One Big Mistake - Jennifer Youngblood Page 0,6

just Jaxson’s way.

However, the feelings Ramsey was having for Hartley were more than a passing fancy. She’d gotten under his skin, and he didn’t know how to get her out of his system. More than once this week, he’d found himself surfing the internet, watching YouTube videos of Hartley in concert. As far as he could tell, Hartley didn’t have a boyfriend. She’d dated another singer for a few months, but the two had broken up over a year ago.

If Ramsey had been a smarter man with more willpower, he would have made up an excuse as to why he couldn’t attend the anniversary celebration. However, he was about as boneheaded as a stupid moth unable to escape the lure of the flame. Come rain or shine, he was going tomorrow night.

Would Hartley give him the brush-off like she did before? Or would he finally be able to make some headway this time? As he drifted off to sleep, he smiled thinking of the sparring that would inevitably take place between them. Hartley was a spitfire—always keeping Ramsey on his toes. He’d have to hone his skills. Otherwise, Hartley would eat him for lunch.

1

“Come on, Ramsey, think about how awesome it would be if you joined us on the tour full time.” Cash’s expression was hopeful, eager as he peered across the kitchen table at Ramsey.

“It would be fantastic to have you,” Ava agreed. “We can always use your expertise, especially after what happened a couple weeks ago.” She looked at Cash, silent information passing between them.

Ramsey frowned. “What happened?” A few months ago, he’d temporarily taken the position as head of security for Cash’s tour. At which point, he helped track down a murderer who was terrorizing Cash’s tour members. It had been a harrowing situation. Ava had been shot and was nearly killed. Ramsey assumed that all was good with Cash and Ava’s tour now, even though he knew deep down that problems would always arise. That was the nature of the beast. Cash was a country music superstar and would always need protection. He eyed Cash and Ava, waiting for them to spill the details.

Ava moistened her lips. “A man broke into Hartley’s house.”

Ramsey flinched. “What? Is she okay?”

“For now,” Ava continued. “Hartley forgot to set the security alarm for her house. She awoke in the middle of the night to find a man in her room. When Hartley retrieved the gun from her nightstand, the intruder got spooked and ran away.”

Ramsey’s mind raced into high gear. “Did Hartley recognize the intruder?”

“No,” Ava answered. “We suspect that it was a crazed fan.”

Ramsey’s mind ticked through the list of routine questions. “Has Hartley been getting hate mail? Any strange emails?”

Cash shook his head. “No, we hope it was an isolated event. But we can’t be sure. I would feel better about the situation if you took over the security. Not just temporarily this time, but on a permanent basis.” He leaned forward. “Money is no object, bro,” he said quietly, even though they were the only three in the kitchen. “Name your price.”

Ramsey sat back in his seat and drummed his fingers on the table. It chilled his blood to think of Hartley being in danger. A man had entered her bedroom while she was sleeping. Had she not had a gun, the situation could have been bad. Part of Ramsey was tempted to accept the job on the spot, not only to protect Hartley but also to be around her on a regular basis. However, he enjoyed his current job as a member of Sutton Smith’s private security team. Sutton Smith was a billionaire philanthropist. Sutton’s only son, Doug, was a Navy SEAL. He was killed in the line of duty. To honor his memory, Sutton set up his security team, which was composed of many former Navy SEALs, like Ramsey. It was nice having the association with other former SEALs. Also, Ramsey enjoyed the unpredictability of his work, how he was constantly moving from client to client, never staying in one place or with any set person for a long period of time. Plus, Ramsey enjoyed having access to Sutton’s unlimited resources.

On the other hand, Ramsey would enjoy being around his brother on a regular basis. His job was often lonely, and he missed being around family. And he couldn’t exactly take Hartley out of the equation. While Ramsey longed to be near her, it probably wasn’t a good idea because of the bro code. Then