Page 129 of The Bodyguard

“Just like you said. Boss Man has a sixth sense.”

A bat zigzagged overhead. She pointed. “There’s another.”

The bat jerked from side to side and disappeared. The dark purple night was now an inky black. The sky was so different here from anywhere she’d ever lived.

“Are you going to be okay when we get back?” Sawyer asked quietly. “When life returns to normal.”

She wouldn’t need an occasional bodyguard much longer. Angela would return to the administrative helm. They would hang out as friends. No, her heart would not be okay. But after knowing about his past and seeing the pictures of the life he’d started with Penny, Angela wouldn’t ask him for more. He’d been crystal clear. He couldn’t give what he didn’t have. But that wouldn’t prevent her from being truthful. “I’ll miss us,” she admitted, scared that if she looked at him, her voice would break. “But I’ll be fine.”

She waited for him to say something. For the longest time, he didn’t. “Follow my finger.” He pointed toward the stars right above the tree line. “That’s Deneb.” His hand moved to the right. “Altair.” Sawyer pulled her attention high. “Vega.” He pointed at the area where he first started. “And back again to Deneb. It’s the Summer Triangle.”

“I thought the constellations had names like Orion and the Little Dipper.”

“It’s an asterism. Not a constellation.” Sawyer sat up and retraced his fingers along the stars. “The three brightest stars in three different constellations: Cygnus, Aquila, and Lyra.Focus on the brightest stars you see.”

Angela propped on her side, studying what had so easily popped out to him. She pointed. “Right there?”

“Yeah. Deneb.” He guided her hand. “And this is Altair.”

She focused on the bright light. “Oh, I see it now.”

Sawyer guided her hand up. “Vega.” Then, they went back to where they started.

“Deneb,” she said.

“That’s right.” Sawyer pulled her back onto the blanket. His arm slipped under her neck. Angela moved closer to him and rested her head on his chest. “There looks like a million little stars between those two bright ones,” she said.

“A river of stars.”

“Yeah.”

“The Milky Way.”

How had she gone this long in life without ever looking for the Milky Way? She couldn’t believe that she had known it existed and hadn’t run outside on a dark night to search the sky. “Talk about awe-inspiring.”

He stroked her hair. The even cadence of his breathing soothed her soul. If she was smart, she’d yawn and say it was time to go to bed. But when it came to Sawyer, she was hopeless.

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Sawyer could have watched the stars with Angela in his arms all night. But the longer he stayed on that blanket, the more he hated how their bond would end. The more he hated their ending, the harder he tried to pretend he hadn’t fallen for her. On and on, logic and emotion fought until he brought Angela inside from their night of stargazing.

Their bags were identical tactical duffels from Titan headquarters, though Sawyer hadn’t packed his nearly as full. He walked down the upstairs hallway and past his old bedroom to the guest room, where he put Angela’s bag on the bed.

His mom had set fresh towels on the bed and left a bottle of water on the nightstand. He wondered if his parents had any clue that it pained Sawyer to sleep across the hall from Angela as though they were only co-workers.

He tossed his bag into his familiar bedroom and returned to the living room, where his mom held court, walking Angela down memory lane with a photo album spread between them.

“You’re boring her to death,” he said.

Angela looked up. Her laughter and smile were too big, and her eyes were threatening to water. “Not a chance.”

“But it’s late.” His mom shifted the album onto the coffee table. “I think your dad’s already asleep.” She touched Angela’s shoulder. “It has been so nice to meet you.” Then she glided by, giving Sawyer a knowing look that he would rather not have seen.

“Night, Ma.” He kissed her cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

After they were alone, Angela asked, “You played Puck in your high school production ofA Midsummer’s Night Dream?”

“God.” He dropped his head back and groaned. “There are some memories that need to stay buried.”

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