Page 74 of Her Noble Protector

“Hi, Raiden.”

He took the four steps necessary to be right in front of her. She smelled different. Not pear, she smelled like strawberries. Her eyelashes fluttered and he realized she was wearing mascara and even some lip gloss. She didn’t need it. She never had needed anything—Lisa was a stone-cold beauty—but tonight she was a knock-out.

“You look gorgeous, Lisa. Absolutely gorgeous.” His voice was a whisper.

She tried to look over his shoulder.

“They’re not there. It’s just you and I and we’re leaving.”

“We are?”

“Yep, we have reservations. I don’t want to miss one single minute of time with you tonight, so let’s get going, shall we?”

She licked her lips, and then he saw the worry in her eyes. Her hand reached up to touch her hair and he took hold of it, then stroked her palm with his thumb.

He felt her shiver.

Dammit. He’d forgotten. He was coming on too strong. He dropped her hand and stepped back, then he watched as she took a small step forward. His eyes narrowed as he reassessed. Maybe she hadn’t shivered because his touch had upset her.

“You’re going to need a coat tonight; we have dinner reservations on the water.”

“Okay.”

“Is it in the hall closet?” he asked as he stepped over to it and opened the door.

“It’s the red one.”

His brows lifted as he pulled it out. “Pretty.”

“Cami talked me into it.”

He set it over his arm and held out his hand. He watched as her eyes lit up and she took his hand. He laced their fingers together and tugged them toward the front door.

“It’s an Italian restaurant,” he said as they walked to the curb where his car was.

“It is?” she asked as he opened the passenger side door.

“I know you like Italian food.”

She nodded as she got into the car. He draped the coat over her lap then closed the door and soon they were on their way.

“This is the first chance I’ve had to really talk to you, other than phone calls. How has it been with Mom and Dad?” he asked as he settled into the driver’s seat.

“It’s been great,” she enthused.

He’d been keeping close tabs on her through Nic. Raiden had been pretty sure this was the right move, and according to Cami, Lisa was soaking in family life. Raiden couldn’t think of anything better than to offer Lisa the love of his parents. After the life with her grandmother, he’d been sure this is what she needed, and he hadn’t been wrong. Nic had also expressed his gratitude, saying that this had been a Godsend for Cami as well.

“Your mom is the bomb. I even got her on a couple of Skype calls with Paula. They hit it off like a house on fire.”

Raiden thought about Paula with her crazy red hair and her trucker foul mouth and had a hard time picturing her getting along with his conservative Japanese mother. “Really?” he asked.

“Oh yeah. Paula had her granddaughter on her knee the entire time, and Akari fell in love. Paula was telling stories about some of the tours that we’d done over the years, your mother was fascinated.”

Now that, Raiden could believe.

“Do you miss the outdoors, being a guide?” he asked as they sped along the freeway out to the water.

“I’m beginning to.”