by Jess Bryant
Her phone buzzed on the counter and she quickly crossed the apartment and picked up, “Lemon?”
“Your date should be downstairs any minute.”
“Oh thank God, I was starting to worry.”
“I knew you would be, that’s why I decided to call.”
Millie’s brow furrowed slightly, “Why didn’t he call me?”
“Well, there’s something else I need to tell you so I thought it would be better if I called instead.”
Millie didn’t like the sound of Lemon’s voice. She knew that cautious tone. Lemon was about to say something that Millie wasn’t going to like. She’d gotten to know that tone of voice well over the years. Lemon had settled down a lot since she’d gotten married but that impulsive streak inside her still got the better of her sometimes and now Millie worried she would be the one dealing with the fallout of whatever Lemon had done this time.
“Lemon.” She used her warning tone, “What’s going on?”
“You’re all packed up and ready to go?” Lemon ignored her question and posed one of her own.
“Yes, but…”
“Good. Go ahead and get your things together and he’ll meet you downstairs, outside your building. No use parking when you should be getting on the road anyway, right?”
“Right, but…”
“So you’ll head down and meet him outside, there’s just one thing I wanted to tell you before you do.” Lemon cut her off again and Millie felt uneasiness spread through her belly.
Lemon was being more than just mysterious now. She was being downright secretive and Millie did not like it. She was starting to think that whoever it was Lemon had sent to pick her up, that she wasn’t going to appreciate the supposed favor. She’d assumed Lemon would hire someone. That seemed like the thing they did in the movies when someone needed a date to a wedding. Maybe it was cliché but this whole situation felt like something out of a movie instead of her real life. She’d thought that it would be easy if her date was a hired escort but now she didn’t know what to think.
“Lem?”
“Don’t freak out okay.” Lemon said in answer.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She heard her voice rise and could do nothing to stop it.
“It means, don’t freak out when you go downstairs and see him. Remember why you needed a date and you’ll know why I chose him to be your buffer.”
Millie’s thoughts whirled as she processed Lemon’s words. See him. Lemon made it sound like Millie was going to panic when she saw who was downstairs but that would only be possible if Millie already knew the man waiting for her. Which meant it wasn’t some anonymous personal escort that didn’t know a thing about her or why she needed his presence in the first place.
“Oh God.” She felt herself whine and couldn’t stop it, “Lemon, what did you do?”
“You said you trusted me to help you and I did. Remember that. That’s what I wanted to tell you. You needed a date and I could have gotten anyone to be that for you, Millie. You’re young and beautiful. You could’ve easily gotten your own date if that’s what you really wanted. But I know you, and I know there’s more to all this than you just being nervous about seeing your ex, so I didn’t send you just a date. I sent you someone to watch your back and protect you, someone I trust to take care of you and have your best interest at heart. Trust me and trust him, okay Mills?”
Millie’s heart jumped up into her throat and tears stung at the back of her eyes. Lemon was the closest thing to a sister that she’d ever had in her life. She might be a royal pain in the ass sometimes but Millie had never once doubted that Lemon wanted only the best for her. She did trust Lemon. She’d started out as her boss but she’d quickly become Millie’s friend as well. She had other friends. Friends from childhood and college, friends that she’d known her whole life, but a distance had grown between them when Millie had taken the job as what they deemed a lowly assistant, and breaking things off with Joshua for good had only solidified her black sheep status amongst them. These days, Lemon was the closest friend she had and that meant even if she didn’t like whatever plan Lemon had concocted, that she had to trust she’d done it for the right reasons.
Millie swallowed hard, “Okay.”
“Okay?” Lemon sounded surprised. “Just okay?”
“Just okay. I trust you. I’m sure whoever you sent, that you had your reasons.”
“That’s my girl.” Lemon assured her softly, “Take care of yourself Millie, and if you can’t, let him do it for you.”
She nodded and then realized that Lemon couldn’t see her, “Okay.”
“Remember to have fun this weekend and I’ll talk to you when you get back.” Lemon lowered her voice, “Call me if you need me.”
Millie said goodbye and then pulled the phone from her ear. She’d managed to blink back the tears but still, her nerves felt raw and her heart was racing. Her mind was running a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out what Lemon had done.
Who had she sent?
Someone Millie knew. Someone Lemon trusted. Someone that could play her date convincingly, but also protect her if the situation turned sour. Someone that Lemon knew Millie would trust but that she wouldn’t be happy to spend an entire weekend with.
Her mind stuck on one name and only one name. There was only one man that fit the bill for all of those things. A shiver went down her spine at the thought of him but before she could work out any more of what Lemon had set in motion her phone rang again.
She knew the number was from the front desk so she answered without saying hello, “This is Millie Turner.”
“Ms. Turner, you have a guest.”
“Thank you, Kendra. I’ll be down in just a moment.” She replied before hanging up and grabbing her purse and the handle of her suitcase. She gave one last glance around the apartment but she didn’t see anything else that she might need. She snagged her bridesmaid dress from where it hung in the coat closet, still wrapped in protective plastic and then, with a deep breath for courage, she walked into the hallway and shut the door behind her.
