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Princess? Is that how he saw me? Some pampered poodle? In all fairness, it wasn’t far off.
“Have you ever done any work as a bodyguard?” I asked.
“Not exactly.”
Not exactly didn’t mean no. “Okay, so maybe not a bodyguard, but you’ve done some kind of protection work before, right?”
“I was a Marine for five years. Joined up right out of high school, served my five years and got out. Being sent to a war zone isn’t my idea of a good time. I’m proud to have served, but five years was enough.”
My gaze took him in from head to toe. Yeah, I could see him as a Marine. And damn if that didn’t just make him even sexier. I’d always had a thing for men in uniform. I wondered if he still wore his dog tags, or if he’d hung them up when he’d decided to live life as a civilian.
“If I pay you an additional two thousand dollars, would you consider being my bodyguard for the next week? Just long enough for me to figure out what the heck I’m going to do. You could still work on the deck while you’re here if you’re worried about being free to work on other jobs afterward.”
“Bodyguard?”
“I’d need you to stay here though. Overnight, I mean. And you’d have to go with me if I left the house.”
He looked like he was thinking it over, but I was worried he’d tell me no. I needed him. Yes, I could hire a security firm, but I wanted Grady. Perhaps it had a little to do with the fact I wanted to spend more time with him. There had to be a way I could tempt him.
“Three thousand,” I offered. “And two of my friends need some work done on their houses, so I could refer you.”
Although, the thought of Jenna watching Grady work up a sweat made me want to growl in protest. For some reason, I thought of him as mine. Ridiculous, since we barely knew one another. He stared at me, and I wondered if I needed to up the price again. It wasn’t like I couldn’t afford to pay him more.
“I would have done it for less, Madelyn. I just think if you’re serious about protection, you should probably hire a professional.”
“So, you’d rather trust my safety to someone who took some sort of class to be an armed guard instead of a Marine?”
He smiled a little. “If you’re serious, I’ll need to go to my place and get some clothes. I can’t go a week with just the clothes on my back, but my neighborhood isn’t the safest.”
“We could go shopping,” I offered. “My treat. Consider it part of your pay.”
“I don’t need new clothes, Madelyn. The ones I have are just fine.”
“I didn’t mean to imply they weren’t, but I just thought if I can’t go to your place then I’d just buy you some new things.”
He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “We’ll go to my place, but I have to warn you… the air is out. You’re going to melt the moment you walk through the door.”
“I think I’ll survive.”
“All right, princess. If we’re going to do this, let’s get it out of the way. Then we’ll figure out sleeping arrangements when we get back.”
Sleeping arrangements? Would now be a good time to offer up my bed -- with me in it? He was a red-blooded man, so I didn’t think he’d turn me down. Unless he was one of those honorable types who wouldn’t want to take advantage of me. Since he hadn’t made a move in the three days he’d been here, I had a feeling he was one of those rare men who put others before himself. I’d caught a heated look or two, so I knew he wanted me. But would he allow himself to have me? Only time would tell.
I looked down at my swimsuit and shorts. “Do I have time to change?”
“Trust me; you’ll be thankful you’re not wearing much. I wasn’t kidding when I said the air was out. Afghanistan feels like the arctic compared to my house right now.”
“Then let’s go get your stuff. When we get back, I’ll order some takeout for us. Chinese sound good? Or I could call that takeout delivery service that just started up. I think they deliver from five different restaurants.”
“Chinese is fine,” he said.
I rose to my feet, even though I felt a little unsteady. “I’m ready. Do you want to take my car?”
He shook his head. “Better to take my truck. Taking your car would just be asking for trouble. It would probably get stolen.”
Just where did he live? I hadn’t ventured to the other side of town before, the area my dad had always called the “wrong” side. I followed him out to his truck and Grady helped me up onto the seat. The drive to his house was quiet, but I noticed his grip on the steering wheel was pretty tight. Was he nervous about me seeing where he lived? I didn’t care if he lived in the smallest dump in town or the biggest mansion. Stuff like that had never mattered to me.
He pulled to a stop in front of a small bungalow, and I had to admit it was in pretty sad shape. It seemed odd for a handyman to live in a place that had fallen into disrepair, but he probably spent so much time working, he didn’t want to work on his own place after hours. I couldn’t fault him for that. We got out of the truck, and he looked around as he guided me up the porch steps. When he pushed open the front door, the blast of heat that came out of his house made me glad I’d asked him to stay with me. No one should have to suffer in these high temps without air.
