Fake Marriage to Her Bodyguard

Fake Marriage to Her Bodyguard

Chapters: 17
Updated: 19 Dec 2024
Author: Kathryn Cantrell
4.6

Synopsis

She’s his best friend’s sister. Off-limits for so many reasons. So why did he agree to a fake engagement that will make it impossible to keep his feelings for her a secret? Shiloh Anderson is done with men who can’t spell “commitment.” She’d rather focus on opening her own business instead of wading back into the dating pool in hopes of meeting a unicorn of a man who won’t run the other way the moment things get serious. But that was before someone starts stalking her. Her brother plunks down a solution in the form of a fake engagement to his best friend, the one man he trusts to keep her safe. Suddenly she has a pretend fiancé who’s treating her like his cherished bride. It’s all an act. Right? Except someone needs to explain to her lonely, commitment-starved heart that none of this is real.

Romance Contemporary Fake Relationship BxG Marriage Good Girl

Fake Marriage to Her Bodyguard Free Chapters

Chapter 1 | Fake Marriage to Her Bodyguard

Everyone on the planet could benefit from a good hug, and Shiloh Anderson almost never made an exception to that philosophy. But this guy she’d been talking to about renting an open space for her new daycare business needed about twelve hugs, a spoonful of sugar, and maybe a call from his mom. Even then, she had a feeling he’d still be kind of creepy.

And now she felt bad making a snap judgement on a guy she’d just met. He probably didn’t realize how he was coming across, a vibe that wasn’t helped by the super intense stares he kept giving her.

Shiloh shifted on the hard chair Creepy Guy had offered her, wishing she was anyplace else besides the management office of Vivo. But she needed to open her own business. How else was she supposed to forget that Troy had unceremoniously dumped her—via text message, because of course he had. She’d really thought he was different. He’d lasted longer than any of her previous boyfriends. Five months. And she’d even forced herself to play it cool the whole time, never once mentioning how easily she could picture him being The One…

“Would you like to look at the space, Ms. Anderson?” Creepy Guy asked, leaning forward to steeple his fingers together, which unfortunately made him look like a praying mantis about to attack a bug. She couldn’t stop shivering each time he let his gaze travel to places he shouldn’t.

“Oh, you can call me Shiloh,” she said brightly, thrilled that he’d offered up a way to loosen the overwhelming heaviness in the room.

Something needed to.

After all, she’d prepared for this appointment, sliding into her best suit with the pencil skirt that perfectly matched her pumps. She didn’t often do sophisticated, preferring loose skirts in bohemian patterns to office wear, but launching her own business was a grownup task.

At least she’d been able to skate under her brother’s radar. If he knew she’d scheduled this appointment with Vivo building management, Ivan would have insisted on coming with her, bless him. When their dad died, Ivan had been twelve and determined to fill his father’s shoes. He’d spent an enormous amount of effort since then doing exactly that—or at least his best perception of it, which sometimes went a little too far. Despite that, it wasn’t hard to see that Ivan really cared about her.

But he had enough to occupy his attention right now, and she could do this. She wasn’t a child.

“Shiloh,” the guy repeated in a voice that had all the wrong texture. “You can call me Sergio. I have a feeling this is just the start of us getting to know each other.”

Immediately, she was sorry she’d invited such informality. But it was too late now. Maybe it would be okay if she kept Creepy Guy focused on the task at hand. “Sergio, then. I’d love to look at the space. I’m sure it’s great. Though I haven’t heard anything about the price yet.”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that,” Sergio advised her with the tiniest lift of his eyebrows, which she had no idea how to read. Then he smiled with a lot of teeth. “We’ll work something out.”

Great. He had every intention of being reasonable. She squared her shoulders. She wasn’t much of a negotiator, but he didn’t know that. She might be the Barbara Corcoran of Dallas real estate. Look out Creepy Guy. Shiloh Anderson could be totally prepared to talk you into a great deal.

“Okay, well that sounds fine,” she said agreeably, and tried not to physically react to his smile. It was not at all reassuring and bordered on sleazy, but again, he probably couldn’t help the fact that he didn’t have one of those warm personalities. “I would like to see the space to make sure it’s got all the features I’ll need to open a daycare.”

Perfect. She’d segued right back to business. Children she knew exactly how to handle—you just loved them, and everything worked out fine. When it came to men, she had no shot.

Or rather, what had happened with Troy had dried up her will to try again.

