Page 5 of Daddy’s Little Charmer (Daddy #36)

Harmony hummed as she got ready the next day. The bright sun was shining into her bedroom window, lifting her spirits. She had a few errands to run that morning, but then she planned to study for the classes she had the next day.

She’d slept late because she’d been unable to get her mind off Christian.

The man was more than handsome, with his dark hair and eyes.

His tall, muscular frame gave her a sense of safety for some reason.

The way he made her feel was over the top and unlike anything she’d ever felt.

The more she reminded herself that she’d never see him again, the more agitated she got, and it made falling asleep harder.

She’d never had feelings like this about anyone in her life.

It perplexed her that she couldn’t put her feelings into words or try to describe them.

She also reminded herself several times that she was too busy to even think about a relationship, and the possibility of having one with Christian, no matter how he made her feel, was next to nil in her book.

He was so out of her league and older than her by at least a decade.

But she also knew that if he paid attention to her, it would be hard to resist him.

Harmony grabbed her purse and then raced out the door.

“Oomph,” she cried out.

Her heart tripped in her chest when she ran into a wall of muscle. She stepped back and rubbed her injured nose. “Excuse me,” she said in a slightly nasal voice because of her grip on the abused appendage.

****

Nico and Connor stood and stared down at her.

They knew she had to have been pretty to get their boss’s attention, but the woman in front of them was beautiful.

Short, but had some curves that made her look like a woman instead of a teenage boy.

Her black hair was brushed and left to stream down her back in a silky waterfall.

She wore jeans, white sneakers, and a pink t-shirt that said something about loving turtles.

“Excuse me, gentlemen. I need to get by. If you tell me who you’re looking for, I might be able to help you.”

The men glanced at each other in disbelief.

“Um, lady. We’re here for you,” Nico said.

Harmony frowned. “Why?”

“Did you not get a call from Christian?” Connor asked.

Her brows pulled together. “Christian? Why would he call me?”

“Oh, shit. Have you checked your phone?” Connor blurted.

Harmony snorted and smacked her forehead. “I always forget the phone,” she said, chuckled, and turned to go into the apartment, leaving the door wide open.

They were both shocked. She wasn’t screaming, or at least didn’t seem to have any fear of having two large, strange men on her doorstep.

They watched her rummage around a basket of books, papers, and knickknacks she had on a table that sat right inside her apartment before she grinned and held up her phone.

“Found it,” she hollered, raised the phone in the air, and chuckled. She pushed a few buttons and then huffed out a laugh. “The battery’s dead. Another thing I forget a lot.”

They looked at each other, and the concern for her was apparent on their faces.

Connor grunted. “Uh, ma’am. It’s not safe not to have a phone or have it charged. What if you needed to call the police?”

“I know. It’s irresponsible. I’ll try to do better,” she replied in a dismissive tone.

She plugged in the phone and turned back to them, smiling.

They were both the biggest men she’d ever been around.

The dark blue jeans and black t-shirt they wore added to the badass image.

Over their shirts, they both wore sports jackets.

Add to that their dark hair and rough personas, and she didn’t think anyone would want to mess with these two.

“This will take a few minutes. So, tell me again why you’re here, and aren’t you hot in those jackets?”

Nico pinched the bridge of his nose. Shit, their boss was going to freak when they told him about this.

“Mr. Sharp hired us to protect you,” Nico said. He glanced at Connor quickly before returning his attention to her. “As far as the jacket goes, we want to look professional.” He tried to think of something, because he didn’t want to tell her it was to hide their guns.

Harmony smiled at that answer, then tipped her head to the side and frowned in confusion. “Why does he want to protect me?”

“Here,” Nico said and pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’m calling the boss so he can explain it to you.” Nico turned and walked a few steps away down the hallway.

Christian picked up after one ring.

“Nico, how is everything? I was unable to get in contact with her unless she got my text. She was supposed to call me, but I haven’t heard from her. I’m afraid you guys will terrify her.”

Nico could hear the worry in his boss’s tone and knew he was about to make it worse. “Sir, she didn’t get your message.”

“Dammit. Was she freaked out?”

“Sir, I’m not sure how to explain this. She did not get your text because her phone was dead.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, sir. She didn’t even know where it was.

