Now that he was here, he was definitely having second thoughts. Well, first thoughts technically, since he sure as hell hadn’t been thinking when he’d packed a bag and run over here like a brainless moron. He was a SEAL, not a bodyguard. What did he know about providing personal protection? He couldn’t even carry a weapon in the States—at least not legally.
Not that it kept him from ringing the doorbell. That would be too smart. Instead, he nudged the little black button, listening as the soft chimes echoed through the big house on the other side of the door. When it opened a few seconds later, he was immediately attacked by the blond, half-pint bundle of energy known as his sister. Laurissa practically knocked him off his feet as she threw her arms around him. On the bright side, his bad knee didn’t twinge at all from the impact. He considered that a major plus these days.
“You really came!” Laurissa said, still squeezing the stuffing out of him. “I know you said you would, but I was worried you’d change your mind and back out at the last moment.”
“The thought never entered my mind,” Noah said, only feeling a little bad he’d been considering exactly that right before ringing the doorbell. “All you ever have to do is call and I’ll come running.”
“Well, thanks again, big bro.” She stepped back to look up at him with that smile of hers. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you much over the phone, but my friend, Peyton, is an author. Someone broke into her house last night and we’re pretty sure they were after the manuscript she’s working on. We’re worried they might come back and try again.”
Noah slipped his sunglasses off as he stepped into the house. The idea someone broke in to steal a half-finished book sounded a little unlikely to him, but he didn’t say anything. If it got him out of his boring ass apartment for a while, he’d go along with the gig.
“Peyton, meet Noah, Navy SEAL and my favorite brother,” Laurissa said, giving him another grin as they walked into the living room. “Noah, this is Peyton Matthews, my best friend and greatest writer in the world. I know I’ve mentioned her to you before, but since you never listen to anything I say, I doubt you remember.”
Noah didn’t comment on that last part, since it was kind of true. He also didn’t point out that he was her only brother. Instead, he focused his attention on his sister’s friend, almost stumbling on the plush carpet when he got a good look at her. Peyton Matthews wasn’t what he expected at all.
When Laurissa told him her friend was an author, he’d pictured an older woman who wore glasses and had gray hair. Like Angela Lansbury in those reruns of Murder She Wrote that his mother loved to watch. Not that he was downing on the main character, Jessica Fletcher, but clearly, his imagination had failed him in this case. Tall and slender with sexy curves and long, blond hair, the bluest eyes he’d ever seen, and possibly the most kissable lips in the world, Peyton Matthews was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Forcing himself to ignore how good the woman looked in the tank top and the long, flowing skirt she wore, Noah stepped forward, extending his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Ms. Matthews,” he said, hoping he came off as professional and knowing he was probably failing miserably at it. “Laurissa said someone broke in last night and that you’re worried they might come back?”
“If we’re right about who this person was,” a woman said from the direction of the kitchen and Noah turned to see a middle-aged woman with short, dark hair walking into the living room. “Then it’s only a matter of time before they make another move. I’m Em Fuller, by the way,” she added, holding out her hand. “Peyton’s agent.”
“And if you’re wrong about the motives behind the break-in?” he asked, after the woman explained the whole piracy angle and how the book would have been long gone if not for it being stored on a hard drive Peyton carried with her everywhere she went.
If he heard something like this a month ago, Noah would have thought they were all being paranoid, but after the Yemen mission, he was starting to see these kinds of situations in a completely different light. That said, it was still more likely the break-in was nothing more than the random smash and-grab that it seemed like.
Em shrugged in answer to his question. “If we’re wrong, you get to spend a couple weeks relaxing while Peyton finishes writing this book and does a few promotional events like the book signing this coming Saturday. And in return, you get a nice paycheck at very little risk on your part.”
Noah would be lying if he said he hadn’t been hoping for at least a little action simply so he’d have something to do, but he immediately squashed that thought, not comfortable with the idea of Peyton being in danger for even a second. And any time spent with a woman as gorgeous as she was would definitely be well spent, even if all he did was sit on the couch and watch ESPN while she wrote her book.
“About the money,” he began, but Em waved her hand.
“Peyton’s publisher will pay your asking price.”
“I wasn’t worried about that,” he said. “But as active-duty military, I’m not allowed to take on outside employment without my commander’s approval. And since I’m supposed to be on medical leave, that isn’t going to happen.” He glanced at Peyton. “I’m hoping your publisher would be okay with donating whatever they were going to pay me to a military charity like the Wounded Warrior Project or the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.”
He could tell from Peyton’s
