GuardMyBody

by S. C. Wynne

  “What’s your motivation here?” I asked, squinting at him. “I don’t fit in with any of those people.”

  “You used to. You used to be able to fake it like the best of them.”

  “I’m not ready for that crowd.” I could see from his scowl he wasn’t buying it, but he was beginning to exhaust me. Would he leave me alone if I gave in? That tenacity was what made him an excellent lawyer. I hated it when he used it on me.

  “Seriously, boy, what are we talking about here? All you need to do is eat and drink and smile politely.”

  “God, you’re relentless.” He would probably hound me unless I agreed. As much as it annoyed me to give in to him, maybe it would get him off my back for a while. What the hell, one lousy dinner, I needed to eat anyway. “Fine.”

  “You’ll do it?” He was positively beaming.

  “I’ll come. But you have to promise me you’ll butt out and not pull any shitty setups like that last phone call with that doctor.”

  “Scouts honor.” He held up his slender hand as if being sworn in.

  “You weren’t a boy scout, were you?” I asked suspiciously, eyeing his delighted face.

  A sly little smile played around his thin lips. “No I was not, my boy. No I was not.”

  Chapter Two

  Friday rolled around and I wasn’t happy about it. Being strong-armed into accepting a dinner invitation only to pacify Fredrick was frustrating. And now it was here and I was in no party mood. I dressed in a fitted light-blue chambray shirt and khakis. If Fredrick wanted me to dress, up he was shit out of luck.

  I drove myself to his house. I used the term house loosely. It was more of a mansion, a stunning Mediterranean beauty in the Hollywood Hills. Pools, fountains and rolling lawns cultivated a tranquility I could only dream of achieving.

  It was a strange thing about Fredrick—he was filthy rich, but cheap in odd ways. When it came to his home or throwing extravagant parties, he spared no expense. But he was a notoriously bad tipper and stingy when it came to paying his employees. But who was I to judge?

  A valet took my car and I wandered into the house, following the sound of voices. Everyone was out by the pool having cocktails and I did my best to stuff down my nerves at meeting strangers. Fredrick saw me and disengaged from the group he was with.

  “Andrew, you made it.” He sounded as if he hadn’t blackmailed me into coming.

  “I did,” I said softly, looking around at all the curious faces. “Can I leave now?”

  Fredrick’s laugh rang out. “Oh, Andrew, you’re such a card,” he said in a loud voice and then, under his breath, he added, “behave.”

  He pulled me around to the various groups, introducing me as his associate. I guess at one time that had been more what our relationship was, so it wasn’t exactly a lie. Everyone was friendly enough. They weren’t really the problem. It was me and I was well aware of it. These days every conversation was forced and my nerves were raw with trying to behave normally on a daily basis. Idle chitchat was something I seemed incapable of doing properly anymore. The crushing loss of Rory, my lover of thirty years, now defined me. Whether I wanted it to or not. I found it difficult to talk about the weather when there was a hole in my heart the size of the earth. I used to be able to navigate the circuit easier, Fredrick was right about me faking it better in the old days. But Rory had been by my side. He’d been the center of attention and I’d only had to be near him to be okay in this crowd. Now it seemed like such a waste of energy. Who cared who was running for what, and moving up the fucking ladder? I’d forgotten there even was a ladder to climb.

  I eventually took a seat on the patio near a red-haired girl. She seemed out of place like me, and she smiled cautiously when I sat. “Hi. I’m Trudy. I worked with Fredrick a couple of years ago.”

  “Andrew James.” We clinked glasses.

  “I think Fredrick’s sorry for me, so that’s why I got an invitation. He’s always trying to set me up.” She laughed. She was pretty, looked a little bit like a sexy elf. I’d guess she was in her thirties. Her red hair, chopped in a pixie cut, framed her heart-shaped face, and she had a sprinkling of freckles over her button nose. She had dark-green almond-shaped eyes and a nice figure.

  “Fredrick likes to do that.”

