Close to Perfect

by Tina Donahue

  Her dad had built that fence himself despite the ribbing he got from his friends on the force. But then, Freddy Franklin hardly cared what others thought. Until the day her mother had passed two years before, he would have done anything for his Carlie. The only time Tess heard him address her mom as Carlita, the woman’s given name, was when he was really mad.

  There hadn’t been many of those moments between her parents as Tess had been growing up. Never had she known a man and a woman more devoted to each other. Because of that, her dad rarely dated now, even though her mom would have wanted him to be happy.

  Tess turned off the stereo and spoke from the heart. “You need to talk to him, Mama. You need to tell him to get off his butt and meet someone like he met you.”

  That meeting, according to Carlie Franklin, had been magic, and the reason they had endured.

  “It’s all in that first moment,” she had said for as long as Tess could remember. “In how a man and a woman meet.”

  Tess wondered if it was all that simple.

  How did we meet? Josh had asked just a short while ago.

  We could say that you hired me to be your bodyguard and—

  Please don’t.

  You don’t want a woman watching over you? You don’t think a woman can watch over—

  You’re not the typical garlic-belching, in-your-face goon most people would be expecting. Believe me, I’ve already interviewed several.

  Did you kiss them, too?

  No—I knew they wouldn’t kiss back. Not like you did.

  What do you suggest?

  That you keep kissing me exactly as you did...

  Uh-huh. Could be her parents’ romance and marital success wasn’t in how they met, but just pure, dumb luck, which Tess sensed she was going to need in abundance now.

  Already her dad was standing in the doorway of the screened-in porch looking at the sleek black Mercedes, then her, then the Mercedes. A bottle of beer was halfway to his lips, but completely forgotten.

  Tess felt like she was sixteen years old again and getting home late from a date. Although her father was in his fifties and graying, he was still a man to be reckoned with. The modified crew he favored made his head look bristly and his neck thicker than a man should be allowed, while his flowered sports shirt was barely fluttering in the breeze, his build was that powerful.

  Go on, Tess ordered herself, get this over with.

  “Pop,” she said, then smiled broadly as she left the car.

  He looked from it to her. “Tessie.” His gaze returned to the Mercedes, which reflected his weathered picket fence in its sleek, flawless body. “Please don’t tell me you carjacked someone.”

  “You know me better than that.” Joining him on the porch, Tess gave him a peck on the cheek. “I found that baby in my parking space this morning with the keys in the ignition and a full tank of gas. Is life great, or what?”

  Freddy looked at her. His neck seemed even thicker, while that nasty scar on his chin did nothing to soften the moment.

  Tess forced another smile. “Okay, if you must know, it’s what I’ll be using for our new job!” She waved the contract in her hand.

  Her father looked momentarily stunned, then frowned. “For that guy?”

  “He’s more than just ‘that guy.’”

  “Oh, excuse me. That naked guy?”

  Now, Tess frowned. “He’s a businessman, Pop. A very rich businessman.” Before he could snarl to that, Tess told him what they were being paid for this job, a fee that any of those big firms would have probably killed for.

  Freddy’s pale blue eyes widened. “Did you threaten him with your gun?”

  No, she had returned his kiss. Not that that had anything to do with getting a fee that wasn’t outlandish, but reasonable. “I negotiated with his attorney.”

  “Is the man licensed to practice law? Did he just get out of school?”

  Tess’s eyes narrowed. “He’s about forty-five and balding and wanted to throw me out when I first got there. But,” she continued, interrupting her father, “I wouldn’t let him. I wouldn’t back down, just like you taught me. I did great. Go on, say it.”

  The man screwed up his mouth as if he refused to be chastised. “I’ll let you know what I think after I read the contract.”

  Tess arched one brow.

  “Okay, okay, you did good,” he finally conceded, then gave her a bear hug that stole her breath, after which he easily swung her around. As Freddy let go, he snatched the contract. When Tess regained her footing and returned to his side, he handed her the beer.

  She took a sip.

