Protecting The Billionaire (11 page)

“Do ya want a guide?” Rock asked when they entered the building and passed by a display containing visitor guides in every language imaginable.

She gave his hand a little squeeze. “I think I could write the guide myself, I’ve been here so many times. Do you care where we start?”

“I’m following you.”

“This way then. I love checking out the orchids. Every time I come, there are different ones in bloom.”

Orchids, those were the big white flowers his mom bought his Nonna every Easter, right? Did a museum need to dedicate a whole section to them? Wouldn’t a shelf or two do?

“My mom tried growing orchids in her greenhouse, but she never had much success. She even traveled to the Philippines and handpicked the ones she wanted. They still didn’t survive. Her roses and gardenias were breathtaking.”

Trees and rocks filled the glass room she led him into. Flowers like he’d never seen before clung to the branches and sprouted from the vegetation growing close to the floor. Humid air filled the space, reminding him of the rainforest in South America—a place he didn’t have particularly good memories of and no wish to spend time in again.

“Aren’t they beautiful?” Allison released his hand as she bent to examine a light purple flower. “These are dendrobium orchids. Mom should’ve tried growing these. They tend to be easier than some of the others.”

“When you said orchid, I pictured the white flowers the stores sell around Easter.” He looked around the room but didn’t see anything that resembled those.

“You’re thinking of lilies. Those are pretty too, but I likes these more.”

To him a flower was a flower.

“Let’s see what else is out today. Usually there are a few hundred different orchids blooming at the same time in here.”

That explained the unique smell. It was like someone had taken a few bottles of perfume and mixed it with some damp soil before spreading it around the room. While not unpleasant, he wouldn’t want it inside his apartment either. “How many do they grow in here?” There was so much vegetation in the room, it was impossible to even estimate.

“The last time I read the visitors guide, it said the museum had five thousand different kinds. I haven’t read it recently to see if they’ve added more.” Slipping her hand into his, she led him around a slim tree and past a glass door leading into another exhibit. “We could come back every month and see different ones. That’s one of the reasons I love this part of the museum so much. It’s always changing.”

If this room alone contained so many plants, how many filled the entire building? While Allison checked out a flower the color of the sky at sunset, he checked out the room on the other side of the glass wall. “What’s in there?” Unlike the room they stood in now, the one next door wasn’t filled with bright purples and pinks but rather various shades of green.

“They grow medicinal plants in there. We can pop in there next if you want.”

At least those plants served a purpose, something he couldn’t say about the colorful flowers around him now. “You pick. I don’t know anything about this stuff.”

“I usually go in there last. That and the desert room are my least favorite sections. Sometimes I skip them altogether.”

Maybe he’d get lucky and she’d skip them today. His stomach might not make it if she insisted on seeing all the exhibits today. Already it felt as if something was trying to claw its way out.

“You should see it here at Christmas time. They go all out with decorations and they schedule concerts. Aunt Elizabeth and I heard a great church choir here in December singing holiday music.”

Every time she mentioned her Aunt Elizabeth, aka the First Lady, he pictured the woman who had stood near her husband when he took the oath of office. Unfortunately, that image only led to him questioning his own sanity. He had no business being with a woman whose relatives resided in the White House, yet there he was following her as she examined flowers, hoping she’d send him another of her killer smiles.

The sound of the doors sliding open grabbed his attention. With a tree and all types of leaves in the way, it was impossible to get a good look at who entered the room, but the high-pitched whine followed by a screech told him enough. Someone had an unhappy child with him or her.

“Time to go check out something else.” Allison whispered the words to him, although she could’ve shouted and the other guests in the room wouldn’t have heard her over the screaming little boy who had thrown himself down on the ground. “The Hawaii exhibit might be far enough away.”

The kid had a set of lungs on him. “Unless that’s in another building, I doubt it.”

Another scream bounced off the walls, and he wished he’d packed the ear protection he used at the gun range.