  “He’s an amazing man. I didn’t want to leave his firm, but he encouraged me to take the other job being offered. They paid much better and he understood. He wasn’t mad or anything, he was great about it.”

  “Sure, he’d do anything not to have to give you a raise.” I grinned.

  “Very true.” She nodded. Her expression was affectionate as she watched him.

  I studied Fredrick as he stood talking and gesticulating wildly to the people he was chatting with. They all seemed to love him, odd though he was. They were riveted on him as he spoke. Funny, I forgot sometimes how charming he could be.

  “He’s an interesting man,” I said.

  “He’s kept in touch still. Always sends birthday cards and Christmas cards. He’s better at little touching gestures than I am,” she mused.

  I knew he could be amazing. But I didn’t like remembering how I knew that because it forced me to return to when I’d lost Rory. She was right, he did know the right things to do and say. Even in the worst of times.

  I happened to look up and met the dark gaze of a guy standing in a group of lawyers near the pool. He was gorgeous. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t spotted him sooner and I didn’t know why he was watching me so attentively. He was tall, broad shoulders and strong thighs. His black hair curled softly, brushing the collar of his crisp white shirt. There was an immediate punch of attraction from my chest to my groin. My pulse sped up at the sight of him. He had a full, sexy mouth made for kissing and the fact that I would even think that was disturbing to me. What if he approached me? My hands were sweaty like a pimply kid at a school dance at the thought of talking to him. I’d been dead for a year in that department and was shocked at my body’s reaction to him. I tore my gaze away, trying to calm my erratic pulse. What the hell was wrong with me? The mere sight of a guy didn’t usually get me this flustered.

  “Do you work with Fredrick?” Trudy was still trying to make small talk, unaware I was having a panic attack or whatever this was. Maybe if I didn’t look at him again, he would move and go stare at someone else. I was way too old for butterflies in the stomach but it definitely could be a colony of monarchs bumping around in there.

  I nodded and took a big sip from my glass. “I’m his bodyguard,” I said without thinking. My main concern was not looking at that gorgeous guy.

  “Bodyguard? How exciting.” Her eyes were bright. “Is it dangerous?”

  My bad shoulder gave a twinge as I responded with a one-word answer. “Nah.” It didn’t matter what I said. Rory was gone either way and this girl didn’t care or need to know my sad story.

  A young guy around her age approached us. He made a beeline for Trudy and sat near her. They fell into easy conversation and I stood, not quite sure what my plan was. The dark-haired hunk kept glancing over and that was making me self-conscious. Every look was sending a rush of warmth through me, and not being able to stop my reaction to him was annoying. I wasn’t here to meet anyone, I reminded myself sternly. I was here strictly to get Fredrick off my case. I avoided looking at him and headed for the door. Fredrick caught me before I could escape.

  “Where you off to, Andrew?” His gaze was suspicious, his dark brows pulled together severely. Then he clamped his slender fingers, which were stronger than they looked, around my arm. I guess you wouldn’t need to be that astute to figure out I was trying to bail, since I’d practically been sprinting toward the exit.

  I stopped short, attempting to catch my breath. “I don’t feel well.” I really didn’t. My stomach was in knots and my legs were shaky. It sickened me that I found that guy by the pool enticing. I wasn’t the kind of guy who picked up strangers. Leaving was the best way to avoid complications. No one would ever r
eplace Rory for me. But for a split second, I’d been curious. Curious about what it would be like to be with a guy like that. That very thought made me disgusted with myself. Rory was in the cold, hard ground and I was ogling some other man at a party.

  His stern gaze scanned my face. “You need to stay. You need to try.”

  “I came here, didn’t I?”

  “I invited you to dinner. Stay for dinner.” He still had a death grip on my arm. “We are just about to be seated. Please?”

  I licked my lips and flicked my gaze to his. He’d said please. He never said please. I knew he was trying to help me. A very tiny part of me appreciated it. Poor Fredrick. It must be awful to feel obligated to help out a stubborn mess like me.

  “Why does it matter to you so much that I stay?”