  “No more than that,” he warned, then pulled his reading glasses out of his front pocket and perched them on the tip of his nose. “Not if you’re driving home.”

  Tess snuck another sip, swallowed quickly, and mumbled through her belch, “I’m not driving home.”

  Freddy’s gaze remained on the contract. “Good. We can discuss this over supper, especially the part about you going after this on your own after I told you not—”

  “Ah, I’m not staying here either, Pop.”

  He read a bit more of the contract, nodding as if he agreed with it, then finally looked up. “What?”

  “I have to meet Josh—our client,” she quickly corrected, “at seven.”

  “Josh?”

  “He prefers that to Mr. Wyatt or naked guy.”

  “And what do you prefer?”

  “To be there by seven so I make a good first impression.”

  Freddy regarded her, then looked at his watch. “You have plenty of time. His office is—”

  “I’m not meeting him at his office.”

  He slid his gaze to her.

  Tess lifted the bottle of beer to her lips, but before she could even smell fumes, her father took the brew, placing it on a table to the side. “Where exactly are you meeting this guy?”

  “I’m not exactly meeting him.”

  “You just said you were.”

  That she had. “Promise me you won’t upset yourself.”

  He pulled off his glasses and frowned. “I won’t. I figure you’re gonna do that.”

  “It’s business.”

  “What is?”

  “It’s nothing to get excited about.”

  “I’m not excited, Teressa. I’m beginning to get worried, Teressa.”

  Okay, so she was handling this badly; he never used her given name unless he was pissed, like when she decided to become a cop and then a bodyguard. Of course, after he found out about her arrangements with Josh, and finished yelling at her, he’d probably start calling her that girl who’s protecting that naked guy.

  “I’m going to be staying with him at his house—as his bodyguard,” Tess quickly added, while also failing to add all that other stuff about being romantically involved with Josh in public. Now was not the time to get into that. Maybe later, after she couldn’t hide it any longer. “I have to be on the premises so nothing happens to him.”

  “To hell with him,” Freddy growled. “I don’t want anything happening to you.”

  She gave him a look. “Like it could?”

  “I saw that guy’s pictures, Teressa. So don’t give me that Pop, you’re nuts look, got it?”

  Tess took it down several notches. “Yes, sir—but I can take care of myself, Pop. I’m no fool.”

  “Being a fool’s got nothing to do with this, and you know it. We’re talking about a guy who likes to swim in the buff and probably walks around his house in the buff, too.”

  “Aw, Papa.” Tess cradled the side of his face in her hand, gently running her thumb over some of his wrinkles. “People do that all over this state and even this nation, except for the deeply conservative areas, and they got problems I wouldn’t even want to get into.”

  His shaggy brows drew together.

  “He’ll be a perfect gentleman with me from this moment forward, I swear,” Tess said. She pulled back her hand and gave him the Boy Scout salute, which she
had taught to Tommy Minelli and a lot of the other neighborhood boys.

  Her father’s expression said she was nuts. “From this moment forward?” His frown deepened. “Did he make a pass at you already?”

  Tess forced herself to look surprised, even as her skin tingled to the memory of their kiss. No matter how many times Tess thought about it, and she was doing that far too much, it still didn’t seem like a pass to her, but genuine attraction.

  Not that that would lead to anything other than some sexy sack time—if she were to allow that—before this whole tabloid thing blew over and Josh went his way, while she went hers.

  She suppressed a sigh. “No. And he won’t. I’ve set up some very strict ground rules.”

  “If he’s such a gentleman why’d you have to do that?”

  “I wanted to make it all legal.”

  Freddy jabbed his finger into the contract. “So your ground rules are all in here, right?”

  “My ground rules are what you and Mama taught me.”

  His expression remained hard, but his gaze was beginning to soften, the same as his voice. “I let you become a cop. I let you become a bodyguard. And now you do this to me?”

  “We can’t all be dancers like Mama.”

  “You could try.”

  Aw, Papa. “I like what I do. I’m good at what I do. I got you that contract, didn’t I?”

