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I knew it when D asked me to do it. I have to blame the almost two days of insomnia I was experiencing at the time. Because only sleep deprivation would have me agreeing to play boyfriend to an actress.
And yet, here I am, in the middle of baggage claim waiting on my fake girlfriend, Autumn Atwood.
“Maybe Aiden should take this job.”
D swings a,‘What the fuck?’gaze at me. “Autumn’s plane literally just landed.”
“D…Gage, I told you I didn’t want to do this.”
I met Gage Díaz when we were both fresh out of boot camp and have been friends ever since. Calling each other by our last names became habit, though I still prefer Jackson over my first name, Noah. Even after we left the service, we continued to go by our surnames, but since D went and fell in love, he told me he was going to stop introducing himself by his last name. I know he doesn’t mind if I still call him D, but I want to call him by his preference. So, I’m doing my best to get used to calling him Gage on the regular.
Gage runs a hand through his hair. “We’ve set up everything. Autumn’s publicist even put out a bogus story on how you two have been in a long-distance relationship.”
“Yeah, but my name was never mentioned. There’s no pictures. It could be Aiden.”
Gage stares at me, honest confusion on his face before he turns away, his jaw clenching. Yeah, he might want to punch me a little right now too. He looks back at me, “What’s going on? Why are you pulling this in the eleventh hour?”
Gage is my best friend, my only family, but there are aspects of my life I haven’t told him about. About how I was constantly surrounded by people who weren’t who they said they were. About how I had to play a part to survive. And this job is reminding of a life I’ve done my damnedest to forget.
“If you want a bodyguard, I’m your man. All this acting stuff. I thought I could handle it, but…I don’t know.”
Gage blows out a breath. “Look, man, I don’t want to ask you to do something you don’t want to, but the reason I want you on this job is because I trust you. Autumn is an old friend, and I don’t just want anyone with her. It’s not that I don’t trust our employees, but I know you’ll protect Autumn with all you have. More than that, you’ll make Autumn feel safe. I know she’ll feel comfortable with you.”
Shit. I know he’s not guilt-tripping me, but he’s hitting me right where he knows it’s going to be hard to say no. I take a lot of pride in my work. And I’ve put a lot of work in this particular gig already. We have Autumn’s temporary Austin home all set up with cameras and I’ve done lots of research on the actress herself.
Autumn Atwood rose to fame on the teen drama,Sunset Beach, at the age of twenty. The drama was a surprise hit that ran for five years, and her girl-next-door character carried over onto the Home & Heart Channel after the show ended. Autumn has starred in one of the channel’s Christmas movies every year for the last four years – her good girl persona solidified.
But Autumn Atwood is no good girl.
Like the rest of the world, I heard that voicemail of hers.
A flash of desire suddenly sparks through me. I didn’t want to listen to it, but I had to be fully informed. And damn, the woman has a mouth on her. I fucking love it – which is another reason I have doubts about this job.
I’m attracted as hell to Autumn Atwood.
With every project I watched, her beauty grew and grew. I would immediately get lost in her expressive whiskey-colored eyes, and all the ways she could deliver a smile had me aching to know how her lips tasted. Then I heard the voicemail and all I wanted to do is take that dirty mouth of hers and make it mine. Show her exactly how to use it.
My body tightens with need at the thought.
But my job is to keep the client safe. I don’t get personal. So, how the hell am I supposed to stay impersonal when I have to touch her and kiss her in public? How am I not going to want to do it behind closed doors?
This job has disaster written all over it. And I haven’t even met her in person.
“I really appreciate the trust you’re placing in me and normally I wouldn’t do this, but…I just don’t think this job is for me. We should be able to get through this pick up without any issues then we can place Aiden in. I think he’ll be a good fit.”
Gage sighs heavily. “Okay, man, if you’re sure. Aiden’s single and he has that whole star-quarterback look about him, he’ll work. He even mentioned being a fan of hers so there could be some chemistry there.”
A sharp pang spears my gut as I picture Aiden touching Autumn, kissing her. The very thought of seeing pictures of them all over each other makes me want to punch something. And I fucking suggested it.
There’s an uproar of shouts and applause that goes up somewhere in the terminal. The Austin airport isn’t very big so a sound that loud can easily carry. My gut clenches again, but this time it’s my protection instincts kicking in. I look at Gage and he looks at me, a frown marring his mouth.
He looks at his phone. “Her plane landed ten minutes ago.”
Which means it’s been enough time for her deplane. Whatever just happened I’m ninety-five percent certain Autumn Atwood is the cause of it. A few more minutes pass and there’s no sign of her, but the people flooding into the baggage claim have a charged energy to them now. They are pouring down the escalators, talking excitedly.
Gage gets a ping on his phone, and he starts swiping at the screen as I keep an eye on the crowds. I inch closer to hear what they’re saying.
“I still can’t believe that happened,” one woman says to another.
