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.”