Page 32 of Daddy's Bodyguard

“Fine, I’ll do it. You’re not only scary but crazy,” she says, moving from the bed. I hear her on the phone a minute later, and I relax. Good. She doesn’t need to be in the room with me. It’ll make it easier to avoid doting on her. Maybe I can get over how she makes me feel by keeping her busy.

I can ask her to make dinner or something. I don’t know if she’ll actually do it, but it will go over better than asking her to sing for me. Especially since her father puts her in a shit mood. I should tell her to work or ask about her lesson plans for her English class.

Despite this snag in our plans, I can’t see her putting her life on hold, not even because she was shot at. She values everyone above herself. I’ve seen that proof every single day since we’ve met.

“You should get comfortable,” she says, her return to the room pulling me from my thoughts. “I can lay out clothes. Do you need help changing?”

“Trying to see me naked?” I tease. “I thought I belonged to Carissa now.”

Her face scrunches with a frown. “I’m not. You do.” She takes a step back. “You do. She would love to be here and take care of you. She’s better at it.”

“Sofia.”

“I’ll get you something to eat. If you need help, just yell for me, okay?”

I roll my eyes. “This is fine. I’m fine. Stop worrying about me.”

“I’m not worried. It’s just …” She shakes her head. “If you die or quit, I’ll be stuck in this safe house with one of the other guys, who I’m sure are worse than you were. I may not like you or your puns, but I like my freedom.”

“I’m not quitting.”

She nods. “You’d better not, or I’m going to kick your butt.”

I can’t help but chuckle, and she soon joins in. Our eyes meet and linger. She’s the first one to look away, her eyes watching her fingers fiddle with the hem of her shirt.

“Thanks again,” she mumbles. She briefly glances at me, then returns her attention to her shirt. “I know you’re just doing your job, but I appreciate what you did for me today.”

“Anytime.”

***

The next few days pass like a blur. I don’t know it’s because I’m injured, but Sofia has been quiet, compliant even. She didn’t argue when I told her we had to lay low for the rest of the week. Granted, she wasn’t pleased about it, but all I got was a flip of her middle finger before she made the phone calls to her team to let them know. She even had a cordial conversation with her dad—a short one, but at least she didn’t hang up on him this time. Is the ice queen finally thawing out? I guess time will tell. For now, she’s been keeping her distance, only coming into the room to check on me. By Friday, I feel better, good enough to change my own bandages which is great, considering I’m tired of watching Sofia heave as she changes them.

“So… Carissa called me last night,” I begin, as she drops the used bandages into the small trash can at her feet.

Her eyes flick to me, then back down. “Oh? What did you guys talk about?”

I’m watching her face. She’s giving nothing away. There’s no way to tell how she really feels. “We got to know each other a bit, that’s all. But I… I’m going to ask her out on a date.”

“Oh. Good for you.”

“Well, not good, really. There’s a bit of a problem.”

An expression flashes across her face so fast I don’t get to identify it. “What problem?”

“I can’t leave you unsupervised. If something were to happen—”

“I’m not a child, Jasper. I won’t wander away.”

“What if the bad guys strike while I’m out? How will I explain if something bad happens to you?”

“What are the odds of that? We’ve been laying low all week, and there’s been no activity outside. You little buddies have been experiencing the same thing, too.”

“That doesn’t mean—”

“Ask her out, Jasper. Go have fun on your date. I can take care of myself for one night.”

I can’t help being disappointed in her response. A part of me had hoped she would try to convince me not to go out. But here she is doing the total opposite, and I’m finally convinced she’s not into me. I need to take the hint and move on.

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