Millie took the elevator to the ground floor and when the doors slid open she dragged her suitcase behind her into the large foyer. There were only a few people milling about and she didn’t recognize any of them so she headed for the door. The receptionist at the guest counter gave her a smile and wished her a good day. Millie returned the sentiment. The doorman held open the large glass door for her and offered to take her bag but Millie shook him off.
When she finally glanced up, her heart stopped just as swiftly as her feet did.
Hunter St. James was standing on the sidewalk. Of course it was Hunter. Lemon’s bodyguard and Millie’s coworker. She’d somehow known Lemon had sent Hunter after that phone call and it was Hunter that she knew would fulfill every need she had for a date at this wedding because he was smart, funny, protective and he also happened to be sexy as hell.
God help her, sexy wasn’t even a strong enough word when it came to Hunter.
Her heart thumped so loud it drowned out the sound of cars passing on the street as her eyes skated over him. He was standing just a few feet away now but he looked as if he could have been on a movie set in Hollywood. Even the few other people on the street shot him looks as they passed, the women all but drooling which Millie figured was a reaction the man was accustomed to by now.
Hunter was leaning against the side of a sleek, black Range Rover, his arms crossed over his broad chest and a smile on his handsome face. While she’d spent all morning running around like a frazzled mess and knew she probably looked it, Hunter seemed as relaxed and at-ease as he always did. Despite his job in security, he wasn’t one of those guys that always seemed on edge. In fact, it was his easygoing nature that contradicted so completely with her own anxious, strict demeanor and Lemon’s impulsiveness that made him the perfect fit for their team.
He was just a perfect… everything, but Millie shook that thought away as quickly as she could.<
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When Hunter saw her his smile spread into a full-fledged grin. His closely trimmed beard hid the dimples she knew lurked beneath and she found herself relieved for that small favor. She didn’t like men with facial hair. At least, she hadn’t until the day Hunter showed up in her office with his scruffy new look. Somehow, even hiding those adorable dimples of his, the beard managed to make him better looking. She tried not to focus on why that was, or how it perfectly framed the full lips that always seemed to be curling up into a smile.
His smile unnerved her. It always had. From the first moment she met him for his interview and he’d flashed those dimples at her, she’d known that he was dangerous. All he had to do was look at her and her blood heated, causing butterflies to take flight in her belly. He seemed to know the effect he had on her too, maybe because he affected all women like that, but she didn’t like the feeling and she certainly didn’t trust it.
Not when she knew one thing with utter certainty. Hunter St. James was completely out of her league.
Hunter wasn’t just movie star good looking. He had chestnut brown hair that he let grow just a tad too long so that it curled at the ends and hazel green eyes that were warm and mysterious. He was tall and muscular and he held himself with a sense of purpose and pride that she knew must have come from his military background. He was also smart and charming and that was a dangerous combination in Millie’s experience.
She forced herself to stop ogling the man that was her coworker. He was here to do a job. That was all. This wasn’t about how attractive he was, or about how his smile always made her insides melt like ice cream on a hot August day. Hunter was here as a favor to Lemon and their boss was right, he was the perfect man to keep Joshua away from Millie this weekend.
Hunter was big and intimidating. He was handsome and funny. It wouldn’t be a hardship to feign interest in the man or let him feign interest in her. In fact, she was considering sending Lemon a Thank You card and a dozen of those zucchini muffins she adored just for thinking to ask Hunter this favor right up until the moment his eyes met hers and her body reacted to his attention like a puppy eager for a head rub.
Her nipples went hard and her panties dampened with nothing but a long appreciative look and that knowing smile of his.
Oh, yeah, right, that was why she hadn’t wanted him as her fake date. Because her body wasn’t fake attracted to him. Her body wanting him was completely real and she silently cursed her libido for always wanting the wrong kind of man. If Joshua had taught her anything it was that she couldn’t and shouldn’t trust her instincts.
“Hey there darlin’ girl.” Hunter grinned as he pushed up to his full height, “I was beginning to think you got cold feet.”
She pursed her lips but let him take the suitcase from her when he reached for it and rolled it to the back of the Range Rover. He opened the hatch and she watched him lift the heavy bag as if it didn’t weigh a thing. He took her dress next, carefully hanging it from a hook in the back and spreading it out so that it wouldn’t wrinkle. When he was done, he shut the hatch and turned back to look at her where she was still standing on the sidewalk.
“What?”
“Don’t call me that.” She found her voice and then cleared her throat to force away the pain that had sliced through her, “Please.”
“What?” Hunter tilted his head curiously, “Darlin?”
“Yes. Please don’t call me that.”
She expected him to ask why. She steeled herself to have to explain that her ex had called her darlin’ since they were just kids. It had been a term of endearment once upon a time, but when she heard it now all she heard was the condescending way he’d drawled it at her when he was telling her she was dumb or that she’d done something wrong.
Hunter surprised her when he shrugged, “Okay. What should I call you then?”
“How about…” She pretended to think for a moment and then snapped her fingers as if it had only just come to her, “Millie.”