After Billy, it had been easy to pick herself up—he’d only lasted two months, which was more her usual record. Tom had been a rare exception at three and half months, but he’d had that weird habit of picking his teeth, and honestly, she might have laid on the affection extra thick, strictly to push the inevitable outcome.

Men didn’t like her brand of attention. Clingy, Ivan had called it. She preferred to think of it as enthusiasm. A zest for love. Who didn’t want to be married and have babies? Men, apparently. None of them. And the second you mentioned it—gone. They literally could not get out the door fast enough.

Fine. She got it. She wasn’t the type of woman that men could see themselves settling down with. Crying about it didn’t help, or she’d be in a different spot than on this hard chair with Creepy Guy checking out her legs.

It was time to move the dial on her career. Now that she’d settled in a great condo building—the same one where her brother lived—she could start working on making her dreams a reality. And she was going to spend her day surrounded by children, one way or another. The only thing standing in her way was Sergio.

She stood and pointedly waited for Sergio to lead her through the lobby of Vivo. The common areas of the building always teemed with people but seemed quite empty today. The community feel to Vivo had been the main selling factor for her when Ivan had suggested that she look at the condo for sale on his floor.

Nearly everyone she’d met who lived at Vivo also worked here, like Ivan did. There was a community desk area where residents could rent a space. Management provided office amenities like a printer and powerful Wi-Fi, plus a can’t-be-beat two-minute commute. The only thing missing was a place for those with families to leave their kids as they worked and Shiloh aimed to fill that niche.

“The empty space is near the gym,” Sergio explained as if this might be news to her, when in fact, she’d told him that was the space she was interested in when she’d first walked through the door. “We usually have a long waiting list, so it’s rare we actually have a tenant move out before having a new one ready to move in. It’s very lucky that you came by today. Tomorrow might be too late.”

Yeah, she was aware. But that spot had her name on it. She had a little capital saved and had already had a couple of conversations with her bank regarding a small business loan. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t use some of her natural friendliness to finagle a better price on the rental agreement.

“Really?” she said with a cheery smile. “How many other interested parties are there?”

“Oh, several. But don’t worry about that.” He leaned in as they walked through the public courtyard, the fresh air doing nothing to dispel his cloying cologne. “I have a feeling we’ll be able to arrive at a mutually satisfying agreement.”

Surely he didn’t meant that to come across as smarmy as it had. This was a business deal and that’s it.

“I’m confident we will,” she said, infusing her voice with what she hoped passed for some of that self-assurance because she wasn’t feeling it. If there were a lot of other people in line, what could she really offer as incentive for management to pick her business out of all the others the residents might prefer?

They passed the gym, which had reflective glass so you couldn’t see inside. She kept meaning to check it out since residents got a free membership, but sweating wasn’t her favorite pastime. Ivan’s best friend ran it though, and she’d known Kellan Walker for a long time. She could have at least found five minutes to duck in and say hi.

If she landed this empty space next door, she could say hi all she wanted. Every morning in fact. Across the courtyard, the sign for Relâcher reminded her that Lilith Parker and Eliza Moore, some of the first few friends she’d made at Vivo, would be a stone’s throw away. The idea felt nice, having neighbors she knew, people who would form her community. She craved connections and people that mattered, shared memories, history. Was that too much to ask?

“We don’t have that many residents with kids,” Sergio announced as he unlocked the glass door that led into a lovely entryway that had a lot of natural light. “So I’m not sure a daycare is a viable business.”

Shiloh tamped back the lick of panic that uncurled in her stomach. “I’ve done a lot of market research. There isn’t another daycare within a mile of Vivo. Residents would of course benefit the most from my services, but there are plenty of other condo buildings in the area.”

“Just making the point that your income might not be quite as high as you’d projected. It would be beneficial to keep that in mind when we start talking about what kind of deal we can make.” He shrugged and waved a hand to encompass the entryway. “This is it. Feel free to look around.”

Dismissing him from her mind completely, she did exactly that, with a growing sense of wonderment as she envisioned a play center over in the corner of the main room, colorful animals painted mural-style across the wall, cubbies in a row full of kids’ artwork. Laughter. Cheeks pink from playing. The fulfillment she’d get from caring for each and every child who came through her doors.

“I’ll take it,” she said, and Sergio glanced up from his phone in surprise. What, she wasn’t allowed to make a quick decision? “Let’s go back to your office and see what kind of deal we can hammer out.”