“You’ve got a point. Lets go outside to the Rose Garden. We can come back inside later.” She led him past the couple trying to convince their son to get off the floor and back into a hallway. “This way.” Allison’s thumb rubbed his palm, her skin warm and soft against his. The little gesture sent his gut into his boots.

Standing inside the lush garden, one could forget they stood in the heart of a city if not for the buildings in the distance. Unlike the orchid room, which they’d had to themselves until the screamer and his parents arrived, other guests wandered around the garden enjoying the scenery.

“This garden makes me think of hide-and-seek,” Allison said as she looked around.

“You must have played a different version of hide-and-seek than me.”

She nudged him in the side with her elbow. “Not because of the flowers. One of the gardens at my dad’s house in Barrington is designed in a similar way. Derek, Alec, my cousin Sara, and I played hide-and-seek in it all the time. It had some of the best hiding places. Alec hid himself so well one day, we got tired of looking for him and went inside. He ended up falling asleep. He spent five or six hours in the garden. Mom was furious at us for leaving him out there.”

“He shouldn’t have fallen asleep then.”

“We tried that argument. She didn’t buy it. Instead, she lectured us about how we were older and should look out for him,” she said, stopping and looking around the garden.

“Something wrong?” He made a quick survey again of the other people around them then looked back at Allison.

“No, just taking it all in.” She moved closer and wrapped an arm around his waist, and his heart did its little Jack-in-the-box routine again. “Anyway, I didn’t get why she was so mad then, but now I do. We should’ve yelled out that we gave up or something instead of just going inside.”

Whatever political genes flowed through the Sherbrooke clan had skipped her because the woman just could not lie worth a damn. She was uneasy for some reason.

He checked each individual gathered around them again. Everyone outside was either part of a couple or a small group, except for one person. Down by the concrete wall, an athletically built man wearing a black golf shirt, tan pants, and sunglasses stood alone. Dark brown hair hung below his Georgetown baseball cap and brushed against his collar. With his face bent toward a guidebook, it was impossible to make out any facial features. It didn’t look like the guy was paying any attention to them or anyone else; still, something about the dude told Rock he didn’t belong.

If she didn’t want to admit something was wrong, he’d play along. “Who’s older, you or Derek?” Addie had shared a lot of Sherbrooke family trivia with him before her wedding, so he knew Allison had a twin brother.

“Derek’s five minutes older. He never lets me forget it either.” Her arm tightened around him as they turned down a different path. “He loves referring to me as his little sister because he knows it drives me crazy.”

Rock checked out the dude by the wall again. He’d closed the book in his hands and was now looking at some roses nearby. He didn’t know any guys who would come to a place like this by themselves to check out flowers. Maybe he was hanging out here waiting for someone. Or maybe he figured it’d be a good place to pick up women.

“He’s called me that more than Trent and Gray combined.”

“Picking on a kid sister goes with being an older brother. Ask Addie about the things we pulled on her.” A few of the more memorable pranks came to mind and Rock reconsidered. “Forget that. Don’t ask her.”

Right away she let go of him and took a few steps away as she opened her shoulder bag. “No way. I’m going to call her now.”

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him before she had the phone out of her bag. “Later.”

“Afraid she might give away some embarrassing secrets?” She let her bag hang by her side again and smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t share anything she tells me with anyone else.”

Her lips moved but the words floated past his ears. It was hard to concentrate on them when all he wanted to do was kiss her. So far today, he’d only gotten a brief taste of her, just enough to tease him and make him crave more.

“I’m sure––”

Keep it quick.
Moving them behind a large bush, he pressed his lips against hers, cutting off the rest of her sentence.
Perfection.
Unable to stop, Rock applied more pressure and let his hands drop a little lower.
Mannaggia,
he shouldn’t have started this now, but damn she tasted good.

Her tongue traced his lips. When he didn’t respond, she sucked on his bottom lip.
Merda.
Did she have any idea of what she was doing to him? Already he was going to be incredibly uncomfortable for the rest of the afternoon. If he gave into what she wanted, he wouldn’t be able to walk out of here.

