Page 7 of Bodyguard Crush
“The next time they’re here, I’d like to talk to them.”
He nods.
“Now, you hold the title of the groundskeeper. Does that mean that if trees on the property need to be trimmed, you’ll be the one to do it?”
He nods. “Within reason. I wouldn’t feel comfortable cutting a large tree that’s next to the house or barn, but out on the property where nothing can be hurt is a different story.”
I stand. “Grab the keys to the ATV. We have some work to do.”
Within minutes, he’s back, handing me the keys to the side-by-side, and we load up in the garage. “Where is the chainsaw kept around here?”
“In the gardening shed around back,” he tells me.
After hitting the button for the garage door to open, I slowly back us out, then turn around and drive us around the house to the gardening shed. As I follow the drive back, movement catches my eye, and my head turns on impulse. Abby is walking out the door wearing nothing but a white string bikini. She has a towel in her hand, and we make direct eye contact as I follow the drive around to the shed. Just seeing her nearly naked is enough to have my heart racing. She’s absolutely gorgeous. Her long, dark hair blows in the wind behind her as she walks around the pool and over to a chair. She must spend a lot of time by the pool based on her golden and sun-kissed skin. The top of her bikini stretches across her ample chest. Her waist is narrow, and her stomach is tanned and toned. Her hips are wider, curvier, perfect. Her body has that classic hourglass shape, and it’s keeping me trapped in this trance, unable to break free.
I manage to stop outside of the small building, and Larry, the groundskeeper, climbs out of the vehicle and pulls the keys out of his pocket. I sit in the driver’s seat, my eyes on her and her eyes on mine as Larry gets the items we need. He puts the stuff into the back and locks up before climbing back into the passenger seat. Shifting back into gear, I travel around the house toward the gate.
“Where are we going?” he asks, and now that Abby is no longer in sight, I’m able to think and answer.
“We need to remove any trees that are too close on either side. I think this person is climbing a tree to hop over the wall.”
He doesn’t reply as I turn off the paved driveway and onto the dirt where the trees are outside the fence. I bob and weave along the trail as I examine the brick wall and the trees surrounding it. Many of the trees are too small to climb, but a few are growing big. When I find one that needs to be removed, I park the side-by-side far enough away and walk over to ensure it doesn’t have anything to land on when it's cut. A few trees are too big for me to tackle, so I mark them and plan on hiring a company to handle them.
It takes Larry and me a couple of hours to make our way around the whole perimeter, but we finally do, and he lets us back into the gate. I’ve already hired a company to come in and install all new cameras, so there isn’t much left to do today other than guard Abby. I hope and pray that she’s no longer poolside as I drive around the house. God knows I won’t be able to keep my eyes off her if she is.
The moment I get around the house, I look over in the direction of the pool and find her. She’s soaking wet and standing on the diving board. She looks over at me and then dives into the water. Fuck, she’s going to kill me. That or I’m going to kill myself trying to keep my hands and eyes where they belong.
Once Larry puts everything away and locks up the shed, we drive the vehicle back into the garage. I hand over the keys, then walk through the house to the pool, where she’s now sitting in a deck chair with a margarita in her hand.
“How’d it go?” she asks, refusing to look over at me.
I keep my eyes trained on the horizon. “I have to hire a company to handle some of the bigger trees, but we got everything taken care of for the most part.”
“And the cameras?”
“The security company should be here first thing tomorrow. I was going to do it myself, but I thought that maybe a warranty would be better. Then you can just call them any time you have an issue with the cameras.”
“I can’t just call you?” she asks, and I look over to find her already watching me.
I shrug, unsure of where this is going. “I won’t always be here. I’m only here until this issue you’re having is resolved. Then you can go back to living out your private life with your staff behind these iron gates.”
She rolls her eyes. “You make it sound like I’m some kind of princess whose whole world is her palace.”
“Isn’t it? I mean, you moved here how long ago? Have you even been to town?”
Looking up at me from beneath her long, dark lashes, she bites down on her bottom lip and shakes her head.
“Why not? You moved to this town but don’t want to be a part of it?”
“I moved to this town to get away from Hollywood and all it entails.”
“Why don’t we go out for dinner tonight? You can explore the town, and you’ll be safe doing so since I’m your bodyguard.”
She smiles wide. “Really? That would be okay?”
I shrug. “I don’t see why not.”
“I’ll go tellthe cooks not to worry about dinner.” A second later, she’s flying out of her chair and running toward the house.
