The Bodyguard

chapter 7

I woke to the smell of bacon. For a few seconds, I forgot where I was. Then I felt the unfamiliar mattress beneath me and remembered everything. Alexander, his family, the fake relationship, the Aldo Mafia and Caden.

My eyes opened fully. I turned my head and found Alexander's side of the bed empty. The pillow that had separated us the night before was still perfectly positioned between our sides.

I smiled faintly. Apparently, Mr. Professional Bodyguard really did have excellent self-control.

I climbed out of bed, grabbed some clothes, and headed toward the bathroom. After getting dressed and fixing my hair, I made my way downstairs.

The smell of breakfast grew stronger with every step. When I entered the kitchen, I stopped.

Alexander stood at the stove wearing jeans and a plain gray T-shirt, flipping pancakes with one hand while holding a cup of coffee in the other. I leaned against the doorway.

"You're cooking?" I asked him.

"Good morning to you too." He says glancing over his shoulder.

"Good morning." I reply with a smile.

"You sound surprised." He states.

"I am. You don't exactly look like someone who knows his way around a kitchen." I respond trying not to laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks, giving me an amused look.

"I don't know. You just seem like the kind of man who orders everything." I say with a snort.

"I can cook." He replies offensively.

"Clearly." I say with a smile.

"Sit. Eat." He says placing another pancake on a plate. I walked over and sat at the kitchen island.

"Where are your parents?" I ask looking around.

"Outside." He responds.

"Already?" I question surprised.

"My father believes sleeping past six is wasting half the day." He says with a laugh. I laughed too.

"That sounds exhausting." I say.

"It is." He replies with a sly smile. He set a plate in front of me. I stared at the mountain of pancakes, eggs, bacon, and fruit.

"Are you trying to feed an army?" I ask. My eyes wide.

"My mother said you needed a proper breakfast." He says with a smile. I looked toward the window.

"Your mother knows I'm awake?" I ask.

"She's been awake since five." He says.

"Of course she has." I laugh. Alexander laughed as he sat across from me. I took a bite of pancake. My eyes widened.

"Okay." I state.

"What?" He questions.

"These are really good." I remark.

"I told you I could cook." He replies with a smile.

"I wasn't expecting it." I say honestly.

"You're full of surprises, Hannah." He says, shaking his head.

"So are you." I replied. I looked down at my plate.

I looked back up at him and for a moment, our eyes met. Something passed between us. Something neither of us acknowledged. Then the back door swung open.

"Alexander!" John yells. His father walks in carrying a toolbox. "Morning." He says looking at us.

"Morning, Dad." Alexander replies.

"Good morning, Hannah." He says, looking at me.

"Good morning." I reply with a smile.

"Finish eating. Then I'm putting you two to work." John says. I glanced at Alexander.

"Work?" I ask.

"Welcome to the family." Alexander sighed.

About twenty minutes later, I found myself standing outside holding a pair of gardening gloves. I stared at them. Then at Alexander.

"You've got to be kidding me." I mutter.

"Welcome to farm life." Alexander says.

"I thought I was supposed to be hiding." I say.

"You are." He responds.

"By pulling weeds?" She asks.

"Apparently." He responds.

I shook my head and put on the gloves. His father pointed toward a section of the garden.

"Those weeds need pulling before everyone gets here." Johns declares.

"Everyone?" I inquire.

"I told you the family was coming." Alexander points out. He looked at me.

"You said family. You didn't say an army." I explain. He laughed. I started pulling weeds while Alexander worked beside me. Surprisingly, I didn't hate it.

The sun was warm, the air smelled fresh, and there was something peaceful about being surrounded by nothing but open land.

For once, nobody was chasing me. Nobody was trying to kill me. Nobody knew where I was. I looked across the field.

"This is beautiful." I note.

"You like it?" Alexander asks. He glanced at me

"I love it." I remark.

"You've never lived somewhere like this?" He probes.

"No." I replied. I shook my head.

He smiled.

"Maybe you should." He states.

My hands stopped moving.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing." He says quickly.

Before I could question him, "Alexander! The chickens need feeding!" His father called from across the yard.

Alexander groaned.

"Go feed the chickens." I laughed.

"You think this is funny?" He asked me.

"Very." I reply.

He shook his head and walked toward the coop. I watched him for a moment before returning to the garden. For the next couple of hours, we worked around the property.

We fed chickens, checked the barn, helped his father repair part of a fence, and even carried baskets of vegetables toward the house. I hadn't realized how much I needed something so ordinary.

By the time we finished, my hands were dirty and my hair was slightly messy. Alexander looked at me and smiled.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He states.

"You're staring." I point out.

"You have dirt on your cheek." He whispers.

"Oh." I reply.

I tried wiping it away.

"Other side." He says.

I wiped the wrong side. He laughed.

"Still there." He informs me.

"Then get it." I say with a huff.

He stepped closer. His thumb gently brushed across my cheek.

"There." He says looking down at me.

I froze. His hand lingered for just a second before he pulled away.

"Thanks," I whispered.

"Anytime." He replies nodding.

A car horn sounded from the driveway. Then another. I looked toward the house.

"Are they here?" I ask.

"Yep." Alexander sighed.

Within minutes, the quiet property transformed. Cars filled the driveway. Voices echoed across the yard. Children ran around the grass while relatives carried bags of food toward the house. His mother hurried around greeting everyone.

"Alexander! Hannah! Come meet everyone!" She yells.

I looked at Alexander.

"I don't know if I'm ready for this." I admit. He reached for my hand.

"You'll be fine." He smiles. His fingers intertwined with mine. I looked down at our hands.

The gesture was supposed to be part of the act. At least, that's what I told myself.

"Hurry up, you two!" His mother calls us again.

"Ready?" Alexander smiles. I took a deep breath.

"Ready." I replied. We walked toward his family together.

Neither of us noticed the dark SUV parked farther down the road. Or the woman sitting inside it.

Camille Hayes watched the two of us approach the house. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Alexander holding Hannah's hand. She had known Alexander for years.

She had never seen him look at another woman quite like that. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

"Who exactly are you, Hannah?" She wonders aloud.

She watched the house for another moment before starting the engine. She wasn't going to let some stranger walk into Alexander's life and take her place.

Not without a fight.