Page 16 of Finding My Bodyguard

“Monroe will be staying at the villa for a couple of weeks,” he told her.

“Oh, a couple of weeks? I may have to put you to work. I can always use a helping hand around this place.” Aunt Vanessa pointed around the restaurant. I smiled at her invitation. Work was a new concept for me. I wasn’t allowed to get a job. It wasn’t considered to be ladylike. My father saw it as disrespectful for a woman to work. Women took care of the home, and that was it. I glanced at London.

“That would be okay with you?” I questioned, uncertainty lacing my voice.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” He stared into my eyes, causing me to drop my head. Shame filled me as I realized I’d let my past experiences seep into the moment. Just then, a loud crashing sound rang out in the kitchen.

“I gotta get back in there. I can’t leave them alone in my kitchen for too long. I’ll put you to work. Show you how to make some of Royale’s favorites.”

“I would love that.” I looked over at London. I knew how to cook a few things so I could please my husband, but it wasn’t my expertise. I’d grown up with a personal chef. I smiled and nodded as she scurried away from the table.

“She’s sweet, and I’m certain she’s found the fountain of youth.” I turned my attention back to London.

“Aunt Vanessa knows the secret to life—paving your own way and finding what brings you peace. She was the first person to get out of the family business. You can say I followed her lead.” The look in London’s eyes as he spoke about his aunt Vanessa was refreshing. The admiration and respect he had for her was breathtaking. Men didn’t admire women where I came from.

“That’s amazing. The women in my family were all married away before I could form any bonds with them.”

“Wow, I was going to ask you if there was anyone you wanted to send a message to… Let them know you're okay.”

I shrugged.

“It’s just been my father and I since my mother passed away. My dad is an only child so no aunts or uncles. I am close to Contessa, she’s married to my dad, but we have more of a sisterly bond. She’s only a few years older than me. She’s pregnant with my sibling. If my disappearance would disturb anyone, it would be her.”

He nodded as I talked.

“I can get a message to her. Her being married to your father, though, that’s risky.”

“Contessa wouldn’t rat me out. She knows this lifestyle.” I assured him. He nodded.

“I’ll get a message to her, Chocolate.”

His promise filled my heart. I knew Contessa would be worried sick about me. I would hate for her to have complications with her pregnancy because of me. My last sibling didn’t make it into this world, and I couldn’t imagine being the cause of losing this one.

Just like she’d said, Aunt Vanessa had prepared almost everything I could think of to eat for breakfast. I stared at the table. It was loaded with bacon, eggs, sausage, ham, French toast, pancakes, oatmeal, omelets, and fresh fruit. I didn’t know how two people were going to eat it all.

“Oh wow, this a lot of food.”

“Aunt Vanessa overdoes it sometimes. Whatever we don’t eat we can give to the kids over at the shelter. They love Aunt Vanessa’s leftovers. I’ll have them box it up, and we can drop it there on the way back.”

A man with a heart was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen. For a second, I stared at him.

“You good?”

“Yeah, umm, that’s a great idea.” I cut my eyes away from him and turned my attention to the food.

“Awesome, eat up. You need fuel. I got a lot to show you today.” London bit into a pancake. I began eating, but my eyes kept stealing glances of London. He was different—a breath of fresh air. I kept wondering when he would show his true colors and exercise his control over me, just like every man had done before him. Men weren’t capable of being my safe place because they would just take advantage of my weaknesses. The more I thought about it, the more I stared at London. What is your flaw?

“How’s your food?” London gazed up at me.

“Great! I may have overdone it. My food baby isn’t happy.” I rubbed my belly. I was stuffed from attempting to taste a little bit of everything. London’s aunt could really throw down. It had been a long time since I’d been able to eat like this without scrutiny. Kashus always had something to say about my weight. So much that I tiptoed around him to eat.

“I’ll have Aunt Vanessa box up the leftovers.” He flagged down one of the servers. When she arrived at the table, London instructed her on what he planned to do with the food. She nodded as she removed the leftovers from the table.

“We can take our time walking the beach on our way to the shelter,” London instructed.

“Yes, I need to walk off this food.” I laughed just as Alyza returned to our table with three bags of food.

“Ma prepared more food to drop by the children’s shelter.” Alyza set the bags on the table. “I can come with, if this is too much to carry,” she offered.

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