Page 10 of Island Whispers

“Easy enough,” Logan said. “Take care, Nina.” He turned to Boone and jerked his chin toward the door. It must’ve been some kind of protector code, because Boone followed him outside.

She watched them go, testing his name in her head. Boone. The unique name suited him.

Far more appropriate than “hot guy with excellent skills in bed”. She snorted. Untimely, but the amusement eased some of the tension.

“Tell me how you’re doing,” Jess said. “The truth.”

“I’ve had better mornings,” Nina admitted. “I didn’t mean to stir up trouble.”

“You were helping,” Jess said. “That’s important. Why were you taking a delivery to Charleston?”

Nina reminded herself that her future sister-in-law was on her side. Her previous career as a police officer and her current work in security made her an expert in asking questions. “We had last-minute funeral orders come in.” She checked her watch. “There were additional local orders, plus the fresh flowers for the weekly Pelican contract. It was the easiest solution.”

“So you weren’t meeting anyone else while you were in the city?”

Nina pressed her lips together. Jess meant well and right now Nina needed help to prevent her family from overreacting to the incident. “No. I got up early, made the arrangements for the service, and I delivered the arrangements to the church. After that, well.” How to explain? “It was such a gorgeous morning that it felt life-affirming to take a walk along the Battery.”

“I get it.” Jess studied her with an intensity that probably left suspects quaking. “Can you walk me through what happened?”

Nina would rather discuss how and when she might get her cell phone back. “I heard a scream. Kind of a shriek.” The mother’s panic was seared into her memory. “When I turned around a minivan was driving straight at me.” She lifted her arm, as she explained. “I held up my phone and started taking pictures. Well, apparently, I was taking a video. I was too far away to help the woman screaming and I certainly couldn’t do anything to stop the car. In the moment it seemed like the right solution.”

“It was. Definitely,” Jess assured her.

“Except now I’m in some kind of danger and the police are holding my phone as evidence,” Nina said. She sounded petulant and it annoyed her.

“We can get you another phone, no problem.”

“Do I really need a protector?”

Jess came around and dropped into the chair Boone had vacated. “Maybe it’s overkill, but I don’t want to take any chances. The Charleston police believe he’s dangerous and you were near the car with the shop logo.”

True. She’d been trying to ignore that detail. “I saw Nash’s truck down the street. Was he here? Does he know?”

“Yes and yes,” Jess replied.

Nina appreciated her candor. Jess’s no-nonsense approach comforted her.

“He also met Boone.”

That was no comfort at all. As if summoned, the door opened and the man himself walked back into the office.

“We need to come up with a reason for Boone to suddenly be a fixture in your life,” Jess said.

Because no one in town would believe that Nina could draw or hold the attention of a hot sexy man like him. No, folks around here were far more likely to believe she’d become infatuated with him.

“A fixture?” she asked, when Jess’s words sunk in.

“Yes.” Boone’s rumbly reply caught her full attention. Infatuation was a serious possibility whether she liked it or not. “As your protector I’ll be around twenty-four-seven.”

That should not excite her. “All right.” She would have ample time to apologize for running out on him. She could do that. He deserved an apology, especially since she didn’t want to explain her reasons.

“Nash nixed the possibility of using a romantic cover story,” Jess was saying.

“Why?”

Her defensiveness came through loud and clear. Too bad. She was edgy after the roller coaster morning and she wasn’t up for nonsensical big-brother opinions on her personal life. “Let me guess. He doesn’t think I date?”

Somehow, she managed to keep her eyes away from Boone, although their singular night didn’t qualify as dating. He’d been a hookup. She didn’t regret it, not for a single minute, but she’d never expected to see him again.