“Perfect.” Sergio let her brush by him in what passed as a gentlemanly gesture of letting her exit first, but she couldn’t help but notice how he angled in as if trying to get her to run into him.

Probably her imagination. She did have an overly active one, as more than one of the guys she’d dated had told her. Repeatedly. As in, she’d imagined a future where none existed.

But then somehow both she and Sergio ended up in the entryway at the same time. It was a pretty tight area. She’d considered it a plus for a daycare. Easy for parents to form an orderly line for pickup or drop-off. Not so much of a positive when it was full of smarmy salesman.

She pushed the door just as Sergio’s arm shot out to grab the handle.

“How about you hold up a second?” he muttered, his breath hot on her ear as he crowded her against the glass. “We can talk about our deal right here. Where there are less ears.”

Every nerve in Shiloh’s body blipped into high alert as she registered several things at once: the guy had just gone from creepy to scary, the deal he’d been talking about had nothing to do with contracts, and she’d never gotten around to those self-defense classes.

“I’m not interested,” she told him firmly and pushed on the door.

It stayed maddeningly shut. Either he’d locked it when she wasn’t looking, or Scary Guy was stronger than he looked. Neither were great possibilities.

“I think you are interested,” he said, his greasy voice turning her stomach.

Her pulse beat painfully in her throat as she scouted around desperately for a way out of this situation. And found it in a familiar figure who walked right by the glass door.

Kellen Walker. Ivan’s friend. He was less than ten feet away. He glanced up and met her gaze through the glass.

Funny how he looked a lot like a white knight all at once.

Waving like a fiend, she smiled at him, hoping her manic face didn’t, in fact, frighten him off.

Kellan’s gaze narrowed slightly, and with a tight smile, he bounded up the steps and flung the door open, nearly pulling Scary Guy off balance.

“There you are,” Kellan said, and before she could blink, he’d whirled her around and tucked her against his side, one solid arm slung around her waist. Like they were a couple and they’d done this a million times, which they totally had not. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, sweetheart.”

Oh. My. Goodness.

Shiloh’s heart forgot to beat as she glanced up into Kellan’s deep hazel eyes. They peeked out from a shock of dark hair that fringed his forehead, lending him a rakish, mysterious vibe. Then he winked.

Chapter 2 | Fake Marriage to Her Bodyguard

Kellan Walker had his arm around her waist, and the entire planet had just flipped completely upside down.

“Oh, um. Hi. Great. I’m glad you found me.” How had he figured out that she’d needed saving?

His warmth infused her chilled body, and it was only then she registered how cold she’d been while stuck in the tiny entryway with Scary Guy. Out here on the steps, she could breathe. Mostly. There was still the matter of being held so tenderly by her brother’s friend, a guy she’d known since she was ten, but hadn’t ever thought of as a guy.

Okay, well, of course she knew he was a guy. But he was Ivan’s friend and that automatically rendered him off-limits. Which didn’t necessarily mean she was considering him now, just that it was hard to miss how built he was while pressed up against the granite planes of his torso where she just seemed to fit…

Heat flushed her cheeks as their gazes got tangled up, and she got the distinct impression he’d somehow clued in that her mind had wandered, and holy cow, what was she doing ogling Kellan within seconds of almost being assaulted by Scary Guy?

Shiloh cleared her throat. “I was just about to go to the management office with um, Sergio.” The name left a bitter taste in her mouth, but she resisted the urge to spit. “To talk about the rental agreement for this empty space.”

Kellan didn’t even blink. “Excellent. I’ll come with you.”

The notion nearly made her weep with gratitude, though she wouldn’t have dared suggest such a thing. His simple white T-shirt and running pants sure looked like armor to her. She’d have to thank him for riding to her rescue later, when she had a chance to sort all of this out.

Kellan two-stepped her out of the way without letting his grip around her waist slip an iota, and then gestured down the steps with his free hand, shooting Sergio a pointed look. “After you.”

That’s when she noticed that Scary Guy was looking a little more like Swallowed a Frog Guy. Good. He deserved to be green around the gills. The nerve of him—trying a nasty move like that as part of a “deal.”

Sergio tugged at his ugly tie and flounced past them down the stairs. From this vantage point, it wasn’t at all difficult to see that Kellan had at least five inches and a gazillion pounds of pure muscle on the sales guy.

Once Sergio had moved a good dozen steps into the courtyard, Kellan finally loosened his arm, but didn’t let go, sliding his fingers through hers to grip her hand. A flash the approximate heat and intensity of a lightning strike buzzed through her whole body, tingling all the way to her toes.

