Under His Protection (Protect and Defend 1)

Swallowing hard, she offered a little wave. Not quite the way she wanted to announce her return to town.

Able to walk right up to the counter since there was no line, Blake quickly placed her order. She allowed herself to indulge in a flaky, frosting-covered morning roll and a skinny latte. Though secretly, she wanted to order the latte full-tilt with whipped cream on top.

Ah, to hell with it. She quickly changed her latte order to regular, requested extra whipped cream and handed the barista a ten dollar bill with glee. If she got fat, who cared? No one paid any attention to her anyway, certainly not Mason.

Irritation grated on her and she gave a quick shake of her head. Why did it always come back to him? Why, why, why?

Because you want him, that’s why.

She ignored the evil little voice in her head. Its sole purpose was to make her feel bad, and it accomplished that task most excellently.

Gathering her breakfast, Blake sat at a small round table close to the window. She cut into her pastry with a fork and popped a bite into her mouth, nearly moaning aloud at the warm, cinnamon sweetness melting onto her tongue. Normalcy felt good. It was a relief, being away from prying eyes, the flashing cameras, the endless stream of political analysts wanting to spout their opinions at her.

Being on Whitney Island, she could almost pretend none of it was real.

Well, her shadow threw a wrench in those plans.

She kept one eye on the window, spotted Mason standing outside at a respectable distance. His arms were crossed in front of his chest, his jaw hard as granite as he leaned against a lamppost. A slight breeze ruffled his brown hair and he reminded her of a warrior, standing guard outside the damsel-in-danger’s castle.

How she hated being the helpless princess locked in the tower.

“Man trouble?”

Blake glanced up to find a woman about her age sitting alone at a table across from hers. A cup of coffee sat in front of her and she held a book in her hands.

“Um, not really.” Blake paused. Was she that transparent? “Why do you ask?”

The woman flicked her head toward the window, right in Mason’s direction. “He’s staring at you.”

“He’s got sunglasses on.” Blake didn’t even look in his direction.

“Trust me. He’s looking right at you. Is he your boyfriend? An ex giving you trouble, maybe?”

The sharp bark of laughter that escaped from Blake drew the attention from the other patrons yet again. She covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers. “Oh, no. Not even close.”

“He’s attractive, though he looks a little—stubborn.” The woman shrugged. “But most men are, right?”

“Oh, my God, yes.” Wasn’t that the truth?

“Are you new around here? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

“My family owns a house on the island, but we don’t live here full-time.” She purposely didn’t mention what family she came from. The natives knew and didn’t make a fuss about it. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself.

“It’s something I’m now considering, though. We’ve been coming here since I was a child and I love it,” Blake continued before she took a sip of her latte, getting a mouthful of homemade whipped cream in the process.

It was delicious. Well worth the extra calories.

“Ah, okay. I’ve only been here a couple of months, that’s why you’re not familiar. Us full-timers get to know everyone who lives or visits frequently here pretty quickly since there are so few of us.” The woman set her book down and smiled. “My name’s Suzanne.”

“Blake.” She smiled in return and waved a

t the empty chair across from her. “Why don’t you join me?”

Suzanne gathered her belongings and settled into the chair, pushing her long dark brown braid off her shoulder. She was pretty, downright exotic with tilted, almond-shaped brown eyes and olive skin. Blake’s complete opposite, looks-wise.

“So what brought you here?” Blake asked. Hardly anyone chose to actually live on Whitney Island. They were either from a long line of natives or came to vacation here and eventually fell in love with the place.

It was one of the best kept secrets of Northern California. And the locals liked it that way.