Page 30

“Hey,” I said, stuffing away my baggage and offering her a half smile as a sort of truce. I may be paid security, but I didn’t want her to be totally uncomfortable in her own home.
“Hey.” She dropped her keys in a shallow bowl by the front door, let her bag fall to the floor, then stepped my way with Elizabeth still on her hip, her body language carefully neutral.
The little one tucked in closer to her mom, eying me with hesitance.
“Hello, Elizabeth.” I purposely kept my voice soft, hoping to not scare her.
Olivia jiggled her and offered a reassuring smile. “Say hi to Mommy’s friend, Mr. Justin.”
She ducked her head into Olivia’s shoulder but peeked out at me with one hazel eye.
“She’ll warm up to you eventually,” Olivia promised.
“It’s no problem.”
She glanced around. “So, what’re you doing?”
“Working on your new security system.”
Surprised eyes shot back to me. “Security system?”
“We talked about this.”
“I know, I just... I didn’t think you’d be moving so fast.”
“I call it efficient.”
She nodded, her expression a mix between anxious and impressed. “Right. Well, great.” She tilted her head toward the hallway. “Did you get settled in, then?”
“I dropped my bag in there. Not much else to do.”
“I’ll get you a pillow and bedding,” she said as she moved toward the kitchen. “Let me know if you need anything else.” She set Elizabeth on the ground next to her while she began pulling things out of the fridge. “I hope tacos work for you? You’re not allergic to anything, are you? I’ve got avocado—” She glanced my way and stopped, a package of ground beef in hand. “What?”
“You don’t have to go to any trouble. I’m working for you, remember?”
Pink colored her cheeks and her words seemed to falter a bit. “I remember. But you may as well be comfortable while you’re here. I call it hospitality.”
I nodded as something warm and foreign hit my chest. “Touché, Ms. Creed. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“And, no, I’m not allergic to anything, especially tacos.” I smiled, making her blush deepen. “I was in the Navy. Not much you could feed me that would be worse than some of the slop I had to survive on back then.”
“Duly noted.” She turned and got to work on dinner while Elizabeth kept close to her legs, shooting me furtive glances every once in a while.
I waved at her with what I hoped was a convincing smile and got back to work.
After a while, the amazing scent of tacos filled the air and my stomach rumbled. Guess I was hungrier than I realized.
“Dinner’s ready.”
I glanced over my shoulder at her soft call to find her at the kitchen threshold, her cheeks flushed, a throw towel over her shoulder, those huge eyes on me like she still wasn’t sure if I was friend or foe. “Okay.”
She turned, giving me a glimpse of her curves in her tight workout pants over her leotard, and disappeared.
I cleared my throat, then put down what I was doing to head to the kitchen. She already had Elizabeth in her high chair, happily eating away on a tortilla, and was serving up our plates as I moved toward the sink to wash my hands.
“What would you like to drink?” she asked. “I’ve got sodas, tea, water... beer?”