Free The Billionaire's Bodyguard Bride by Lisa Weaver Page B

instead of going off on a tangent and taking justice into his own hands.”
    “Me too. Going rogue would be not only a very bad move but a dangerous one as well. I hope he decides to join us. He’d be an awesome addition to our team.”
    “Mmhmmm,” Stephanie murmured noncommittally.
    “I’m not detecting a lot of excitement here. For someone who’s been checking her phone like it holds the secret to finding the Fountain of Youth, you suddenly don’t seem very enthusiastic about our potential new coworker. What gives?”
    “It’s just that I’m worried mentoring him could get a little awkward.”
    “Awkward? Why do I still feel like I’m missing something?”
    “Okay. If I do the full-disclosure thing, you have to promise not to tell another soul what I’m about to tell you,” Stephanie insisted.
    “Of course. I’m a master secret keeper. Now spill.”
    “I’ve mentioned Frank and I attended the same high school, right?”
    Lauren nodded. “So?”
    “Well, the truth is, I had a huge crush on him. The embarrass-yourself-silly kind of crush. Frank was the captain of the football team, and I was a geeky bookworm. I wasn’t even a blip on his radar. And as if doing the typical lovesick puppy-dog routine wasn’t bad enough, I had to take it one step further and totally humiliate myself.”
    “It couldn’t have been that bad.”
    “Trust me, it was.”
    “What did you do?”
    “At the end of his senior year, Frank got the part of Romeo in the school play.”
    “Uh-oh. I think I see where this is going.”
    “Right? I wanted to play Juliet in the worst way. I didn’t get the role, of course, but I did land understudy. On the last night of the show, I offered the senior who was playing Juliet my entire prom-dress savings if she’d fake the flu so I could fill in.”
    “You bribed Juliet? What happened then?”
    “Miss Capulet turned me down and told Frank. I was completely mortified.”
    “Well, you managed to forge a friendship with Frank all the same, so all’s well that ends well.”
    “Cute pun,” Stephanie grinned. “The thing is, I still feel like that geeky sophomore around him.”
    “You hide it well. I never would have guessed.”
    Stephanie shrugged. “I value his friendship, and I don’t want to mess things up by letting on that I still think of him that way. I’m not sure it will be easy to keep up the act if we’re working together. I guess I’m going to find out. That is, if he’ll ever speak to me again now that he’s discovered I wasn’t honest with him about my real career.”
    “I wish I had some solid advice for you, but I don’t. I’m facing a similar dilemma with Rafe. I’ve decided it’s easier to dodge bullets than to try to maintain a pretense with someone you care about.”
    “Exactly. I’m so glad you get it. I just hope Frank can forgive me.”
    “Learning the woman he thought was a mild-mannered librarian is actually a top-notch covert bodyguard is a lot to process. Give him time. He’ll come around.”
    “I hope so. And what about you and Rafe? Are you sure you really want to commit to this bargain he’s proposed? A year is a long time to play-act married bliss. We can still protect him if you decide not to go through with it.”
    “I know, but it’s easier this way. And I really want to do this, so you can stop worrying. I’ll be fine.”
    Stephanie held up her hands in mock surrender. “Okay. But you’re not to give even a second’s consideration to any random acts of heroics. If you get an inkling that something is about to go down, you’d better call in backup.”
    “I will,” Lauren promised. But her physical safety was the least of her worries. No amount of backup could protect her in the face of her greatest concern. How was she going to protect her heart?

Chapter Six
    Thursday morning dawned murky and wet. Rafe paced the length of his den, glaring at the overcast skies that mirrored his stormy mood. With an impatient flick of his