“WHERE IS MY favorite bodyguard?” Juliette asked when Kelly arrived at the station Thursday morning. She had picked up her car yesterday afternoon and got to drive herself to work for the first time in forever. Donovan was supposed to meet her here.
“You shouldn’t get so attached. I’m starting to think my secret admirer has gone into hiding. I might not need a bodyguard for much longer.”
“Oh, I’m so torn! I don’t want anyone to stalk you, but I kind of enjoy having the detective around. My husband’s stomach likes him, too.”
Kelly needed to take her own advice about getting attached because like Juliette and her husband, she also liked having Donovan around a bit too much. It had been over a week since Kelly’s stalker had left the apology note on her door. Juliette did not recognize Hunter in the photo Donovan showed her. Donovan wasn’t convinced that meant he wasn’t still a suspect. He made Kelly order from Johnny’s Grill one night this week. When Hunter showed up, Donovan was the one to answer the door and pay for the food. It was a test, but if that was supposed to make Hunter jealous and push him to act out, it didn’t work or Hunter wasn’t the guy they were looking for.
There had been no stalker activity all week. No gifts, no notes, no phone calls. Nothing. The guy had never gone more than a couple days without making contact. Maybe getting the police involved had scared him off.
The elevator pinged and Donovan stepped out dressed much more casually than the first day they had met. Later this evening, they had to attend a concert at Ryman Auditorium where Kelly was emcee. Dressed in a black button-down and dark denim jeans, Donovan was looking more like a hot date than a bodyguard. He also was holding a tray of coffees.
“Good morning, Detective,” Juliette greeted him and was the first to receive a drink.
“Sorry that I’m late. I stopped to get you guys some coffee. Juliette, yours is a latte with sugar-free vanilla.”
“It’s a good thing my husband loves the recipes you share with me or else he would be very jealous of how much I love you.”
He pulled another drink out of the carrier and handed it to Kelly. “Chai latte for Miss Bonner.”
He paid attention to things Kelly didn’t realize he had noticed about her. Between the way he looked and the kind gesture, her heart skipped a few beats.
“Thank you, Detective Walsh,” she said, gratefully accepting the drink. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I am celebrating one week without any calls from the high school about Graham. He’s gone to all of his classes. Stayed out of trouble. We only have to get him through one more week and some finals and he will successfully finish the year.”
Kelly was so proud of Graham. He didn’t have an easy time at school with some of the bullying going on. Since they had talked about the issues last week, he had begun to open up more and more about school and his classes. He still hadn’t confronted the girl, but he was thinking he might do it the next time she chose not to say anything when her friends picked on him. Thankfully, those guys had backed off a bit.
“Excellent reason to celebrate. I’m glad he’s doing well.”
“Thanks to someone who is a very good listener.” He tipped his cup in her direction.
Kelly couldn’t take any of the credit. Graham was choosing to make different and better choices for himself. This was all him.
“Kelly, I’m glad you’re here. I need to talk to you.” Nancy came out front and snatched her friend away and into Kelly’s office.
“What’s the matter?”
Nancy shut the door. “I need your help with Lyle.”
Kelly’s brow furrowed. “What kind of help?” As far as Kelly knew, Lyle had played it cool and kept things professional after Kelly had let him down easy about Nancy not being interested.
“Ever since you mentioned that he likes me, I can’t stop thinking I am a giant fool for not at least trying,” she said, pacing around the small space. “And the more I regret my choice, the more he seems perfectly content to just be friends. I thought you said he really liked me.”
“He does really like you, but I told him you weren’t interested, so he’s moving on. What did you expect?”
Nancy sat down and crossed her legs. “I don’t know. I expected that things might be awkward for a little bit, but he hasn’t made it awkward at all. And I caught him chatting it up with Trish the other day. I would definitely characterize it as flirting.”
“You’re jealous of our twenty-two-year-old intern? She was literally in college two months ago. Come on, Nancy, Lyle is not interested in Trish.”
“I think I’m going to ask him to go to dinner this weekend. Do you think that’s a good or a bad idea?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think. Do you want to go to dinner with him?”
“Yes.”
“Then ask him. If he wants to go with you, he’ll say yes.” She was all for them getting together if that was what both of them wanted. “But I do ask that you think about why you’ve had this change of heart. If you’re doing this because you don’t like it that he’s giving Trish attention instead of you, please don’t ask him out.”
