Page 33 of Her New Bodyguard: Colton

EPILOGUE ONE

JULIA – SIX MONTHS LATER

It wasn't like Colton to send a rideshare instead of picking me up himself, but it sounded like he'd had a hectic day.

As we drove into the nearby town of Brentford, the driver put on some soft jazz. "How is this, Miss?"

"Perfect, thank you."

I used the ride to catch up on the text chat between Ashley, Bethan and I. It was hard to believe that all three of us had our lives turned completely upside down in the best possible way when the bank our fathers ran was threatened.

Our families had all been shuffled around. Ashley had moved to Mackton, a small town just outside of Oakton. Bethan was now living in New Mexico, and was away from her family entirely.

Mom had left Dad, and was finally able to live peacefully with her sister without his negative energy and creepy business associates around.

Avalon Bank had been dissolved, and the Barrow Agency had a major shake up when some of the key personnel left over the whole catching and prosecuting Smith business. Colton couldn't share a lot of the details with me, but I honestly didn't want to know.

He had started his own business doing security consulting for small businesses, and we were both much happier.

"Just a few more minutes, Miss," the driver said, smiling at me in the rearview mirror.

Colton had called me half an hour ago, when I had just finished my first test video of my new yoga series for business people. Apparently he had a couple of fake customers lined up to shop at a store after hours, so that he could train their security staff, but both of them had flaked on him.

Well. Pretending to shop for a while was the least I could do for my sexy man's new business.

The car stopped, and I went into a tiny yet exquisite jewelry store. Glancing around the space, I saw Colton in the corner with what looked like two security guards, and a manager.

Strolling casually past the glass counter displays, an older woman in a crisp navy suit came over. "Hello," she said warmly. "May I help you find anything in particular?"

"I'm just browsing," I said.

"I'm Greta. I know that you're our special shopper," she whispered with a wink and a nod. "So let me show you something big and flashy, to humor the guys watching."

"Sure." I was more than happy to play along.

Greta led me over to the back of the store and waved to a large display of rings. "Why don't we try some on, just for fun?"

Leaning close, she lowered her voice again. "I actually haven't had a chance to chat with anyone about this new collection. If you don't mind, I'd love your honest opinions."

"Sure," I said.

We took our time, going through ring after ring, and honestly having a wonderful time.

I glanced over once to see Colton and the other men conferring as he pointed to the camera placement. Then I got lost in the process.

Through trial and error, Greta and I decided that one particular line of solitaire rings had far too high a profile. They would get caught on sleeves. Another line had a flat, thin band that wasn't very comfortable.

But we found three rings that worked for the size and shape of my fingers, and appealed to my preference for natural colors and shapes.

"I know we're just playing," Greta said softly. "But if you had to pick one right now, and wear it every day for the rest of your life, which would it be?"

My index finger went immediately to the deep green emerald flanked by little diamonds on either side. It was timeless. Classic. The exact color of Colton's eyes.

Then it was gone, as a large hand scooped it up from the tray.

Turning to my right, Colton was bending down on one knee in front of my chair. He took my hand, smiling as I blinked in surprise.

"You know how much I love you, baby," he said softly. "And I knew that you would never be honest and tell me what kind of ring you really liked. You'd say the cheapest one."

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