Fake Summer Boyfriend

“No, thank you,” he said. “We wouldn’t want my pancreas to explode or anything.”

I would never have expected such a big tough guy to be so funny. It seems like all of my preconceived notions were completely wrong.

From the way he held me so close, to doing everything in his power to make me feel completely safe and comfortable, I was becoming pretty damn certain that Leif’s feelings for me were real.

Chapter 6

_____

Leif

Hayden’s energy seemed to become lighter as she looked around my home. We left her bag at the foot of the stairs, and I walked her through the kitchen.

“Help yourself to absolutely anything you need,” I said. “What do you think of a snack and a comedy special or something before bed?”

“Perfect,” she smiled.

“Great. You go find something on TV, and I’ll be there in a minute.”

I wanted her to feel comfortable here, and I knew that would be easier if she spent a little time alone. I’d studied a bit of psychology for my security work. Making the client feel safe was almost equal with actually keeping them physically safe.

I made us some non alcoholic fruit and sparkling water cocktails, and put together a plate of cheese, crackers, grapes and apple slices.

As I came into the living room, she was flipping through some books on the shelf. Her eyes lit up when she saw our snacks.

“Wow. I was expecting a bag of chips or something.”

“We’re on vacation, remember? Time to pull out all the stops.” Plopping myself down on the couch, I nodded at the bookshelves. “Find anything interesting?”

She sat beside me at a polite distance. “I’m impressed by the variety.”

“We always have to keep the old noggin sharp,” I said, popping a grape into my mouth.

I handed her the TV remote control, and she found some comedy special with a scruffy looking British guy. I’d never heard of him, but ten minutes later we were laughing our heads off, barely able to keep from spraying cracker crumbs everywhere.

It was so good to see her absolutely let her guard down. Hayden looked so damn cute, with her bare feet tucked up underneath her on the couch.

Although it was impossibly tempting to try to snuggle up to her, I knew that I had to keep my distance a while longer. She had to be comfortable. I needed her to come to me.

Still, through the hour-long program, Hayden often reached over to tap my knee, and I stretched my arm out to feed her grapes. Slowly we managed to shift closer and closer on the sofa.

Getting over her fear of men, especially big men, was going to be a process. But every time we touched, it was a sweet blend of flirty and friendly.

I kept getting lost in the beautiful details of Hayden. Her tiny silver hoop earrings. Her short tidy fingernails polished with a translucent pink. The way she laughed louder at the clean jokes, and a bit more quietly during the dirty ones.

I knew that I was becoming obsessed with winning her over, and hoped that I didn’t cross any lines in the process. It was going to be an interesting dance for the next few days as I made sure that she was as comfortable as possible with me.

If Hayden didn’t fall for me completely, I honestly had no idea what I was going to do.

Watching her from the corner of my eye while she laughed at a British comedian teaching us the difference between American and Canadian accents, I knew that I was already partially in love with her.

If she showed any more interest in me, I was definitely staying here. Julian would eventually forgive me for not heading up that division. There was also the possibility that if I showed up on his doorstep in a year and begged, he would still take me on.

Julian always needed plans to go his way. Once a plan was formulated, it bothered him if things went off the rails. I honestly didn’t know how he was going to take it if I turned down his job offer.

But I didn’t care about that. Right now, my only thoughts could be of Hayden. Caring for her, keeping her safe, and making sure that she stayed away from that creep long enough that she could relax and get her bearings.

When her eyelashes began to droop, I put the food away, then came back to see her lying across the couch. I scooped her up in my arms, headed for the stairs. “Hey,” she protested sleepily, “I can walk.”