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Brynne told me what she wanted in case the waiter appeared and excused herself for the ladies I watched her walk away, and the looks she got frohed As much as Brynne carried her reserve, she still had that certain so I could have done without for sure, but understood was part of the deal with her Men would always look at her And want her And try to take her away

Work was going utterly ot, the more stretched my focus became on the job at hand and less able to watch out for her safety The past teeks had been good for Brynne and me, and our relationship, but not without worry The worry would never go away I’ve been in the security business long enough to know that when things seeuard She was still very vulnerable and the thought made me insane

"Sorry, E Lost track of the ti down across from me

"Nice of you to show up For the appointht add And don’t sit there Brynne’s with me" I pointed to the next chair "She’ll be back in acaot waylaid Who were you in bed with this timore substantial than that" He eyeballed the wine andfor just an instant before heeyes

I let him be My cousin had his faults but then everyone has It didn’t otten either Yeah, Ivan was just as fked up as the rest of us

Brynne made her way back to the table a few uess, I’d say she had so on her mind I wondered what it was

I stood and reached for her hand, kicking Ivan’s chair leg in the process so he’d get off his arse He jumped up and widened his eyes when he saw her I wished I’d kicked his leg instead of just the chair’s leg

"Brynne, my cousin, Ivan Everley Ivan, Brynne Bennett, irlfriend"

"Enchanté, Brynne" He took her hand and offered a kiss that barely passed as neutral indifferent from him?

Stupid rhetorical question

She s Ivan politely as I seated her and then myself Ivan just stood there like a diue back in your mouth," I said

"Well, Brynne, I was prepared to ask you how youEthan but now that I’ve met you finally, I think the better question is for hi at me "How in the hell did you capture such an exquisite creature as this, E? I mean, just look at her! And you? Well, you are so dull and surly all the time" He focused back to Brynne "My dear, what do you see in him?" He made a face of mock interest and rested his chin on his hand propped up by an elbow

"God, you are such an idiot, Ivan!"