Protecting The Billionaire (3 page)

“Hey, Allison, I think Charles just walked in.”

Allison shifted in her seat, her arm bumping into his. “Trent, that’s not funny.”

Judging by the annoyance in Allison’s voice, this Charles guy ranked low on her friend list.

“I’m not joking.” Trent glanced back over at the entrance again. “And it must be him because he’s headed this way.”

Rock heard Allison groan, and then she grabbed his hand, sending an electric shock across his skin. “Just play along,” she said, and he wasn’t sure if she was talking to him or everyone at the table.

A moment later, a well-dressed man in his early thirties stopped at their table. “Trent what a coincidence running into you here,” Charles said before he looked at Addie. “This must be your wife. Congratulations.” He extended his hand toward Addie and they exchanged the typical pleasantries before he looked in his and Allison’s direction, his eyes momentarily glancing down at their clasped hand. “Allison, it’s nice to see you again.”

Allison squeezed his hand, perhaps as a reminder to play along before she answered. “Hi, Charles. It’s been awhile.”

Rock imagined she was thinking it hadn’t been long enough.

“I don’t believe I’ve met your friend.” Charles turned his narrowed eyes in his direction.

“This is my boyfriend. Rock, this is Charles Perkins, a friend of mine from Providence.”

Oh, yeah. Charles hadn’t liked her statement. If the guy’s eyes narrowed anymore, they’d be closed.

Going with it, Rock nodded at the man. “Nice to meet you.”

“Are you all down here for a visit?” Charles asked and Rock thought he heard Allison groan.

“Uh, Trent and Addie are here for a fundraiser, but I work for the Falmouth Foundation in Alexandria now,” Allison said.

Charles offered up a tight-lipped smile. “Really. I didn’t know you took a position there.”

Bullshit
. If Rock was good at one thing, it was smelling BS a mile away.

“Then I guess I’ll see you all at the fundraiser.”

“You’ll be there?” Allison asked, her voice a few octaves higher than normal.

The man’s smile widened, revealing his unnaturally white teeth. “My friend Daniel told me about it. He and his wife are going, and it’s a good cause, so I bought a ticket as well. That’s actually why I’m here tonight. We’re meeting for dinner.” Charles pointed at a couple seated across the dinning room. “It was nice seeing everyone tonight. I’m sure I’ll see you all on Sunday.”

He watched Mr. Teeth—Rock thought the name fit him—walk toward his friends and waited for Allison to release his hand.

“Something you want to share, Allison? I didn’t know Rock here was your boyfriend,” Trent said with a chuckle, and Rock knew the guy was trying to get under his sister’s skin.

Allison rolled her eyes, making her appear more like an annoyed younger sister rather than the beautiful socialite she was. “Knock it off. I was afraid he’d ask me out again. Since we broke up, he does it every time we run into each other. That’s one of the reasons I was anxious to move. I was always running into him in Providence. It drove me nuts.”

Yep, an ex-boyfriend. Sounded like the guy couldn’t move on, not that he blamed him. He imagined most guys would hate getting the boot from a woman like Allison Sherbrooke. From the little Addie had told him about her, she was not only beautiful, but also smart and genuinely nice, not to mention she came from a powerful family.

Perhaps realizing she still held his hand, she released it and reached for her water glass instead. “Unfortunately, he still calls every so often.”

“Looks like we’ll be seeing you on Sunday night, Rock. I hope you didn’t have any other plans.”

Allison’s sharp intake of breath indicated she understood her brother’s comment. It took Rock a second longer to unravel Trent’s meaning.

“Shoot. I didn’t think of that,” Allison said.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her bite down on her lip. How many times since the wedding had he dreamed about her pleasuring his body with those lips? The image of her doing that now surfaced, and Rock was damn glad he was sitting down with a napkin covering his lap.

“Would you mind coming with me Sunday night?” She touched his arm as she spoke, sending a bolt of desire straight to his crotch.

He’d come tonight so he could visit with his sister and get to know his brother-in-law, not so he could get roped into attending some la-di-da dinner surrounded by people he had no desire to hang around.

Her fingers curled around his wrist. “If you can’t, I understand.”

