Page 9 of Imperfect Saint
Millie swallowed hard, “Okay.”
“Okay?” Lemon sounded surprised. “Just okay?”
“Just okay. I trust you. I’m sure whoever you sent, that you had your reasons.”
“That’s my girl.” Lemon assured her softly, “Take care of yourself Millie, and if you can’t, let him do it for you.”
She nodded and then realized that Lemon couldn’t see her, “Okay.”
“Remember to have fun this weekend and I’ll talk to you when you get back.” Lemon lowered her voice, “Call me if you need me.”
Millie said goodbye and then pulled the phone from her ear. She’d managed to blink back the tears but still, her nerves felt raw and her heart was racing. Her mind was running a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out what Lemon had done.
Who had she sent?
Someone Millie knew. Someone Lemon trusted. Someone that could play her date convincingly, but also protect her if the situation turned sour. Someone that Lemon knew Millie would trust but that she wouldn’t be happy to spend an entire weekend with.
Her mind stuck on one name and only one name. There was only one man that fit the bill for all of those things. A shiver went down her spine at the thought of him but before she could work out any more of what Lemon had set in motion her phone rang again.
She knew the number was from the front desk so she answered without saying hello, “This is Millie Turner.”
“Ms. Turner, you have a guest.”
“Thank you, Kendra. I’ll be down in just a moment.” She replied before hanging up and grabbing her purse and the handle of her suitcase. She gave one last glance around the apartment but she didn’t see anything else that she might need. She snagged her bridesmaid dress from where it hung in the coat closet, still wrapped in protective plastic and then, with a deep breath for courage, she walked into the hallway and shut the door behind her.
Millie took the elevator to the ground floor and when the doors slid open she dragged her suitcase behind her into the large foyer. There were only a few people milling about and she didn’t recognize any of them so she headed for the door. The receptionist at the guest counter gave her a smile and wished her a good day. Millie returned the sentiment. The doorman held open the large glass door for her and offered to take her bag but Millie shook him off.
When she finally glanced up, her heart stopped just as swiftly as her feet did.
Hunter St. James was standing on the sidewalk. Of course it was Hunter. Lemon’s bodyguard and Millie’s coworker. She’d somehow known Lemon had sent Hunter after that phone call and it was Hunter that she knew would fulfill every need she had for a date at this wedding because he was smart, funny, protective and he also happened to be sexy as hell.
God help her, sexy wasn’t even a strong enough word when it came to Hunter.
Her heart thumped so loud it drowned out the sound of cars passing on the street as her eyes skated over him. He was standing just a few feet away now but he looked as if he could have been on a movie set in Hollywood. Even the few other people on the street shot him looks as they passed, the women all but drooling which Millie figured was a reaction the man was accustomed to by now.
Hunter was leaning against the side of a sleek, black Range Rover, his arms crossed over his broad chest and a smile on his handsome face. While she’d spent all morning running around like a frazzled mess and knew she probably looked it, Hunter seemed as relaxed and at-ease as he always did. Despite his job in security, he wasn’t one of those guys that always seemed on edge. In fact, it was his easygoing nature that contradicted so completely with her own anxious, strict demeanor and Lemon’s impulsiveness that made him the perfect fit for their team.
He was just a perfect… everything, but Millie shook that thought away as quickly as she could.
When Hunter saw her his smile spread into a full-fledged grin. His closely trimmed beard hid the dimples she knew lurked beneath and she found herself relieved for that small favor. She didn’t like men with facial hair. At least, she hadn’t until the day Hunter showed up in her office with his scruffy new look. Somehow, even hiding those adorable dimples of his, the beard managed to make him better looking. She tried not to focus on why that was, or how it perfectly framed the full lips that always seemed to be curling up into a smile.
His smile unnerved her. It always had. From the first moment she met him for his interview and he’d flashed those dimples at her, she’d known that he was dangerous. All he had to do was look at her and her blood heated, causing butterflies to take flight in her belly. He seemed to know the effect he had on her too, maybe because he affected all women like that, but she didn’t like the feeling and she certainly didn’t trust it.
Not when she knew one thing with utter certainty. Hunter St. James was completely out of her league.
Hunter wasn’t just movie star good looking. He had chestnut brown hair that he let grow just a tad too long so that it curled at the ends and hazel green eyes that were warm and mysterious. He was tall and muscular and he held himself with a sense of purpose and pride that she knew must have come from his military background. He was also smart and charming and that was a dangerous combination in Millie’s experience.
She forced herself to stop ogling the man that was her coworker. He was here to do a job. That was all. This wasn’t about how attractive he was, or about how his smile always made her insides melt like ice cream on a hot August day. Hunter was here as a favor to Lemon and their boss was right, he was the perfect man to keep Joshua away from Millie this weekend.
Hunter was big and intimidating. He was handsome and funny. It wouldn’t be a hardship to feign interest in the man or let him feign interest in her. In fact, she was considering sending Lemon a Thank You card and a dozen of those zucchini muffins she adored just for thinking to ask Hunter this favor right up until the moment his eyes met hers and her body reacted to his attention like a puppy eager for a head rub.
Her nipples went hard and her panties dampened with nothing but a long appreciative look and that knowing smile of his.
Oh, yeah, right, that was why she hadn’t wanted him as her fake date. Because her body wasn’tfakeattracted to him. Her body wanting him was completely real and she silently cursed her libido for always wanting the wrong kind of man. If Joshua had taught her anything it was that she couldn’t and shouldn’t trust her instincts.
“Hey there darlin’ girl.” Hunter grinned as he pushed up to his full height, “I was beginning to think you got cold feet.”
She pursed her lips but let him take the suitcase from her when he reached for it and rolled it to the back of the Range Rover. He opened the hatch and she watched him lift the heavy bag as if it didn’t weigh a thing. He took her dress next, carefully hanging it from a hook in the back and spreading it out so that it wouldn’t wrinkle. When he was done, he shut the hatch and turned back to look at her where she was still standing on the sidewalk.
