Page 58 of Angel

“I’ll ask my head of security to look into this. It’s probably a good thing you are here because I don’t rate their chances of getting in here. It’s also probably best if you don’t go anywhere alone. I’ll arrange protection until we figure this out.”

“It’s okay, I, well, um–”

She hesitates, and I remain impassive.

“It’s okay, Sophie. You can tell me anything.”

She blows out a breath and tugs her bottom lip between her teeth.

“I kind of asked some people to look into it already. They are well, good at what they do, and I have full confidence in them.”

“What people?”

I hide my smile as she shifts in her seat.

“It doesn’t matter. They prefer to remain anonymous, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to be extra careful.”

She smiles and my heart beats a little faster, because sitting up close and personal with Sophie without a mask covering my face and no attitude to hide behind, I am strangely naked. She is seeing the whole of me, no guards in place, and I wish like hell it would be okay to pull her into my arms and finish what we started at the beach.

But she is here for protection, and I include myself in that. Plus, she wants to murder my father, which may be an insurmountable problem.

She smiles, her expression tense, prompting me to ask, “Is that all, or did anything else happen?”

“I have a dilemma.”

She drains the glass and sighs heavily.

“Sam Goodman is the executive producer of the movie I’m currently making. He is kind of sleazy, at least he gives off those vibes, and on the night of the gala, when you left, he asked me to dance and then invited me to a party on his yacht on Saturday.”

I say nothing because of course I saw them dance, but I just thought it was out of professional duty. There is something I missed that I’m not happy with myself about, and I encourage her to finish.

“Go on.”

“Well, he caught up with me when I was leaving the studio and mentioned it again. He wants me to bring an overnight bag, so I kind of asked if it would be possible to bring a friend.”

“And he agreed?”

“Yes, although he didn’t seem that enthusiastic about it, if I’m honest.”

She smiles and I relax a little. I was beginning to wonder if she would ever smile again.

“I kind of hoped my plus one might be you. I’m aware it’s a lot to ask, but I figured that if he saw me with you, he may back off.”

“I have no plans for the weekend.”

I grin, and she visibly relaxes.

“I kind of like the ocean, too.”

“So, you’ll come.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Her eyes sparkle and then she surprises me by leaning across and kisses me softly on the cheek.

“Thank you.”

Her soft whisper curls around my heart.