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But it wouldn’t work. “She’s stubborn as hell. She’ll never agree to it.”
“Told you that you like difficult women.”
He gave him a grim quirk of his lips. “But I’ll never get bored with her.”
The traits that Livia believed made her unattractive to other men was what made her a perfect match for him.
“I can’t deny we need guards posted all around the ranch. Somehow these assholes are getting around our cameras and we can’t catch them on tape.” Hunter thrust his hand deep in his pocket, his pose stiff.
“Ledger’s coming, but who else can we reach out to?”
They stared at each other, at a loss.
“Not many of us are left.” Colton dragged in a deep breath and blew it out. “But I can reach out to my buddy, Ross Wynton. He runs a security agency—WEST Protection.”
Carver spotted Livia walking toward him and knew they needed to go open the bar. What began as a romantic date with the woman he was falling for had ended in disaster.
They all turned to watch the medics load Marks into the back of the ambulance. Colton broke away and jogged over to the ambulance. He stuck his head in the open doors, speaking to Marks.
Livia reached Carver, and he slipped an arm around her, pulling her against his side where she belonged.
Where he could keep her safe.
They all looked on as Colton stepped away from the ambulance and one of the medics closed the doors, the double thuds ominous after what happened.
What they all felt coming.
Chapter Twelve
Every time Livia looked up from serving alcohol, Carver’s gaze was fixed on her. What had gotten into him? He was always protective, and more than a little highhanded too, but he seemed even more dialed in to her every move.
As if he wasn’t already watching her through the security cameras he put up around the bar. She knew at least two were trained directly on the place she stood—and another was directed right at her ass.
How many times had she caught him staring at his phone, lips tilted in a private smile?
Emory slid a tray across the bar at her. “Six drafts please, Livia.”
“Got it.” She started pulling glasses off the shelf.
The waitress shot a sideways glance at the front of the bar where Carver stood. “That man is so into you.”
She didn’t need to look his way to know he was still staring. She felt his dark gaze like his callused fingertips on her bare skin. Her insides gripped.
“Who would that be?” She set a full glass on the tray and reached for an empty one.
Emory leaned over the bar. “Come on, Livia! The new bouncer is crazy about you! He can’t stop staring at you.”
“I don’t see it.” Her heartbeat doubled, and she poured all her effort into filling the glasses.
“You don’t see how every time you get too far away, it’s like he moves with you.”
Livia lifted her head and met Emory’s eyes. Her mouth must be hanging open, because her tongue was beginning to dry out.
An image hit her mind of how Colton acted with Meadow, moving in tandem, rotating with her as if they were involved in some secret dance nobody else could participate in. Then there was Hunter and Ivy. That pair did the same.
Oh god. Carver acted the same way with her.
He claimed he was falling for her. Knowing words meant nothing in a lifetime filled with empty promises from people, Livia always took note of actions.
