Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
“We’ll get your insurance stuff sorted. Tell me where the paperwork is and I’ll get Ink onto it. You don’t need to worry about that right now. What we have to worry about is keeping you safe.”
And he could use this time to convince her that she needed him.
“How will you pay your bills and stuff?” she asked him.
“You’re worried about me?”
Her face hardened. “Of course not. Why would I worry about you?”
Oh, she might think she was doing a good job of being tough, but she really wasn’t.
Reaching out, he ran a finger down her cheek. She shivered.
Yeah, someone liked his touch.
She also liked when he called her his good girl. Something he’d have to do more often, because he liked seeing her melt.
“You don’t have to worry about me. I already told you I’m staying with you no matter what. Money isn’t an issue. I have plenty of savings. I have very few expenses.”
And some of those savings would need to now go toward an animal-friendly property. Perhaps one with a large expanse of land, as he had a feeling that if she had the room, she would expand her menagerie.
“It just doesn’t feel right that you work for free,” she told him.
Her mask was slipping. Just a bit more and it would be gone. And it was up to him to make certain it didn’t return. At least, not around him.
“It wouldn’t be if I was working. But I don’t consider taking care of you work.”
41
Something had changed.
She wasn’t sure how or exactly when, but Matthieu was acting odd.
You haven’t known him that long. Maybe this is normal for him.
But it wasn’t normal to volunteer to be someone’s bodyguard for free. He was risking his life taking care of her . . . and for what?
For her sparkling wit and company?
Huh.
And what did he mean that taking care of her wasn’t work?
Right now, she felt like she was far more trouble than she was worth. The numb was supposed to help her get through this. Instead, it kept slipping away as though it couldn’t survive under his warm gaze.
He’d started driving again and she found herself just staring at him.
“What is it, Bébé?”
“I don’t know if you should call me that.”
“Why not?”
“Um, well, it’s not . . . I’m not . . . shoot.” She couldn’t get her words out.
“You’re not what? My client? No, you’re not.”
That wasn’t what she’d been about to say. But was that what had changed? Was he acting different because her father was no longer paying him?
What did that mean?
“I’m so confused.” And she was getting a headache.
“Don’t think about it right now, Spitfire,” he told her soothingly. “Just relax and let me take care of everything.”
She groaned.
That was exactly what she wanted to do. But she couldn’t do that, could she?
For most of her life, she’d had to take care of herself. Be strong and independent. Leaning on a man she had only known a few weeks wasn’t wise.
Tempting, but not wise.
“The way I see it, you can look at this time as a bad thing or you can think of it as a reset. Almost like a holiday. You’re safe. There’s no way for him to track you.”
“A holiday? My life is a shambles.”
“We’re going to fix everything. I promise.”
It would be so nice to believe that. And it wasn’t like her life had been perfect to begin with. Sure, her house was smoke and fire-damaged but she did have insurance.
And maybe she didn’t have all her babies with her, but she had a new friend that was taking care of them.
Perhaps she had lost her job, but the puppies had been rescued and that’s the main reason she’d been working there. Sure, she wished she could find another job quickly. But she had a bit of savings she could use.
Enough for a few weeks off work.
“You’ll let me know what bills you have to pay and I’ll take care of them.”
Um. Nope.
Bad enough she couldn’t pay him but she certainly wasn’t going to take his money.
“I have enough money to cover my bills,” she informed in a huff.
“For how long?” he asked as he pulled up in front of a log cabin.
Oh, this place was cute. It was the quintessential log cabin, nestled in the woods around it. There was a small front porch that had actual rocking chairs on it.
Adorable.
It was the sort of place where she would love to live if she had the choice. Plenty of room for her babies and to adopt more. No neighbors to complain or interfere.
Her dream would be to have a kind of animal sanctuary. Where unwanted and abused animals could come and live safely. Maybe she’d end up adopting some out . . . maybe she wouldn’t.
“Maya? Maya, you with me? Or am I dealing with zombie Maya?”