Free Body Guard by Unknown Page A

once! I don't know what you think you're doing by being so rude to poor Perry, but I won't tolerate any more of this behavior! Kindly remember that you work for me!"
    "Your friend Dryden is picturing himself in the role of Lancelot, I think," Jake declared in low tones as he led her away from the chattering crowd and off toward the open-air hotel dining room. "But I don't intend to make Arthur's mistake of leaving his queen unprotected."
    Sabrina drew in an astonished breath, her eyes widening angrily. "Don't get me wrong," she muttered caustically. "I think it's just wonderful the way you're getting into the spirit of this vacation, but I'm not about to let you get that carried away with your role playing!"
    "My role is to protect you, Sabrina," he said.
    "Not from people like Perry Dryden!"
    "From anyone I think you need protecting from," he countered ruthlessly, drawing to a halt in front of the maitre d' . Sabrina was unable to say anything further as they were led to a seat overlooking the ocean. By the time they had ordered fresh mahimahi, basil and zucchini salad and a California Chardonnay wine which Sabrina selected based on what she had learned in the wine seminar she had taken, it was difficult to revive the full force of her displeasure. When Jake gallantly told the waiter to present the wine to her for the tasting ritual, her annoyance faded completely.
    Most of the men she dated wouldn't have had the self-confidence to forgo the traditionally masculine prerogative.
    But she was learning that Jake Devlin didn't fit into any convenient category.
    "So what did you do before you moved to Portland last year and established the self-defense school for kids?" Sabrina asked curiously halfway through the meal.
    "I did some overseas work for the government," he told her blandly, helping himself to a crusty roll and slathering it with butter.
    "What sort of work? And don't use too much butter. The cholesterol isn't good for you."
    He grinned and popped a piece of the roll, butter and all, into his mouth. "Oh, the usual bureaucratic shuffling around. A lot of paperwork and a lot of travel. You're a real fund of miscellaneous information, aren't you? What else are you an expert on besides wine, the sleep-inducing properties of milk and the hazards of cholesterol?"
    She ignored that deciding to stick to priorities. "What made you decide to give up the government work?"
    "I felt like a career change," he replied dryly. "What about you? Have you always been a librarian?"
    "Oh, yes. I got my degree in history and a master's in library science the year after I graduated from college. Went right into academic librarianship. I love it. The perfect excuse to delve into almost any subject under the sun."
    "Which is how you acquire so many odd facts, I suppose." He nodded and then remarked with suspicious coolness, "Teague said you'd been married for a year."
    Sabrina glanced up warily, startled "Did your friend Teague give you a complete rundown on me?"
    "Just a few facts." Jake shrugged, his gray eyes steady on her suddenly remote ones.
    "He just said you'd married briefly and that you'd been divorced."
    "Yes."
    "What happened?"
    "I prefer not to discuss it," she said briefly.
    "That bad, huh?" There was a genuine note of sympathy in his voice.
    "Let's just say it was a learning experience," she retorted wryly.
    "People tend to use that expression when they emerge from a situation somewhat the worse for wear," he observed quietly.
    "It's not really any of your business, is it Jake?"
    "It could be," he astonished her by saying. "Your mother told Teague that she didn't trust your ex-husband one bit after what he did to you two years ago. She thinks he's a likely candidate for the role of bad guy in this mess."
    "What!" Sabrina nearly dropped her fork in amazement. "Stan involved in making threats to my mother's company? Not a chance!"
    "You sound very certain of that," he mused.
    "I am. I lived with the man for a year. I know him quite