Her gaze flew to his again, and he glanced down at her with a smile that rearranged her insides.

Who knew she’d be so affected by this whole protector-savior routine? Not her. She’d have to do some serious work to erase the imprint of Kellan on her insides later. This was strictly a means to an end, one she highly appreciated.

“Thanks,” she mouthed, which he answered with a small shrug as if it was no big deal.

It was a big deal. He’d made her feel safe and circumvented a situation that could have gotten out of hand very quickly. She owed him, big time. Dinner at least. During which she’d have to remember to forget the feel of Kellan’s hand in hers and the very nice sensation of being half of a couple as they strolled through the public courtyard of Vivo.

It wouldn’t be a date. She didn’t date. Not anymore. Ivan had hated nearly every guy who had ever so much as breathed in her direction and she was tired of relationships with shallow losers. But the idea of having a nice evening with someone who basically amounted to a friend sounded heavenly.

When the party of three arrived back at the management office, Kellan held out the hard chair for her to sit in, and once she did, he stood directly behind it like a gorgeous hulking bodyguard. She didn’t bother to squelch the little thrill that unfurled inside her. No one had to know about it and besides, there was no law against liking it when a man made a fuss over her.

Honestly, if it had been anyone besides Kellan, there might have been swooning.

“The lady wants to talk about a rental agreement.” Kellan fairly growled as Sergio took his sweet time getting around the desk to take his own seat. “I would recommend you start on that immediately.”

Actually, the swooning might happen anyway.

“Of course,” Sergio mumbled. “But it’s highly unorthodox to discuss sensitive legal matters in the presence of someone unaffiliated with the business. Perhaps Ms. Anderson would like to call her lawyer?”

“I’m affiliated,” Kellan told him shortly. “Since we’re engaged. Start talking.”

Shiloh’s body went numb when the lie rolled off Kellan’s tongue. Engaged? What in the world? She glanced back at him but he was just standing there, arms crossed to show off the mountain range rippling across his biceps, a heated glower on his face aimed in Sergio’s direction.

Goodness. Even she didn’t have a desire to tangle with Kellan Walker in that instant.

But then he flashed her a tiny, private smile that kablammed her right in the solar plexus, and suddenly her overly active imagination got busy crafting a scene where she became very tangled up with Kellan. She shivered and shut that down.

Right. So, they were engaged. Surely a little white lie wouldn’t cause any problems, and if Sergio thought they were engaged, maybe he’d favor her more in the negotiation, just to stay on Kellan’s good side.

Sergio squared a sheaf of papers and laid them ceremoniously in front of Shiloh, but his attention stayed one hundred percent on the man behind her. “You’ll find this in order.”

After Sergio answered a few questions, she signed on the solid line above the word Owner, her stomach doing a little flip as she drew out the tail on the last “n” in Anderson. It was official.

She had a space for her daycare.

Within moments, Kellan had escorted her into the lobby of Vivo where the amount of traffic had increased. Must be near noon, which meant she’d taken up far too much of her savior’s time. Before he could get away, she pulled him into an alcove across from the desk where Debbie, the management office receptionist, sat.

All at once, the enormity of what he’d saved her from crashed down on her, tightening her throat. The simple thank you wouldn’t come out and felt entirely inadequate besides.

“Sorry,” Kellan said in the awkward silence. “If I messed anything up. I forget to look before I leap.”

“No!” That got her tongue moving. “It was amazing. Perfect. I appreciate your impulsiveness more than you can possibly know. The part where we’re engaged was a bit of a shock, but it was inspired.”

“Yeah.” Kellan made a face that managed to be endearing, but he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. “I couldn’t let him kick me out. All the talk of contracts tripped me up, though. I should have just waited in the hall.”

“We have no secrets now,” she teased, hoping to set him at ease.

They’d known each other as kids but she hadn’t really had much contact with him as an adult. Shame. He was a tall, dark and handsome hunk of masculine perfection that she appreciated immensely. Not because she had any interest in him, no siree. That kind of thing was off the table. Also a shame.

His wall of muscle had served to intimidate her would-be assailant into submission and that was the extent of this little interlude.

If only she could get the fireworks inside to stop crackling every time she merely thought about holding hands with him.

She’d never had trouble relegating him to the not-for-her category before, dang it. It should be easy to wrangle him back into the box and shut the lid, but that didn’t seem to be happening the longer they stood in this cozy little alcove in close proximity. Probably that was the issue. She should thank him again and go back to her condo. Right now.

