Page 21 of Defending Love
Instead of answering, he looked at the beach bag. “Do you have everything your mom requested?”
I lifted the bag. “I do.”
“What do you want to do tonight?”
“Besides get some straight answers from you?”
His smirk was back. “Besides that.”
“If my laptop passed your inspection, I guess we’ll take these things to Mom and then go to the villa you rented. I can catch up on emails and find out if I’m missing anything important happening at Sinclair.”
“No live music or partying in the Villages?”
“If I said yes, you’d tell me it wasn’t safe.”
Eli removed his thumb drive from my parents’ computer. “Sounds like you remember things about me, too.”
“Not you particularly,” I lied. “I’ve had a few other bodyguards, and you’re all the same.”
He took a step closer, the musky notes of his cologne tickling my nose and his massive chest settling at my eye level. His tenor dropped an octave. “We’re all the same.”
That wasn’t true.
Melinda didn’t cause my core to twist or my nipples to bead. Even Silas Hartman, the other man who worked with Ella and me a year ago, didn’t have the same effect on my body that Eli did. I swallowed and looked up. “Yes. All very predictable.”
For longer than necessary, we stood merely inches apart as his strikingly green gaze stared down at me, penetrating my veneer and searching deep into my heart and soul. Maintaining eye contact, I stared back, determined not to be the first to blink. My decision to remain resolute in keeping our relationship professional grew more difficult to remember as my breathing shallowed.
Finally, his deep baritone timbre shattered the stare-down. “You’re not a convincing liar.” He winked. “Don’t play poker.”
“I’ll have you know, I’m excellent at Texas Hold’em.”
“I’ll walk with you to the neighbors.”
The neighbors?
“Hoosier,” Eli reminded.
“Right.” Our face-off had my mind a bit preoccupied. I tried to move on, rambling on about things I may have already told him. “The neighbor’s name is Carol. She’s a widow who moved in about the same time as Mom and Dad…” We locked Mom’s place and walked along the sidewalk to Carol’s house. As soon as I rang the doorbell, I heard the familiar bark.
“Dani,” Carol said as she opened the door, allowing Hoosier to rush out and greet me.
I picked him up and nuzzled my face against his soft light-brown fur. “Thank you for keeping him.”
“Come in,” she waved as she looked up at Eli.
Once in the foyer of her lovely villa, I spoke to Carol, “This is Eli. And this is Carol,” I introduced to Eli.
“May I get the two of you anything to drink?”
“We can’t stay. I just wanted to check on Hoosier. Mom will be happy to hear he’s doing well.”
“How is Marsha doing?”
“She’s up and walking with a walker. And if I know my mom, she won’t need that for too long.” I lowered Hoosier to the tile floor. “Can I give you any money for his food and care?”
Carol waved her hand. “There was plenty of food in the garage. If I need to buy more, I will.” She grinned. “I’m enjoying his company.”
“Have you been in the Sinclairs’ home?” Eli asked.