  “That’s money. You’re my daughter. He’s going to respect you, got it?”

  “He’s a good man, so he will.”

  “Good men don’t pose like he did for a tabloid.”

  “He didn’t pose, he was sucker punched, and you know it.”

  “I know he’s rich enough to buy trunks.”

  And cover that beautiful body? Now that would be a crime. “I’ve told him he needs to be dressed from now on.”

  “Tell him he better be fully clothed twenty-four seven while you’re at his place or he’ll hear from me.”

  “He already knows that, Pop. Now really, I gotta go.” Tess kissed his cheek, again, murmured a farewell in Spanish as her mom always had, then moved quickly to the car.

  “Tessie.”

  She stopped at his tone, a plea rather than a command, and looked back at him. In that moment, a wave of sadness washed over Tess. He looked so alone, so forlorn when what she always recalled was the lightness in his step, his amazing strength. Despite his stocky appearance, he was getting old. He shouldn’t be alone. He should have a woman to watch over him, just as she was going to be watching over Josh—at least for a little while. “Yeah, Pop?”

  “You call me when you get there.”

  “I will.”

  “And when you go inside.”

  She arched one brow.

  “And when you go to bed.”

  “Pop.”

  He screwed up his mouth. “You be good.”

  Oh, she would, at least in her actions, but her thoughts?

  They were going to be trouble what with Josh’s scent, his voice, and laughter surrounding her, while memories of his kiss kept playing in her mind tempting her to do more.

  Far, far more.

  Chapter Four

  At five minutes to seven Tess turned into the private drive that led to Josh’s gated estate, then slowed the Mercedes to a crawl.

  She knew she shouldn’t be dragging her feet, not at this late hour, but Tess honestly couldn’t help herself. The Internet photos she had seen of this place had not done it justice.

  Her gaze swept the lavish vegetation that both surrounded and dwarfed her. Live oaks mingled with moss-draped cypress to create a thick canopy of green, which was momentarily still, then fluttering as the ocean breeze whispered past. Towering banyan trees, with trunks as wide as her childhood home, captured the sun’s lowering rays. The air was cooler here, clean, and sweetly scented by all that vegetation and the rich earth.

  Wow. No wonder Josh liked to frolic in the nude here. To Tess’s way of thinking, the Garden of Eden had nothing on this spot.

  She looked to the left and to the right; she even turned as far as she could in her seat to see it all, then finally got a move on. Not that it mattered. The vegetation never seemed to end. After a few minutes, Tess wondered if she had taken the wrong turn and was in a state recreational area. She looked for signs, but instead spotted a red convertible parked to the side.

  Again, she slowed the Mercedes to a crawl, then stopped it just behind the convertible.

  It was a cute little thing with Florida tags. Tess noted the plate number and expiration, then looked up. Ahead, to the left, was an impressive wrought iron gate that was nicely weathered to a grayish-green, matching the primordial vegetation. Thick vines covered the estate’s walls, while several baskets of brightly colored flowers had been left to block the drive.

  Oh, she had the right place.

  Those flowers were twins to what she had seen earlier at Josh’s office. Only this time, the person delivering those goodies was still here. She was young, her hair was dyed a bright red, she was scantily dressed in pale yellow short-shorts and a halter, had a tattoo on her left ankle, and was completely unaware of being watched as she tried again and again to punch in the right access code to get into the estate.

  Hmmmm. With her gaze riveted to that tattoo, Tess pulled out her cell phone and dialed Natalie Cruz, her former partner on the force.

  After two rings, Nat said, “Cruz.”

  “Franklin,” Tess said, using that same don’t-bother-me voice.

  “Hey, Tessie,” Nat said, quickly warming up. “How you doing?”

  “Ask me that tomorrow morning.”

  The woman chuckled. “Hooking up with Mr. Maybe Could Be Right tonight, huh?”

  Ask me that tomorrow morning. “Not exactly. Do me a favor?”

  “I won’t tell your dad you’re not a virgin, I swear.”

