“More or less,” I admitted abeat too late. “I can tone it down for your family, if you want.”
“No,” Miles said. “I knowthis is gonna make it worse, but I kinda like it. I like that you don’t treatme like I’m made of glass even though it’s your job to do that.”
“Would you feel safer if Itreated you like you were made of glass?”
Miles shook his head as theelevator doors opened. “I’ve had enough of that to last a lifetime.”
“Then it’s not my job. Myjob is to keep you safe and make you feel that way. That’s it.”
“I don’t know if bodyguardsaren’t how I expected, or if you’re a weird bodyguard,” Miles said. “But I’mnot complaining.”
That was nice to hear.Clearly, I hadn’t completely screwed this job up yet.
So far I felt like I had a greattrack record, but everything was so new. I wanted this job to work for me. Itgave me the sense of purpose I’d been searching for my whole life, since my momdied just after I joined the army.
“Long as you’re happy,” Iresponded as the elevator opened into the parking lot, heading for Miles’ car.
He walked ahead of me once I’d unlocked itwith the remote, and I couldn’t quite stop myself from taking the opportunityto check out his butt. High, tight, and cute, it was easily one of his bestfeatures, and I hadn’t gotten the chance to get a really good look at it beforenow.
The cut of his suit pantswere doing wonders for him. For a moment, I pictured myself having to fend offadmirers.
Not that I would have fendedthem off. Miles didn’tbelongto me, even if this wasn’t quite a worknight.
If he wanted to pick upsomeone else, he could. I couldn’t pretend to myself that it wouldn’t have been adisappointment—especially since he didn’t look nearly as sad and tired asnormal right now—but I’d live with it.
“Gray?” his voice startledme out of my thoughts. “Are you… checking out my ass?”
Busted.
Damn.
Well, nothing for it but thetruth.
“Yep,” I said. “That’s myjob, watching your ass.”
Miles raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not sure that’s whatthat phrase usually means,” he said, but he was smiling one of those tinysmiles again, and I wanted to see more of those. They were addictive.
“Pretty sure it’s what itmeans,” I argued, opening the passenger-side door for him. His eyes widened,clearly not expecting the gesture, but Icouldbe a gentleman.I’dbeen raised to have manners.
Besides, maybe Miles didn’t deserve to betreated like glass, but he deserved a little softness. I’d gotten theimpression that he’d never really had a relationship he was comfortable in.
I probably wasn’t the person forthat job, but some part of mewantedto be. Wanted to make him smile more often,wanted to see him with his hair sticking up all over the place in the morning…
Shit, this was starting togetromantic. Was that better, or worse than wanting to fuck a client?
“Anything specific I need toknow about tonight? Or your family?” I asked once I was in the driver’s seat.
“No matter what I told youabout them, they’d find a way to make a liar out of me,” Miles said wryly. “Just…be yourself.”
“Myself,” I said, hittingthe ignition button. “Got it.”
I’d behave, and be a gooddate, and it definitely wasn’t because I wanted Miles to like me more than hedid.
***
When Miles directed me to anaddress in Arden Oaks, I’d laughed. Not because the address was funny, butbecause up until that point, I’d kind of forgotten that he was anEmerson. OftheEmersons.
