Daddy’s Wild Girl (Montana Daddies #16)

Chapter 14

14

W hat had she started?

She was a complete idiot. It was official. Only an idiot would have begun this conversation.

Sometimes, it felt like she was a glutton for punishment.

Why couldn’t she just leave it alone?

Because you don’t like the idea of Corbin thinking badly of you.

“Um, no,” she said. “I didn’t stick around after that.”

No, she’d hightailed it out of there to nurse her hurt feelings.

“Right, so you only heard a segment of what was said and jumped to a conclusion,” he told her.

“Jumped to a conclusion?”

“That wasn’t Hayes’ opinion of you,” he told her.

“I heard him say it.” She straightened up, turning toward him.

Lord, he was good-looking. It kind of took her breath away sometimes. Especially when he smiled. He went from a ten to out-of-this-stratosphere.

Had he nearly kissed her?

She had to have imagined that, right? She was manifesting or something because that’s what she really wanted.

Him to want her the way she wanted him.

“What do you mean it wasn’t his opinion?”

“He was saying something we’d read about you online. If you’d stuck around, you would have heard me ask him if that’s what he thought of you.”

“And what did he say?” she asked after he went quiet. Was he just going to leave her in suspense?

“He said no! Do you think I would be telling you this if he said that was what he thought of you?”

“I don’t know. I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion.”

“Not when they use those opinions to hurt others. Then that’s just being cruel.”

She hadn’t thought about it like that. “But he didn’t know I was listening in.”

“He doesn’t think that about you, Bebe,” he replied firmly. “And I certainly don’t.”

“You sure? Sometimes I feel like one. I mean, I do have issues with my parents. My mother in particular.”

“For good reason. They’re shitty parents. Your mother in particular.”

For some reason ,that made her smile. Then she giggled.

“Both Hayes and I like you, Bebe. We want to keep you safe. And I happen to think you’re a good person. Smart. Kind. Although you’re not very good at keeping yourself safe, you have a problem staying on task, and you’re a crappy contractor.”

“Hey! I am not!”

He grinned at her. Yep, that grin sent his attractiveness off the charts.

Damn him.

It just wasn’t fair that he kept stealing her breath when she was just a job to him.

A burden to take care of.

“I know I’m not the easiest client. I’m sorry.”

Corbin gave her a strange look. “What do you mean you’re not the easiest client?”

“Well, you probably thought you’d get to stay in a decent place, not a construction zone. With someone who would take all of this seriously, rather than thinking it’s bullshit.”

“I do wish you’d take this seriously,” he replied, placing his hand on her knee. And this time, he didn’t move it away immediately.

Be still her heart.

Please don’t let him see the way he was affecting her.

She wished her acting skills were better. Maybe she should have taken some acting lessons when she was younger like her mother had wanted.

“I know you think the threat isn’t real, but what if it is?” he asked.

“Why would anyone want to harm me, though? I mean, I know there were threats when I was on the show . . . people loved to hate me. But I haven’t been in the public eye for years. So why now? It makes no sense. And even if someone was sending messages about me, who is to say they’d act on them? I’m not . . . I can’t live my life like this. I agreed to you guys guarding me for a month just to put my dad at ease. But I’m not going to live my life scared. I won’t do that anymore.”

“Anymore? What were you scared of before?”

Yeah. That was something she wasn’t going to tell him.

She shook her head.

“All right. I don’t have the right to all your secrets as long as they don’t affect your safety now.”

“They don’t.” Because she knew that he never wanted to see her again.

The asshole had made that very clear.

Suddenly, her stomach started rumbling.

“Right. That’s a sign to get down. And Hayes will be up soon.”

“I should apologize to him, I guess,” she said.

“For eavesdropping? Probably.”

“Well, I was going to apologize for believing he’d think that about me.”

“Hayes will understand. But he won’t be happy about the fact that you hid all night in your bedroom and went without dinner instead of confronting him over what you heard.”

Jeez, when he put it like that, it sounded terrible.

“I’m not good with confrontation,” she admitted.

“A lot of people aren’t. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. But you need to try and trust us if we’re going to take care of you. Yeah?”

Take care of you.

She knew he didn’t mean it . . . he didn’t want to take care of her like that.

And she didn’t need that.

Nope. Not her. She was never going to be involved with a guy again.

Not. Happening.

Yeah, so why were you hoping he’d kiss you just before?

“What the fuck are the two of you doing up there?”

She jumped at the sound of Hayes’ voice. He was leaning out and peering up at them. Her feet slipped out from under her and she might have slid down the roof and off the edge if Corbin hadn’t quickly grabbed her.

Bebe clung to him with a cry of relief.

“Fuck! Be careful, Bebe!” Corbin commanded.

“Me, be careful? What about Hayes? He almost scared me half to death!” Her heart was still racing. “I nearly slid off the roof.”

“You wouldn’t be able to slide off the roof if you weren’t sitting on the damn roof,” Hayes barked. “Don’t you realize how dangerous that is?”

“Well, it never felt dangerous before you two came along,” she replied.

Jeez.

She’d sat up here probably hundreds of times and never had an issue.

“New rule. No coming up here again.” Corbin grasped hold of her chin, turning her face toward his.

“What? You can’t just make up new rules.” And this was her thinking spot. He couldn’t tell her that she couldn’t come up on her own roof.

That was just rude.

“I can. I’m in charge. Therefore, I get to make the rules.”

Hayes cleared his throat.

“We’re in charge,” Corbin amended. “We get to make the rules. And you have to obey them.”

“Yeah? And what happens if I don’t? Are you going to put me in the naughty corner?”

Her mouth went dry at the thought.

But surprisingly, there was no fear. She really was starting to trust him.

Which could be very dangerous.

He leaned in closer, eyes blazing, face stern.

And. Yikes.

Her whole body tightened in desire. The man was like her own personal catnip.

“Nope, I’m going to?—”

Hayes very loudly cleared his throat. She wasn’t sure if it was on purpose or if he had a giant fur ball in his throat.

“Do you need a drink of water?” she asked Hayes.

“What I need is for the two of you to get down from there before I have a fucking heart attack,” he replied. “Down. Now.”

Yikes.

Hayes had that stern voice thing going on too.

“Not until Corbin tells me what he’s going to do if I don’t obey these rules.”

There were other rules they’d given her. Things like she wasn’t to leave the house without them. She had to do whatever they said in dangerous situations.

Rules that she had agreed to because she knew they were part of their job.

But this was not part of their job.

“I’m going to lecture you until your ears fall off,” Corbin told her.

They stared at each other. She tried to figure out if he was lying. Bebe was convinced that wasn’t what he’d intended to say.

However, she could tell from that stubborn look on his face that he wouldn’t tell her.

And perhaps she didn’t actually want to know.

“Come on, girl. Get down.” Hayes gestured at her while Corbin watched her carefully, hovering over her as she slid to the edge of the roof.

Grabbing her blanket, she tucked it around herself.

“Here, I’ll just throw that down so it doesn’t get in your way,” Corbin said.

“I’m used to it,” she replied. “Although I managed to step on it as I was climbing up and nearly fell backward. Won’t do that again.”

He tensed and she risked a glance up at his face.

Yeah, that was the wrong thing to say.

“I’m just going to get down off the roof now,” she said hastily.

“That would be for the best,” Hayes said.