Page 1 of Protecting Andie

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Rider knew he’d failed his sister. He’d been young when their mother died and not that much older when their father passed away. He was her only family, and instead of trying to stick around, he’d gone off and joined the Navy.

Sure, he’d sent her money, paid for her degree, and made sure she had food and a place to live for all those years until she could take care of herself, but he’d left. Now, he was about to see her for the first time in about six years, and his stomach felt tighter than it did before a dangerous mission.

Six years was a long time. They could have gotten together at some point, but he was always training or she was in school. He’d wanted to attend her graduation, but he’d been deployed. She wanted to visit him for the holidays, but she’d gotten snowed in. Then she’d met Derik, and now it was her wedding week. At least they were finally seeing each other.

The wedding wasn’t until Friday, so that gave him three days to hang out and get to know her again, but he wasn’t really looking forward to explaining why he’d abandoned her. Sure, they’d had video chats, but it wasn’t the same. He should have gotten his butt on a plane and gone to see her.

He stepped from the rental and grabbed his bag from the trunk, noticing he was the only one entering the hotel with a military bag instead of a traditional suitcase. None of these people were military. None of them would understand him. The next four days would be interesting.

It had been years since he’d spent any considerable time with civilians. Sure, the women he hooked up with weren’t military, but they didn’t talk much because that’s not why he got together with them. With this crowd, there wouldn’t be any hooking up. His sister wouldn’t be pleased if he fucked one of her friends, then walked away. He would be on better than his best behavior and holding real conversations.

“Excuse me,” a soft voice said behind him.

He paused and glanced over his shoulder before turning to face the woman. She was short, had soft curves, and green eyes. Her brown hair was curly and hung over one shoulder. It was hair he could lose his fingers in. When her lips spread into a wide smile his heart hammered so hard, he wondered if she could hear it.

“Yes?” he asked, trying to keep his voice even.

“You’re Emily’s sister.” Her hands flew to her face, which was turning redder by the second. “I meant brother. I didn’t mean to imply you looked like a woman. You don’t. You definitely look like a man. All man.” Her eyes went wide, and her mouth fell open. “Oh God, I’m so sorry. I’m fucking this up more. I need to go crawl under a rock.”

She was cute, maybe even cuter the more flustered she got. He tried not to laugh, but he knew a chuckle escaped his lips before he replied.

“Yes, I’m Michael, Emily’s brother.”

“I need you in my room.”

He cocked his head to the side, wondering what she meant when she said she needed him.

Her eyes went even wider as her face turned white. “Oh shit. Emily is going to kill me. You probably think I was propositioning you. I’m not. I just have the tuxedo your sister picked up for you. It’s in my room, and she wants to make sure it really fits. She took them the measurements you sent, but the guy said there’s no way your body is—” Her gaze dipped to his thighs, and he saw her take in a little gasp. “He said your thighs were too big and your waist too small.” She waved her hand at him and shook her head. “I mean, you are proportioned very well. Shit, that came out wrong, didn’t it?”

Laughter rose up and he tried to squelch it but some came out. “What’s your name?”

“My name?”

“Yes. What’s your name?”

“Andie, but not with a y.”

“Okay, Andie, not with a y. Let me check-in, and I’ll?—”

“Oh, you’re already checked in. Here’s your key. The room has been paid for, and I made sure you had some snacks and drinks in the room.”

He wasn’t sure exactly who had paid for his room, but he hoped it wasn’t his sister. She had too much going on to pay for his stuff. He lived lean, very lean when Emily had been in college. That wasn’t an issue now. He had money to pay for a room even at this posh hotel.

“Okay. Take me to my room and let me put my bag down, then I can meet you in your room.”

“Thank you. And Michael, it’s nice to meet you.”

He nodded. “My friends call me Rider, not Michael. So maybe call me that because my real name doesn’t feel like me.”

“Sure, Rider. Let me write that down. My friends just call me Andie.” She shrugged and laughter bubbled up. “When you said that it sounded cool, but when I say that out loud, I feel stupid. So never mind and just follow me.”

He couldn’t help but notice Annie’s butt as she scurried in front of him. For her short legs, she moved very fast. It was almost like she was jogging.

She showed him to his room, and he realized her room was just down the hall from his. He would be seeing more of her, which would be nice. Not that he would hit on her, but it would be nice to have her around since she was easy on the eyes and made him wonder if settling down could be a good thing.

He finished in his room quickly and headed over to check on his tux. Maybe he should have had Andie bring it down to his room, but he wanted to get an idea of what kind of person she was, and he thought that a hotel room showed a lot about a person.

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