Read Online Secret Agent Minister by Lenora Worth - Free Book Online Page B

syllable, “you look…amazing. The dress is very attractive and necessary. Now be a good girl, and just go with it.”
    Lydia came down the last step to glare at him, so close now he could smell the scent of lily of the valley. Kissie sure did like floral perfumes. “Go with it? I look like a floozy and you know it.”
    “No, you don’t,” he said, meaning it. “You could never look that way. You look like you, only different. I like the hair. You look like a proper society lady.”
    “But this dress…” She looked down at the shimmering, slinking fabric that fell straight and fitted to just below her knees. “I tried another one, but it was way too short. At least this one is a decent length. But this red, beaded stuff…it’s just not me.”
    Dev whirled on Kissie. “Is that the only dress you could find?”
    “In her size, yes, sir,” Kissie replied, all business. “It’s this or nothing. And we have to remember, she has to be dressed to the nines to fit the part. And so do you, so you’re next. Upstairs, now.”
    Dev focused on the assignment, tearing his eyes away from Lydia. “What…what am I wearing tonight?” he managed to ask, gazing at Lydia’s pretty eyes, accentuated by her hair.
    “A tux,” Kissie said. “Y’all are set to attend a masquerade party in the Garden District. Some big shot is throwing it for a group of important out-of-town visitors, if you get my drift. Your presence has been requested.”
    Dev understood. He would meet one of his superiors at this party and receive further instructions. CHAIM had operatives in all sorts of places—governments, churches, businesses, university systems, hospitals—you name it. It gave new meaning to the term “never alone.”
    “I’ll just go get ready,” he said, giving Lydia one last glance. Then he touched a hand to her arm. “Lydia, you look beautiful. I promise.”
    Lydia didn’t look convinced. “Is it too…risqué?”
    “Not on you,” he replied, smiling for the first time since she’d come down the stairs. “It just looks…good.”
    “And you get to carry a feathered mask, too,” Kissie added. “I’ll give that to you when you get ready to leave.”
    She finally let out a sigh of relief. “I guess I can pull this off. I’m just not used to fancy threads and too much makeup.”
    “It becomes you,” Dev said again, to reassure her. “If you feel uncomfortable, just keep your mask over your face.”
    “Hiding behind a mask—that just about sums this up,” Lydia said, resolve coloring her expression. “Go on and get ready. I’ll be okay.”
    Her tentative smile captivated him, so he tried again to reassure her. “I’ll make sure of that, I promise.”
    But as he hurried up the stairs, he knew this wasn’t about reassurance. Lydia Cantrell might have been plain and simple before all of this, and that had been just fine with him. But now, she was a knockout, a beautiful, attractive woman.
    And that wasn’t just fine with him. Because it was causing him to be careless. And CHAIM didn’t allow for carelessness. He had to stay focused on the mission, on protecting Lydia.
    And that meant he couldn’t think about things that were inappropriate and risky, such as kissing her, or holding her close, or taking her out for a real romantic dinner. So he turned at the top of the stairs and looked down on her as she stood in the middle of the hallway, taking once last glimpse at her—just to get her out of his mind.
    In the coffee bar, the gospel singers started a rendition of “Softly and Tenderly.” The old hymn was all about Jesus calling all sinners to come home. But for Dev, the terms softly and tenderly also described how he felt about Lydia. He never wanted to see her hurt, or worse, dead. Which was why he had to remain distant and professional. Until he could have her safely home.
    Her gaze caught his, held him there, held him captive with sweetness and temptation. He gripped the old oak banister in order to