Brittany saluted our boss and clutched my arm as we hurried into the dining room.
Before we got too far, she tugged me into the alcove near the restrooms. “One sec. We got sidetracked. There’s a fine specimen of a hunk at the bar asking for you.”
I perked up. “Is it Brian? Or Dom?”
Her eyebrows dipped down. “Brian? As in Brian McCauley, the one you have a crush on?”
“Busted. He’s back in town.”
“Oh my,” she cooed. “He’s a chef’s kiss. No wonder you’re not all there tonight. But no. And it’s not Dom either. My grannywould call this dude a tall drink of water.” Then she whispered, “I would call him fuckable. Much like Brian.”
My curiosity was piqued. “Where at the bar?”
I suspected it might be the guy in my Spanish class who had asked me out at the beginning of the semester. He was younger, could pass for a tall drink of water, and had a smile that turned women to mush.
“At the end. White button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up, and a Rolex on his wrist. Go. I’ll take the bill to table six.”
I ruled out the hottie in Spanish class. I’d never seen him wear a Rolex. Then a macabre thought hit me. That grungy man who’d banged on my window the other night had been wearing a Rolex.
My stomach pitched and rolled as I wound through the dining room, voices buzzing, silverware clanging around me.
I settled at the waitress station at the end of the bar, examining a very pretty guy with black hair shorn on the sides, a well-groomed beard on his square jaw, and a Celtic tattoo on his forearm above a silver Rolex. He certainly didn’t look like the man I’d been thinking about. Plus, this man’s watch was silver and not gold.
“You must be Grace.” His voice was as smooth as butter.
“Who wants to know?” I wasn’t confirming shit until I knew why he was here.
He stretched out his arm to shake my hand. “I’m Knox. I work for the Guardian. I’ve been assigned as your bodyguard.”
Instant anger had me clenching my teeth. “Let me guess. My brother Duke sent you.”
He nodded with a grin. “If you have an issue, take it up with him. But until my boss tells me you’re no longer in my charge, I’ll be in your shadows.”
A buzzing started in my ears. My breathing ramped up. No way was Duke calling the shots anymore. This was my life, and I was in charge of my destiny.
“Knox, did my brother or your boss tell you why they hired you to protect me?”
My guess was Duke was worried that the frat boy would retaliate. I didn’t agree. Carl Dixon wouldn’t be stupid enough to shut me up—or maybe he would.
“I don’t ask questions.”
Another thought came to mind. The cops had confiscated my concealed weapon, which meant I did not have any protection. Duke was perturbed over that, as was I. Maybe Duke thought I needed a bodyguard until my case was resolved. My brother had even demanded that I brush up on my self-defense skills, which was why I had been in the gym earlier that day.
I was tempted to storm over to Duke’s brownstone and give him a piece of my mind, but I needed to calm down first and finish my shift. Then again, arguing with Duke was like arguing with a wall.
“Well, Knox, you’ll be waiting for a few hours.” Like that knowledge would scare him away.
He just gave me a stern smile. “I’m on the job. So you can be here all night. I’m not leaving.”
I pulled my phone from my apron pocket and texted Duke.Tell the bodyguard you hired you don’t need him to follow me around. I have a Taser to protect me.
I gnawed on my bottom lip as I waited for those three little bouncing dots. Duke usually responded quickly if he wasn’t with his wife and daughter.
Brittany dashed up. “You have new dinner guests. Do you want me to take them?”
I pocketed my phone. “No.” I needed a distraction anyway.
Brittany and I walked toward the back of the restaurant where our sections were.
