Page 12 of Abigail's King
Jayden’s face was now solemn. He meant every word he’d just said. It was then that I realised it didn’t matter what his original intentions had been. Whether he was trying to match me up with Abigail or not, he cared about her and wanted to keep her safe.
“If you both think this is the best choice, then we will go with your suggestion, Kye. I will have to go home and pick up my stuff. You also have to consider the number of shoots and functions that I have to attend. Sometimes abroad. Will that be a problem for you? I don’t want to take you away from your own life.”
“Outside of this company, I don’t really have a life. I spend most evenings and weekends sitting in my apartment alone. I don’t have any family here in England, except for everyone who works here and their families. I don’t have a woman waiting for me at home, or anywhere else. Basically, I have no one. So, you won’t be imposing or causing me any problems. My only concern right now is keeping you safe.”
I saw a smile finally come over her face. Seeing it light up and finally release some of the tension she was feeling made me feel good inside. All I had to do was keep my eyes on the job in front of me, and not the beautiful woman behind it.
“I guess we’d better go and get your stuff so I can get you comfortable at my place. I’ll just go and get all my gear and will meet you back here in a moment. Unless you needed me for anything else, Jayden?”
“No, that’s all.”
I gave him a quick nod and headed out of his office and back up to mine. I shut down my laptop and started to pack everything away. Usually, I would have left my laptop at work when I was out on a job, but I had a suspicion that I would be needing it. Not that I would investigate everything on it – I needed my personal one for some things. Things that Jayden didn’t need to know. I was just zipping up my bag when Jayden walked into the room. The trademark smirk was back in place.
“Say what you have to say and let me get on with my job.”
“I wasn’t going to say a word. Well except for if you hurt Abigail, Sienna will be down on you like a tonne of bricks. I suspect Kelsey will be in line too.”
“I don’t know what you think is going to happen. My job is to protect Abigail, and that is exactly what I’m going to do. I don’t see how that would lead to her getting hurt by me.”
“Yeah, I said the same thing to Mason regarding Sienna, and look where we are now.”
I looked up at Jayden, and the realisation set in. I was going to spend twenty-four hours a day with this gorgeous woman who I already had feelings for. The chances that something would end up happening between us were pretty high. High enough that it wouldn’t be a bet I would make. I needed to make sure I kept a barrier up at all times. I couldn’t let her in. She would end up getting hurt, and I would probably end up with a broken heart all over again.
I had to get my head in the game. This was a job, and that was it. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake that Jayden had made. Not that it was a mistake for him. He and Sienna were very much in love, but that didn’t happen to the likes of me. Jayden and I were two entirely different men. He may have been in the army, but his lifestyle even before he met Sienna was a hell of a lot different from mine.
I saw him was waiting for a response from me.
“Jayden, I can assure you that I will not hurt Abigail. My job is to protect her from this idiot who seems to think he owns her. I can’t promise that if I get hold of him, I won’t kill him, but Abigail will be unharmed.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to you killing someone, not sure that is good for business. As for you and Abigail…well, we will see. Keep us updated on everything and I will get the rest of the team working on background checks on the people she works with or know her.”
I gave Jayden a quick nod and headed back up with him to his office. I found Kelsey sitting with a still-upset Abigail. I wanted to wrap her in my arms like I had Kelsey all those nights Nathan had been lying in the hospital bed. But something was holding me back. It was as though my head was telling me that as soon as I did, I would be hooked. She wasn’t another man’s woman like Kelsey. Well, at least I didn’t think she was. I needed to know – not for my own reasons, but to find out if it could be them doing this to her. We were going to sit down and have a long talk this evening, whether she wanted it or not.
“Are you ready, Abigail? We can head over to your place first and then go to mine. I’ll keep you up to date with anything that happens or if I find anything out, Jayden.”
Jayden gave me a nod of approval.
Kelsey walked over to me and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Kye, be careful, please. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I’ll be fine, Kels, and so will Abigail. Hell, it will stop you from coming over every weekend to check up on me, won’t it?”
That comment resulted in a slap on my arm. I guessed I deserved it, but deep down, I knew how much Kelsey cared for me, and I cared for her too. I just didn’t want her to see it. She knew my feelings, even if I didn’t say it. When I gestured to Abigail, she got up from the settee and walked over, and gave both Kelsey and Jayden a hug, saying her goodbyes.
“Let’s go and see this mansion of yours, then, Kye.”
It was a quick drive over to her apartment building, and we had just arrived and were heading up to her apartment. I had taken the keys from her, as I wanted to be the first one to enter, just in case there was anyone around or another note had been left. I opened the door and found the apartment clear. I took a quick look around. It was a lovely apartment, but not what I expected a world-famous model to live in. I expected something grander than mine with the money she was probably earning. I knew models used to only have a short time on the job, but things had changed. I mean, look at Naomi Campbell. She was in her fifties, still modelling and looking amazing.
“I know it’s not much, but it’s good enough for just me. I have to look out for my future. I would like to settle down and start a family at some time, and that isn’t conducive to the model lifestyle, especially being settled down with a man. I’ve looked out for my future more than I’ve thought about my present. I’ll get my stuff packed away. Sorry, there will be quite a lot. I am a model, after all.”
“Do you need a hand?”
“No, I have a lot of stuff already packed away just in case I have to make a trip quickly. It won’t take me long. The kitchen is through there if you would like to make a coffee. I could murder one at the moment. There is milk in the fridge, but I take mine with coconut milk.”
“Will do.”
I headed into the kitchen, making a mental note that I would have to get some coconut milk in the house. I didn’t eat unhealthily, so food wouldn’t be too much of an issue. Well, at least I hoped it wouldn’t. I made the coffee, and I took note of what she had in the fridge and cupboards. It looked as though I would be fine. But knowing we wouldn’t be coming here for a while, I thought about packing everything in the fridge and taking it with me. I found a ba and I started to empty the fridge just as Abigail walked into the kitchen.
“You don’t have to throw everything away.”
