Page 66 of The Bodyguard

“A whole lot of nothing.”

Looking further at the table, she eyed a binder labeled Welcome Guests that had an illustration of their beach house. “Did you find a place for lunch?”

As if on cue, his stomach rumbled again. “There’s a food truck we can find up the street.” Sawyer grabbed a set of car keys hanging from a hook near the door. “I checked the reviews. All pretty good. Most say to order the crab cake sandwich and let them dress it their way.”

Angela picked up her sun hat. “Sounds tasty.”

They arrived in the parking lot where the food truck had been permanently set up, and they weren’t the only ones who had searched out the well-reviewed crab cake sandwiches. A long line of locals and tourists waited. “That bodes well,” she said.

Tables and umbrellas occupied several parking spaces. A long, umbrellaed table held coolers of drinks and condiments. Sawyer eyed the line. Very few people in the world knew where Angela was at the moment, but it still made Sawyer nervous for her to be without a Kevlar vest, surrounded by strangers.

Angela found a table and stayed out of the sun while Sawyer ordered more food than they could eat. Under the guise of scanning for threats, he watched her while he waited. She was magnetic. Even though her face was hidden under a sun hat, he could picture her dark eyes and smile. The memory of her lips had imprinted itself in his brain. With instant recall, he remembered the way their legs had tangled and their stomachs had touched. He could almost feel her soft curves wrap around his waist.

“Number five-eighty-two.”

The announcement of their order number pulled Sawyer to reality. He released a breath. How in the hell had he said no to Angela’s suggestion on the plane of no-strings-attached get-togethers? He rubbed the back of his neck, more than a little disappointed in himself.

He retrieved their food and delivered enough to feed a small family to the table where Angela sat. They chowed down. The reviews were correct. The sauce on the crab cake sandwich was perfect, and the hush puppies and fried shrimp were the real deal too.

Sawyer hadn’t realized how much energy the sun had taken out of him until he started to eat. Hunger morphed into sleepiness. Now, he wanted a nap.

Better than that, he wanted to fall asleep next to Angela, just as they’d slept on the jet that morning. But given…everything… that wasn’t a good idea.

Hell. His desiring her like this was getting worse by the second. Sawyer threw a fried shrimp into his mouth. Maybe his approach was wrong. Maybe she had the right idea. They kissed. He’d pulled back because he was much too in his head. Theycouldget physical so long as they didn’t become intimate. Exactly as she’d suggested.

That was what she wanted, after all. Who was he to say no to Angela? With parameters, he could box himself in and be cautious. “Let me ask you a question.”

She recapped her water bottle. “Shoot.”

“It has to do with your question on the plane.”

Angela’s eyes jerked toward him, but she feigned unaffectedness in a way that left him wanting to peel back her layers. “Hmm?”

Sawyer took another bite of his crab cake sandwich and chewed slowly. Perhaps he should’ve considered exactly what he wanted before bringing it up. “You said practice.”

A blush further reddened her sunburned cheeks. Angela maintained a forced, practiced calmness that made his heart gallop laps around the parking lot.

“That’s what I said,” she agreed.

“Do you want to tell me more about what you were thinking?” he asked.

“Not really.”

“I asked nicely,” he teased.

She glanced at the busy tables around them. They weren’t close enough to be heard, and even if they were, most people were involved in touristy conversations or glued to their phones. “Why?”

He shrugged casually, belying the nervous electricity tightening in his chest. “You caught me off guard.”

“Youcaught me off guard in the water.”

His lips curled. “I don’t know. That felt like it was going to happen whether we liked it or not.” He crossed his arms and cocked his head. “I liked it, in case you were wondering.”

“You apologized.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “I apologize for the apology, sweetheart.”

She glared, but he could’ve sworn she did so only to hide her smile.

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