Page 41 of Not Exactly a Small-Town Romance

Kelsey tilts her head, taking in the image. “Yeah, it’s weird. I’ve never pulled the Two of Cups or the Lovers before, and here I’ve gotten them both regarding this trip.” She winks at me. “Almost makes you believe it’s actually magic.”

I don’t like it. More nonsense to mess with Kelsey’s very solid common sense. And it’s my fault—again. First with the fortune teller, and this time encouraging her to use her deck.

But I stuff all this down. My negativity won’t help in this moment. “Does it mean what it sounds like?”

“Not always.” She takes the card from me. “It can mean soulmate, or a powerful bond. It isn’t always about a lover in the usual sense.”

Soulmate.Now that’s a word. Has she ever had one? Have I? Is it even a thing?

I’m not a believer in that, either. I can’t be, not in my line of work.

Kelsey leaves the Lovers card on top and puts the deck back into its tin.

“How many decks did you bring?” I ask.

“Uh. A few.” She drops the tin into her bag. “What was your plan?”

There’s a note in her voice I’m not sure about, like maybe I ought to think about leaving.

I shift away from her. “I wanted to check on you.”

“Six hours of driving? When we could talk on the phone?” She returns to her cross-legged position, and I work to keep my gaze off the miles of skin between her socks and her shorts.

“I haven’t gotten a good set of bloody knuckles in a while.”

She tugs her sweater around her middle more tightly, like she’s cold, or shy, or maybe uncomfortable. I probably should leave.

“I’m okay, you know. I’m not a damsel in distress.”

I was worried she would draw that conclusion. “I never thought you were. But maybe you could use a wingman?”

She considers this, plucking a loose string on the worn bedspread. “Maybe.”

“I’ll totally stay out of the way. I’m just the bodyguard.”

“Like Kevin Costner to Whitney Houston?” she asks.

If only.

“I was thinking more Secret Service to the First Lady.”

She squints an eye. “You don’t have the right look.”

I hold a finger to my ear like I’m listening to instructions. “I have the perimeter secure.”

She laughs and knocks my hand down. “Okay, I tell you what. You can stay for a little while. But if I get my sea legs, I might need you to step aside. I’m from a small town, so I know how the guys often think. They might not be secure enough in who they are to have a handsome, famous man like you nearby.”

“Handsome, eh?”

She shoves me, and I pretend it’s hard enough that I fall off the bed to land on the floor. I peer over the edge of the mattress. “You think I’m handsome.”

“Every woman in the world thinks you’re handsome. Now get back up here and do my bidding, bodyguard. You work for me.”

I return to the corner of the bed. “I can be inconspicuous.”

She lifts a single eyebrow, a look that kills me. “Right. You are about as inconspicuous as a Hemsworth.”

“Comparing me to a Hemsworth. You really do love me.”

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