I smiled. “Thank you. I’ve enjoyed working with you as well.” My smile drooped just a bit. “You do know that this isn’t a date, though, right?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “I think I understand how roundly I’ve been rejected, yes,” he said. The waitress who’d taken our order came back with a tray laden with tacos. We’d decided to try a bunch of different ones to find out which was best.
My eyes went round at the number of tacos that she put on the table. “How are we eating all of these?”
Ryan scoffed. “Leftovers are my life,” he said. “It’s literally the only way I survive.”
“That may be the saddest thing I’ve ever heard,” I said with a laugh. “No one ever taught you how to cook?”
He shrugged. “My mother tried, but I’m the type to burn water. I had a private chef for a while, but I spend so much of the year abroad. It didn’t seem fair to put their lives on hold like that.”
He had a private chef, I thought in a voice that sounded a lot like my mother’s. If she ever met Ryan, she would judge him for his complete lack of survival training. But then again, I had a team of security people. If Ryan had security, I had never seen them.
“I’ll bring you some things that you can heat in the oven,” I said. “You can pretend it’s a home-cooked meal.”
He smiled, and I could feel the eyes of the restaurant around me. The wait staff were watching. The patrons were watching.
Callanwas watching.
I suddenly felt like sinking under the table to hide. “Thanks, Adrianne,” he said. “That would be great.”
The tacos were delicious, fresh and a little spicy, but like I predicted, there was a lot left over. When the waitress came by, I asked, “Can we get this boxed up for him?”
As the waitress began clearing the table, I glanced back at Callan. “He hasn’t gone anywhere,” Ryan said. “In fact, he hasn’t stopped glaring at me the entire time.”
“He’s just doing his job.”
Ryanhmm-ed. “I don’t think he particularly likes me.”
“He’s not supposed to like anyone,” I said. “He’s meant to think everyone is a potential threat to me.”
He didn’t look at all convinced. “I’ve dealt with security details before, and your crew is one of the most intense that I’ve ever seen.”
Worry wormed through my belly. Although it wasn’t entirely unheard of for an actress to fall for her bodyguard, we had all agreed that I wouldn’t have a public-facing boyfriend. I didn’t want to put that pressure on any of my men.
“That’s what I pay them for,” I said a little primly. “They’re top-notch for a reason.”
He shrugged. “If you say so.”
My breathwhooshedout, leaving me feeling deflated. “I need to use the restroom before we head back, okay?”
“Sure thing,” Ryan said and grabbed out his phone.
I made a beeline for the small alcove where the bathrooms were tucked. I went around the corner, just out of sight of the restaurant, and leaned against the wall. My chest felt tight, and I did my best to breathe in and out slowly.
I must have been gone too long because Callan rounded the corner with a wide, fearful look on his face. “Adrianne? What are you—” His words cut off as he took in the state of me. “What’s wrong?”
I leaned forward, resting my forehead against his chest. “He was insinuating that you were looking at me too intensely.”
Callan didn’t appear apologetic in the least. “I don’t like how he looks at you.”
I sighed. “He hasn’t said anything remotely flirtatious all day,” I pointed out. “I think he might actually want to be friends.”
Callan wasn’t impressed. “I still don’t like it.”
“It’s better than him flirting constantly, right?”
His jaw flexed. “Barely.” I tilted my head up, and he pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Can we go home?”