Page 137 of South Beach Bodyguards

It was cool. I wondered if Miranda knew how cool she really was. She tended to downplay herself a little, surrounded as she had been for years by huge egos. She wasn’t one to brag about herself, but I thought she was really damn accomplished. “She beat out like two hundred people for that job,” I said.

“Alejandro, I don’t think they care about that,” she said, looking embarrassed.

“I care. You should be proud of what you’ve done.”

She laughed. “Thanks, Dad.”

“Just curious,” Olivia said. “What did you think of Ricardo? Because I can’t stand my brother-in-law.”

Wester gave her a look. “You can’t ask someone a loaded question like that. Totally awkward, Liv.”

“Sorry, that’s a fair point. I just really hate him so let’s just strike that question from the record.”

“No, it’s fine. I barely met him. But I can’t say I had a particularly fabulous response to Ricardo. He told me I was cute enough but I could benefit from a nose job.”

“That’s Ricardo.” Olivia shook her head.

“You don’t need a nose job,” I said, annoyed. Miranda was beautiful just the way she was.

“I’m okay with my nose. That wasn’t my point. It’s all good.” Then Miranda waved her hands around. “I’m so sorry for the mess. Today was moving day, and I am a little behind in my unpacking, but I did find the glasses and I went to the store. Can I get you anything to drink?”

How ridiculous was that? She was playing hostess. Actually, it was the cutest damn thing ever. What was ridiculous was how damn proud of her I was. I looked at her and saw an amazing person. Humble, kind, put-together. Adept at making people feel comfortable. I wanted her to be mine. I wanted this to be my house and her my wife, with our child sleeping in the other room.

The need hit me hard, catching me off guard. Sure, I had always crushed on Miranda. I had been fixated on having sex with her, fulfilling that fantasy, and it had been better than I had ever expected. But fuck, this was more than that and it scared the shit out of me. I needed to get a fucking grip and take a step back. This was about Miranda. What she wanted. Her fresh start. Her new life. It wasn’t about me.

I didn’t know how I felt about being a father. But I did know how I felt about Miranda being a mother. She would be amazing.

And I wanted to knock her up. I wanted to give her a baby, whether I was involved with the child or not.

Both Wester and Olivia said no, thanks to Miranda’s offer of a drink so I explained to Wester about the appearance of the cat, who was currently rubbing against Olivia’s leg, raising his head for her to rub. She complied and said, “Hi, cutie.”

I gestured to the apartment next door. “Wes, you’ve got to see this.” Before Miranda could speak I said, “Stay here this time.” Then because it sounded so dominant, I added a token, “Please.”

I expected her to protest but she stayed silent.

This time I cut through the back yard and showed Wester the eerie emptiness of the apartment next door. It didn’t take him long to come to the same conclusion as me. “That’s surveillance. Dude, I would sweep Miranda’s apartment for bugs and cameras. Maybe the guy is just a pervert. Maybe it’s something else. Does she have anything in her past, a stalker?”

“Not that I’m aware of but I’ll ask her more questions.” If I were honest with myself, I didn’t know dick about Miranda’s life. Not even when she had been with Max, but definitely not in the years since. “But I know I can’t let her stay here alone until I’ve gone through it.”

Wester shook his head. “Fuck no. I’ll help you check the apartment.”

“Thanks. I had known this was totally off but I was glad that somehow my emotions weren’t just clouding the situation, you know what I’m saying?”

His eyebrows shot up. “So why exactly are you emotional about Miranda? Is this a new thing because I thought you were all about the hit and quit.”

“Miranda was dating my brother when I was in high school. I just care about her that’s all.”

Now Wester looked more than a little surprised. “You have a brother? I had no idea.”

“Yes.”

“Where does he live?”

We had retraced our steps and we were on Miranda’s patio. I didn’t want her to hear me talking about Max negatively. I had already made my position pretty damn clear. I didn’t want her to think I was harping on it. But I couldn’t lie either. “No fucking clue,” I said. “Miranda thinks he’s dead but I think he just bounced. Just rolled out and left her.”

“Damn.” Wester rubbed his chin. “Were they still together at the time?”

I nodded. “She thinks he was abducted. Mistaken identity in a drug deal gone wrong. I think he was walking away from a crime he didn’t want to get busted for.”

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