Page 20 of Auctioned to the Billionaire Bodyguard

“Jelly?”

“It’s a nickname. Her real name is Ray Ann, but she hates it.”

“Okay. I’ll be out in a minute.” I hurried to put on some joggers, a sports bra, oversized tank top, socks, and some cool athletic shoes. I could have cried at how awesome it all felt. I hadn’t worn anything like this in more than five years.

I quickly put a bit of makeup on and pulled my hair into a messy bun.

I took one last look in the mirror and smiled. I looked more like myself than I had in a very long time.

CHAPTER SIX

Byron

I showed Jessica Fletcher… or Jess… into the dining room. There was a spread of pastries, fruit, eggs, bacon, biscuits, and all sorts of other breakfast items laid out on a sideboard and people were helping themselves.

“Would you like me to make you a plate?” I asked her. She was staying close to my side, which I thought was pretty adorable. I felt a protectiveness towards her that I’d never felt before. I mean, being protective was my way of life. But I felt protective of her like a man feels over his woman. That was new for me.

At least to this level. I’d felt protective of girlfriends, of course. But they weren’t actively running from something dangerous. Jess was. And I wanted to rip anyone apart that came near her.

“No, I can do it.” She smiled up at me, and I had to fight to keep from just standing there and staring at her. She was so beautiful. I could see why this Skeeter guy was obsessed with her.

“Oh, good! You’re up.” Nadine bounded into the room with a smile as bright as the sun. She hurried right over to Jess and wrapped her up in a big hug.

Jess made a little noise of surprise that was muffled by Nadine’s body.

“Honey, you’ve got to let her breathe,” Reynolds tried to hide his amusement. “We talked about this,” he said softly.

“I know,” Nadine waved a hand in the air. “But I just can’t help it.” She held Jess away from her, gripping her by the upper arms. “Do you know how badly I wanted a little sister growing up? My God. I used to force Jelly to let me do her hair. I’m bigger than her, so sometimes I would just sit on her so she couldn’t get away.” She turned towards Jelly. “You remember that, Jell?”

“Uh… yeah.” Jelly had to bite back a grin. “I don’t see how I could forget it, actually.”

“True,” Nadine sighed. “Look at all this hair.” She turned Jess around, took her hair down, pulled a brush from some hidden pocket on her yoga pants, and started brushing it out.

Jess stared at me with big eyes. “What is happening right now?”

Nadine stopped. “Well, shit. Nobody told you, huh?” She laughed. “I’m your big sister!” She reached for her again to hug her, but Jess stepped back.

“What?” Her face had gone a little pale. “How?”

“My daddy is your daddy. Was he as sorry for you and your mom as he was for me and Mama?”

Jess’ face had a comical level of shock on it. “I… can I sit down?”

“Oh, sure. Just sit anywhere. What do you want to eat? I can get it for you.” She piled some of everything on a plate.

“Jesus, Nadine. I think you got her enough stuff, honey.”

She looked down at the plate. “Wow. Well, I hope you’re hungry. I guess I got carried away. What do you drink in the morning? Coffee? Coke? Orange juice?”

Jess was still staring at her. “You’re my… sister?”

“Yep. I thought we could maybe go shopping together today. Madeline can come over and give us makeovers. Glory can doour nails, and Nia can make us laugh. Oh. My. God. We can have a sleepover!”

“Nadine,” Jelly said gently. “I know you’re excited, but you have got to calm down. You have to remember Jessica Fletcher’s been through an ordeal…”

“Y’all can just call me Jess. Only my mom calls me Jessica Fletcher.”

Jelly nodded. “She’s been through a lot. And I’m sure she wants to see her mom. You’ve got to give her some time to get adjusted to everything.”