Page 123 of South Beach Bodyguards

It was true I wanted to have a baby desperately with him. But I also wanted to know what he knew.

My phone buzzed in my purse. Speak of the charming devil.

We need to talk.

We certainly did.

five

Miranda had agreed to meet me to talk the day after her move. What she didn’t realize was by “talk” I meant strip off our clothes and fuck all damn night. I’d explain that part once I was in her house. Okay, I really did want to talk to her. I also wanted to offer a hand.

She had brushed off my offer to help her move, but that didn’t mean she didn’t need assistance. It just meant she was stubborn as hell and unsure of what was going on between us. So I went to her new place anyway, despite her telling me not to after I had texted her, and found her standing in the driveway looking both flustered and sexy. She looked like old school Miami, when criminals and pinup girls ruled the beach. Her hair was big and blond, her sunglasses white and round, her top off the shoulder and tight. She was wearing sandals with heels and directing a two-man moving crew with lots of hand wringing and odd noises.

“Oh geez, I don’t know. The living room?” she asked the one guy who was standing there with a lamp in one hand and a box under the other arm. “Do you think it will fit?”

He just stared at her blankly and waited.

“Yes, the living room. I can move it later if I need to.” She exhaled, the puff of air actually moving the hair on her forehead briefly.

I strolled up the drive, amused. “Moving sucks, doesn’t it?” I asked her.

She looked at me, startled. “Oh, hey. What are you doing here? And I have no idea. I’ve never moved before. But I have to admit, this is a little overwhelming.”

“That’s why when people offer to help you, you say yes.” I leaned over and kissed her briefly, before she would have time to pull away.

Her cheeks turned pink and she was so goddamn beautiful it hurt my heart.

“Lesson learned,” she said breathlessly. “Thanks for coming by. You said we needed to talk anyway.”

“That can wait. Tell me what you need me to do. I’m here to sweat on your behalf.”

Her eyes widened. “Oh my. That is an offer I can’t refuse.”

She wasn’t going to refuse any of my offers before we were done. Hell, if I had my way, we’d never be done. Miranda had come back into my life unexpectedly, but that wasn’t surprising. Sooner or later it was likely she would have returned to Miami. What was far too tempting to pass up was that she had asked me for a baby. To me, it was just a sign that we were meant to continue to know each other. To be something. Lovers, for sure. It was more than I had ever expected to have, and I was grabbing it by the fucking fists and holding on tight.

This was my fantasy, sprung to life. The moment when I got to play out all those thoughts that had rolled around in my teen head. Only it was going to be better, because it was real.

I wanted it to be as real as possible.

“Good,” I told her. “I don’t want you to refuse me.”

She knew what I meant. She heard the double meaning. There was sexual tension zinging between us in the driveway. It was noon and we both were turned on. For me, it was a pleasant reminder of how amazing this was going to be. For her part, she looked equally turned on and terrified.

“I don’t remember you being such a naughty boy,” she murmured.

“You just weren’t paying attention.” I winked at her. “Besides, if you haven’t noticed I’m more man than boy now.”

Miranda rolled her eyes. The movers came back out of the house and went into the truck. They were lifting out a sofa.

“Where did all this furniture come from?” I asked.

“My parents. They sold their house and downsized to a condo in Broward. They bought all new stuff and gave me the old, which is awesome, because obviously I have nothing.” She pressed her hands to her cheeks. “I can’t believe this is actually my place. This is so cool and amazing.”

“It’s a cute house. Can you give me a tour?”

“Sure. I mean, it’s just a rental, but I’m planning to be here at least two to three years. I’ll be done with school in two.” She started towards the house.

It was a squat midcentury style painted a peach color. It was actually a duplex, the house attached to it a mirror image. Both had turquoise doors. The neighbor’s stoop had yellow pots with flowers in it and two yellow rocking chairs on the patchy grass. There was a pumpkin next to the flowers. A nod to the season. I liked to see they were taking care of their half. It was a good indicator of decent neighbors.

---