His Saint (Forever Wilde 5)

I’d never really seen my sister this goofy.

“Do you remember that day too?”

She nodded. “Her hair was wild. Blonde curls everywhere from driving with the windows down. I remember she had her summer freckles, and she looked so different outside of school. Like the sun shone right on her.” MJ turned to face me. “She’s it for me, Saint. And after last night, I truly think I might be it for her too.”

My heart squeezed tightly in my chest. I couldn’t think of many people who deserved to find someone special more than my sister. She’d always been the stoic one, the no-nonsense sibling who pretended all she cared about was a successful career. But I’d always known better. She craved someone to love, and she deserved someone to love her back with everything they had. I couldn’t think of a better match for my orderly, straight-laced sister than the wild-spirited Nectarine Birch who basically lived in a treehouse and probably named all the squirrels in her yard.

“Did you do it?” I asked with a snicker.

MJ shot me the middle finger. “No, we didn’t do it. She’s a thousand months pregnant. We just made out and then curled up together in her big comfy bed and talked for hours. She’s amazing. Did you know she’s always wanted to be a stay-at-home mom? She wants a house full of kids she can homeschool and take on adventures. Isn’t that so interesting?”

I listened to MJ go on and on about her new belle. My sister’s happiness painted the most beautiful brightness on her face—something I hadn’t seen there in way too long. Simply talking about Neckie lit her up inside, and I wondered how long it would take her to realize Neckie’s home was in Hobie while MJ’s was in the city.

The same way Augie’s home was in Hobie now while mine was in the city.

Not that the two were at all similar. Augie and I were merely… what? Student and teacher? Client and bodyguard? Friends? Friends with benefits?

None of those seemed to fit.

As I had the night before, I went to sleep Saturday night with thoughts of the enigmatic antiques geek on my mind, and when I got to Twist the next morning to fake my way through a kickboxing class, I ran into my coworker Rex again. He was leaning on the reception counter sipping coffee and raised an eyebrow at me when I walked in and stopped in surprise.

“Morning,” he said.

“Hey. What are you still doing here?”

“Got a flat a few minutes out of town last night. The garage is fixing it up. Thought I’d come by and fit in another workout before driving back to the city.”

“Shit, man. You could have stayed with me at my family’s ranch. Why didn’t you call?”

He shrugged and grinned. “I found someone to stay with.”

I laughed. Typical Rex. “I hope I’m not related to whoever that was. If you hooked up with a gay guy in Hobie, chances are, he’s a Wilde.”

“Not true. You obviously haven’t opened Grindr since you’ve been here.”

I shuddered, thinking of opening the app and seeing Hobie residents’ dick pics. No, thanks. Too close to home for my taste.

That’s not what you were thinking the other night at the pub.

I shook off the stupid thought and remembered something about Rex’s specialty in computer stuff. “Hey, I was wondering if you could do me a favor when you get back to the office.”

“Probably. What’s up?”

I tapped my fingertips on my thigh as I contemplated whether or not I really wanted to open this can of worms. Rex must have sensed my hesitation but remained quiet while I made my decision.

“You know my self-defense client?” I asked.

“Chris Hemsworth?” he teased. “Yeah, what about him?”

“I think there’s something going on he’s not telling me about. Like a threat or something. I think he’s pursuing these self-defense lessons because he’s scared.”

My friend studied me before responding. “And? What business is it of yours if he doesn’t want to tell you?”

“I think it’s possible he’s being followed.”

Rex just looked at me some more until I broke.

“Goddammit. Don’t look at me with those eyes. You think I don’t know? You think I don’t know it’s none of my business? I do. But I’m worried about him, man. And I don’t want anything to happen to the guy. Can’t you just look into it for me? Please?”

His face widened into a grin. “Ahh, there’s the magic word. I’ll give it a shot.”

I clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks. I owe you one.”

Later that evening as I was getting ready to return to the ranch, Rex called.

“I found police reports for a home invasion in Hobie about ten days ago and the auto B&E in Dallas the other night. The—”

“Wait,” I interrupted. “Back up. Car break-in? When? Where in Dallas? Are you sure it was him? He has family in Dallas. It could have been one of them.”