  Tess’s laughter was throaty.

  “Whadaya need?”

  Tess gave her the tag numbers from that baby convertible. As she waited for the computer to finish its search, Tess kept her gaze on that redhead’s surgically-enhanced butt while commenting to Nat’s gossip.

  “Amazing,” Tess said, “Stein actually bought that pet grooming place?”

  “Yup. He’s turning in his badge for that. He told me he needs clients, so if you could help?”

  “I’ll let Tommy Minelli know. He could use his back shaved.”

  “You got that right. I saw him just last week wrestling some goon wearing a Schwartzenegger mask. What a way to make a living.”

  “Hey, I was thinking of telling my father I wanted to do that now.”

  Nat laughed so hard she started to choke.

  “Easy,” Tess said, her gaze lifting to that redhead’s surgically-enhanced boobs.

  “I’m fine,” Nat said, then cleared her throat once more. “Okay, here you go.”

  Tess nodded as Nat gave her the results of that computer search. “Thanks. I owe ya.”

  “Not a problem. But if my mother happens to ask if I’m still a virgin, you tell her that if she ever doubts my purity, she don’t get to visit my kids no more. It’s bye-bye, Grandma.”

  Tess laughed, then said a quick good-bye.

  Once she was out of the Mercedes, she slipped the cell into her back pocket and went up to the gate where the young redhead was still trying to crack that code.

  “You look busy,” Tess said in her friendliest voice.

  The girl didn’t even bother to look up. “Get lost. I was here first.”

  “Oh, yeah?” Tess asked, keeping her tone light. “You wouldn’t be lying to me now, Libby, would you?”

  The girl punched in two more numbers before she realized that Tess had just used her name. Glancing up, she met Tess’s gaze, then looked right back down as if she were sizing up the competition.

  Libby’s quick frown said she didn’t like what she saw. “Who are you?”

  “I would be the girlfriend.”

  That frown deepened. “Josh is
dating you?”

  Josh? My, aren’t we familiar. “No, Libby, I’m dating him. That makes it a whole lot worse for you.”

  Libby backed away. “How’d you know my name?”

  Tess followed. She smiled. “Easy. It’s on the mail that’s delivered to your place. You do still live at Fifty-five Conch Court in—”

  “Have you been following me?” She continued to back away, while Tess continued to follow. “How dare you follow me!”

  “Well, you are trying to break our access code, aren’t—”

  “You leave me alone!”

  “I haven’t even started to bother you yet.”

  “I’m warning you!”

  Tess continued to smile. “Better chill, hon, otherwise you’ll give yourself wrinkles. You are pushing thirty, you know. You were born in November, right? The third, I believe. And no way are you only one-hundred-and-twenty pounds. I’d say more like one-forty.”

  Oddly enough, the weight thing did it. Turning quickly, Libby bolted for her car, fired it up, and zoomed away.

  “That was easy,” Tess mumbled to herself. Maybe too easy. She hadn’t even hesitated when claiming to be Josh’s girlfriend. In fact, that was the easiest part of all.

  Tess shook her head, simply amazed at how easily she was being sucked into this, then she called the security company that had its little signs posted all over this place. She told them to get one of their people out here to watch the estate’s perimeter until Privacy Dynamics took over in the morning. With that finished, Tess decided to be professional and announce her arrival, rather than just showing up.

  Trouble was, she got no response on the intercom.

  She tried again and got zip.

  Tess wondered if the intercom was broken or if Josh hadn’t gotten back from work yet. After all, he was a busy man. A popular man.

  Her gaze slid to those baskets of flowers hugging the gate. It was possible that even more of those gifts had arrived at his office and he was having trouble crawling through them to get back here.

  Unless he was skinny-dipping in his pool, again.

  Tess closed her eyes, thinking about the problems that would create, and not only for Josh. Already her heart was racing to the thought of seeing him fully clothed. If he were nude, God help her. Lifting her face to the sky, Tess said to no one in particular, “Ready or not, here I come.”