Nancy seemed genuinely perplexed. “Why?”
“Because he really likes you. If you’re just jealous and not really interested in being in a relationship with him, then please don’t ask him out. He deserves better than being that someone who feeds your ego.”
Nancy pressed her hand to her chest. “Hurtful. This is not about my ego.”
“Then you have my blessing.”
“Thank you,” Nancy said, getting to her feet. She stopped in the doorway. “I see you and the cute bodyguard are getting along nicely. Anyone else having a change of heart around here?”
“What?” Kelly was shocked by the accusation. What had she seen that made it so obvious that Kelly was torn about what to do? “No,” she lied. “Donovan and I have become friends. He’s teaching me how to take care of myself and I am helping him figure out how to take care of two kids. There’s no romance going on here.”
“Says the hopeless romantic who has a knack for knowing two people belong together before they do unless one of those people is her.”
It was true. She did have a gift for recognizing when people belonged together. She also was terrible at finding a good man for herself. Did that mean she was missing something going on between her and Donovan?
Kelly turned her back on her friend. “Good luck getting a date. Lyle and Trish are kinda growing on me.”
“Super hurtful!” Nancy said on her way out.
A few minutes later there was a knock on her door. Lyle’s lanky frame stood in her doorway. “Oh, good. She’s not in here.” He came in the office and shut the door behind him. “I need to talk to you.”
Kelly set down the pen she was marking her notes with and gave him her full attention. “About?”
“Trish asked me out for drinks after work tomorrow.”
Kelly’s eyes nearly popped out of head. Had she jinxed Nancy with her jokes? “When did that happen?”
“This morning.”
She leaned forward, fearing what this meant for Nancy’s change of heart. “And what did you say?”
Lyle grimaced. “I said yes. Why did I say yes? She was in diapers when I started high school.”
“Nancy’s planning on asking you to dinner this weekend.” The words fell out of her mouth on their own. She hadn’t planned to spill her friend’s secret. In fact, that was the exact opposite of what she’d told herself to do.
He put his hands on his head. “Don’t mess with me, Kel.”
“You’ve been doing such a good job of playing it cool, she realized she’s more interested in you than she had originally thought she was.” Thankfully, Kelly managed to leave out the part about being jealous of Trish.
“Are you kidding me?” he asked. Kelly shook her head. “You’re telling me that she realized she likes me as soon as I acted like I didn’t like her?”
“Pretty much. What are you going to do?”
Lyle threw his hands up. “I don’t know. It’s not like Trish and I have decided we want to go steady. I agreed to get drinks.”
“The fact that you call exclusively dating someone going steady means you are way too old for her.”
“If Nancy doesn’t ask me to go to dinner, I will never forgive you for giving me this anxiety,” he said, pacing around her office.
“You better hope Trish doesn’t tell Nancy that you agreed to go out with her. That’s the only thing that might stop her from following through.”
Lyle’s eyes went wide. “Do you think they would talk to each other about me?”
Kelly couldn’t picture Nancy sharing personal information with Trish since she already saw her as a rival. Of course, Trish might say something about going for drinks since she was oblivious to Nancy’s feelings for Lyle. “Maybe?”
“Oh, great. Should I tell Trish I can’t go? What if Nancy doesn’t ask and I pass up the chance to get to know Trish better? What if they find out I said yes to both of them and they both cancel on me and I die alone?”
Kelly got up and stopped him from pacing. She put a reassuring hand on his arm. “Deep breath. You are not going to die alone. Saying yes to both of them is not a crime. Like you said, you aren’t going steady with anyone. I think you can have drinks with Trish tomorrow and go out to dinner with Nancy this weekend.”
“It’s been a while since I dated one woman and more like forever since I dated two at the same time.”
Kelly smiled up at him. “That’s because you are a good guy. And because you are such a good guy, you have two wonderful ladies hoping you’ll want to spend time with them. There are worse problems to have, my friend.”
For example, you could be attracted to a great guy with awesome kids who just so happens to also be a cop working for your uncle, which was a deal-breaker. He could have also said you were amazing but at the same time would never, ever be in love with you. Those would be much worse problems to have.
DONOVAN BEGAN TO think this stalker wasn’t planning to ever show his face. The gifts had stopped coming to the station ever since Donovan started manning the lobby. He wondered if it was possible for the stalker to know he was there. Was he watching without making himself known?
