So Kala was totally interesting. “Yeah, Brynn never did that, either. Kala seems cool. We all have issues. Hers are laid out for all to see, and that can be hard.”
Charlotte seemed to think about that for a moment. “I never thought about it that way. I’ll consider it. Now how did things go with West? He’s not usually so serious. I thought he would be the best person for the job because he’s normally fun to be around.”
That didn’t surprise her. “Oh, I bring out the bad side in many men.”
“Bad side?”
“Let’s just say he’s made it plain that he’s not a fan.” Before Charlotte could say anything, Ally shook her head. “It’s fine. It’s better, honestly. We can both do our jobs and not worry about anything else. It makes things easier.”
She wouldn’t have to worry about falling into bed with him. She wouldn’t have to think about how good his hands would feel on her skin or how long it had been since she’d been so wickedly attracted to a man.
“Are you sure? I can talk to the other two guards. Tessa can’t take the lead on this one, but I might be able to convince Wade to approve of Matt. That would cut down on the time you would have to spend with West. I’m really surprised. He’s usually quite charming.”
This was a conversation she’d had many times before. “Trust me. It’s me, not him. You bring my sister in and he would be sweet as pie to her. I irritate all the little boys. I kind of got the feeling I irritated your husband. It was cool how he did that lower his voice and the world suddenly seemed cold thing.”
“He’s got that down, and everything irritates Ian. Don’t worry about that. I think if he spent time with you, he’d likely find your honesty refreshing. He’s a lot like Kala. Oh, here’s one of the people I wanted you to meet. Matt, come and meet Ally Pearson. You’ll be working with her for a couple of months. Ally, this is one of our newest employees, Matt Edwards.”
A man who looked to be in his late twenties/early thirties stepped into the break room. He was handsome, with dark hair and blue eyes that would probably catch the attention of most women.
He looked far smoother than West, and for some reason, that turned her off.
“Ms. Pearson, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” He reached a hand out.
She put her knitting down to shake his hand. Instead of shaking it, he placed his other hand over hers, surrounding it. It irritated her because it was far too much intimacy, too fast.
Although she wondered if she would think the same thing if West had been the one to do it.
“You, too.” He was slightly shorter than West, but she would bet he was more muscular. West’s strength seemed to be all lean while Matt barely fit into the tight dress shirt he wore. “I hope this is a totally boring assignment for you.”
“I doubt it.” He gave her a ready smile. “I doubt anything about your life is boring. I’m ready for some adventure.”
“There will be no adventure,” a deep voice said.
Well, her hidey-hole was getting full. West Rycroft walked in, staring down at her hand between Matt’s.
She pulled her hand away, not liking the weird sense that went through her. Like she was betraying someone. Which was stupid since it wasn’t even like West considered her a decent person. “It’s nice to meet you, too, Matt.”
“I bet it was,” West said under his breath. “Ally, it’s time to head out.” He frowned. “Are you going to kill someone with those?”
It took her a second to realize he was talking about her knitting needles. “Are you offering?”
“I was just wondering what you were doing with them.”
“Knitting, asshole.” She stood, packing them and her yarn away. “I’m sure that it will come as a surprise to you that I can manage to do anything beyond order my next latte. Speaking of, we’ll need to stop somewhere to get a latte. I need my fix.”
She wasn’t going to win with this guy, and she wasn’t a masochist, so she wouldn’t even try.
It wouldn’t be the first shitty relationship she’d had with someone she was working with.
“West?” Charlotte’s eyes had gone wide. Likely because she’d never seen him act this way.
Ally simply walked out because it was nothing new to her.
It was time to ship her stepdad out and then she could concentrate on the movie.
And utterly ignore West.
* * * *
“What was she like? Does she have the most perfect skin or is that all a filter they use?” Martin Rehn sat at the bar in the two-bedroom condo West shared with his twin, Rand, in Lower Greenville.
Soon it would be Martin’s condo because once West had enough cash, he was buying his own place.
After all, Martin and Rand would be newlyweds soon, and they deserved to start their lives off right.
His brother had felt like he’d had to hide who he was for most of his adult life. It was good he didn’t have to hide here.
Rand grinned as he entered the kitchen and winked his fiancé’s way. “Are we talking about Ally Pearson?”
“Of course. Your brother is now a bodyguard to the stars. I’m star adjacent,” Martin announced. “It’s all very exciting. Especially for me.”
He liked the hell out of Martin. Martin was the reason they’d moved to Dallas. Not that they’d known it at the time. They’d moved because Rand couldn’t handle their small town a second longer. There were some small towns that would have accepted Rand for exactly who he was, but Broken Bend was not one of them. It was still the town that had turned a blind eye to years of abuse suffered by Genny before Wade had finally come home and brought her back with him. When Rand had come out as bisexual, watching the way people they’d grown up with cut his twin out of their lives had been heartbreaking. They’d moved to Dallas for the possibilities it offered, and one of those possibilities had been Martin.
“Well, I wish you were the one packing up to spend most of the next three months with this woman.” He grabbed a box of protein bars since he had no idea if they would be taking meal breaks. He was on Ally Pearson’s schedule now. It was better to be prepared. “I spent the afternoon with her, and we managed to say maybe three words. I don’t think she likes to talk to the help.”
Rand leaned against the counter, his arms crossing over his chest as he considered West. “Really? She seems like she would be talkative.”
“You’ve watched her show?” He was surprised. His brother generally preferred sports and action films.
“I made him watch the whole thing with me in anticipation of this year’s Christmas special. I might be a little obsessed with it,” Martin admitted. “Diane Pearson is iconic. If she’d been my mom, I would be the dancer I always thought I should be. And you have to admit Gavin Jacks still has it. I was surprised he wasn’t gay, though.”
“You think every hot guy in the world is gay,” Rand pointed out, an indulgent look on his face. “Though I have to admit, I find them both very attractive.”
“That’s the bi guy in you,” Martin retorted. “But the real star of the show is Ally. She’s like April Ludgate got dropped in the middle of Hollywood. I love her so much. I hate to hear she’s snobby. On the show, she takes down everyone. Rich, poor, in the middle. She treats everyone with the same brutal and painful honesty. Oh, I just realized she’s my grandmother but in a young, hot body.”