Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 102394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 410(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
My hand tightened around the mug. “It’s not just what’s best for her. It’s my damn job. Your husband has made it clear numerous times that he’ll kill me if I ever lay a hand on her. So there’s not exactly room for error. I just…” I looked away, hesitant to continue.
She tilted her head. “What?”
Letting out a long exhale, I said, “I just wish Juliette could somehow escape her ties to him. She doesn’t deserve to live her life in the shadow of evil. She deserves so much more than that. And yeah, maybe as a bodyguard I’m not supposed to care so damn much about my client. But I can’t help it.” I ran my thumb along the mug. “Juliette makes it easy. I’d give anything for her to be able to live in peace.”
“Well, you risk your life for her every day. And I’m indebted to you for that.” She frowned. “And I’m sorry that you and Juliette have to deny your obvious feelings for each other. Even if you’re not admitting it in so many words, it’s clear to me that you’re smitten with my daughter. There’s no greater torture than wanting someone you can’t have.”
I couldn’t help myself as I arched a brow. “Like you and Timothy?” I’m going to hell.
Her jaw dropped open. “Who told you about that?”
“Who do you think?” I chuckled. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone.”
Frannie rolled her eyes. “There’s about as much hope for Timothy and me as my husband being sainted.”
I laughed. “Ain’t that the damn truth.”
Juliette entered the kitchen and rubbed her eyes. “Oh boy. The two of you talking behind my back…” Her hair was knotted and wild. She was so damn beautiful.
Frannie beamed. “Good morning, darling. I couldn’t wait to see you. So I decided to stop by.” She narrowed her eyes. “Do you always walk around here with no bra on?”
Shush, Frannie. It’s all I have.
“Where’s Paulie?” Juliette rubbed her eyes again, her voice groggy.
“He’s in the car. He likes his privacy whenever he can get it.”
Juliette yawned and walked over to the coffee machine to pour herself a mug.
Thankfully, as she prepared her coffee, she didn’t ask what her mother and I had been talking about. I couldn’t be sure Frannie wouldn’t bring up my feelings for Juliette again. And that would be so fucking awkward.
“You’re full of crap, Mom,” she finally said as she joined us at the table.
Frannie’s face turned red. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t believe you came by this early just to see me. I think you were torturing Wes.” Juliette turned to me. “Am I right?”
Maybe I’m not getting out of this conversation after all.
I tried to keep a poker face, and thankfully this time Juliette dropped the subject for good.
After a bit, Frannie suggested that we all go out to breakfast. Juliette agreed, so Paulie and I sat at a corner table at the restaurant to give her and her mother some privacy while still keeping close tabs on them. Together they were a double target, and we had to be especially vigilant.
Paulie was an interesting guy—a bit of an oddball. He was pretty quiet and only spoke when spoken to, even with me. I couldn’t quite figure out his deal, except that he seemed ambivalent overall. Still, I was kind of hoping to talk to him. It would be nice to chat with someone else in the same predicament as me. It wasn’t every day you got to sit down with other bodyguards working for the mob, let alone for the same guy.
After we ordered, I leaned back in my chair. “How are you holding up?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, seeming genuinely confused.
“Working for Vince.”
He shrugged. “It’s all right.”
I raised a brow. “Just all right?”
“It’s a job.”
I squinted, finding his attitude hard to believe. “It’s not just a job, and you know it.”
Paulie shrugged again. “I don’t sweat it too much.”
I continued my inquisition. “How did you end up working for him?”
“My father owed him a favor.”
Ah. Should’ve known.
I nodded. “Well, I wish I could be like you...looking at this as just a job.” I shook my head. “I feel like I’m on edge every second of the day.”
As I took a sip of coffee, it hit me. Paulie’s ability to view this gig as just a job was directly related to the fact that he didn’t have personal feelings for Frannie. If something happened to her, it would be a failure from a business perspective, but it likely wouldn’t shatter him. If something happened to Juliette, I knew it would wreck me. Juliette had never felt like just a client, even in the beginning, but especially not now as we’d gotten closer. Her life felt like my life. And that was pretty damn eye opening.
A waiter brought our food, and Paulie happily escaped into his eggs rather than encouraging deeper conversation with me about the plight of the mob bodyguard.