Page 6 of Second Chance for Mr. Alden

Blanche wiggled her fingers in a wave and smiled at our benefactor.

I leaned forward to get a better look at who she’d waved to. He had dark brown hair that was waved into the perfectly stylized cut, and a physique that could grace a romance novel, but he was not someone I wanted to see.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I whispered under my breath.

Could this day get any worse?

He tipped his glass toward us and gave a smile I was sure had caused many panties to drop, except for mine.

Colette twittered a laugh that made me want to punch her in the throat.

Blanche fluffed up her hair. “I wonder whose attention he meant to catch, because let me tell you, he’s an attractive man. I’d ride him like a bronco.”

I held back my groan. There was no way I’d admit to either one of them that I knew the individual who’d sent the drinks. In fact, I’d been avoiding him for months. He was the reason for my fake engagement with Jax. My parents had been over the top insistent I marry him, and I refused to give in.

“Well, as fun as this has been, I think it’s time for me to leave.” I started to toss my things into my handbag.

Gage must have gotten the hint. He moved to stand next to my cabana. “Ms. Sulton. We should be going.”

“Aren’tyouyummy,” Blanche murmured, her eyes fixated on Gage. If he’d been close enough, she’d probably have run her fingers down his body.

Colette fluttered her eyelashes and bit her lip, trying to look seductive.

I wanted to gag. Not because Gage wasn’t a good-looking guy, with his large frame, blond hair, and ice blue eyes, but because these two were so obvious.

“Thank you,” I said, not bothering to offer Gage’s name. I knew it would drive them nuts.

“Oh, well, next time let us know when you’ll be here, and we can grab lunch.” Colette gave me an air kiss.

“Mm-hmm.” I wrapped my sarong around my waist and quickly moved past them. I slid five hundred dollars out of the side of my purse. “Gage, can you give this to my server? I’d rather not stick around, but I want to make sure she gets this.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Ms. Sulton. My job is to protect you. Not leave you exposed.”

“Get over it, Gage. I’m only going to change in my private suite and then we can head out. You won’t see me for five minutes.”

He shook his head.

Damn.He was just as stubborn as Alden. “Fine.” I detoured to where my server stood, far too close to Jareth, the man I was avoiding.

“Thank you for everything today.” I handed the money to Anna, ignoring Jareth. With the tip settled, I strode to the door that would take me from the rooftop to the private suites members used to change in.

Gage and his incredibly long legs got there first and opened the door. I stood to the side, knowing the drill. I had to wait until he checked out the hallway before allowing me to enter.

He waved me in. “So what’s up with the guy at the bar?”

I stiffened. “Who?”

“Don’t fuck around, Jess. Your whole demeanor changed when you got close to him, and I saw that he sent you those drinks.”

I sighed and moved ahead of Gage, hoping he’d let it drop. I barely talked about Jareth to Alden, and I sure as hell didn’t want to get into it with Gage.

“Jess,” Gage’s tone was full of warning.

“It’s not a big deal.” I spun around, my eyes narrowed, my hands at my hips. “And don’t play coy. You and I both know Alden has told you exactly who he is. I’m sure you know his stats better than I do. My parents decided to offload me, and Jareth is the lucky guy. We have an unofficial arranged marriage type thing that I’m trying to get out of.”

Gage blinked a few times. “Well, shit. He should’ve fucking told me the arranged marriage bit.”

I was surprised. Alden was thorough and a damn good bodyguard. Yes, I’d hired him because of our shared history, but I’d also looked him up before I approached him. He was excellent at his job. If someone needed a bodyguard, Alden was who they reached out to and he would do what he had to in order to keep me safe, including sharing personal details of my life with Gage.

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