My stomach fluttered, and I felt inexplicably drawn to him in a way I couldn’t explain. Few people had that effect on me, but it seemed he was one of them. I opened my mouth to say something, but he was already unbuckling his seatbelt and turning away. I was about to ask what he initially thought of me, but I already knew the answer to that, so I dropped it.
He started to open the car door when all of a sudden, he looked at me and flashed a smile that lit up his entire face. It was as if all the warmth of the sun shined a light into the vehicle, and I was filled with so much happiness, I wanted to laugh out loud. Crazy, yes. But that was exactly what it was like. Moments like this were rare, so I allowed myself to enjoy it. Savor it.
Staring into his dark brown eyes, I was struck once again with how handsome he was. He was so handsome it hurt to look at him, and for the first time in a very long time, I felt a strange sensation in my gut. It was a longing for companionship. For love. It came out of nowhere and happened so quickly I almost gasped. Did that mean I was ready to move on?
“What?” he asked. “You’re looking at me strangely.”
“I…” I didn’t know what to say. My face heated, and I turned away, taking off my seatbelt. “It’s nothing.”
“You sure?”
I nodded. “Yeah.” I got out of the vehicle before he studied me closer and realized what was going on in my head.
As we walked towards the station, I felt his gaze on me, but I refused to look at him. If I did, he’d see the embarrassment all over my face and figure out what I was thinking.
What was wrong with me? Just earlier I’d cried about all that had happened with Daniel and here I was, thinking about moving on. I knew it wasn’t bad per se. Daniel was in heaven with the Lord and it had been four years. I was free to date again if I wanted, but up until this point, I hadn’t seriously considered it. Or even wanted to move forward.
Did it make me shallow that I was now pondering love because I had a hot bodyguard? I was drawn to his steady presence, but it didn’t hurt that he was the most handsome man I’d ever met. My skin burned, and I wanted to cover my face with my hands and hide, but there was nowhere to go.
Troy stopped walking and glanced at me with a look of astonishment. “Are you…blushing?”
Mortification washed over me at being found out, and I hastily searched for an answer that didn’t lead to confessing what I thought of him. “Of course not. It’s just… It’s been a hard day. I went through Daniel’s things and—”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” He put a hand on my arm, a pained look on his face, and I could see in his eyes that he regretted calling me out. “I’m sorry I said anything. You’ve been dealing with a lot. I imagine finding that journal…” He trailed off, looking as if he wanted to kick himself. “I’m such an idiot sometimes.”
“Don’t say that. I don’t think you’re an idiot.” I met his gaze, and it happened all over again. Electricity sparked between us, and the air suddenly grew thick and heavy. I wanted to reach out and take his hand, but I knew better than to do something like that. Instead, I just sputtered like a crazy person. “We should go in now.” I gestured to the double doors at the entrance of the station. “We should definitely go in.”
He nodded. “After you.”
“No, you go ahead.” I held up a hand, gesturing for him to pass by.
“It’s the polite thing to let you go first,” he said.
I frowned. “But usually you want to check out the room before I enter.”
“True, but this time we’re at the police station. It’s secure.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.” I was babbling now, not even thinking about what I was saying. My face heated again at the realization, and I opened the door and walked through with Troy close behind.
Everything went in slow motion from that point on. Inside, an officer held a man’s arms behind his back, and it looked like he was struggling to handcuff him, but the man was flailing against him, trying to get away.
Before I could even react, the man broke free and hurled himself in my direction in an attempt to escape out the double doors. My mouth dropped open, and instead of moving out of the way as I should have, I just froze, the hairs on the back of my arms standing straight up.
An arm wrapped around my waist, and I felt myself flying through the air as Troy lifted me off my feet and shoved me to the side, shielding me with his body. I stood, trembling, between the wall and Troy’s massive frame, trying to catch my breath. It all happened so quickly it almost seemed like a dream.
Seconds later, I heard scuffling and grunting and easily verified that this was very much not a dream.
“We got him.” One of the officers passed by, and from the sound of it, several more had joined him in an attempt to get the man under control. I wasn’t able to make out what was going on,