He chuckled, “Funny. Come on. Hop in and we can discuss what my pet name for you should be during the drive.”
Millie was surprised yet again when he opened the passenger door for her though she couldn’t have said for sure why that was. Part of Hunter’s job was driving Lemon and he opened doors for their boss all the time. Whenever Millie had accompanied Lemon on outings, he’d held doors for her as well. It should have been a keen reminder that this was just another job to him, a favor to their mutual boss, and yet, when he smiled at her, she couldn’t help the small thrill that came with being the one at the center of his attention.
She moved to get into the SUV and felt Hunter’s big hand land on her lower back, guiding her in. She jumped, a small gasp of surprise escaping her at the innocent touch. It felt as if electricity flowed through her body from just that tiny contact and her cheeks heated with embarrassment when Hunter chuckled again. She scrambled away from his hand and into the passenger seat, focusing all of her attention on buckling her seatbelt but despite her willing him to shut the door and go to the other side of the vehicle, Hunter was still standing there when she finished with the task and glanced back up.
“Mills?”
“Huh?” She bit the inside of her cheek, sudden anxiety that she’d already messed this up making her voice soft when she looked up into those mysterious green and gold flecked eyes of his.
“We’re gonna have to work on that, beautiful.”
“On what?” She asked, struck dumb by the heat in his gaze… and had he just called her beautiful?
“You can’t jump out of your skin when I touch you if we want anyone at this wedding to believe we’re dating.” He reached out and softly pushed her hair behind her ear, “Millie, I’m going to touch you this weekend, a lot, unless you tell me not to.”
The seriousness of his expression held her captivated. He was so close to her she could smell the scent of leather and musk. It was intoxicating. She never let him get this close to her. Ever. She knew well enough after the debacle with Joshua to know that she had horrible taste in men. That meant any attraction she felt towards Hunter was a bad idea. She’d purposefully kept him at arm’s length for months yet here they were, two minutes into this stupid farce of a date and she was already yearning for things she shouldn’t want and couldn’t give into. Even knowing all of that she couldn’t get her mouth to form the words to tell him that she didn’t want him to touch her.
A small flash of a knowing smile crinkled the corner of his mouth and Hunter winked as he pulled away, “Good. Now that we’ve settled that, we should hit the road.”
Hunter shut the door and jogged around the front of the SUV while she continued to sit dumb and mute, wondering how she’d managed to get herself into this situation. Oh, right, she hadn’t. This was just another one of Lemon’s crazy plans. She never should have agreed to take a fake date to her brother’s wedding and she definitely shouldn’t have let Lemon be in charge of setting it up. The woman was a menace and as much as Millie loved her and looked up to her, she kind of wanted to strangle her friend when Hunter climbed into the driver’s seat and she found herself trapped in an enclosed space with him.
“Okay, Mills.” He shifted the car into drive and checked traffic before pulling out onto the street, “Where to, sweetheart?”
She blinked at him in confusion, choosing to ignore the endearment, “Lemon didn’t tell you?”
“Oh. She told me.” Hunter shot her a stern look out of the corner of his eye as he navigated the busy city street. “But considering we’ve been working together for over six months and you have never, not once, mentioned the fact that you’re one of those Turner’s, I’d like to hear it from you.”
“You never heard it from me because I don’t throw around my family name as leverage.” Millie pursed her lips, instantly defensive. “It doesn’t impact my work or my relationship with Lemon or my other clients, and it certainly doesn’t impact our working relationship, so there was no need for you to know that I�
�m one of those Turner’s as you so eloquently put it.”
Hunter snorted, “Damn you’re cute when you get all riled up.”
“I am not riled up.” Millie huffed.
“Just going to ignore I called you cute?”
He was grinning so Millie looked away to keep her own smile from showing, “Yep.”
“Fine. But for the record, knowing that you’re the only daughter of Chuck Turner and an heir to the Turner Bell fortune definitely would have impacted our relationship.” Hunter flipped the signal on to turn and then shot her another sideways look, “You may not want to trade on your last name but there are plenty of people out there that would and I should have known so that I could protect you properly.”
Millie stared at him for a long moment, surprised by his response, before she shook her head, “Your job isn’t to protect me. It’s to protect Lemon.”
“I never said protecting you was a job to me, babe.”
He’d caught her off guard once again and she found herself unable to muster a response. He didn’t seem angry that she’d kept the truth of her last name a secret from him. He seemed more annoyed that she hadn’t trusted him with the truth. The thing was, Millie never told anyone that didn’t outright ask that she was Chuck Turner’s daughter. That was one of the rules she’d set for herself when she decided not to go to work at the label and instead focus on her own career pursuits. She could understand why Hunter would feel he had a right to that information since many times he was on duty for Lemon while Millie was at her side, but then he’d blown that theory completely out of the water when he said that protecting her wasn’t about his job.
She wanted to ask what it was about then but she didn’t dare. She didn’t think she’d like the answer. The attraction between them had never been one-sided but she wasn’t about to cross the line she’d drawn in the sand when her entire life was hanging by a thread and she had to spend the next few days with her family and the man that had broken her heart.
