Page 2 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

“Kitty, wait!”

Before Haley could say another word, the single good thing in my life seemingly melted out of the shadows and cleared his throat.

Haley jumped at his sudden arrival and retracted her hand with a squeal.

“What the hell? Who are you?”

Rook Lewin.

My personal bodyguard and quite possibly the sexiest man I had ever seen in my life. He had become my shadow in the summer after several death threats reached my father over his new deal and he grew concerned about my safety. Suddenly, our regular security team wasn’t enough, so he reached out to an old Army friend and secured me a silent, sexy shadow to keep me safe under any circumstances.

I hated the idea at first, but over the past few months, I had come to appreciate having Rook watching over me. Mainly because he was drop-dead gorgeous. He was a lot older than me, a lot gruffer too, but there was something about him that had me hooked within a few days. He was the kind of dirty sexy that made me want to strip off all my clothes and writhe against him until we were both sweaty and spent.

It was a hidden desire since Rook only ever looked at me with one thing in mind—protection. And a paycheck, I supposed.

“Is everything alright here?” Rook asked in his deep, rumbly voice. My gut clenched just at the sound, and the smile I flashed him was genuine.

“Of course it is,” Haley snapped. “This has nothing to do with you, so carry on, little man.”

Little man?

I smirked up at Rook. He was anything but little, standing a full head taller than the both of us and with enough packed muscle hidden underneath that blue shirt that I was sure he could get hit by a truck and he would leave a dent.

“Haley.” I pulled her attention back to me. “This is Rook. My bodyguard.”

“Bodyguard?” She sneered slightly and then glanced back at Rook. It was then she apparently realized just how attractive Rook was because she straightened her posture and cocked out one hip to rest her hand on. “Like, a personal bodyguard?”

“Yes,” I replied.

Rook, upon realizing there was no threat here with Haley, moved off down the aisle and stopped near the end.

“Does he do private work?” Haley asked, turning back to me and biting her lip.

“Didn’t you just tell me you were getting engaged? He’s not going toprivatelywork anything for you.”

“I’m engaged, sure.” Haley sighed wistfully, staring after Rook. “But it’s not a done deal until we sign on that line.”

The longer she stared after Rook, the more irritated I grew. Rook wasn’t mine in any regard, but seeing her lust after him ignited hot jealousy in my chest and it simmered just beneath my ribs.

“He’s not available for hire because he’s working for my father,” I said stiffly.

“Lucky.” Haley sighed dramatically, then she turned back to me and smiled. “Anyway, have your mother call me!”

With that, Haley flounced off down the aisle toward where Rook had stationed himself. From here, I couldn’t make out what she was saying when she stopped next to him, but it was amusing to watch her act. She tilted her hip, flipped her hair, and shoved her tits in his face, but Rook was a perfect professional. He only glanced at her and remained a stoic statue for the duration of her flirting.

Eventually, Haley moved on and I watched Rook’s shoulders relax a fraction. In her absence, the jealousy in my chest eased. It had taken some getting used to, being followed around by a single man rather than a security team that would wait outside, but I was grateful. Especially now.

I resumed my slow walk down the aisle, and as I turned up into the next one, Rook joined me.

“She was a friend of yours?” he asked carefully. Rook always spoke as if he were giving great thought to his words and making sure they were worth saying before he voiced them.

“Apparently,” I murmured, dragging my attention over the fresh new rows of Christmas baubles. “We went to school together. Why, do you want to see her again?”

“She wasn’t on the list your father provided,” Rook continued. “Is she someone I should be wary of?”

“Sure, if by wary you mean she’s just a leech looking for her next rung on the ladder to disgustingly rich.” Perhaps her sudden arrival had irritated me more than I realized. I sighed deeply, pausing in front of a row of mini Santa lights. “She just wanted an invite to the Yuletide Ball. My parents have successfully turned a charity event into an elite party, and she wants in, that’s all. I don’t expect we’ll see her again.”

“Noted.” Rook continued to walk beside me for a few more minutes. “Are you okay?”

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