Page 28 of Beau
“I went to work for a while in a security firm providing protection for general contractors working in Afghanistan until our country pulled the plug on our presence there.”
“Wow.” She shook her head. “Isn’t that like mercenary work?”
“Some call it that,” he admitted. “We were there to protect, not to engage unless we had to.”
He edged toward the bathroom, afraid she’d ask more questions, and he’d eventually have to lie or tell her the truth. He’d rather avoid doing either until her father broke it to her that he was being paid to take care of her. “I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. I’m going to shave and change. I’ll only be a few minutes, and then you can have the bathroom to yourself.”
“Let me grab my things. I can do most everything out here.” She ducked into the bathroom and emerged with her bra, her cheeks flushed a soft pink. “All yours.”
He nodded, making a mental note to find her some clothes or go by her house after the sheriff’s department had dusted for prints. She didn’t look like the type of woman who liked running around in public wearing a faded T-shirt and men’s shorts, though she looked sexy in them. With her trim figure, long dark hair and deep brown eyes, she’d look good in a paper bag.
He dragged his gaze from her, grabbed a clean pair of jeans from the closet and ducked into the bathroom, silently reminding himself of his responsibility.
She’s the job.
Focus.
Beau pulled on the jeans and splashed water on his face and hair. After he combed his hair, he shaved and brushed his teeth and was back out in less than five minutes.
Aurelie sat on the side of the bed, dragging the brush through her hair.
He took the brush out of her hand.
She sighed and turned her back. “My hair is so thick that if I don’t have a good conditioner, it takes forever to work out the tangles.”
Beau worked through the tangles quickly, afraid if he lingered, he’d end up like he had the previous night, wanting more than to smooth the tangles from her hair. Within a couple of minutes, he finished and handed the brush to her. “We’ll find some conditioner for you today.”
“Thank you,” she said with a smile. “I could get used to having you around.”
He’d like to be around under different circumstances, perhaps when he wasn’t pretending to be some random guy who’d just happened to save her life.
Aurelie rose from the bed and hurried to the bathroom. “I just have to brush my teeth, and I’ll be ready.” When her stomach rumbled, she laughed and pressed a hand to her middle. “I guess I’m hungrier than I thought. I look forward to that home-cooked meal.”
“Then hurry up. I’m starving.” He didn’t bother to tell her where they were going for breakfast.
She left the bathroom door open as she squeezed toothpaste onto a toothbrush and turned on the water in the sink. “I have some at my house. I hope they process for fingerprints early so I can get back in there and assess the damage this morning.”
“We can check with the sheriff after breakfast.” Beau found a clean black T-shirt in one of his drawers and pulled it over his head, tucking it into the waistband of his jeans. “We also need to get new cell phones. It might mean heading into New Orleans for that.” He grabbed socks and found a pair of black combat boots in the closet.
Aurelie emerged from the bathroom as Beau pulled his boots over the socks.
“I hope you don’t mind that I borrowed a pair of your socks,” she said. “My boots aren’t quite dry, but the socks help.”
“I’m glad you found some.” He pulled on the second boot and stood. “If you need anything else, help yourself or ask, and I’ll see if I can find something that will work.”
“Do you have a belt I could use?” she asked.
“I do.” He reached into the closet and pulled out the two belts he owned. One was brown leather, the other black. “Your choice.”
She chose the brown leather and slipped it around her waist, cinching his oversized T-shirt, making it fit like a stylish tunic. The shirt was long enough it almost covered the gym shorts. With the boots she’d worn for her Amelia Earhart costume, she looked like a runway model.
Beau shook his head. “You could wear a paper bag and make it look like a designer piece.”
She laughed. “Sometimes, all it takes is accessories. I didn’t want to look like a bag lady. I appreciate the T-shirt loaner, but it’s so big, I’m almost lost in it.” She patted the belt. “This helps tremendously. Thank you for all of it.”
“Glad I could help,” he said as he slid the black belt through the loops on his jeans and buckled it. “Ready?”
She nodded and walked ahead of him to the door.