Page 24 of The Bodyguard and the Bombshell

Obvious relief flooded through her, and she proved she did not have any instinct for when a predator was stalking her, planning on eating her alive. “Oh, yes. That. We had fun. I would love to hear how she’s doing, but I don’t want to be a bother. I can grab an Uber.”

That wasn’t happening. He knew why she was going in.

Daisy O’Donnell needed a bodyguard.

He happened to be a bodyguard.

The math was simple. One plus one was going to equal that little brat in his bed. “Oh, I’m sure your father would have a problem with you being alone. Come along. We should get in so you can meet your new bodyguard.”

“I don’t…” Carys began.

“No, you don’t”—Nate moved into Daisy’s space—“have to do a thing. I’m a trained guard. I’m going to the same place as a young lady who needs protection. I’ll deliver her straight to her dad.”

“You will?” Daisy asked, looking around like someone would save her.

“Daisy…” Carys kept trying, but it looked like she wasn’t completely sure what she thought was going on was actually going on.

“Baby, are you all right?” Aidan asked. “She’s fine with Nate. I’ve known Nate Carter since I was a kid. She’s perfectly safe with him. I assure you my father would let Nate watch over her. His parents are my parents’ closest friends.”

Yeah, he should give his dad a call to let him know he was about to blow their friendship all to hell.

Because she wasn’t getting away from him.

“Yeah, I can’t think of a reason to not go,” Daisy said with a nervous smile. “Like not a single one because we’re all friends. So, we should head out.”

Trouble. Everyone said Daisy O’Donnell was trouble.

It looked like he was up for a bit of chaos.

Chapter Six

She hadn’t been able to think of a reason to not get in the car with the gorgeous man she’d slept with the night before. The man who could never know she was Dee.

It was like she was a heroine in one of her Aunt Serena’s books except they always got a happily ever after, and she was not getting one of those.

Tragic. She was a tragic heroine.

Damn, but this was awkward.

She couldn’t stand the silence. He hadn’t even turned on the radio, simply started driving toward the office once she’d buckled her seat belt. “So, how is your sister doing? It’s been years since I saw her. I probably wouldn’t even recognize her now.”

He chuckled, a deep sound that reminded her of the night before. “Well, since she was only eight the last time you were around, I would definitely say no. When we moved back to Australia, she got into dance. Which is funny since we lived in London for so long and yet she didn’t start dancing until she was in a tiny town out in the bush. Miss Addie’s Dance Studio. She was one of five girls. She was with Miss Addie for years.”

This was much easier. She remembered Elodie as a sweet kid she used to hang out with when they visited. “Mom told me she’s probably going to be with a dance troupe. Is it ballet?”

“Mostly, though she does a lot of modern dance. Pretty much any kind. It’s been her obsession since she was a kid. I always wonder what it would feel like to know what you’re supposed to do,” Nate said.

She knew the feeling. “I grew up around a guy who knew he wanted to be a surgeon from the age of seven when he went with Mom to visit your mom’s clinic. He came back and all he could talk about was how amazing Aunt Steph is. And she is. I’m pretty sure my da kept waiting for him to get bored with it, but Aidan never did. He had a path in life from a super-young age, and he’s followed it. Tris leaving is the only thing that’s ever gone sideways for my brother.”

“Then why does Liam talk like Aidan doesn’t have a brain in his head and you’re some kind of saint?” Nate asked.

Daisy let her head fall back against the seat. “I don’t know. It’s not like I lie to him. I sometimes think it’s because he feels bad about how I turned out.” She knew her da loved her, but she wondered if he wanted to know her. The Daisy she truly was. “I’ve been told I can be a handful. I don’t try to be. It’s hard to compete with a golden boy. I mean in a regular family the whole I’m going to share my wife with another dude thing would have helped me out. But no, I had to be born into a kink-friendly family. I know they worry about me. A lot.”

“Well, if half the stories I’ve heard are true, I can’t blame them for worrying.” He turned at the light. “So you’re going to hang around the office?”

She sat beside him, though there was plenty of space in the big cab. His truck was definitely Nate sized. “I’m going to be working there for a while.”

But not forever because she was going to figure out her life. Hearing Nate tell her he understood why her parents worried made her feel perfectly secure in her decision to not tell him she was Dee. He would be horrified.

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