Page 41 of The Prince and the Bodyguard
“I’ll look into renting a secure apartment. That would be the easiest and the safest option.”
“We’re not staying with your parents?”
His face tightened, and I regretted asking. “No. They don’t have the space.”
“Okay.” I plastered a smile on my face. “So we’re really doing this. I’m going to North Carolina for Thanksgiving.”
“If Ms. Hartwell approves our plans, then yes.”
“She’ll say yes.” She would, if only because she ever only said no if it was logistically impossible and that wouldn’t be the case here.
“You’re going to love it,” Bash assured me, his earlier excitement returning. “Mama’s feeling much better, she said. She’s an incredible cook, so you’ll get to experience a true Thanksgiving.” His face fell a little. “But obviously, we’ll have to keep our distance and keep up a completely professional pretense.”
“I know.”
“Which won’t be easy,” he said, much softer now.
“No?”
He reached for my cheek and cupped it, an unexpectedly tender gesture. “No. Not easy at all.”
15
BASH
The private jet sitting on the tarmac at SeaTac looked like the kind of bird that only showed up for VIP extractions in movies about special ops teams with a sleek white exterior, gleaming in the morning sun. The interior was even more impressive, with cream leather seats that looked like they belonged in a five-star hotel, polished wood trim, and enough legroom to house a small family. I’d seen luxury before, like expensive hotels and fancy restaurants while on the job, but this was on another level entirely. I was afraid to even touch anything, but Eddie walked in as if he was entering a McDonald’s, completely at ease.
At least it made it relatively easy to keep an eye on what was happening around us, as the environment was much more contained with us as the only passengers. And since this company was pre-screened by Rebecca Hartwell, I didn’t have to worry about doing background checks either.
A uniformed flight attendant greeted us with professional courtesy, offering beverages and explaining the flight time to Asheville. “Enjoy your flight,” she said.
“Thank you,” Eddie said, polite as ever.
I just gave her a nod. Words were a little hard to come by, not gonna lie.
“So this is how you travel,” I said, as I buckled my seatbelt and settled into a seat that probably cost more than I made in a month.
“It’s practical for security purposes,” Eddie said, but there was something defensive in his tone, like he was apologizing for having resources I could barely comprehend. “It affords us at least some level of privacy.”
“I can see that.”
And I did. I understood the need for this, but it still felt so… foreign to me. So out-of-this-world luxurious.
As the plane taxied down the runway, I stared out the window. God, the difference between Eddie’s world and mine was so vast. He’d grown up with this level of wealth, this casual knowledge that money could solve any logistical problem. Private planes, royal protection, resources that appeared whenever needed without question or concern about cost.
Meanwhile, I was sending half my paycheck home to help cover medical bills, and my biggest luxury was splurging on name-brand coffee instead of the generic stuff.
This harsh reminder was exactly what I needed as we headed toward North Carolina. For the past few weeks, it had been easy to forget the reality of our situations, living in our campus bubble, playing house and exploring this attraction between us. But now, sitting next to a man for whom private planes were normal, I was forced to confront the truth.
He was a prince.
He was my protectee.
He was myjob.
And I had better remember that because if I didn’t, if I allowed the friendship and closeness we had developed over the last months to come first, I risked losing everything. My parents knew me better than anyone, and they’d pick up on any hint of impropriety between Eddie and me, my mom especially. She could sniff that stuff out like a bloodhound, though she was all bless-your-heart Southern charming about it.
And if they found out we’d been… messing around, well, that would have consequences I couldn’t bear to think about. Nothing weighed heavier on me than my parents’ disapproval, especially after Glenn had died. I was the only one left, the one to honor the family name.