  “Because it’s good that you’re out of that mortuary of a house for a change. Besides, you’re getting scrawny and you could use a good meal. You’re supposed to be my big macho hero, remember?”

  “I can still kick ass if need be,” I growled.

  “I know, simmer down. But you’re already here and it seems silly to leave now. Stay and eat.”

  “I’m feeling uncomfortable.”

  “There’s no need to. It’s just dinner. What harm can it do?”

  He had a point. The hard part was probably over and I was already there. Maybe I could try to push through dinner. After that I’d make a polite excuse and leave. Like a normal person might do. “I’ll stay for dinner. But then I’m leaving. Okay? That’s the best I can do, Fredrick.”

  His grip relaxed. “That’s all I ask. That will be perfect.”

  We all were ushered into his huge dining room and seated by name cards. I found my seat next to an elderly woman who was hard of hearing. The seat on the other side of me was empty and there was no name card. Good, one less person I have to talk to.

  The servers circled the table, filling our wineglasses and setting little spinach salads in front of us all. I was trying to converse with my hearing-impaired friend when something brushed against me on my other side. Someone sunk into the chair next to me and my breath caught in my throat when I saw who it was. Sexy dark-haired guy was sitting in the chair, smelling of orange flower and lavender. My pulse sped up as his shoulder brushed mine and he turned to stare into my eyes. I let out a surprised gasp and met his amused gaze.

  “Oh good. I didn’t miss the meal. I had to take a call.” He smiled and I went weak in the knees. Thank goodness I was sitting. He had a tiny dusting of gray around the temples, but his skin was tanned and almost flawless. His eyes were a dark chocolate brown, and his lips full and supple. He was even more striking up close and my pulse responded by jangling insanely like earlier. Maybe I could just ignore him.

  I didn’t say anything. I just stared and then turned back to my spinach salad. I couldn’t taste it though. It was hard to assimilate things when you feel as if you’re having a heart attack. The lady on my other side wasn’t having any trouble. She’d given up trying to talk and was digging into her salad voraciously.

  “Close friend or acquaintance?” Dark-haired guy asked me. His intense gaze came to rest on my mouth briefly, then he met my eyes and a little ripple of attraction sizzled through his. It’d been a while since I’d bothered to read the signs from another man, but sexual attraction was pretty straight forward.

  I was still staring at him as if I didn’t understand his question. And if I was honest with myself, I was distracted by the feelings he was conjuring in me. The only other guy who I’d ever had an immediate yearning for had been Rory. But there was something about this guy that was striking that same salacious chord deep within me.

  “With Fredrick. Are you a close friend or an acquaintance?” He smiled at my confusion. Oh God, that was worse. He was ridiculous when he smiled, too fucking sexy for words. Nothing but white, straight teeth and dimples.

  “I’ve known him for ages. Straight out of college, so a really long time.”

  He nodded, that same gorgeous smile on his face. “You’ve held up well. I’d have thought Fredrick was your great-great-uncle.” He ran his eyes over my body and I squashed the desire to do the same to him. I was already more aware of the heat of his thigh near mine than I needed to be.

  Warmth spiked in my cheeks at his approving expression I was good looking for my age. I had blond hair and for some reason I wasn’t graying yet. I worked out and I had a good body. In my profession you had to be tough and in great shape. But I didn’t kid myself. I wasn’t in his league. “If you knew Fredrick’s real age you’d be impressed. I think he used to have lunch with the pharaohs.”

  “Knowing him, he made them pick up the check,” he said.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Nicely done.” Something about him seemed familiar but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.

  He picked at his salad and turned back toward me. “But you work with him?”

  Why did I feel embarrassed to answer? It probably stemmed from having gone from partners with Fredrick to working under him. I relied on him for a job, whereas before, Rory and I had freelanced for him and others. But what I did was a respectable occupation, and I needed to stop feeling like the poor relation. “I work for him at the moment. I’m his bodyguard.”

  His perfect dark brows rose. “He needs a bodyguard?”

