Page 8 of Securing His Family

“What gave me away?” he asked.

Charlee lifted her shoulders. “Dunno.”

“Well, that settles that, I guess,” Lauren said, not entirely surprised by her daughter’s answer.

“I guess it does, but I’m going to prove that I can cook a pizza without getting pizza sauce on meandnot burn it.”

“We’ll see,” Charlee sing-songed.

An hour and half later, Lauren’s small table was littered with the remnants of three pizzas. Reed’s plate was empty while both Lauren and Charlee’s had some pieces remaining. It would be lunch for them tomorrow. Or maybe Sunday dinner.

Charlee was yawning, and Lauren could see that her daughter was beginning to fade. It had been a busy day for her. “Time for bed, Charlee-Bee,” she said.

Her daughter sat up and tried to widen her eyes to give the impression she hadn’t been falling asleep just seconds ago. “I’m not tired, Mummy. It’s Saturday night. I don’t have to get up early to go to school tomorrow.”

With Reed occupying the chair next to her daughter, Lauren wasn’t the least bit surprised by what she said.

Reed yawned, stretching his arms high in the air. “Bed sounds like a good idea. I should probably head off.”

There had been nothing real about Reed’s yawn, and Lauren appreciated his efforts to convince his daughter that it was indeed bedtime.

“You go to bed this early?” Charlee asked.

“Yep. I get up really early each morning and do my PT.”

Like always when she didn’t understand something, Charlee’s nose scrunched up adorably. “PT? What’s that?”

“Physical training. I go to the beach and meet up with all the other guys from Power Security and we do exercises. Run up and down the beach. Then take a swim.”

It didn’t take much for Lauren to imagine Reed wearing low slung board shorts or tight fighting swimming trunks. His muscled chest on display. The chest she’d been resting against a couple of hours ago. She’d felt how hard it was beneath her cheek and now she knew how it got to be that way.

“You do that every day? And on weekends? Even if it’s raining or really cold or really hot?” The incredulousness in her daughter’s voice had Lauren biting her lip to refrain from laughing.

“We sure do.”

“Wow. I don’t think I could do that.”

“It comes with practice, but to be able to do that I need to go to bed and let my body rest. Sleep is the best way for our bodies to grow.”

“Oh,” Charlee said. “Okay. I guess I’ll go to bed.”

“Good idea and maybe one day in the school holidays, your mum may let me take you to the beach and you can watch us all work out.”

Her daughter whooped as she ran into the bedroom.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” she muttered under breath, as she started to clean up the table. The very idea of watching the men from Power Security work out, all bare chests glistening in the early morning sunlight, sounded like a great way to start the day.

Had Tabitha gone and watched Steve workout? Did he even workout? Of course he did, he wouldn’t expect his employees to keep in shape and not do it himself.

“I’m sure that can be arranged.”

Reed’s voice was close to her ear, and she had to again try and control her body’s response to his closeness. She should be embarrassed that he’d heard what she said, but if she was being honest, she was hoping he had.

“Someone has to watch Charlee so she doesn’t bother you,” she replied, primly.

Reed laughed, but Charlee returned, so he didn’t say anything—something Lauren was glad for.

“Can Reed tuck me in, Mummy?” Charlee’s request didn’t shock Lauren in the slightest. Her daughter was smitten with the handsome former soldier, and Lauren had to admit, Reed had been nothing but accommodating to Charlee and her questions all evening.

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