Say no.
He’d fit in at an event like the fundraiser about as well as a bull in a china shop. The anxiety in Allison’s voice kept the two-letter word from coming and turned on his protective instincts. “Give me the time and location and I’ll be there.”

Two hours later, Rock followed everyone outside, somewhat bummed the evening was over. With the exception of now being stuck playing the role of a fake boyfriend, he’d enjoyed spending time with his sister, her husband, and her sister-in-law.

“Allison, where did you park?” Trent asked.

“Down near the lot entrance.”

“I’ll walk you. We’re parked right here.” He pointed to a silver Mercedes and used his key remote to unlock it and then pulled open the door for Addie.

His sister had mentioned Trent always did that for her. She’d told him in the beginning it had taken a lot of getting used to. Now, she no longer thought about it. She’d even recommended he start doing it when he took a woman out. As if the woman he dated would care either way.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. There are plenty of lights around. Take Addie back to Jake’s. She looks tired.”

Anticipating Trent’s response, Rock spoke before his brother-in-law had the chance. “I’ll walk Allison to her car. I parked down there too.”

“Thanks, Rock. I appreciate it,” Trent said as he closed the passenger side door and walked around the car. “I’ll see you both on Sunday night.”

He’d already suspected Addie was in good hands with Trent. However, Trent’s treatment of Addie all night and the fact he didn’t want his own sister walking in a parking lot alone verified Rock’s beliefs. “See ya then.”

Inside during dinner, he’d done more listening than actual talking. Now that it was only the two of them, Rock didn’t know what to say. Judging from their vastly different backgrounds, they wouldn’t have much in common, and he’d rather shoot himself in the foot than ask her about the weather.

Allison saved him from having to speak first. “Thanks again for agreeing to come Sunday. If I’d known Charles would be at the fundraiser, I never would’ve said we’re dating. He doesn’t seem to get the message. I thought maybe telling him I had a boyfriend would help.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Still, I owe you one.” She stopped under one of the parking lot lights. “This is me.” She pointed over her shoulder. “If you have trouble finding my house or change your mind, call me.” She’d given him her cell number and address before they walked outside. Both were now stored in his smartphone.

Rock looked at the car behind her, one side of its front end was slightly high than the other. “You’ve got a flat.”

“What? Again?”

Allison turned, giving him the opportunity to once again appreciate the view she provided. Seated inside the restaurant, he’d been denied seeing the sexy legs her skirt revealed. Outside under the light with her back to him however, he could admire all he wanted. Her legs weren’t the only thing he admired. His palms itched to reach out and cup her shapely ass.

“I had a flat tire last week too.” She dropped her shoulder bag on the hood and searched inside. “I’ll call the auto club and have them come change it.”

He’d have it changed and she’d be home before the club got anyone there. “Don’t bother. I got it. Pop the trunk.”

She pulled her smartphone out and looked at him. “You’ll get your clothes dirty. It won’t take them that long to get here, and you don’t have to stay. I promise to sit in the car with the doors locked and wait.”

“Allison, pop the trunk. I’m not leaving ya here to wait.” He’d only heard everyone address her by her full name, yet in his head it didn’t fit. She struck him more as an Ally. When she didn’t comply right away, he took the key remote from her hand and unlocked the trunk himself. “It’ll only take me a few minutes.”

A gentle mist started up and sprayed his face as he put the spare tire on the ground near the flat one. The weather forecast predicted light showers through most of the night and ending sometime after midnight. He had no complaints with that. He’d never been a big fan of running in the rain, and he planned to meet his buddy Brayden for a run at five o’clock in the morning. Walking past the driver’s side door on his way back to the trunk, he pulled it open. “Why don’t ya sit inside so ya don’t get wet?”

“It’s just mist. I’m fine.”

Rock grabbed the car jack and walked past her again. If she wanted to stand outside and get wet, that was her business. Sliding the jack under the car, he raised it. The click of heels walking across pavement had him glancing in Allison’s direction for a brief second before he refocused on his task.

Mannaggia, that woman shouldn’t go out without her legs covered.
They could stop a man dead in his tracks and make him beg for a minute or two of her time.

