Scotland for Christmas. Cathryn Parry

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СКАЧАТЬ working toward becoming the leader of her family’s personal-care products business.

      At least she didn’t have to pretend with him.

      “Can you do so and still act low-key?” she asked, rubbing her arms. “You know, not broadcast that the person you’re with—me—finds it necessary to hire a bodyguard just to drive a few hours, the way most people do every day as a matter of course?”

      “You’re not most people, Ms. Sage,” he said between his teeth. “You know this, don’t you?”

      He could be a big problem to her. Rajesh was right—Jacob, in his intensity, stuck out. He also didn’t care that he stuck out.

      She cleared her throat. “What I do is stay low-key, Mr. Ross. You’ve heard the phrase ‘fly beneath the radar’?”

      His frown intensified.

      “That’s what we need to do today.”

      He didn’t seem convinced. “You don’t know all the bad things that can happen to a person,” he said in a low voice.

      She didn’t like to hear this kind of talk. “Do you feel uncomfortable with this job the way I’m describing it?” she asked bluntly.

      He nodded. “Yes, I have to admit that I do. Your safety is my highest concern. We can’t just waltz out there and—”

      “Would you feel better if we canceled altogether?”

      His brows flew up. “No, not at all.”

      Still looking flustered, he removed his sunglasses. Held them out to her, and then placed them on her dresser. “Okay, fine. Against my better judgment, we’ll do it your way. Here, look...”

      He took off his suit jacket, shook it out and folded it. “I’m not a Secret Service agent anymore. I’m just your friendly limo driver. Satisfied?”

      But that only accentuated the gun and the handcuffs at his waist. He looked so flustered at the realization that she had to smile.

      She placed her hand to her mouth to cover it, but it didn’t stop her feeling from coming out.

      He gazed helplessly at her. Without the glasses on, his eyes were so blue...a naked blue, with naked, desperate emotion shining within.

      “It isn’t funny,” he said.

      “No, I suppose it isn’t. I was just wondering what you’re like when you’re not on the job. Though I suppose you’re never not on the job, are you?”

      Wordlessly, he shook his head. Beneath his gruff surface, he seemed...barren and bleak and out of his element.

      Maybe she had completely misread him.

      “This is what we’ll do,” she decided. “I’ll walk downstairs with you to the car. I won’t touch your arm—your gun hand will be free. It’s all right, you can put your jacket on if you’d like. But I really would be more comfortable without the sunglasses. Can you live with that?”

      “Sounds reasonable.” Sheepishly, he shrugged his arms into the jacket. “You’re lucky. Usually we carry a radio, too. Sometimes an earpiece.”

      “Then I’m glad I’m a CEO-in-the-making, and not a head of state under your protection.”

      He smiled the barest hint of a smile, and then glanced at her again. He seemed to be seeing her through a new perspective.

      It pleased her. She wanted him to know that she had big dreams she was acting on. It was the reason she put herself through this loneliness in New York. To her, her goals were important, even if she sometimes needed to play down who she was in order to succeed with the people she lived and worked amongst.

      “I behave discreetly,” she explained, “because I need to make a good impression on my classmates. I need this degree in order to be successful in my uncle’s—in my family’s—company and this is the simplest way to achieve it. If I walked about telling people who I am, open about the fact of who we are, it could be a problem. People react to my family in strange ways, Mr. Ross. Some are angry or envious. Some think about the favors they might gain if they befriend us. It’s akin to winning the lottery, you see. You can only really trust the people you knew before you hit it big, and even then, money changes people.”

      It was the most she’d ever spoken on the topic, the most honest she’d been since she’d arrived in New York.

      She bit her lip, surprised at herself. Jacob was outwardly staring, saying nothing.

      “Are you sure you want to make this trip with me?” she asked. “It might be a long three days.”

      “Let’s get you there,” he said quickly, as if he was afraid she’d change her mind. “Let me get you there.”

      She felt a surprising tug of warmth. “All right.” She gestured to her bed. “Let me just get my case.”

      “Your case?” he asked, even though he was plainly looking at her case lying shut on the coverlet.

      She sighed. She was forever making mistakes—it was the small things that tripped her up most, betraying what she tried to keep hidden. She just couldn’t let people know who she was, not really.

      Then again, Jacob had a pretty good idea already, just by virtue of the job he was assigned. She wouldn’t have to be on guard quite so much with him. It was a relief, actually.

      She picked up the case. “Sorry, I meant to say suitcase.” She put it down on the floor, extending the handle. “Are you ready for our weekend adventure, Mr. Ross?”

      He looked at her as if he wasn’t quite sure.

CHAPTER TWO

      SHE HAD SURPRISED HIM.

      Isabel Sage wasn’t anything like Jacob had expected. Oh, on the surface she looked just like the photo Lee had sent him. Poised and put together. With her long blond hair, her list of accomplishments and that smiling expression, she appeared the consummate Golden Girl. Until he’d actually met her, he would have thought her a spokesmodel. Or a newscaster. Maybe a television personality.

      Even a fresh-faced, though privileged, girl next door.

      But beneath the surface, she was something else. An heiress to an industrialist’s fortune? Nope, he never would have guessed that. He interacted with people from that background every day, and Ms. Sage was unique because she didn’t display an entitled attitude.

      Instead, she was accommodating. Pleasing. Appealing.

      He couldn’t let her too close to him—though he understood why she was asking him to treat her the way she was. He was starting to respect that she had a legitimate strategy, flying under the radar as she was. Maybe he could handle her sitting up front with him, at least until they left Manhattan.

      “We’ll switch out the seating arrangement once we’re out of the city,” he said to her, taking the handle of her СКАЧАТЬ