“Oh. That’s helpful.”
Along the way, the wheels of her handle-extended carryon kept catching on her high heels, tripping her up, slowing their progress down the walkway. When standard luggage manufacturers created their products, they didn’t keep someone of Mindy’s petite stature in mind. She wasn’t a one-size-fits-all girl. One of the things he loved about her. He grabbed the handle from her grasp. “I’ve got this. Keep moving.”
Retracting the extended handle, he gripped the side strap of her carryon instead, which improved their speed. Her stride gained on him slightly.
“Mindy—four cars down. Markov.”
Nodding, she made a beeline for the designated transport. The Markovs had made every effort to Americanize his and Mindy’s experience. While Mindy scampered into the back seat, the driver exited the vehicle and took the luggage from Isaac, stowing it in the trunk. Isaac joined her quickly.
A smile tugged at his lips seeing her blonde hair plastered to her forehead while she tried to swipe it back, flicking droplets onto the pale gray cushions of the town car’s seats. She smiled up at him. “We made it.”
There she was—totally optimistic, her upbeat personality shining through even the most distressing of situations. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew he’d have to wait. Until a better time when they were in the right scenario, the perfect moment, when she gave him one of those looks where her blue eyes sparkled beyond belief.
Then he’d capture her chin in his hand and lift her mouth to his. Damn, that moment couldn’t come soon enough.
Instead of revealing his desires, he expressed his appreciation of her ability to go with the flow, no matter how uncomfortable the past twenty seven hours had been. “You’re a trooper. You know that?”
As she slicked her hair down her damp ponytail, she shrugged. “I’m excited about this opportunity.” Those sweet blue eyes caught his suddenly. “Aren’t you?”
Swallowing, he nodded. “I know we’ll make this happen.”
Then her shoulders fell back. She slumped against the seat and glanced out the window. “I hope so. I really want this first international deal to work out.”
Oh, he wanted this to work out, on so many levels beyond the professional. If he were wired to be a complete asshole, he would’ve propositioned her right there in the back seat of a town car in Russia. “I want this to work out, too,” he said.
Accepting the reality, he reminded himself that she had no idea about the life he’d come from, the place he’d been. An adequate existence until the day he met her and realized he needed to make a change. That day, adequate no longer equaled happy.
On this trip, he looked forward to putting all his sales skills to use in a way he’d looked forward to for a long time, a real challenge. Afterward, he wanted to put his personal skills to showing her how good they could be together. But that required more skill and finesse than he held the energy or opportunity to claim.
As he glanced at her profile lit by streetlamps, he saw the concern bunched on her features. He wanted more than anything to relieve her stress. “Don’t worry about the luggage. We’ll go shopping tomorrow to replace the things you lost.”
She squirmed at the thought. “Foreign countries must have different sizes of clothes. How will I figure out what to wear to compensate for my lost suits?”
“I’ll help you navigate the stores.” A hot fantasy rose in his mind of following Mindy into a dressing room, and using the closet to his full advantage. Sweet God.
A stressed exhale left her lips. “I can’t exactly afford to replace my wardrobe.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“No, you can’t.” A frown formed between her tawny eyebrows. “That’s absurd.”
When he turned to her, his knee brushed against hers, and she shied away from the contact. He said, “Let me put it to you this way. Don’t you want the right clothes to feel at your best?”
Beside him she clicked her thumbnails together as she considered his question. “You really are great at sales.”
“So that’s a yes?”
She sighed. “Yes. I want to feel good about myself when we meet the clients.”
“Then we’ll go shopping tomorrow and find some outfits that make you feel like a success.”
“If you say so.”
Once again, he saw her self-doubt coming to the surface. Not good.
So, his first mission was to drape her in beauty. No problem, he’d take her to the most impressive women’s clothing stores. His second mission was to convince her how absolutely stunningly beautiful she was, and that would require more than a new wardrobe.