Page 126 of South Beach Bodyguards

“The movers are done. They need you to sign their paperwork out front.”

I jumped, startled out of my dirty fantasy by Alejandro speaking. “Oh geez, you scared me.”

“What were you daydreaming about?” he asked. “Your cheeks are pink.”

I bit my lip. “Things I have no business daydreaming about. Ever.”

His eyes narrowed. “Tell me about it. I want to hear what you have no business thinking about.”

I couldn’t tell him I was thinking about him doing me from behind over my sink. But I did have a question for him. “Why sex, Alejandro? Explain it to me.”

He just went for a glass of water and wiped his forehead. “Go take care of the movers, Miranda.”

His voice was casual. Yet it felt a little bossy. “Hey, don’t tell me what to do. I’m still older than you.”

“I thought you liked a dominant man. You were with my brother, after all.”

That shocked me and pissed me off. I opened my mouth but I couldn’t think of anything to say. He had a point. I stormed off and went to handle the moving bill. I smiled and signed the paperwork and said my thanks and the whole time I was trying to find the best words to put Alejandro in his place. What had he known about my relationship with Max? Max hadn’t been abusive toward me at all. But he had been dominant. The middle child of three girls, I had craved the attention he gave me. At twenty years old having him tell me what to do had felt like affection, caring. He had nurtured me.

My mind was racing, trying to remember how Max and Alejandro had gotten along. It seemed to me that they had been close. No animosity.

“Your husband is the first guy I’ve seen who can keep up with us,” the guy who had introduced himself as Javi said. “If he needs a job we’re always hiring.”

Annoyed with Alejandro, for forcing me to be honest about the past, yet grateful he had saved me some money by helping out, I gave a non-committal smile. “I’ll let him know.”

Alejandro came to the door, his shirt back on, and cheerfully waved to the guys. “Gracias, man, appreciate it.”

“No problem. Take care of your beautiful wife.” Javi gave me a wink. “Have a nice day and good luck with the baby making.”

Annoyed with both of them I just rolled my eyes. “Thanks. Why don’t you tell my husband to stop putting conditions on my request and just give me a baby?”

Javi ripped the paper off his clipboard and handed me a receipt. He glanced over at Alejandro. “Did you ask for a boat first or something? Damn, I should have done that. I didn’t even think to negotiate.”

“I doubt I’ll win this round,” Alejandro said.

This wasn’t a game. This wasn’t cute. It wasn’t a flirtation. This was my life. My future. My child.

I thanked the mover again and just pushed Alejandro back into the house. “Stop making a joke out of this,” I said to him after he closed the door. I was furious. “And what is your problem with your brother? Why do I have to admit to you that maybe Max wasn’t a perfect person? Which is stupid, I might add, because no one is perfect.”

“Max was a dick,” he said baldly. “A complete selfish, narcissistic asshole. And you’re the only one who doesn’t think so.”

Whatever I had expected him to say, it wasn’t that. I gasped. “Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about?”

Alejandro leaned against my front door and crossed his arms over his chest. “Max was a dick,” he repeated. “He was a bully, a liar, manipulative, and shady as fuck. You have to know that. You can’t possibly believe that he was a model citizen.”

I was stunned. I had had no idea that Alejandro felt that way about Max. “So what does that make you? You always pretended to be cool with your brother. So are you a manipulative liar too?”

“I’m a peace keeper.” He smiled and held his hands out. “I always have been. Always will be. I learned at an early age that Max was good at using people and fooling people and that I looked like a jealous younger brother if I said anything.”

“Speaking of, yeah, you do.” I was outraged. Max had been far from perfect, I knew that. He was manipulative and he had a cruel streak that surfaced when we fought. But he was a good, kind man who had loved me and his family. “Max cared about you.”

But Alejandro just scoffed. “Max never cared about anything but himself. He was very good at playing the game.”

That was just insulting. “So you think that he didn’t care about me? That I’m just an idiot?” God, it was like everything I had ever thought destroyed in just a few words. I was staring at Alejandro feeling like I didn’t know him at all.

Zoe’s accusation rose up in my mind, ugly and unpleasant. A niggle of concern started deep inside me and began to pulse, refusing to let me ignore it.

“I think he cared about you,” he said softly, his voice heavy with regret. “I’m not trying to hurt you, Miranda. I just need you to understand that if I do this, give you a child, one, you know I’m doing it for you. Because this is what you want. And two, that you realize it won’t be a recreation of Max. It will be my child, and ultimately Max and I are nothing alike.”

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