There was no way for Donovan to know for sure unless he set some kind of trap. Maybe he needed to not be in the lobby for a few days to see if the gifts started up again. He didn’t like the thought of leaving Kelly unprotected. He’d have to find a way to be close but less visible.
Kelly came out to the lobby. “Ready to go?”
Her dark hair was pulled up in a sleek ponytail that accentuated her long neck and high cheekbones. Her skin was a little pink from being outside in the late-afternoon sun yesterday. She had come over to the house to do some self-defense training but ended up sitting on the porch with him watching Avery jump on the trampoline for a couple hours instead.
“Ready when you are,” he replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Juliette. Have a good night.”
“Bye, you two. Keep her safe, Detective.”
They got in the elevator and Kelly pressed the button to get to the parking garage. “I need to be at the auditorium at six. The station is sponsoring the meet-and-greet before the show.”
It was four o’clock. Avery would be home by five. He was hoping to feed the kids dinner before he had to leave, but if she needed to be there by six, he’d be cutting things close.
“I can pick you up so you have some extra time at home to get the kids settled,” she said as if she had read his mind.
It was a good idea but not possible. “Can’t do that because I have to check your apartment at the end of the night. I have to drive. I could meet you at the venue or I can pick you up when you’re ready to go.”
“I don’t want to make you drive all over the city for me. What’s easiest for you?”
The elevator opened and they stepped out into the basement garage. “Easiest would be to go straight to my house, make the kids dinner and go to the show, but I’m sure you need to go home first.”
Kelly dug through her purse and pulled out her valet ticket. He walked with her to the valet station. “Well, I don’t have to.” She smiled at the valet, handing him her ticket. “How are you doing tonight, Miller?”
“I’m doing well, Kelly. How are you?”
“It’s been a good day, but I have to work tonight.”
“No rest for the weary, huh?”
“Not for me,” she said.
“Do you have a ticket, sir?” the man asked Donovan. He was one of the valets Donovan had talked to that first day on this case.
“No, I self-parked.” Donovan turned his attention back to Kelly. “If you want, you can freshen up at my place and we can leave for the show from there. It would definitely save me some time.”
“Let’s do that then. I’ll follow you to your house. I wanted to hear how Graham did on his chemistry test, so it’s all good.”
Donovan noticed the valet had found the keys but was still standing there. “Are you going to get her car?”
The man didn’t bother to acknowledge Donovan’s question. “I’ll be right back with your car, Kelly.”
She gave him another smile. “Thanks.”
“You and the valet are on a first-name basis?” Donovan asked when the young man finally jogged off to retrieve the car.
She shrugged. “He’s worked here for a little while. I thought I told you the guys who work here are always pretending to fight over who’s going to help me. Miller is always really nice, so I asked his name one time. He acted like no one had ever bothered to ask him that before. We’ve been buddies ever since.”
“Buddies like you and the food delivery guy, huh?”
“It’s exactly like that. Miller asks me how my day was, I ask him how his day was. We do a little small talk. It’s nothing, but he seems to appreciate being treated like a human being instead of just a car valet.”
“You are a very nice person, you know that, right?”
“Because I treat people like people?”
Miller was back with her car quite quickly. Being nice probably helped with the wait time. Kelly folded up a couple dollar bills and handed them to him when he got out of the driver’s seat. “Have a good one. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said.
“Don’t work too hard tonight,” he replied, holding the door open for her.
Donovan came up behind him. “I’ve got it, man. I need to finish talking to her.”
The valet gave Donovan a once-over. “Aren’t you that guy who was asking a bunch of questions last week?”
“That was me. You have any new info? See anything suspicious down here recently?”
“Are you a cop or are you a friend of Kelly’s?” he asked instead of answering.
“He’s both, Miller,” Kelly said. “If you have seen anything out of the ordinary please let him know.”
“I haven’t seen anything.”
“Well, if you do, I’m here whenever Kelly is,” Donovan said, switching places with him. “You can let me know if you see anything. Big or small.”
Miller nodded and stepped away.
“Wait for me and you can follow me to my place,” he told her.
“Okay.” Even though he’d watched her smile at other people all week, when she beamed up at him, she made Donovan feel like he was the only person capable of bringing her that much joy.
He needed to shake off that feeling. If there was no threat, there was no need for a bodyguard. No bodyguard, no reason to spend time with each other anymore. Donovan had to be prepared to go back to his life before Kelly Bonner stepped into it.