“Let me take you to dinner.” It fell out of her mouth all on its own. Or that’s what she’d swear in a court of law. “To thank you. It’s the least I can do. We should catch up anyway. It’s been years since we were in the same place at the same time.”

Kellan stared down at her, his hazel eyes maddeningly blank. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

The implacable expression on his face didn’t change and the vibe between them grew a lot colder than she’d have credited given how warm everything had gotten back when his arm had first settled around her waist. “Not as a date. I meant the three of us. Ivan included. It’ll be fun.”

“As long as Ivan’s there, that would be cool. Have him text me the details.”

And that seemed to be that. She nodded like it was fine. It was fine. She was just Ivan’s annoying little sister who Kellan had been forced to rescue. And now he was done here. “Have a good day.”

She fled the alcove before she said something else stupid and tried to put the entire thing out of her mind. When she got back to her condo, she shut the door and bolted the lock, double checking it. Ivan lived in the unit next door, so if she needed anything, he’d be there in a heartbeat.

This was not one of those times. Kellan had taken care of the immediate threat and it was over. She had a daycare business to launch. She spent the rest of the afternoon working on the endless number of administrative tasks, a list that never seemed to get shorter. She had employees to hire, a website to commission. It was more than enough for her to focus on instead of Kellan.

She wished it was that easy. On the flip side, she had no trouble forgetting about Creepy Guy.

But when she got her mail the next day from the box in the lobby, she had the strangest crawling sensation down the middle of her shoulder blades. She glanced over her shoulder to find Sergio standing at the reception desk watching her. Sure, he was talking to Debbie casually, one hip leaned on the desk, but his beady gaze tracked Shiloh.

He was definitely trying to earn his Creepy Guy badge today.

She ignored him and flipped through her mail, spying an envelope from Vivo Management. Curious, she immediately flipped it over, fingered open the seal, and pulled out the single sheet of paper. A welcome letter thanking her for her business. But it was the handwritten note at the bottom that drove a spike of ice through her stomach.

Your fiancé can’t be around all the time.

She swallowed and kept the revulsion off her face through some force of will she’d be hard-pressed to explain. Obviously he’d parked at the desk in hopes of catching her reaction. She’d show him exactly what she thought of his veiled threat. She crumpled the paper in her hand and tossed it in the nearby trash can with a defiant glare at the man who’d written it.

What was he going to do to her in a crowded lobby? Nothing. He’d written that message strictly to scare her. Surely he wouldn’t do much more than write threatening messages. But just in case, she’d buy a can of mace. Walk with her cell phone in her hand at all times, poised to dial 9-1-1.

When she got back to her condo, a knock on the door startled her. Heart in her throat, she stared at the flimsy barrier.

Why hadn’t she kept the welcome letter and gone to the police? That had been evidence. Stupid.

“Shiloh.”

She almost laughed with relief as she recognized Ivan’s voice. Gah, she was being so silly, letting a dumb comment on a letter scare her.

She yanked the door open and nearly flinched. The expression on her brother’s face could peel paint from the wall. She stepped back to admit him into her condo wondering what she’d done now. Had someone seen her walking through the courtyard with Kellan and mentioned it to Ivan?

“What are you doing here? It’s the middle of the day. Shouldn’t you be working?”

“Hard to concentrate when I see a man following you all the way from the lobby to your door,” Ivan advised her flatly. “He took off down the hall when he saw me coming but he had his attention trained right on your door.”

“What? Surely you’re mistaken. He was probably waiting on a friend.”

“Second day in a row.” Ivan held up two fingers to punctuate his point. “I ignored it yesterday because I figured it was a coincidence. Today, I followed him to see what he was up to. He was standing outside your door. Just standing there. Watching it.”

Oh, that was not good. Her eyelids slammed shut as she processed that. Slim possibility it might be someone else, but she had to narrow that down for sure. “Kind of short, squat guy? Gray suit with a yellow tie?”

“Yeah. You know who it is.” It wasn’t a question. “Has he been hassling you?”

“No. Not really. Well, okay, yes. But Kellan handled it,” she told him as Ivan’s expression got decidedly more unhappy.

She quickly ran down the details, highlighting how brave his friend had been to come to her rescue, just in case Ivan had a mind to get cross with Kellan about taking liberties.

But instead of coming unglued, Ivan just smiled grimly and nodded. “Stay here with the door locked. I’ll be right back.”