Page 35 of Defending Love
The realization of my smile caught me off guard. “I can smile while thinking about him.” I shrugged. “In ten minutes, I could be crying.”
“That’s the way grief works.”
I stood straight, wondering if Eli knew that from experience.
Who had he lost?
“I know virtually nothing about you.” I hadn’t had the benefit of researching Elijah Rhodes before our first meeting. “Are your parents alive? Do you have siblings?” I looked down at his left hand and that ring. “Were you once married?”
“No, yes, and never.”
I tried to recall the order of my questions. Before I could respond, Eli spoke. “That’s more than I usually share. I don’t want to lie to you, Dani. I never want to do that. However, there are questions I can’t answer.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Both.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded. “I’m still glad you’re here. When it comes to your personal life, I can wait for you to share. When it comes to my father’s case and your assignment—me—I want answers.”
“Deal.”
Kicking off my shoes, I lifted the beach bag from the floor. Eli gave me one last glance before disappearing through the door we’d entered back into the garage. Before I could decide if I wanted to learn the answers in this bag, he returned with both of our suitcases, my satchel, and the takeout bag.
As I watched him place the food on the kitchen counter, I asked, “Do you have any more gloves in that Mary Poppins pocket of yours?”
Reaching in his suit coat pocket, he handed me a pair. “Since it’s not actually magical, I’ll need to replenish my stock.” He tilted his sharp chin toward the food. “Are you hungry?”
Tugging on my lip, I stared at the beach bag before meeting his gaze. “Should we eat first? What if something in this bag we find ruins our appetite?”
“I need to go upstairs and check out the computer setup Guardian made for me. You could eat now, or we could put the food in the refrigerator and settle in first.”
Settling in sounded appealing.
“I want to go through Dad’s things, but” —I shivered— “I’m nervous.”
“I can do it.”
I shook my head. “No. This is like what I just said. I need to be involved. I’ll take your support, but I must learn what he felt the need to protect.”
“Will you wait for me?”
One quick nod and I tossed the gloves to the table. Looking down, I inspected the slacks and blouse I’d worn since we left Indianapolis. “I think I’d like to change. I’ll check my emails, and then when you’re ready, we can eat and then learn what secrets my dad had.”
“Okay,” he said, lifting the suitcases and heading toward the staircase. At the base of the stairs, he paused. “Are you headed up?”
I reached for my leather satchel, purse, and shoes and walked a few steps ahead of him. As it had been downstairs, every light was on as we entered the upstairs hallway. All the doors were opened, as if Guardian wanted to reassure us that everything was ready and safe. Outside the room with the large bed, I peeked inside.
“Do you want me to do a sweep?” Eli asked with a grin.
“No.” I felt warmth gather in my cheeks. “However, that’s not my way of barring you from the room.”
He nodded. “Good to know.”
I changed the subject. “I want to see the other rooms. What kind of high-tech setup did Guardian give you?”
After leaving my suitcase on my bed, Eli took his luggage to the bedroom across the hallway. I walked a step behind him as we entered the third bedroom. My eyes opened wide. “Jeez, Guardian doesn’t skimp.”
“You can see now why we wanted a home base instead of hotel rooms.”
