Page 83 of The Bodyguard's Fall

Dang it, Ann Walker. I could feel myself wavering at her words. Wavering at the tender way she looked at me. I wanted to waver. I wanted to fling myself into her arms and have her hold me, pat my head, and tell me it would all be okay. Being a part of this family had meant so much to me. I’d never felt so safe as I did with her son.

I could feel Tate’s heated gaze on mine, but I didn’t look at him.

“Wait. So…” Luke trailed off and pointed to me, eyebrows knit together. “You’re going to leave because, to keep your job, you have to be married to stay here?”

The room fell into a weighted silence. The ticking clock on the wall above the desk was the only noise. I shifted uncomfortably. That wasn’t at all what… The way he said that made me…

Luke looked at Tate. “And you’re not going to jump on that?”

Though I was mortified at his words, the way Luke motioned toward me as he said them caused a warmth to glow inside of me.

He had stunned us all. Tom and Ann sat down on my bed with thoughtful expressions. Jaxon covered his hand over his mouth, but it wasn’t hard to decipher the grin beneath. Luke looked extremely pleased with the idea he’d brought to our door.

Tate hadn’t moved.

Not even a blink from his spot leaning against the wall.

I had never considered my contract in this light. I’d absolutely never use it to entice another person to marry me. It was almost laughable, if I didn’t have so many Walkers staring at me.

Luke threw up his hands. “Where the hell do I sign? I’ll marry her right now. I’m a better shot than you anyway.”

He started walking toward me, a smile on his face, my own not far behind at the sweet absurdity of it all, when Tate stopped Luke’s movement with a hand on his chest.

Luke looked down and grinned. “Ah…there it is.”

Tate pushed a delighted Luke backward before looking over at me, exasperation in his eyes. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

I nodded, and slowly, the entire family filtered out of the room. Ann gave me a brief hug, momentarily lowering my defenses—that conniving woman—while Tom grabbed Luke’s arm to be sure he followed him out the door. I stood next to the bed and faced him, my arms folded and prepared to do battle.

Tate was also prepared.

“Do you want to leave?” he demanded quietly.

“What?” I was instantly annoyed. How dare he just outright ask me the hardest question of the night.

He spoke slower this time, with more intent. “Do you actually want to leave, or are you just leaving because you think you have to?”

“I’m leaving because a deranged man broke into your family’s house, and the thought of putting your family at risk absolutely guts me.”

He folded his arms, looking formidable. “Everyone here is begging you to stay. Try again.”

My eyes narrowed slightly, though I felt more at home arguing with him alone. “I’m leaving because I can’t stay here and keep my job. I’m leaving because I’m starting to really love this screenplay, and if I don’t get it out in time, I’ll have to take a second job to supplement my income.”

“We can work all that out.”

“How?!” I fired back, annoyed at his brusque disregard for my job. “You want me to stay, but I can’t be here!”

He stepped closer. “You didn’t answer my first question. Do you want to leave?”

“No.” The word was out before I could stop it. And then I kept going. “No. I don’t want to leave. I love being here. I’ve never felt as safe as…” I blinked, then looked away and redirected my thoughts. “And I hate that I love it so much, because I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Then stop trying to go. You’re such a drama queen. Stop making this all about yourself.”

“What?!” I exploded.

A smile hid in the corner of Tate’s mouth. I looked at him, confused about how he was holding back a laugh while we were fighting. At the same time, this terrible thing had just happened. But then he kept staring, and all of a sudden, I was still annoyed but also trying not to smile.

And for some reason, it centered me.