That’s not the worst of it. When she opened the door, she showed no sign of being scared, and she left it open as she went to find her phone.

Sir, this woman should not be on her own, especially in this part of town,” Nico hissed in a low voice.

“I’m shocked she hasn’t been hurt or killed yet,” Nico whispered furiously and then glanced over his shoulder to see Harmony looking out the doorway to her apartment and frowning at him.

Nico cringed as Christian cursed, pissed.

“Goddammit. I knew I should have gotten her out last night.”

“We kept her safe.”

“I know, I trust you. Shit, let me talk to her.”

Nico walked back to the apartment and just about grinned at the fierce scowl on Harmony’s face and the fact that she had her arms crossed and was tapping a toe, clearly aggravated about something.

“Boss wants to talk to you,” he said and held out the phone.

Harmony grabbed the phone and crossed her arms again as she glowered at Nico. “I heard what you said,” she said tersely.

Nico shrugged. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but it was the truth.”

Harmony growled and dropped her arm with the phone while she poked Nico in the middle of his chest with her free hand.

“What you said was rude and uncalled for. I’ve been living in this apartment for close to a year now, and I haven’t had a bit of trouble. In fact…”

“You might want to talk to him,” Nico advised when he heard Christian yelling through the phone.

“…Everyone has been very friendly to me. So, just because…”

“Ma’am, Mr. Sharp is yelling for you,” Nico interrupted.

“…I’m a woman, and I’m young, does not mean I can’t take care of myself.”

The men bit the inside of their mouths to keep from laughing. They could hear their boss getting madder and madder while the little woman gave him hell.

Nico finally held up his hands. “All right, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you.”

Harmony nodded her head and smiled sweetly at him. “Good. Thank you for the apology.”

“Now, will you talk to the boss?” Nico asked and indicated the phone in her hand.

Harmony lifted the phone like she hadn’t seen it before she finally remembered.

“Oh, yeah.” She lifted the phone to her ear and then jerked it away because Christian’s yelling was so loud. She held the phone a foot from her mouth and yelled. “Hey!”

Both men were close to losing it when the phone went silent.

Harmony made sure Christian wasn’t still yelling before holding the phone to her ear. She cleared her throat.

“Hello, Mr. Sharp. How may I help you?”

Christian was shaking because he was so pissed, but on the other hand, he wanted to laugh when he heard Harmony tear into Nico. He cleared his voice. Jesus, where did he start?

“First off, I want you to call me Christian. Now, good morning,” he stated gruffly.

“Good morning to you also,” Harmony said pleasantly.

“So, I understand you have met Nico and Connor?”

“I’m not quite sure.” She pulled the phone from her ear again. “Are your names Nico and Connor?”

“Yes, ma’am,” they both replied. Connor had to turn his back and cough when he heard Christian sigh over the phone.

“You may call me Harmony,” she said to the men, and then turned her attention back to the phone. “Yes, they are. Why are they here?”

“I want them to protect you.”

“From what?”

“Are you fucking kidding me? I was outside your apartment last night. There were prostitutes and drug dealers all around you.”

“But, Mr. Sharp…”

“If you call me that one more time, I’ll spank your ass red when I see you next.”

Harmony gasped. “That was uncalled for…”

“I don’t care. You call me Christian, got it?”

“Yes,” she hissed. “Now let me finish … C.h.r.i.s.t.i.a.n,” she said slowly.

“Woman, you are pushing your luck. I don’t want to hear any excuses. I’m out of town right now, and I can’t come to get you, so I’m going to have the guys help you pack a bag, and then they’ll bring you to my place.”

The two men watched the anger start to grow on Harmony’s face, and her toe tapped on the worn floor.

“Are you finished?” she asked in a saccharine tone.

Christian went silent for a moment. “Yes.”

“I’m not doing it,” Harmony said bluntly.

She held the phone away from her ear when Christian started yelling again and then handed it to Nico. “You can have your phone. I don’t want to talk to him when he’s being so unreasonable.”

The men’s jaws dropped as she grabbed her purse and then closed and locked her door. She then turned and nonchalantly started walking down the stairs toward the outside door.

Nico and Connor glanced at each other and started after her.