Page 63 of The Bodyguard
Which was maybe why things had been so awkward this morning. For the first time he’d been stuck with a woman he’d had sex with. A woman he couldn’t put out of his mind because I was essentially his part-time job.
“Do you? Because I don’t want to see you get hurt. And the truth is, Garrett Pine has only ever hurt you.”
Right. Except last night and this morning. And the orgasms. What was going to happen when he came home? Were we going to do it again and again? Or would he tell me it was a one-time thing that he wanted to put behind him?
This morning, after the sex, it had felt a lot like regret on his part. And he’d kept rubbing his chest.
“I know what I’m doing,” I repeated firmly, because when you absolutely didn’t know what you were doing, the only thing you could do was lie.
“Okay. Fine. I’ll let it go. But can you tell me why I got a save-the-date card for my ENGAGEMENT PARTY?”
I smiled. “I told you I was throwing you one.”
“And I told you I didn’t want one. The wedding isn’t that far off. Isn’t that enough?”
“Who doesn’t like a party? Besides, you can’t back out now. I’ve invited a hundred of your closest friends and family, and Clayton’s business associates. I even invited Bea.”
“Sabrina!” It was her frustrated voice.
“Please, Ronnie. Let me do this. I’ve been going stir-crazy ever since this stalking madness started happening. It gives me something to do besides bake, and like I said, I think it will be good for you and Clayton to put all the old memories behind you and build new ones. Happy ones. Because you are happy, aren’t you?”
She sighed. It was a happy sigh. “I’m ecstatic. If we’re being technical.”
Ecstatic. In love. Loved in return. I couldn’t imagine what that would be like.
I fuck women. I fuck them and forget them.
“Fine. We’ll be there.”
“Wear a fabulous dress,” I told her. “And I promise to be in a slightly less fabulous dress so I don’t upstage you.”
“Somehow I don’t think that’s possible. Okay, tell me if I need to do…anything.”
I beamed. “Nope. You and Clayton just show up at The King’s Land in two weeks and smile.”
“I’m only doing this for you.”
She was. I knew that. Because Ronnie was the one person on this earth I think actually cared about me.
“I know. And Ronnie…you know I love you, right?”
“I love you too, sis.”
We hung up and I thought about what it would be like if Garrett also cared about me. There were times…no, I told myself. He was just being protective. And his having sex with me was probably more to prove how wrong I was about it than anything else. There was nothing I should expect from him, no matter how badly I wanted to expect something.
* * *
GARRETT
Dusty Creek
“Hey, Mary, I’m leaving a little early today,” I told the station’s admin.
“Sure thing, boss,” she said without looking up at me.
No questions about why. Where I was going. Why I needed to cut out of work. It wasn’t even like I had official hours. When I was out on a call or investigating a case, I might not even make it into town. But over the last year of having the top job I had established a pretty regular routine of staying and taking care of any paperwork until at least six.
But when I looked up at the clock in my office and saw it was only four-thirty I knew I wasn’t going to make it. I wanted…I needed to go home.
