I couldn’t fight the smile that emerged. “He’s going to love that.”
Once the plans for the day were finalized, I went off to change into a basic pink t-shirt and jeans. I threw up my hair into a ponytail before I put on some concealer and foundation. It felt good to not worry about high heels or pressed suits. I was already feeling the stress of New York melt away as I studied my reflection in the mirror.
Coming here was the right move. It was what I needed.
All of the stress came rushing back to me when my gaze landed on Noah as I made my way through the hallway to the front door. He was standing off to the side like he wasn’t sure where he was supposed to go. He had on a t-shirt and jeans, and his hair was mussed. He must’ve just got out of the shower a few minutes ago. His hands were shoved into the front pockets of his jeans, and his shoulders were slightly raised like he was stressed.
Seeing him just reminded me of my situation back home and how insistent the board was on controlling my life. I wasn’t a free woman, even though being in this small beach town almost made me believe I was.
“Ready?” Abigail asked. She approached me with a wide smile spread across her lips.
I nodded. “Yep.”
“Is Rambo coming with us?” She wasn’t shy as she studied Noah.
“I…um…er...” I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want to say yes and force Noah to come with us if he didn’t want to. But I also didn’t want to say no and make him feel like he was being an imposition. So I just stood there, stammering, with the hope that Noah would jump in and save me.
But Noah seemed to be doing the same until finally he shrugged. “It’s kind of my job.” He flicked his gaze over to me for a moment before he returned it to Abigail.
She narrowed her eyes but then shrugged. “Fine.” She raised her forefinger and pointed it in his direction. “But you’re working when you’re there. You may be a bodyguard, but there’s no free lunch here in Harmony.”
Noah nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Bash?”
Bash appeared from the kitchen. “Yeah?”
“We’re heading out.”
“Don’t let Timothy sleep much longer, or he’ll never go to bed tonight.”
Bash nodded. “Will do.”
“If he gets worried about where I am, have him call.”
“Of course.”
Panic started to rise up inside of me. It wasn’t like I didn’t trust Bash, I did. I just didn’t like being away from my son in case he needed me or got scared. It was daunting being the only living parent to my child. If something happened to me, he’d be alone, alone.
Abigail slipped her hand through mine and started to guide me to the door. “They will be fine. Bash’s got this.”
I swallowed against the lump of emotions that had lodged themselves in my throat. My entire body wanted to fight her on this, but I knew, deep down, Timothy was going to be fine. He adored his uncle Bash, and it was important he had some one-on-one time with the man so closely linked to his father. Timothy may have never met his dad, but through Bash, he would get a glimpse of the kind of man he had been.
Abigail didn’t let my arm go as we walked to her car. Noah kept pace behind us until we were just a few feet from the passenger door, and suddenly, he was hurrying around us. He pulled on the handle and had the door open before I could wave him away.
His hand remained on the top of the door as he stood off to the side. I glanced up to meet his gaze, but he remained focused straight ahead. I wanted to tell him that I could get in and shut the door by myself, but he didn’t acknowledge me, so I just accepted his help and climbed in.
Once I was seated, he glanced down like he was making sure that I was safely tucked inside before he gently shut the door. Abigail was already situated in the driver’s seat, with her gaze trained on me. Her eyebrows were raised, and I could see a million questions racing through her mind.
I just shook my head, unsure of what to say.
“Does he do that every time?” she asked as she shifted her weight so she could grab her seatbelt.
I did the same. “Sometimes.” I didn’t want her to think badly about Noah. He was just doing his job, even if I wasn’t really sure what his job description was.
“Sometimes?” She flicked her gaze up to mine as she shoved the tongue of the seatbelt into the buckle.
“Every time.” I shrugged. “Unless I beat him to it.”
