“What?” I could feel his eyes on me. “Why offer her marriage?”
I shrugged. “I really liked her, and a baby is a baby. It would not be an issue for me if it turned out to be his. I would have been happy to raise it. At the time, having a family seemed very appealing. It seemed like it was meant to be—until it wasn’t. And then I went back to my old life.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I think at the time there was momentary disappointment, but maybe some relief too. I don’t know. I recovered pretty fast after she didn’t show, so I took that as a sign that it wasn’t meant to be.”
“Did you get any details on this Marco?”
“He’s been off official records for the last five years. He’s a suspected gun for hire and is on the international terrorist list in six different countries.”
“He killed her, and then he became a terrorist. Charming guy.”
I didn’t want to think of her death. “All these years, whenever I thought of her, I thought she was happy somewhere with a couple of kids clinging to her legs. It didn’t dawn on me that he had hurt her.”
“How could you have known? But I don’t understand… Why now? It’s been five years. If he blamed you for Justine, you’d think he would have come and found you sooner.”
“Maybe it was just coincidence that we ended up here, but now that we’re face-to-face, he’s holding me responsible.”
“Was the grandfather a deliberate kill? Or just an unlucky shot?”
I looked at him. “There is no way he should have missed his target. That was deliberate.”
Andrusha sat silent, thinking. “It’s like he’s trying to fuck up your personal life.”
“Well, he’s doing a good job.” I was afraid of what else he would do to fuck up my life.
“Now what? Where do we go from here?”
“Now I spend my time tracking him down.”
“Agreed. We can all help with that.” Andrusha looked around the parking lot with interest. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean?”
“What are we doing in the parking lot of a restaurant?”
“We’re having a business meeting.”
“Who are we watching in the restaurant?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“You’ve checked your high-powered binoculars three times. Who’s in there?”
“It’s fine. Why can’t I do two things at once?”
“Give me those.” He yanked the binoculars away from me. He focused the lenses on the restaurant. “Are you serious? Is that Blaire?”
“What? No!” I lied.
He looked at me with a half laugh. “Why are you acting like a fucking stalker?”
“I’m not,” I said defensively.
“You’re becoming the creepy ex-military stalker who watches her from afar.”
“There is nothing wrong with checking on her welfare.”
He refused to give me back the binoculars. “Go inside and talk to her.”
“It’ll look weird if I just show up at a restaurant that she’s eating at.”
He blinked. “It doesn’t just look weird—it is weird. But you’re here already, so just go in there and say hi.”
I wanted to talk to her more than anything, but so much held me back. “Pierre is in there. It’s some sort of private function.”
“I don’t give a fuck. Are you worried he might hit you again?”
My face was still healing from the shit-kicking I had let Pierre give me. “Obviously not.”
“Man up, grow some balls and go fight for your girl. You deserve her.” He lifted the binoculars. “She looks fantastic. I bet she smells amazing. Oh, look. Pierre is leaning in for a sniff.”
I got out of my truck. “You’re an asshole.”
“You’ll thank me later.”
I wasn’t even halfway across the parking lot and I was already regretting my decision, but I couldn’t turn around with Andrusha watching my six. So I kept walking.
I stepped inside the restaurant, and the host appeared out of nowhere. “Do you have a reservation, sir?”
“I’m here to see one of your guests.”
“We’d be happy to alert that guest to your presence while you wait in the lobby. Can I grab you a complimentary sparkling water while you wait?”
“No, thanks.”
“That’s fine. Which guest would you like to talk to?”
“Blaire Asterdam.”
He snagged a waiter who was walking by. “Please inform Blaire Asterdam that there is someone waiting in the lobby for her. That’s Pierre Belford’s table.”
The server nodded and disappeared.
A few moments later, Pierre appeared at the door.
“Oh, for Chrissake.” He rolled his eyes. “You’re just a sucker for punishment, aren’t you?”
I was blunt. “I’m here to speak to Blaire, not you.”
He crossed his arms. “No. Fuck no. You’ve done enough.”
“Pierre.” A shaky voice spoke from the foyer door. There stood Blaire’s grandmother. “Would you be a dear and help me down the stairs? I need the powder room.”
Frustration rippled across Pierre’s face before he turned to her with a fake smile. “Why don’t you take the elevator, Nanna?”
She looked around, a bit confused. “Would you please show me where that is?”
He looked toward the host. “Our guest was just leaving.”
The older woman turned toward me and threw me a discreet wink.
No shit.
I waited until Pierre and Blaire’s grandmother had moved around the corner, and then I strode past the host’s desk toward the dining area.
“Sir, you can’t go back there.”
Ignoring his alarmed calls, I walked through the tables, my focus entirely on Blaire. She was sitting at a long table with at least a dozen other people. She was wearing a black dress, and her hair was slicked back with some sort of clasp. Her lipstick was bright red, and she was quietly listening to someone next to her.
I slowed my steps to enjoy watching her.
When she lifted her eyes to my face, her body completely froze. Then, with the grace of a ballerina, she smoothly stood up and moved toward me.
Without speaking to me, she took my hand and led me to a private room off the main dining room and shut the door. Then she dropped my hand and stepped back. We stared at each other. I felt like every time I saw her, she became more elusive and untouchable.
She broke the ice. “How did you know I was here?”
“I went to your grandmother’s house, and they told me that the restaurant had been changed, and they sent me here.” She looked so beautiful I felt almost speechless. “Is it your birthday?”
“It’s my grandfather’s birthday. He had planned the party with Pierre and invited the guests. We decided we would still celebrate him.”
“Oh.” That took the wind out of my sails a bit.
“Are you guys getting back together?” She asked in an unimpressed tone.
Her question made me pause. “What are you talking about?”