She shook her head. “You’re nuts, you know. Taking bullets for other people is just plain nuts. Is that other person worth more than you are? No.” That was firm. She leaned toward him, gesturing with her fork again. “The answer, Ridley, is no. They aren’t. I don’t care how rich they are or how famous. They aren’t more important than you are. You have no business risking your life like that.”

“It pays well.”

She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Now you’re just trying to get a rise out of me.” She sat back again and sipped at her espresso, watching him carefully over the rim of the mug.

“Well. Yeah. I have to admit when you get all fired up with that attitude of yours, I’m a goner for you. That does it for me the way Zen does it for you.”

She burst out laughing. “Eat a beignet, Ridley, and your fantasies will really take off. They’re better than my attitude.”

He found himself laughing with her. She was even more beautiful when she laughed. The sound was soft and musical, and her eyes lit up. Her perfect bow of a mouth drew his attention, and his fantasies turned totally erotic just sitting there at the breakfast table. He snagged a beignet. The sugary, doughy dessert was still warm, the taste mixing with the espresso in his mouth, and he knew he would never forget that moment, sitting across from her, laughing and eating the best meal of his life.

No one had ever given him the kind of concern she had, worried about what he did for a living, and damn, she did it looking so beautiful his heart ached. She had pulled her legs up onto the chair and was sitting tailor fashion while she ate her breakfast. It was the first time he had ever seen her truly relaxed. She wasn’t thinking about being scared. For those few minutes, he’d chased the shadows from her eyes, and he liked being the one who’d done it.

He was older than she was, and he didn’t settle down with women, but he’d had a lot of them. He’d never sat across with one of them having breakfast, so relaxed, and that was saying a lot. He didn’t share breakfast with women. They used each other and then he left. Period. No sleeping in the same bed, no breakfast in the morning. He was gone.

“Got to get back to work, but this was fantastic, Cat. I appreciate you going to all the trouble.” He stood up and pushed back his chair.

She tilted her head up toward his, her blue eyes moving over his face as if memorizing every detail. “Thanks, Ridley, for the security system. It really helps. You can’t know how much.”