Dropping The Ball - A New Year’s Billionaire Romance - Weston Parker Page 0,18

She smiled. “Well, not that it’s so common, but that you’ve seen it and dealt with it before.”

“Really? Here I thought you were comforted by the knowledge that there are so many other people out there getting threatened by dirtbags.”

Rylee didn’t skip a beat. She snapped her thumb and index finger together, shaking her head. “Maybe I should start a support group. We can all comfort each other.”

“There are actually support groups out there. They’re not quite as well-known as some of the others, for obvious reasons, but they’re pretty active.”

“I can understand why they would be. Getting threatened is bad enough. I can’t imagine what it must feel like if the person who has threatened you actually starts following you around or trying to hurt you.”

A visible shudder traveled through her. I wanted to hug her so damn badly that I ended up digging my fingers into my thighs to keep from reaching out to her. We’d never been particularly close, but there had been times here and there that we’d hugged.

Birthdays. Their grandfather’s funeral. Once or twice when we said hi or bye. I remembered what it felt like to have her in my arms, though. Not so well that I could still feel exactly what her body had felt like against mine or anything as obsessive as that, but I remembered those hugs, and they’d been good.

“Hopefully, you’ll never know what that feels like,” I said, settling for using a reassuring tone. “Even if this guy or anyone else tries anything, I’ll be there. No one is going to hurt you.”

“About that.” She sucked in a breath and rolled her lips into her mouth before slowly releasing them. “I’m not sure how your arrangements with clients usually work, but I want twenty-four-seven security and I’d like it to be only one person. I’ve got a guest bedroom at my place where you can stay.”

My heartrate kicked up a notch. It wasn’t the first time a client was expecting me to be with them every minute of every day, but this was Rylee. I was attracted to her, which was a first for me with a client.

Not only that, but contrary to popular belief, I did have a life outside of work. Twenty-four-seven jobs never really excited me.

On the other hand, I’d feel much more comfortable knowing she was protected at all times. “I’ll need to have Sundays off to go home to my dog, Max. During daylight hours on Sundays when I’m not with you, I’ll arrange for Bart to be there.”

“Max can come with you to my house, but fine. Sundays off. Do you have any dietary requirements I should be aware of?”

“Nope. I’ll eat pretty much anything but you know you’re not expected to feed me, right?” One of the drawbacks of having to live with a client was having to eat whenever you had time instead of at normal mealtimes.

Rylee shrugged her shoulders, her eyes locked on mine. “I might not be expected to feed you, but I’d like to. It’d be too weird only cooking for myself if you’re right there. Plus, it’s the least I can do for wanting someone with me all the time.”

“It’s really not necessary, but I won’t stop you if that’s what you want.”

She smiled. “That’s what I want. You said you eat ‘pretty much anything,’ so there’s obviously stuff you don’t like. Care to share?”

“I’m not crazy about tripe.” I chuckled when she scrunched up her nose.

“That won’t be a problem,” she said. “It’s not something I’m very familiar with and I have no plans to change that.”

I laughed. “I know it’s considered a delicacy by many, but my palate is just not that refined.”

“Agreed. Anything else you don’t like?” She slid her forearms onto the polished surface of the table and leaned forward.

The shirt she was wearing wasn’t low cut, but in this new position, I could see just a hint of her cleavage. Oh, man. It’s going to be a long, hard month for me.

Deliberately keeping my gaze very firmly on hers instead of where it so badly wanted to drop to, I reminded myself that this was a professional relationship. “Anything else is fine, really. You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll just be grateful to be getting food.”

“And here I thought we were hitting it off so well. Now you shut down on me?” She shook her head, but her eyes were alive with humor. “That’s okay. I’ll get it out of