“I did Sienna’s when she was little. I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t trust you,” she mutters.
I grin at her. Our eyes catch in the mirror. There’s something soft and warm in hers. No one looks at me like that. I get exasperated a lot, amused, irritated, even seductive. But Katie looks at me like I’m her favorite flavor of person.
For the kid who spent his life being picked second, it’s better than drugs. Better than chocolate. When Katie Bailey gives me that look, I’d do just about anything to see it again.
“The video says to diffuse it. With that claw-looking thing. You gather it up and let it sit and it dries slowly. It’s going to take forever and I have to leave in ten minutes.”
“All right.” I step closer, taking a sneaky breath of her lemon and sun scent. I grab the hair dryer with the alien-looking attachment and gather up a section of her hair, bottom first. My fingers skim her spine. She takes a weird, shaky breath.
I gather the hair up and set the attachment under it. I turn the hair dryer on and the low hum fills the room. The soft waves bounce down in section after section. With each one, she smiles, and something hot and sharp flares in my chest.
When I finish, Katie rushes into her bedroom and emerges in a pair of small heels. “Emory gave them to me,”she explains with a rueful smile. “I’ll probably be miserable in thirty minutes.” She shifts from foot to foot, looking sexy and nervous.
“You’ll need me to carry you home later.”
She lifts one shoulder, and realization drops through me, fast and sickening.
What if she doesn’t need me to carry her home?What if Seth does it?
That’s my job.
Not for long.
Soon I’ll be married and she’ll have some other guy to make her grilled cheeses and play chess with her and give her piggyback rides. I don’t care who he is. If she tells him togiddy-uplike she does to me, I’ll put him through a wall.
“Relax.” She reaches up and presses a finger to my forehead. “Seth seems like a nice guy.”
That’s so not what I’m worried about. Seth is fucking nice. Nicer than me. He’swhole.He can offer Katie way more than I can and she deserves it. I shove my hands into my pockets.
“I know,” I manage.
“You think I look okay?” She flits over to her nightstand and grabs her purse, then swipes her hair behind her shoulder. She clasps and unclasps her hands. “Tristan,” she pleads.
Better than okay.
Fucking fantastic.
Hottest girl I’ve ever seen.
She’s ice cream on a hot day. The first ray of sunshine after a storm.
I want to lick you, is what my brain comes up with.
“Good,” I say huskily. “I mean great. You look great.”
“I do?” She sighs. “Thanks, Tristan. I really tried.” Shesmooths her hands over her thighs. “Not bad for a bodyguard, right?”
“Not bad,” I agree.
There’s an extra swing in her step as she grabs her jacket from her closet. I get a small peek at things she has lined up inside. Black and navy suits hung with military precision. No mess. No fuss.
My heart squeezes in my chest.
She deserves more than this. Will Seth see that? Will he make sure she has pretty things?
Why haven’t I made sure of it?Idiot. The illogical half of my brain tells me that if I’d bought her dresses and jewelry, she’d be wearing them for me instead of borrowing a dress to wear with Seth.