Graham was in his room when they got to the house. He came jogging down the stairs minutes later. “Guess who got an A on his chemistry test?”
“You already know your grade?” Kelly asked.
“He didn’t grade it yet, but I knew everything. I didn’t have to guess on any of them.”
“That’s awesome, man.” Kelly gave him a high-five.
“Good job, Graham,” Donovan added, not that his approval mattered a tenth of what Kelly’s did.
“I also said something to Mia today.” Graham didn’t seem as excited about that as he did the test.
Kelly flopped down on the couch like she owned the place. “Oh, my gosh, how did that go? Please tell me it went okay. You don’t look devastated, so I feel like it didn’t go badly. Did it go badly?”
Donovan loved that when she got so anxious she talked too much instead of giving someone a chance to ease her mind.
Graham sat down next to her. “I told her that she needed to decide. Either she wants to be my friend or she doesn’t.”
“What did she say?”
“She tried to act like she had no idea what I was talking about. She said she’s always been my friend. She didn’t understand why I thought she wasn’t.”
Kelly shifted her body so she was facing him. “Did you tell her?”
“I said she sure doesn’t act like it when certain people are around. When it’s just us, she’s cool. When we’re not alone, she acts like she doesn’t even know me. I’m not an idiot. I know she’s afraid to tell them we’re friends.”
“Good for you. What did she say?”
“She just said she had no idea what I was talking about. I said we will see. I told her I’d be sure to point it out when she ignores me next.”
“You handled yourself perfectly. You didn’t attack her. You stayed cool. You let her know you want to be her friend if she wants to be yours. You left the ball in her court. Hopefully, she comes through for you.”
“Who are you guys talking about?” Donovan asked, trying to get back into the loop. They had said a name earlier, but he hadn’t been paying attention.
Graham clearly hadn’t planned on letting his uncle be part of this conversation. “It doesn’t matter.”
Kelly shot him a disapproving look. “A name isn’t going to kill you. He’s not going to do anything. He just wants to know who we’re talking about.”
“Her name is Mia,” he said to Donovan. “I don’t know how that helps you understand what is going on. You don’t know who she is.”
Feeling a bit defensive, he replied, “Neither does Kelly.”
“Okay, let’s not start this. The good news is the chem test went well. Mia has a chance to step up and be a real friend. And your uncle and I are going to a concert in an hour, so I need to get ready. No one wants to see me looking like this.” Kelly waved a hand around her face, which looked just fine to Donovan.
Kelly went to get ready, Graham disappeared back upstairs and Donovan started dinner. At five o’clock Avery came skipping in like she hadn’t a care in the world.
“Hi, Uncle Donovan.”
“Hello, my favorite little one. How was your day?”
“It was good.” She pushed up on her tiptoes to see what he was making. “My teacher said I am a nice friend to my friends. And she laughed at my joke about why the kids crossed the playground.”
“Why did the kids cross the playground?”
“To get to the other slide!” she said with a giggle. “Get it? Slide. The other slide.”
Avery never failed to brighten his day. “Hilarious. High-five for being funny and nice. That makes me very proud.”
Her smile lit up her whole face as she jumped up and high-fived him. “Where’s Kelly?”
The fact that she assumed Kelly would be there gave him pause. Donovan had lost sight of all his personal boundaries when it came to Kelly. “She’s getting ready in the bathroom. I have to take her to a concert tonight.”
“I’m going to say hi,” Avery said, scurrying off to find her favorite person in the world.
A few minutes later, Donovan could hear Kelly say, “I don’t think pigtails is the right look for tonight, but thank you. You are very sweet for trying to help.”
The two of them came into the kitchen, where Donovan almost had dinner ready. “Hey, Avery, why don’t you help me by getting four forks and knives out and set on the table?”
Instead of being high on the back of her head, Kelly’s ponytail was pulled together at the nape of her neck and her hair was draped over one shoulder. Her makeup had been reapplied with a heavier hand, making those blue eyes even more stunning.
She sat on the stool by the island. “I’m pretty sure that I’ve eaten more home-cooked meals here in the last week than I have in the last year at my own place.”
Donovan set the dinner plates with a clatter. “I wonder how much longer your uncle will want me on this assignment if there’s no more contact by the stalker.”
“He has been quiet since you came on the scene.”
