Page 24 of Breathe Me: Smith & Belle

“I just need a break,” I admitted to her.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” she asked gently.

Talking wasn't going to solve this. I'd tried that already, but I couldn't deny Smith had a right to be worried. “There’s nothing to talk about. I have six feet of imposing black man following me around.”

“Brex is sweet though,” she said, “and hot.”

“I knew you thought he was hot,” a deep voice cut in. Clara’s eyes closed tightly, embarrassed to be caught by her husband. “He’ll be so pleased.”

She swiveled in her seat like a top, a look of horror dashing across her face. “You are not going to tell him!”

“I won’t,” he said with a smirk. “But I’m not the one he’s babysitting these days.”

Clara turned pleading eyes on me. “Don’t tell him.”

“No promises,” I said, laughing despite myself.

“What are you doing here?” Clara demanded. “Sneaking up on me? Shouldn’t you be running the country?”

“Apparently, I should be concerned that my wife finds one of my best friends hot.” But, for once, he looked anything but. The truth was that Clara only had eyes for him, and he only had eyes for her. As different as my marriage was from theirs, I recognized the total adoration they had for one another. I’d experienced it myself.

“Go back to being king. This is girl time.”

“I came to do this.” He leaned down and placed a lingering kiss on her mouth that lasted just long enough that I found myself staring. When he broke away, she gazed wistfully at him as he leaned down to kiss Wills on the forehead. “And to tell my son, I was proud of him. But now I have to get back. Very busy running the country and such.”

“Sure,” Clara said dryly.

“I’ll see you in a few hours,” Alexander said huskily, and a knot inside me tightened. I really was going to have to push Smith to be a little more demanding tonight.

When he finally left, Clara watched the door for a few seconds before clearing her throat. “What were we talking about?”

“My hot bodyguard,” I reminded her, and she winced.

“New subject,” she said. “Not that it matters, because he’s completely in love with Georgia.”

“Georgia?” I repeated.

Clara looked as though this was old news. “Head over heels. I think she loves him, too, but she won’t let herself be with him.”

I thought of Smith and how broken he was when we first met. “Maybe she just needs time.”

But we both knew it wasn’t a matter of time. We’d both had whirlwind romances when we’d found the right person. Suddenly, I found myself feeling sad for Brex, who’d put up with all my sass and brought me a chocolate biscuit for breakfast. And Clara was right, he was hot. “What exactly is she waiting for? I don’t think guys get more perfect.”

“I think love is a lot like finding the right key,” Clara said as though she’d given this some thought. “When it comes to the heart, more than one key might fit, but only the right one unlocks it.” She shook herself out of her dreamy haze, frowning when she saw my pout. “What?”

I sighed before sheepishly confessing, “Now, I’m just thinking about handcuffs.”