Page 56 of Billionaire Protector

“No, she hasn’t,” Cole broke in. He smiled. Widely.

Oh, she was going to get him. But first, she had to get out of this. “I don’t need a turn today. There’s a lot of people here and–”

“I’d love to hear it,” Cole plowed through her excuse like a rhinoceros riding a bulldozer. “Who wants to hear Sarah’s story?”

The crowd applauded. Then the moderator passed her a copy of her work, and everyone was looking at her expectantly. “Here you go. If you weren’t here last meeting, Sarah is writing a romance.”

She didn’t look at Cole as she took the page, which didn’t disappear into thin air as she hoped. At least she knew better than to include one of the hotter scenes with this audience. Instead, she’d chosen a relatively innocuous page – or so she thought – the meet-cute where the heroine and hero meet for the first time. Only it posed its own problems. By complete accident, an utter coincidence really, the hero may be construed to look a little like Cole. A teeny-tiny bit. Really only noticeable if one were to turn their head and squint.

Well, maybe more than a little.

Yup, they were pretty much identical.

With no choice, she began, “He stood 6’3 tall, heavily muscled as if made of pure steel.”

A few people turned to Cole.

“He had blond hair like the sandy shore.”

More people turned to Cole.

“His emerald eyes held uncanny intelligence, his chiseled jaw strength, his stance fierce control. If there was one thing that could be said about this man, he was pure power.”

Pretty much everyone turned toward Cole as Sarah continued her stroll through the bowels of hell. “He possessed the perfect body, powerful and muscular like a lion. Like the king of his world, he guided those around him, safeguarding all who need help. He’s always played his part of hero, ever since his days in the Marines.”

Oh yeah, and he was in the military, too.

And now for the worst part. “Every part of his body was solid. None so much as his–” Sarah hesitated… and everyone leaned in. But she could only whisper it, “Ass.”

There was silence.

Pure, pure silence.

Until, the minister’s grandmother, sitting at the far end of the circle, leaned closer. “I didn’t hear you, dear. What did you say?”

Where was the dirty police work when you needed it? The vandals, thieves and arsonists – hell, she’d even take a murderer.

“Ass,” she repeated.

“I’m sorry, a little louder.”

“Ass,” she said again.

“One more time?”

“Ass!” she shouted.

And there it was.The minister’s grandmother stared, the world stopped and everyone in the known universe looked at her as if she’d turned into a rabbit. Well, except for Cole.

He was looking at her with the intensity of the king of the jungle she’d just described. And the worst part was, she’d written this before he’d ever returned, before she’d started thinking about him daily. Before he’d infiltrated her life.

She folded the paper, then folded it again and once more. “That’s all I’ve got for today.”

“Thank you, dear,” Harmony said in a strained voice. “Are there any constructive comments anyone would like to share?”

The women, who had been so eager to give their opinions of the other entries, all apparently forgot how to speak. Only their expressions shared a thousand opinions as they glanced between her and Cole. Finally, one of the women called out, “Was that supposed to be Cole?”

Jackpot!

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