“I’m wondering if my presence has spooked this guy or if you getting the cops involved in general has helped. I’m just not sure that if I backed off, he wouldn’t reappear.”
“Probably should try it and see, don’t you think?” Kelly picked up the napkins on the island and set one next to each plate.
His experience said they should try backing off her security detail, but Donovan’s imagination ran wild with all the possible things that could happen to her if he wasn’t there to keep her safe, making it much harder to walk away.
“I’ll talk to your uncle tomorrow.”
“Or you could talk to me. We could decide.” Kelly’s voice was rife with indignation. “My uncle doesn’t run my life. He’s not the boss of me.”
“Well, he is the boss of me. Or did you forget?”
“I didn’t forget. Maybe we should both talk to him in the morning.”
Donovan called Graham down for dinner and the four of them sat and ate, sharing tidbits of their days with one another. Kelly and Graham laughed rather convincingly at Avery’s slide joke. After dinner, Donovan followed Kelly to the auditorium.
Working backstage at the show was easy. Everyone there was way more interested in the band than they were Kelly. He led her through crowded hallways and opened doors for her. With the threat level so low, Donovan could relax. Her professional responsibilities were done as soon as she finished announcing the band to the crowd.
“I have two seats to the show... You want to stay with me for a little bit and have a listen?” she asked him when she got offstage.
“You’re the boss. If you want to stay, I am obligated to stay with you.”
There was a glimmer in her eyes. “Getting to have my own way is pretty irresistible. You sure you’re okay with staying?”
He wasn’t a huge country music fan, but seeing her have a good time might be entertaining enough. “Whatever you want.”
Kelly wanted to stay for a couple of songs. Once they settled into their seats, it almost felt like they were out on a date. Feeling that way may have been more dangerous than any stalker. Dating wasn’t part of any of Donovan’s plans. Avery and Graham had to be his first priority, but Kelly’s smile was bright and she sang adorably off tune. She wasn’t making it easy on him.
Kelly sidled up to him and put her mouth close to his ear. “I’m ready to go. Follow me home?”
Donovan nodded as his heart crashed against his ribs. She smelled like the flowers at the farmers market. He was relieved that they had driven separately so she couldn’t cloud his judgment any longer.
“I had fun tonight,” she said once they made it back to her apartment building.
All he needed to do was get her into her apartment and he’d be able to go home and clear his head. “I’m glad.”
She quirked a brow. “Did you have any fun?”
He clasped his hands behind his back and avoided her eyes. “It wasn’t terrible.”
“It wasn’t terrible? Jonah Vincent is Grace Note Records’ next big thing. Believe you me.”
“He’s got a great voice. Much better than some people who were singing along...”
Kelly’s eyes widened. “Are you calling me a bad singer?”
“Do you hear yourself when you sing at those things?”
Her mouth fell open and she swatted his chest. He could only laugh at her.
The elevator doors opened and Kelly bumped him with her hip to get out first. “You are mean,” she said, turning around to face him as she walked backward toward her apartment.
“Honest. I think the word you’re looking for is honest.”
“Well, not all of us can be great at everything. I am not a great cook. I am not a very good singer. This may be true,” she said. “But I am...”
“Kind,” he finished for her. “Beautiful. Compassionate.”
Her expression serious, she came to a stop in front of her apartment. Her cheeks flushed red. “Thank you.”
“I’m just being honest,” he replied. If he was truly honest, he’d have to admit he cared about her a great deal. She was someone he wanted to be around and not because it meant getting off desk duty.
“You want to open your door?” he asked after she stood staring at him wordlessly for a few seconds.
Kelly snapped out of it and unlocked her door.
The moment he walked into the apartment, the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up. “Get back in the corridor,” he said to Kelly, who had followed him in. They’d had so many days of nothing to worry about, she had been joining him in the apartment before he completed his walk-through.
Something immediately felt off. Even in the dark, he could tell it wasn’t right. It didn’t even smell the way it should. For the first time while handling Kelly’s protection detail, Donovan wished he had his service weapon. He flicked on the lights and his fears came to life.
“What’s the matter?” Kelly said from the hall.
Donovan didn’t bother going any farther without backup. He pulled out his phone. “I’m guessing you did not leave rose petals on the floor before you left for work this morning.”
The color drained from Kelly’s face. “What? No.”
He was already dialing 9-1-1. “We have a huge problem.”