Page 70 of Guarded Knight

I smile tightly. “I’ll see you later.”

I pack my laptop, sling my tote over my shoulder, and glance toward Gabriel. Protective. Intense. Like he’s already deciding where every threat might come from.

God, he’s sexy.

Gabriel is already packed up and races ahead, opening the door before I reach it. I walk through, and he slips my tote bag off my shoulder to carry it for me, gentleman that he is.

The dusk is soft, the sky bleeding into a haze of pinks and oranges. I step out, feeling his electric energy slide in beside me, so natural, like he’s a part of me.

“Did you get a lot of work done?” he asks, more than politely, like he’s worried I didn’t because I might be distracted by tomorrow.

“Yeah, sort of. Not Scarlet Hope work, though. Well, not really. It’s hard to explain.”

He doesn’t push but keeps the conversation rolling in another direction.

“I’m proud of you, you know. I read that you’ve raised over three million since joining. That’s insane.”

I bump into his shoulder. “Wow. I didn’t know bodyguards were on LinkedIn.” I wink and tuck some hair behind my ear. “It’s just a site for boasting.”

“But it’s true,” he says. “So how is that boasting?”

I stare at the gray sidewalk. “True.”

“I’m blown away, Firefly. You’re nailing it.”

I smile bashfully at the ground, not wanting to face him and get butterflies.Again.

He opens the door to the pharmacy, and that familiar tinny chime greets me. I wonder if everyone in Echo Valley planned to use bells; it’s a charming small-town detail. It just makes me… happy.

Gabriel touches my arm, sending a jolt straight to my heart. He hands me my bag back since I’ll need my wallet.

“I’ll wait in the corner. Give you some privacy.”

“Thanks,” I quip. “I didn’t really want you hearing about the wholesale order of lube I’m picking up.”

He sticks his tongue in his cheek, head shaking.

It’s a joke but not a bad idea, since being hung up on G means I’ll be entering an infinite desert. No way I could be with another man feeling like this about him. Just like before…

I step toward the counter, but before I make it, a large figure blocks my path. I run my gaze up the length of a white lab coat, stopping on the name tag:Trent.

And running my gaze farther upward… eyes.Blue Eyes.

Shit. I was bound to run into the guy again in a town this size. The world seems to shrink around him, he’s so massive. The fluorescent lights overhead flicker, buzzing like a wasp’s nest. But in his lab coat, he looks all innocent, like he’s not the same man who made that dirty joke in the bar.

I guess we all have alter egos.

“So we meet again,” he says, his tone half playful, half… something else. His gaze rakes over me like he’s taking stock.

Nope. The same ego is still here.

“Ah… guess so.” I force a smile. “Do you work here?” I’d pegged him for construction or a bouncer at a shady club. Not a pharmacist.

Never judge a book by its cover.

He shrugs, giving me that easy grin. “Yeah. Been pushing drugs for ten years. But I haven’t been here long.” He tilts his head and cocks an eyebrow. “Need help finding that lifetime supply of lube you were talking about?”

A blush scorches my cheeks. “You heard that?”