Page 99 of The Billionaire Bodyguard Next Door

He pinched his eyes closed. “I know that. Trust me. It's just, I still remember that night, getting to know this amazing woman and feeling hopeful.”

I swallowed. I didn't want to hurt him. Carter was a good person, just not good for me.

There’s no comparison in my mind and yet I still don't want to hurt this man.

He clutched the back of his neck. “I don't want to make this awkward, Luna.”

Too late.

“I just want to know that you're happy,” he said with the earnestness of a golden retriever. “That's all, then I'll never bring up our past again. I promise.”

My eyes searched the room, immediately finding Beck. He tilted his head, a silentAre you okay?Because you know I have no qualms about making sure this man knows you aren't his.

I shook my head at Beck, just a small movement to call him off. My heart thudded in my chest thinking about how much I adore him. I know standing down was against his baser instincts and yet he did it because he knew I could handle it.

I reached over and grabbed Carter's forearm. “I love Beck,” and I probably should tell him that myself. “He's my person.”

Carter flinched, and then tried to cover it up with a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. “I'm happy for you.”

I gently knocked him in the shoulder. “I'm happy for me, too. Tell me about your lady friend. You like her?”

He smiled. “Delaney is great.”

Carter segued easily into sharing about how they met and as he did, my shoulders loosened up. I finally felt like we were honestly putting it behind us. We were occasionally interrupted by folks asking us questions. Eventually the interruptions made it impossible to chat, so we went our separate ways.

It wasn't until later, when Beck was helping me with my coat, when I realized I hadn't seen Carter anymore that night.

I needed to stop by the ladies room, so Beck and I walked hand in hand down a hallway when I heard a raised voice.

“You talked to her fortwenty minutes, Carter. Twentyfullminutes. What on Earth could you possibly talk about for that long?” Delaney hissed.

“I swear to you, there's nothing going on between Luna and I. That's over.”

Delaney scoffed. “You actually think I'm going to believe that?”

“She's in love with Beck,” Carter insisted.

“But are you in love with her?”

Carter sighed. “There's nothing going on between us. Trust me on this.”

I kept a hand on Beck’s chest, despite my bladder screaming at me to find a restroom. They were still talking, so I started shifting on my feet to get some relief.

Unfortunately for me, the library custodian did an excellent job polishing the floors.

The screech created by my heel twisting on the highly polished floor immediately shut down the convo between Carter and Delaney.

I winced and pushed forward around the corner pretending like I was just walking by. With a small smile plastered on my face, I waved and headed straight for the bathroom leaving Beck in the hallway on his own.

A second later, the bathroom door opened again. “You don't need to come in after me. I'll be just fine without my bodyguard.”

I started pushing on a stall door.

“He's still in love with you, you know,” Delaney said from behind me.

What the actual fuck?

I held the stall door open, doing a double take as my brain caught up. My bladder didn't appreciate the ambush and threatened to mutiny.

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