then up to my hair.
‘When Hallie and Averie came over they also brought me a suit they had made by a designer friend of theirs. I couldn’t tell you the name of the designer, all I know is that they told me to send over my measurements, so I did.’
‘Wow,’ Daphne breathes, feeling the material between her fingers and taking a closer look at the cut. ‘You’re gonna need to send me their numbers so I can find out who it’s by.’
‘Sure.’ My body tenses when her hands graze my neck as she assesses the lapels of the jacket and again when she analyzes the buttons. Stepping in closer to get a better look.
‘Gosh, you smell good,’ she mutters, so low I almost don’t hear it. I ignore the words because I don’t think she meant to say them out loud, and wait until she takes a step back to finally release a breath. We’re still standing close, just not pressed together any more.
‘Well, Mr Petrov, I think you look rather lovely.’
‘Is that so?’
‘Mm hmm. Very much boyfriend material.’
I look at her for a moment and remember the lack ofjewellery on her neck. ‘Would you like me to help you put your necklace on?’
She nods, picking the box back up and handing it to me, turning around as I carefully take the absurdly expensive diamond necklace out, casting the case back onto the bed.
‘Pick up your hair for me,’ I request, draping the jewellery around her neck once she does so. ‘Done.’ She turns around and drops her hair.
‘You look beautiful, Miss Green.’
‘Thank you, Mr Petrov.’
I notice a stray hair so I tuck it behind her ear for her, holding her gaze while I do so.
A knock at her door forces us apart as George enters.
‘Oh, Milosh, I didn’t realize you were in here.’ He frowns briefly before recovering and focusing on Daphne.
‘Daphne, darling, I just wanted to… I have a little… well, this is for you,’ he says eventually, making his way into the room, thrusting a pink box wrapped in a gold bow into her hands. ‘It’s an early birthday present.’
‘Oh.’ Daphne looks at him with a mixture of surprise and glee, and it’s the sweetest expression I’ve ever seen on her face. ‘Thank you, Daddy.’ She opens it delicately, removing the bow carefully before peeling off the wrapping paper.
‘It’s only small, and there are more gifts to come,’ Georgeprefaces, looking apprehensive. ‘This is just something I thought you might like for tonight.’
Daphne lifts the box lid to reveal a bottle.
‘Oh, it’s perfume, thank you!’
‘It’s actually your mother’s old fragrance. I know it got discontinued many years ago, but I got this one made especially for you.’
Her lips part as she takes in what he says. She lifts the perfume fully up out of the box and sprays it on one of the throw blankets at the end of her bed, lifting it to her nose once it’s settled.
‘It smells exactly like her,’ she whispers, her eyes glossing over. ‘Thank you, Daddy, thank you so much.’ She hands me the perfume and makes her way over to George as he wraps her in a hug.
‘That’s all right, darling. I thought you might want to wear it tonight, unless you already have perfume on.’
