Lisa Watson - Her Heart's Desire

“Oh...hi. It’s Tiffany. I hope I’m not disturbing you. I didn’t know if it was too late to call.”

“Of course not.” There was surprise in his voice. “Are you available on Monday to go over my proposal?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Great, how about three o’clock?”

“That’s fine.”

“Good. See you Monday.”

She nodded as though he could see her.

“Good night, Tiffany. Have a great weekend.”

Unable to stop herself, she grinned at his use of her name.

“Good night, Ivan, and you do the same.”

Tiffany returned her phone to the nightstand and replayed the conversation in her head. His voice was so sexy. It resonated in her ear when he said her name. A tingle shot down her spine. Unable to help herself, Tiffany thought about seeing him again.

Being attracted to him would probably turn out to be a colossal waste of time, but for right now, in this moment, she allowed herself to revel in the excitement of how he made her feel. After turning out the light and pulling up the covers, she closed her eyes, and Ivan instantly appeared—just as sexy and compelling as he was in person. Her stomach quivered in reaction as though he were standing right there.

For tonight, the image of Ivan Mangum would have to do.

Chapter 4

The weekend flew by for Tiffany. On Monday, at three o’clock on the dot, Ivan walked through the door.

“Welcome back,” she said.

“Thanks. I spotted a coffee shop down the street. I thought we could go there and talk.”

“That’s fine. I’ll get my purse.”

Tiffany went into the back room and retrieved her purse from a cabinet. She used a small mirror to freshen her makeup.

It’s not a date, she scolded herself while applying lipstick. Tiffany returned to where Ivan was waiting. He held the door for her as they stepped outside into the afternoon sun.

“So how long have you been in the area?” he asked conversationally.

“A few years. I’m originally from Baltimore. I’m an only child, and thought that it was time to change scenery. I came here for a job and never left.”

“Are you close with your parents?”

“For the most part. I miss having them nearby, but they visit when they can. Separately, of course. Together would be a definite nightmare, since they’re divorced.

“And since my business started, I haven’t really had the chance to get there as often as I’d like.”

“What do your parents do?”

“My father is a principal at a high school, and my mother works in human resources at a global investment firm downtown.” She turned to him. “What about you?”

“I was born here. My father was a colonel in the army, and my mother was a professor in the classics department at a local university. We traveled a lot, either for my mother’s book research or when my father got new orders. In retrospect, my father played a large part in my decision to join the army and go to Officer Candidate School after college.”

“That must’ve been fun.”

“Loads.” He laughed. “I’ve been out for a while and started my company two years ago. I’ve been pretty busy ever since.”

“Well, on behalf of civilians everywhere, I want to thank you for protecting our freedom and liberties,” she said.

A wide smile etched his face. “Thanks. It was my honor to serve my country.”

He held the door to the coffee shop open. They placed their order, and Ivan insisted on paying.

Tiffany found a table, and he came over with their drinks.

She inhaled the aromatic smell of her chai latte. “You don’t strike me as the tea type.”

He glanced down at his green tea. A lopsided grin etched his face. “I only drink coffee when I’m on assignments.”

“So you install security systems for a living?”

“No. I installed one a year ago for my grandmother’s assisted-living facility and picked up a few more locations by word of mouth. I’ve done a few businesses in Chicago. One being the community center where Ms. Jeannie teaches classes. I’ve taught a few senior security classes there.”

“You’re big on security.”

He laughed. “You could say that. My company, Mangum and Associates, specializes in personal protection for dignitaries, business executives and notables. We take long and short-term assignments.”

“Wow, so you’re like high-end bodyguards. Have you ever protected anyone famous?”

“A few,” he admitted.

“Seeing all those new places must be exciting for you.”

“Not all glitz and glamour, I assure you. It’s plenty of long hours, even longer reports and not much of a social life. In fact, I live a pretty monklike existence.”

“I’m familiar with that,” she said drily. “Not the danger and intrigue, but the long hours, minuscule social life and loads of paperwork. So why the business of protection?”

Ivan shrugged. “It seemed a natural extension of my skill set, plus I enjoy it.”

“I’m sure the world is a much safer place because of it,” she said sincerely.

Ivan glanced up. Their gazes connected across the table.

Clearing his throat, he opened his laptop. “I suppose we should get started.”

* * *

For the next thirty-five minutes, Ivan laid out his plan for Tiffany’s store. He took into account everything she asked for, plus a few Mission: Impossible–type features that she didn’t. When Tiffany started to protest, he cut her off.

“It wasn’t as expensive as you think.” He slid his laptop around to face her. “See?”

Tiffany scanned over the screen. She blinked a few times. “Wow, this is actually...affordable.”

“I get discounts on the merchandise, and my fee is reasonable.”

“Ivan, this seems like almost a pass-through on costs.”

“I’m not doing this to become wealthy, Tiffany. This is more of a hobby for me. The work I do at Mangum is high stress, keeps me busy and affords a great living. The services I provide to the community allow me to give back.”

She looked skeptical.

“It’s true.” He chuckled. “Now stop worrying, and tell me when you’d like to get started. It won’t take more than an evening or two to get it done. We work at night so there’s no interruption to you or your customers.”

“We?”

“I’ll be getting my brother, Cole, to help out,” he explained. “It will go much faster that way.”

“You have a brother? I don’t know why, but I assumed you were an only child.”

“Cole is my younger brother. It’s just the two of us. I think we exhausted our parents, so they quit while they were ahead,” he joked.

“My parents weren’t able to have more children, so I was it. Normally, I don’t miss having a sibling, but there are times when it would be nice to have more family—or at least a buffer every now and then.”

Ivan glanced over with a quizzical expression.

“They argued a lot toward the end. It was intense at times,” she explained.

That caused Ivan to frown. “I bet that was hard on you.”

She shrugged. “Kids are resilient. I learned to cope.” Tiffany played with her cup. “You know, I cried with relief when they told me they were getting divorced.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I wasn’t. Besides, I got another bedroom to call my own, so it all worked out. But enough about me. What about you?”

“My parents are still married and in love. Which only makes them more interested in what my brother and I are up to,” he said, trying to interject some levity.

“Sounds like they’d get along quite well with Ms. Jeannie,” Tiffany joked.

* * *

Ivan observed various emotions cross Tiffany’s face. She wasn’t as unaffected by her family’s problems as she tried to portray. There was real pain in her expression and body language. Before he knew it, he reached across the table and covered her hand with his. He squeezed it reassuringly, giving her some of his strength. A shocked expression crossed her face momentarily, but then she relaxed.