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Dating Ike would never happen.
For the first time in her twenty-six years, Myra didn’t much like her life path or her goals.
Chapter
Eight
Ike didn’t want to undermine Myra in any way or mess up this op, but the need to protect her and to touch her thrummed through him like a drill sergeant’s nonstop instructions—barked out, no excuse not to comply, and with dire consequences for failure.
He passed a telling hand over his face, and Myra cast him a concerned glance. He simply nodded back. He didn’t know how to keep his distance from her or not step up and shield her from Beau. He’d like to excuse himself by saying he usually worked solo, that he’d never been assigned to a protection detail with a woman, let alone an irresistible woman who felt like his other half.
Could he confide in her what a mess he was? No way. He’d observed her tease and flirt with a lot of different ops, but he knew the reports—she never said yes to their repeated date offers.
The way Myra teased with him was simply her norm, her defense mechanism, her shield to disarm her male counterparts and keep her distance. He respected her and was impressed by her.
It was unfair of him to make a difficult situation even harder for her. Myra was a tough female op having to pretend to date two different men. Sticky and uncomfortable.
Besides, when he’d admitted that he hated Beau touching her, she’d said she could handle it and she was a professional. Then she’d watched Beau interact with the young players with a sweet smile on her face. Beau was obviously rising in her estimation. What woman wouldn’t be interested in a famous, passably-good-looking superstar athlete like Beau?
Argh.
No way could Ike share that he was mesmerized by her, that he’d never felt drawn to a woman like this and was tempted to give up his pledge of the past two years of never letting his heart get invested in a woman again.
By the time they left the stadium and climbed into the Escalade to drive home, Ike was about ready to explode. It was so unlike him. Reacting with lightning speed and in the right way was ingrained in him, but his normal disposition was laidback and observant.
Beau had asked quietly if Myra would sit in the back with him so none of the players, coaches, or parents who watched them drive away would realize she was with Ike.
It was quiet as they drove away from the field. Ike was ready to tell Beau off. He wasn’t sure where to start—taking liberties touching Myra and kissing her cheek, trying to get her to fight a teenager, or just simply being a cocky idiot.
The interesting thing was Myra had been right in her observation. Beau had been focused, inspiring, and fun with those teenagers. Just like he was when he played professionally. Truthfully, besides the initial meeting where he’d goaded Myra and all the hot, gorgeous, and beautiful comments, Beau had been welcoming, easy to talk to, and pleasant.
“Hey, sorry about the fighting thing,” Beau said. “I was being an idiot and not thinking about them being underage. I just wanted to show Myra off, and I was tense about the kid’s comment about Bermuda dumping me.”
Ike nodded, not sure what to say. He must have really liked Bermuda.
“You both did great,” Beau continued quickly. “That was some fun banter with the ripping the spleen out.”
“Ike is very impressive,” Myra said.
His gaze flickered to her in the rearview mirror. She was sitting directly behind him and gifted him with such a sincere smile his breath hitched.
“Thanks,” he managed, resisting the urge to rub at his heart.
“It’ll be great to head home,” Beau chirped. “You two can relax and hug and kiss and see if I care.”
Relief rushed through Ike, followed by a giddy anticipation he’d never felt in his life. They were done with being in public and Myra pretending to be Beau’s girlfriend for the day. Beau wasn’t going to make them go with him to some bar, club, or party tonight? That was an unexpected move by the superstar.
Ike was more than ready to get back to the house, do a sweep to make certain it was secure, hold hands with Myra, eat some dinner, and relax. If Beau was in a safe space, maybe he and Myra could swim in the pool and soak in the hot tub. His body heated up imagining ‘pretending’ to be Myra’s boyfriend. If he kissed her, could it be considered part of the assignment? How would he ever keep his heart detached if he kissed her?
He looked in the rearview again. Myra’s dark-brown eyes and breathtaking smile made his stomach flip flop.
Beau’s phone beeped. He opened it and clicked on something.
“Ah, shoot,” Beau muttered. “I was planning to be all generous and let you two relax at the house, but I have a party I forgot about. P.R. stuff for the team.”
Ike’s grip on the steering wheel tightened as any hope of relaxing with Myra went out the window. “Myra and I can stay in the background and be your security.”
“Sorry, but Myra needs to stay by my side and be my girlfriend.”
