“It’s all Flynn’s doing, blame him. You too will be like this one day, I promise you.” Walking to the door, she stops and turns. “And maybe sooner than you think.”

“Get lost, you, and take your blasphemous words with you. No man will ever pin me down.”

She is laughing as she closes the door behind her.

“Unless it’s naked and on a bed, and it won’t be for longer than a night,” I mumble to myself. “Now that pinning down, I could take a dose of right now.”

The words bring a smile to my face as I get back to work, but the reality is I know that won’t be happening for as long as I’m under the watchful eye of the big growly bodyguard I’m stuck living with for a while.

Unless it’s him, and I’m totally open to that option.

Chapter Six

HARPER

After spending time with Sandon today and him mapping out the plan for my security detail with me, I must admit, I feel a little safer moving around on my own.

We have always had security, but they were in the background and not so noticeable, but whenever I leave the office now, I will have a guard walking just behind me.

I can still hear Sandon’s voice in my head, saying, “Just pretend they’re not even there,” which is a bit hard to do when there is a guy dressed in a black suit not more than ten steps behind me. If I stop, he stops, if I go left, he goes left, so in a weird way, I guess this is what it would feel like being stalked, when I am in fact just being protected from a stalker. What a juxtaposition my life is right now.

Once I get into my car, I try to forget about the day and prepare for dinner tonight with Forrest.

What are we going to talk about? I wonder what he will cook for me, and is he an expert like his brother? Will it be all formal where we sit at the dining room table, cutlery set out for the different courses and the correct glassware? Oh, drinking, what will he serve with the meal? Can I get changed into more comfortable clothes where I have elastic-waist pants, so I can eat as much as I like and my skirt won’t cut into my stomach?

Seriously, Harper, why are overthinking this? It’s not like it’s a date or anything. It’s just a dinner with a roommate. Sort of, kind of, well, in some way… okay, not at all.

It’s dinner with Forrest, and that explains what it is. A business-meeting style where we lay out our conditions and then get on with cohabitating in an apartment but not really spending any time together.