Page 20 of Vicious Sabotage

“Why don’t you get started on the bar?” Before Melanie could add to Livia’s already overactive awareness of Wolfe, she left her to the whiskey.

When she returned to the bar, she found the SEAL back on the ladder, this time in another corner. She busied herself by cleaning glasses, but Melanie interrupted when she dragged a crate behind the bar to stock the new whiskey.

“Just wow,” she said again in a loud whisper.

“Stop looking at him! You’re only making him more full of himself!”

A snort sounded from near the ceiling, where Wolfe was hanging a camera.

“Well, he is handy. And all glisteny. He looks hot up there on the ladder. Maybe he needs a drink.”

“Somebody save me,” Livia muttered to herself.

Another snort came, louder this time.

“I wouldn’t kick him out of my bed for eating crackers.”

At that moment, Wolfe turned his head, giving Livia a perfect view of his chiseled profile—and his cocky smirk.

Then to her shock and chagrin, he grabbed the wood beam that spanned the bar and performed a series of pullups.

His strong body hitching up and down, up and down, up and down.

She watched him go. Melanie’s head bobbed with him.

When he planted his feet on the step of the ladder again, Livia waved a hand as if shooing off a horsefly. A horse’s ass, more like.

“Why are guys so dramatic?”

“He’s pretty perfect.” Melanie wore a silly smile.

“He’s not my type.”

“Honey, he’s everyone’s type.”

“Get back to work!”

Melanie laughed to herself as she continued stocking alcohol. Livia needed to do some bookwork, but she didn’t trust Wolfe not to blurt out all the troubles to her employee. And rumors in Eden were like a plague of locusts—they overtook the town in minutes. The last thing she needed was word to get out about the break-in or Wolfe’s reason for being here.

She couldn’t let word get around that she’d shot that man. Only Ivy and Meadow Gracey, Colton, Hunter and Wolfe knew about it. Colton mentioned speaking to the local police department about it, but she hadn’t heard of it happening, and no cops had come to speak to her.

Suddenly, Wolfe moved behind the counter with her.

“Run out of places to do pullups?”

His lips quirked. The carved line in his cheek also caused small crinkles to appear at the corner of his eyes.

Her stomach flipped and butterflies fluttered around.

“I’m installing a camera back here. To watch the register.”

“If you must. When you’re done, you can go back to the ranch.” She stood back, overseeing the work. After all, if he was making improvements to her bar, she should be aware of the quality of work. Livia didn’t do anything halfway.

At this moment, she was throwing her all into being irritated with the show-off SEAL who insisted on guarding her life.

* * * * *

Wolfe had been showing off, but only to get a rise out of Livia. He’d heard every whisper between her and her waitress about him. While the waitress seemed to like what she saw, he was more interested in Livia’s thoughts about him.

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