Roman and I spent the morning at two malls in Washington, D.C., because a woman can’t turn down the offer of shopping at her husband’s expense. I was afraid that Roman would be bored as I stopped in every store that caught my fancy, but he enjoyed watching me try on clothes, especially lingerie. We even made out in one of the dressing rooms after I tried on an outfit that Roman particularly loved. We had ice cream before we left the mall and found a steakhouse to visit for lunch. As we were finishing our meal, Roman got a text for us to meet Marcus and Ed at a coffee shop.

Luckily, I had already finished eating, because my appetite waned. "Did they say anything else in the text?" I asked Roman as he filled out the receipt to pay for our meal.

"No," Roman said to me. "Just to meet them for a quick info brief." We left the restaurant and Roman gave our driver the address to the coffee shop. It had a cute storefront with large windows covered in drawing of coffee cups and coffee beans. The smell of freshly brewed coffee inside the shop was heavenly. Marcus and Ed were already seated at a back corner table, so we joined them.

"Nothing to drink?" Ed asked us.

"We just had lunch," Roman explained.

"Enjoying your time in D.C.?" Marcus asked.

"I enjoyed shopping," I offered. "We’re headed to an art museum after this."

"Great, we won’t keep you long," Marcus said. "We have four guys from witness protection that will be rotating surveillance at your residence. Ed and I will act as your personal bodyguards."

I raised my brow at the information. "Really?" I asked them. "I didn’t realize you two would be able to do that for us."

Ed shrugged. "It’s not all office work," he said. "Besides, the boss wants our boots on the ground for this one. Taking down a hub like The Auction House can be difficult since they’re clearly pretty well established."

"You’ll be traveling back with us, then?" Roman asked them.

"If it’s not too much trouble," Marcus said. "We begin official bodyguard duties the day you leave here."

"That shouldn’t be an issue," Roman said. "I already have surveillance cameras around the property. You can have access to whatever you need while you’re there."

"We will need access to your security system," Ed said, "and we’ll likely be adding a few security measures of our own as well."

"What about the other security guards from witness protection?" I asked them. "Will they be available for our family members?"

"Their main duty will be to keep an eye on your home and each property where your family resides," Ed told me. "For instance, we’ll have a guy keeping an eye on your family’s residence to ensure that your siblings are safe."

"And also to keep tabs on the whereabouts of Court Macalester," Marcus added. "Since he is a known associate of the establishment." I nodded, feeling more confident knowing that my father would be watched.

I turned to Roman. "I definitely need Lori to stay with us, Roman," I said. "I don’t ever want her to be near my father again."

Roman wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. "We’ll ask her," he said to me. "I would love for Lori to stay with us."

"Good idea to keep tabs on your family and friends," Marcus said. "Also a good idea to work on your cover story for having bodyguards suddenly appear."

"Stalkers," I said quickly, eyeing Roman. I had overheard his conversation to work this morning, and by his expression, I knew that he was aware of the reference.

"Stalkers?" Ed asked with a frown. "Is this a real issue you’ve had in the past?"

"Not me," Roman explained. "My cousin Lauren. She’s a bit of a fashion icon and social media influencer. There have been instances of at least three stalkers that she’s had to deal with. She actually got your information for me through one of her security contacts."

"I should have put two and two together," Marcus said. "Lauren Thaddeus is your cousin, of course. I’ve certainly heard of her."

"It’ll be easy to say that one of her stalkers got out of hand and has been threatening us," I said. Roman nodded in agreement.

"Seems plausible," Marcus agreed, and Ed nodded his agreement as well. "If there’s nothing else, that’s all we’ve got for you two for now."

"We’ll be prepping our equipment and getting teams together for various approaches on taking the place down," Ed said. We all shook hands and Roman and I bid Marcus and Ed farewell as they stayed behind in the coffee shop. Our driver pulled up outside and after we climbed into the car Roman gave him directions for the art museum that we would be visiting. I was surprised at how much better I felt knowing that Marcus and Ed would be our bodyguards.

"What do you think about everything?" I asked Roman.

"Sounds like a solid plan," he said, fixing his blue gaze on me. "I didn’t realize you overheard my phone call this morning."

I shrugged. "I didn’t mean to eavesdrop," I said. "I just happened to get to the door when you were talking about Lauren’s stalker issues."

"Marcus and Ed said it’s a good cover, so good thinking," Roman said, nudging my shoulder. I smiled at him. "I’m glad to see you smiling again, Hannah."

"Shopping does wonders to rejuvenate the mood," I told Roman, and he laughed.

"I must admit," Roman said, "watching you change clothes put me in a good mood, too." I punched Roman’s arm, and we laughed and chatted the rest of the way to the art museum.

When we arrived, I could see the excitement spark in Roman as he examined the paintings and art pieces. He really seemed to enjoy the history and learning about the artist behind each piece. I let him chat away as he guided me through the museum, sharing new discoveries and explaining some work that he had already seen and learned about before.

"I didn’t realize that you were into art history," I told Roman when we sat down for a break in one of the galleries.

He shrugged. "My mother’s enthusiasm for art rubbed off on me a bit, I suppose."

I nodded. "That makes sense," I said, "especially after you told me about her affinity for art and beauty."

"Am I boring you?" Roman asked me, his blue eyes concerned.

I raised my brow at him. "No, not at all," I told him. "I enjoy having my own personal, and very handsome, tour guide." I smiled at Roman as I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him.

"I’ll be your tour guide any day of the week," he said, his eyes darkening with passionate hunger.

"Save it for the hotel room," I said, pulling him to his feet so that we could continue our tour and hurry back to the hotel.

After the art museum, we returned to the hotel and made love before ordering room service for dinner. We showered and got dressed. I wore one of the gorgeous, sleek dresses that Roman had purchased for me that morning. I was beginning to feel like I belonged with Roman, not because of the honeymoon or lovemaking. He had etched himself into my heart and mind. I couldn’t imagine my life without him now.

We arrived at the ballet and the performance took my breath away. "I wanted to be a ballerina when I was younger," I whispered to Roman.

"Why didn’t you?" he asked me quietly.

"I took classes," I said, "but my father had other plans for me. I guess being a ballerina would take too much of my time away from his parties." Roman squeezed my hand, and we enjoyed the rest of the ballet performance in silence. The beauty and grace of the dancers were mesmerizing. They did jumps and twirls and lifted one another into the air effortlessly. I allowed myself to be carried away by my thoughts. What if I had become a renowned ballerina? Would my father have allowed me to travel the world and perform, or would he have limited me to performances of his choice? There was no question; my father was a cruel, controlling man. Perhaps marrying me off to Roman would inadvertently hurt my father in a way that he least expected. In fact, I hoped we could hurt my father. He had turned my brothers against me, but I would have Lori. I saw no reason that she would refuse to move in with me and Roman to get away from the toxic environment that our father had created.

I watched the woman who seemed to be the star of the show. She always wore a different colored leotard than the others. I allowed my imagination to carry me onto the stage, dancing in her place. I would need the strength and endurance of a professional ballerina to get through the events of the coming days.