Page 25 of The Bodyguard

Raising my head, slowly, I look at Bodie. Right at him. I mean, I’ve said it now, I might as well run with it. “And I’ve never been scared… never admitted to being scared. My family taught me not to be, there was never any need, that’s what they said. There was never a need for me to be scared, tofeelscared, but they lied to me.”

“Maybe they just tried to shield you from the worst of it?”

He’s trying to play devil’s advocate, I can tell.

“You, becoming CEO of Nielsen Construction, that gave you some sense of normality, right?”

“I suppose so. But in reality was it not just their way of distracting me? Giving me another direction to look in while they carried on with whatever shit it is they do?”

“Youwantedto be involved in that side of things?”

I thought I did. I always thought I did, but now I’m not that sure. “I was never really given the option of taking that route.”

“Then maybe everything your family did: the things they kept from you, were they not just doing what they thought was best, for you?”

“But in the long run, look where that’s got me. And I get their reasons for doing it, I do, but now – now it’s like I’m not prepared for what could happen here. And there’s a part of me that’s angry because I was kept out of the loop for so long, and I should’ve fought to stop that from happening…”

“Is that how you really feel?”

“I’m sorry?”

“Your life’s been good, so far. Right?”

“Well, apart from the blip that was my cheating arse-hole of an ex-fiancé, yes. It has.”

“Despite your family – who they are: what they do, the things they’ve done, you’ve managed to stay on the perimeter of it all, yes?”

I nod, my eyes fixed on his, and the sparkle hasn’t come back but there’s a – I don’t know, a warmth there now, and that definitely wasn’t there before. Or I just never saw it. Refused, to see it.

“Do you regret having the freedom that lack of knowledge gave you?”

“No, of course not. But what I’m trying to say is it didn’t prepare me for what’s happening now. All it did was give me a false sense of security, and that’s what makes me angry.”

“You said you were scared.”

“I am. And I hate admitting that, I hate feeling like things are out of my control, but all of this – it’s way out of my comfort zone. Whereas you, I don’t think you’re out of yours.”

“Which is why I need to be here. And I get that you’re scared, and that’s okay. I’d be more concerned if you weren’t, feeling too comfortable can mean you drop your guard.”

“Isn’t that whyyou’rehere? To make sure I don’t drop my guard?”

He smiles, and that sparkle returns, so much so that it appears to make his blue eyes seem a shade or two lighter, or maybe I’m just imagining that.

“Yes. That’s exactly why I’m here. But, you know, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t looking forward to spending so much time with an entitled princess.”

“See? Iknewthat’s what you thought of me.”

“It’s what I assumed you weregoingto be. In the beginning.” He sits back and looks out around him, it’s getting busier down here on the Quayside, because it’s Friday afternoon. Almost the weekend. “But now….”

“But now, what?”

He lets a beat pass before he answers, and I think he did that on purpose. “Let’s just say my opinion might be changing.”

“Wow. Thanks for that.”

He flashes me another grin, and I shake my head, but I can’t stop myself from smiling. And then he leans forward, and he’s looking right at me now, and I don’t know whether it’s because I’m drinking on an empty stomach, or because he’s just caught me off-guard, but my insides are reacting in a way I’d rather they didn’t. Maybe we should ask for a menu, hungry or not I should probably eat something. And they do some pretty decent sandwiches here, nothing too heavy.

“You know, maybe we need to ramp things up a little. Before tomorrow night.”

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