Once he had the car high enough, he grabbed the cross wrench on the ground and attacked the nuts on the tire. The sooner he finished, the sooner he got them both out of here.

“You make it look easy.” She bent down and looked over his shoulder, her breath warming the back of his neck and her subtle perfume teasing him.

“It is. My sister could’ve handled this.” He, along with his older brothers and dad, had made sure their baby sister knew how to take care of herself, and that had included minor repairs to her car.

Once he loosened all the nuts, he cranked the jack up more so the tire lifted off the ground, and then he pulled off the flat. “Looks like you drove over a nail.” He pointed to the nail head embedded in the rubber tread.

“I did something similar last week, but the mechanic only found the hole.”

Her breath on his neck reminded him just how close she remained. The memory of the last dream he’d had that she stared in resurfaced, and he forced the memory of the night his mutt Baxter got sprayed by a skunk up instead. If anything could kill a guy’s growing erection, it was the smell of a skunk or in this case the memory of the odor.

Grabbing the spare tire, he mounted it on the car and worked as fast as possible to get it secured in place. He needed to get away from Allison and her sexy legs. “Good to go.” He carried the flat tire and jack back to the trunk.

“You were right.” Allison stood leaning against the driver’s side door and watching him. “If I’d called the auto club, I’d still be waiting. Last week it took them an hour to get to me. Looks like I owe you two favors now.”

Man
, he knew just how he’d like to collect those favors too. Too bad those weren’t the type of favors she had in mind.

Who the hell is that?
She’d arrived alone and didn’t have a boyfriend. So who was the bastard changing her tire? He’d been standing out here for the past hour waiting for her. Now, some ass with more muscles than brains had her attention. That wasn’t how things were supposed to be. He should have her attention, not anyone else.

Across the lot, the SOB who’d changed Allison’s tire closed the trunk. After exchanging a few words, Allison got into her car. He’d missed out on an opportunity tonight, but there would be others. He’d make sure of it.

Turning the key in the ignition, he pulled out. He knew the route Allison would take home. He’d just follow and make sure she arrived there safely and, more importantly, alone. She hadn’t shown the dude who’d changed her tire any affection, but he also hadn’t been a stranger. She’d known him. Nothing and no one was going to come between them. He’d make sure of that. Allison might not realize it yet, but she belonged with him. No one loved her as much as he did. Soon she’d know the truth. And if anyone tried to get between them, he’d do what he had to.

She’d skipped the flowers in the gift shop downstairs and grabbed a baby blue teddy bear and a balloon instead. Now seeing Charlie’s hospital room, she was glad she’d opted for the bear. Vases filled with flowers overwhelmed the small room, making it smell more like a greenhouse than a hospital room. In her opinion, it was a huge improvement. She’d never liked the industrial cleaner smell that seemed to cling to every hospital or doctor’s office she’d ever stepped into. The smell of flowers, on the other hand, she adored.

Stopping next to the bed, she hugged Charlie, who looked wiped out but happy. “Did you throw my cousin out?”

“I’ve considered it a time or two,” she said with a smile as she accepted the bear. “But no, he just went to the cafeteria. You know him and coffee.”

Oh, she knew all about Jake’s obsession with coffee. Other than her cousin, she’d never known anyone who had started drinking the stuff at the age of twelve. From what Jake had told her, Charlie was just as bad, and it had been difficult for her to give it up when she became pregnant.

“Is he sleeping?” From where she stood, she could only see the back of the newest Sherbrooke member.

Charlie nodded as she placed a hand on her son’s back. “For the moment. It won’t last. He eats almost every hour on the hour.”

“Sounds a lot like Jake.” Her cousin was and always had been a bottomless pit when it came to food. How the guy never gained weight amazed her.

“You know my husband well.” Charlie managed to get the words out right before a yawn escaped.

Unable to help herself, Allison walked around to the bassinet for a better look at Garret. Sound asleep, he looked like the most peaceful baby on Earth, with a full head of light blond hair and tiny fingers, which were curled up in a fist. “He’s beautiful. Did you decide on a middle name?” When Jake called and announced they’d had a boy, he’d told her they were still going back and forth on a middle name.