“Have a good day at school,” I said, stepping out of the vehicle to see him off.
A voice called, “Theo! Wait up!”
A boy with freckles and a mop of red hair jogged up beside the car—Mitch, I assumed—followed by a woman in oversized sunglasses, athleisure wear, and carrying a Stanley coffee mug like it was an accessory.
“You must be the new nanny flavor of the month,” the woman said brightly, extending a manicured hand. “I’m Clare. Mitch’s mom.”
I shook it, summoning my best polite smile. “Jessa. The uh… new flavor.”
“Welcome to the circus.” Clare removed her glasses and waved. “Hi Brock.”
The ex-marine didn’t so much as flinch. He gave a curt nod that equated to a greeting in his line of work. I was glad to see it wasn’t just me getting the stone-face treatment.
“I don’t think he likes women,” I whispered.
“A bodyguard that hot? He has to be into women. And I’ll damn well keep trying to prove it. I’ll break him down one day, just wait and see.”
We shared a knowing glance. I liked her already, although it was obvious she was several classes above me. Nothing about her screamed small-town fish out of water in the big city. More like a woman who marriedanddivorced very well, given no ring on her finger.
A girl about Theo’s age stepped out from behind Clare, her nose stuck in a book, her brunette hair in one long braid cascading down one shoulder. Her long dark lashes slowly blinked at Theo, and she gave a slight wave and a smile as she passed the boys.
Theo ducked his head and kicked the ground and pretended not to see her.
“Go on, boys!” Clare chirped. “Follow Annie and don’t be late.”
The little girl must be her daughter with a crush on Theo. How cute and interesting? I thought of all the crushes my sisters had on boys over the years, and a pang of homesickness hit.
“I’ll be here after school, Theo,” I called.
“You better be,” he said in all seriousness. “One nanny last year forgot to pick me up the day Brock was sick. I missed warm-ups and got benched.”
“Ouch,” I said. “Don’t worry. I’ll be here—with or without Brock.”
He gave me a fist bump before racing up the steps.
Clare faced me. “About that. I have a massage booked and afraid I won’t be done in time. Would you mind taking Mitchand Annie to the game too? I can drop his gear at the arena before my massage and meet you there after.”
“Sure. No problem.” I answered, just trying to be friendly.
As we drove off, Brock grunted, resuming his statue impersonation.
“So what’s your story? The faithful bodyguard, wary of newcomers?” I asked
He grunted again, the use of caveman language apparently his preference.
“Good talk,” I said dryly. “I guess I have nothing to do until Theo’s out of school. Want to grab coffee somewhere?”
“I have work to do. But I can drop you off—and I suggest you read through the information the boss just sent you because you already broke one rule.”
Damn. The man had a voice like butter. Like the best spicy romance audiobook narrator, the kind guaranteed to bring you to the brink of orgasm by words and tone alone.
Griffin had a similar voice I’d been privy to when I stripped him down to just a man in bed with me, not a CEO in control. For one night back in Holly Creek, he growled how perfect my body was, called me a good girl for milking every drop from his cock. He appreciated my curves then… Now pregnant, more curves were surely on the way. Would I still be attractive to him?
I squirmed in my seat and cleared my throat. “And which rule would that be, Brock?”
“The one that says we don’t give rides to friends. Period.”
“Bet that one is your favorite so you don’t have to endure Clare’s friendly nature if she ever needs a ride to hockey games or practice, hm?”