  That was funny. It wasn’t that I was a bodyguard that got him, but that Fredrick needed one. From well-groomed business types like him, that was a first. They’d usually dismissed people with my job description fairly quickly. “He has a great success rate at work. But when he loses, his clients aren’t the forgiving type.”

  A small wrinkle appeared on his forehead. “Sounds dangerous.” He was watching me with an odd expression. As if he’d just realized something.

  “Danger is my middle name…or my first, I forget.” I smirked, studying his face for a clue as to what seemed to be eating at him. Did I have a piece of lettuce hanging from my chin and he didn’t know how to tell me?

  “Speaking of names, what’s yours?” He suddenly looked very serious. As if the joke was almost over. “Your voice is familiar.”

  “Andrew James.”

  He shook his head and if I didn’t know better I’d have said he looked pissed. “He is unbelievable.” He shot an irritated look toward Fredrick. “That sneaky son of a bitch.”

  I’m sure I looked startled. His anger surprised me. “Don’t care for your salad or something?”

  He bobbed his head back in what looked like frustration, before releasing a huge sigh. “Please know I had no idea this was going to happen.”

  I frowned at him with a sense of apprehension. Yes, there was something about him that was definitely familiar. “Something’s going to happen?”

  “This.” He waggled his finger back and forth between us. “I’m Michael Lawrence. Wait, to be more accurate, Dr. Michael Lawrence.”

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  Chapter Three

  I was staring at him with my mouth hanging open.

  “I should have suspected something when Fredrick called me up last minute with this invite.” Michael was swinging his head back and forth disbelievingly.

  “You’re Michael Lawrence? The doctor on the phone?” I must have appeared dense. I was having a lot of trouble wrapping my head around that one. No wonder there had been something I recognized in him.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “And we just happen to be sitting next to one another at a dinner party?”

  “Yep.” He seemed to be fighting a smile. “Could it, by any stretch of the imagination, possibly just be a coincidence?”

  “I’m going to have to say no.” I wasn’t mad. Yet. I was too confused.

  “I don’t get what he’s up to.”

  “He thinks I need a shrink and you’re the lucky candidate.”

  “What the hell? Am I supposed to drag you under the table and have a therapy session right here?” he asked incredulously.

/>   “I would hope you’d at least wait until after dessert,” I said dryly. “I’m shocked he’d be this obvious, to be honest.”

  “Trust is a major component between a patient and a therapist. You can’t trick someone into therapy.” He was still scowling toward the end of the table where Fredrick was.

  “But apparently you can try.” I took a bite of salad distractedly.

  He sat silent for a moment. He turned to me. “Why is he pushing so hard for you to see me?”

  “You’d have to ask him.” I chewed, tasting nothing, aware of his eyes on me.

  “This is unusually pushy, even for Fredrick,” he mused.

  “He’s a busybody.”

  He appeared unconvinced, his gaze shifting toward Fredrick, holding court at the end of the table. “There’s got to be more to it. One thing I know about Fredrick is he’s not somebody who wastes his or other people’s time.”

  “It would appear you don’t know him like you think you do. Because take it from me, this is a waste of time.”

  The servers brought around our main course. I looked down at the grilled mahi-mahi and was amazed to realize I almost had an appetite. I rarely enjoyed food anymore, only eating for energy when I felt shaky. My mouth watered looking at the buttery, delicate fish on my plate.

  “I do know him fairly well. He’s been a patient of mine for over a year,” he said.

  The bite of mahi-mahi I’d taken stuck partially in my throat. I took a sip of wine and attempted to finish swallowing with care. “Fredrick has been seeing you as a patient?” I asked in a strangled voice.

  Michael nodded. “Obviously I can’t tell you why.”

  “Did I ask?” That damned piece of fish wanted to take up residence in my tight throat apparently. I took a bigger sip of wine and thumped my chest lightly.

  “Are you okay?”

  I nodded, carefully working the food past the lump in my throat. “Got it, I think,” I said softly, sipping more wine. “I didn’t know he was seeing anyone, I mean professionally,” I said. “He always seemed fine.”