“You’re a great mom,” Abigail said from behind me.
I turned to see her swim up to me. Her brown hair floated around her in the pool as her head bobbed up and down.
My body warmed at her compliment. “Thanks,” I said. I wasn’t sure if her words were true, but I appreciated the sentiment.
“He really is a great kid. I know Bash loves him.” Her focus was on Bash, who was now letting Timothy spray him directly in the face.
“Bash is a great guy.” When Abigail didn’t respond, I glanced over at her. To my surprise, her gaze was focused on something behind me. Confused, I turned to see what had caused her to stare.
Oh.
Noah. He was what had stopped Abigail in her tracks. He’d emerged from the men’s locker room in Bash’s swim trunks. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen this man shirtless, but there was something about seeing him in a pair of tiny, barely-covering-anything trunks that had my mind and my entire body seizing up.
His chest was broad. His six pack was unmistakable. He had a tattoo that ran the length of his left thigh. His dark hair was damp and sticking straight up.
He looked like he belonged on a fitness magazine, not driving me around the streets of New York City.
“Wh-who is Noah again?”
I could feel Abigail’s stare on me.
“He’s, um…” I dropped my gaze and focused on the water in front of me. “He’s just my bodyguard,” I finally managed out as I turned away from Noah to focus my attention back on Abigail.
“He looks like he’s a Navy SEAL or…an assassin.” She’d returned her attention back to Noah. “I wonder if those tattoos mean something. Like a body count.” I wanted to look to see what he was doing now, but I refused to let myself indulge. “Is he single?” she asked.
Her words caused my cheeks to warm once again. Was Noah single? I’d always assumed so. After all, he never left my apartment unless I did. If he had a girlfriend, he never tried to see her.
“Maybe?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. We don’t talk much.”
“You don’t talk to him?” Abigail leaned in, her voice rising with disbelief.
I could hear Noah and Bash talking, and the last thing I wanted was for Noah to overhear Abigail. “Shhh.” I brought my finger to my lips. “He doesn’t talk much, and neither do I.” I widened my eyes, hoping she would keep her voice down.
“You should ask him,” she said, her gaze moving as, I could only assume from the splash of water behind me, Noah got into the pool.
I stared at her. “I can’t do that,” I said, shaking my head.
Abigail frowned. “Why not? You need a husband. If he’s single…” She waved her hand like that was all she needed to say. “I mean, you could do worse.”
I couldn’t believe what she implying. “You think I should marry Noah?” I hissed as I grabbed Abigail’s arm and quickly moved her away from where Noah was. I didn’t stop until we got to the opposite end of the pool. The last thing I needed in my life was for him to overhear Abigail. I’d die from embarrassment.
“I mean, would it be so bad?”
We were standing in the shallow end now. My arms were folded across my chest as my brain tried to process her words. This was ridiculous.
“That can never happen,” I finally managed out.
“Why not?” Abigail frowned.
I quickly glanced over at Noah before I turned my attention back to Abigail. “He was Carson’s friend.”
“And?” Abigail didn’t look convinced.
“And…he’s my bodyguard.”
“And?”
I frowned. “And he’s being paid to follow me around.”