Sliding his hands back up her back, he pulled her away, ending their kiss in the process. “It might be safe to go inside and check out the other exhibits, or I can show ya what else I have planned for the day.”

“I hope it involves food. The poor couple inside the orchid room probably heard your stomach over their screaming son.”

He’d kissed all her lipstick off, revealing her naturally rosy lips. It might be the wrong place, but he couldn’t keep from leaning toward her again for another quick taste. “Funny.” Allison parted her lips to respond, but he silenced her with his mouth.
Lord, she tastes good
. Who needed food with her around? His stomach seemed to disagree with his opinion and took that moment to rumble loud enough for her uncle in the White House to hear it.

“Wow,” Allison said, pulling away. “Let’s get you some food before you pass out on me.”

Rock had planned on letting her spend as much time as she wanted here. And while he’d seen enough of the place, guilt poked him for making her leave now. “If ya want to come back after lunch, just say word.”

Her sapphire-blue eyes, Sherbrooke blue as the media called them, assessed him. “Nah, I think I’ve seen enough for today. We can come back some other time.”

Thank you, God.
“Let’s go.”

Since they’d ducked behind the bush, several more museum guests had spilled out into the garden, including the family they’d left behind in the orchid room. “Looks like our friends joined us. I wonder how they got him to stop screaming.”

“Bribed him with ice cream.” His comment earned him a raised eyebrow from Allison. “What? It always worked on me.”

“I can’t picture you rolling around on the ground because you didn’t get your way.”

“Left the rolling-around-on-the-ground tantrums to my brother Tom, but my parents used bribery with ice cream more than once on me.”

“I really hope I get to meet Tom soon so I can tell him you said that.”

“He’s got another three months before he’s stateside again.” And by the time Tom was back, he’d be gone for six months.

“Good thing I have a fantastic memory,” Allison said, reminding him he’d never told her he was being deployed again in June. “Is Tom the oldest?”

He’d tell her about his future plans later. “Jon’s the oldest. Tom’s a year and half older than me.”

They passed by the same guy he’d noticed earlier with the baseball cap, but now a woman with way too much makeup and not enough clothes, considering where they were, hung on his arm, not that he seemed to notice her. Once again, the guy’s face was buried in his guidebook.

“What about your other brother?”

“Frank’s only tens month younger than Jon. He’s out in California at Camp Pendleton.”

“Yikes, I thought my parents were crazy for having Alec eighteen months after they had me and Derek but ten months. Your poor mom.”

“Yeah, well sh—stuff happens,” he said, catching himself. Sometimes he forgot whom he was speaking too.

“That it does,” Allison agreed as they walked back into the main building and toward the main exit. “So what does the rest of the afternoon include?”

“We need to grab the lunch I ordered from DuPont Café, then head over to Bartholdi Park.” Unfamiliar with the restaurants in DC, he’d done an Internet search for places close to the park. The fact the joint allowed customers to pre-order takeout picnics had sealed the deal for him.

“Nice. Let’s try to find a spot near the fountain to eat. Did you know it was created by the same person who did the Statue of Liberty?”

Until he’d planned this day out, he hadn’t known the park existed, and he only knew it contained a fountain because of the picture featured on the web. “Nope.”

“I love seeing it at night when the lights are on. It’s nice during the day too but not the same.”

From the sound of it, she’d spent a decent amount of time visiting the area. Considering how much time her family spent in DC and her love of flowers, it didn’t surprise him. “We can stick around if ya want to see it tonight.” What the hell else they’d do in the city until then, he didn’t have a friggin’ clue. DC contained a lot of museums and cultural attractions, but he could only handle so much of that stuff in one day.

You’d do it for her
, a tiny voice in his head, and not the one below his belt, whispered.
Cazzo!
He would. Somehow, in a short span of time, she’d become important to him in a way no other woman had.

“We could always visit my Uncle Warren and Aunt Elizabeth until it gets dark and walk back over.” Allison pulled her smartphone from her shoulder bag. “Do you want me to call and see if they’re home?”