Page 16 of A Texas Hero

After dinner, he thanked her and cleaned up the dishes, then they made their way to opposite corners of the house. Hours later, Zoey lay in bed curled under the covers, feeling somehow less lonely. She’d always felt like this house was too big for one person but every time she’d been close to having a roommate, they wound up getting engaged. It was lovely to know there was another heartbeat in her house besides her own.

Her faux roommate was a hunky bodyguard on the other side of those double French doors, and she couldn’t stop thinking about him.

Chapter Seven

The next morning, Archer grabbed a cookie from his stash and set up his laptop to check in with Ian and the rest of the team in Houston, as they did every Monday. Their agents were scattered in other parts of the country, and even abroad, like Ronan was, currently. The call began like all the others, with brief introductions and updates. Another new hire, former special ops officer Jax Townsend, reported on his assignment with a Texas oil tycoon. He’d been working with the agency longer, so he had his pick of high-level clients.

But at this point, Archer had zero complaints. He was going to enjoy every minute of sticking close to Zoey. A tough job but someone had to do it.

Finally, Ian updated them on Patch Lambert’s situation.

“I’m in touch with his security and they seem to have it under control. The police are giving him the usual runaround that there isn’t much they can do until there’s contact, and it’s true their hands are tied. The threat keeps resurfacing, however, so we’re not in the clear yet. We’re monitoring all electronic activity. Archer, how’s it going there?”

He told the group about the flowers and his overall lack of concern about the ex-boyfriend. He had never noticed anyone tailing Zoey—looking at her, checking her out, sure. Every single male with a pulse did that, but he couldn’t blame them.

“Can you see if you can get her to give up this big party she’s having on the fourteenth. What’s it called… Sweetheart Day?” Ian winced. “That will greatly reduce any of our concerns. With the size of that party, I would almost have to assign someone else to help you. What do you think? Can you talk her into it?”

“I will continue to try, but she resisted the idea when I brought it up. She seems excited about this day. Not sure I understand why since she already thinks I’m going to ruin it by being there.”

Ian sighed. “All right. We’ll see what the threat levels are at that time and reassess.”

After everyone else had logged off the call, Archer stayed on with Ian.

“I have an appointment today for an adjustment, but I can cancel it. Zoey said the store’s closed today, so I assume she will just stay in.”

“Go ahead and take the appointment, and I’ll alert you of any changes here in real time. As long as she’s in the house, alarm set, we should be good for a short time.”

With a new prosthesis, Archer had been advised adjustments might need to be made. His left foot had been killing him by the end of the first day with Zoey, such that he couldn’t even hide it from her. She’d noticed, but then again she didn’t miss much.

After logging off the call, he was thinking about making some coffee, when he heard a splash from outside. Alarmed, he went to the double French doors and saw Zoey emerge from under the water at the opposite end of the pool, a swimming cap on her head. Nice to know the pool wasn’t merely decoration; she actually used it. The water looked inviting, and the woman swimming laps from one end of the pool to the other even more so. He watched her, mesmerized by her easy form, as her long arms pulled out of the water and back under.

He hadn’t been in a pool since he’d done his initial therapy, but he couldn’t see himself in there with her. If she did this on a regular basis, he’d make it a plan to watch from the sidelines.

After a quick shower, he found Zoey in the kitchen. She was still wearing the rubber cap and had tied a wrap around her swimsuit. She was reaching for a mug from the cupboard.

“Good morning. Coffee’s ready.” She rubbed an eye.

Damn, she looked even younger without makeup.

“Thanks,” Archer said, taking a mug. “No work today, right? You said the store is closed on Mondays.”

“That’s right.” Holding the mug close to her lips with both hands, she peered at him from under hooded eyes. “It’s my ‘me’ day.”

“You make it a habit to swim in the morning?”

She nodded. “On my day off, yes. I was on my high school’s swim team for a while, before all the modeling gigs. Imagine the daughter of an NFL player being on the team. They thought I was going to be their ringer, but my swimming was barely passable.”

“You looked pretty good to me.” He cleared his throat. “I heard the splash.”

She nodded. “It’s not like my father didn’t encourage me, but I don’t think competition is my thing.”

“No, I can see how it wouldn’t be.” He pressed back a smile.

She canted her head. “Really? How can you see that?”

“First, swimming isn’t a team sport.”

“That’s why I do it. I’m in competition with myself.”