Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 162(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
“It will be back in a minute. Beau drove it over to Mitch’s house to have him scan it for trackers I didn’t find. Look! There is it,” Kole pointed out.
“You scanned the car for trackers before we left?” Gabriela asked.
“I did. I didn’t find any,” Kole admitted, watching Beau park the car.
“What did you find?” Kole asked the handsome man.
“Two. One below the gas tank and one in the trunk. It might have fallen off Gabriela’s suitcase,” Beau said quietly as Gabriela shrank against Kole’s mass for support.
“Thanks, Beau.”
Gabriela looked up at Kole. “Do we need to leave?” she asked.
“No, we’re safest here. They had to be small or my equipment would have caught them. I’d bet they only have a rough idea where we are. No one can get into SANCTUM without us knowing.”
“Do we need to cancel the party?” Shelby said sadly.
“No. The party is still on,” Beau assured her.
“Yay!” Shelby cheered and waved her hands around like she had pompons.
Unable to resist the fun, Gabriela joined in, shaking her imaginary pompons with enthusiasm. She peeked over her shoulder to see Kole’s reaction and had to grin back at him as he also pantomimed being a cheerleader—a very muscular one. His willingness to be silly and have fun shouldn’t have surprised her. Much to her delight, Kole was always more than she expected a security-focused bodyguard would be.
When the moment passed, Gabriela laughed as she slipped her hand into his and loved the squeeze he gave her fingers. “Can you take me to see your house?”
“Our house. And yes. Let’s go. What time’s the party?” Kole asked.
“You’ve got two hours,” Beau informed them. “Just enough time for our Little girl to take a nap.”
“I don’t want to nap. I’m not tired at all. Can’t I go with Gabriela to see her nursery?” Shelby pleaded.
“Not this time. You can play with Gabriela tonight. Say goodbye, Shelby,” Jeremy told her with a tone that shut down any possible argument.
“Fine.” Shelby pouted as she walked forward to hug Gabriela. “I’ll see you tonight. Thanks for being my newest friend.”
Surprised by how much she already liked Shelby, Gabriela hugged her back. Gabriela usually was cautious about new people. Did they want to be around her because they genuinely liked her or did they want to use Gabriela’s connections to advance their careers? There was no question with Shelby. She was simply that sweet.
Kole shepherded Gabriela into the car. She looked around suspiciously as he circled the car to get in, wondering if there were any other hidden devices inside. Everything looked perfectly innocent.
She waved goodbye to Shelby and her Daddies as Kole pulled away from the house. “What color is your house, Daddy?” she asked him when they were on a tree-covered path.
“It’s blue. I chose a color that rivals the sky on a sunny day. It feels like a cheerful house,” Kole explained. “It’s getting dark so you won’t get the full effect, but tomorrow in the light you’ll see what I mean.”
“I like happy houses.”
“There it is. Up ahead on the left.”
“It’s a pretty blue,” Gabriela complimented.
“Let me park and we’ll go inside so you can look around.”
In a few minutes, he’d pulled into a spacious garage that housed a quad runner in one bay. Gabriela stood looking at it as he got the luggage out of the car. She’d never ridden on a motorcycle or anything like that.
“We’ll go on a ride tomorrow if the weather holds up,” Kole told her, setting the luggage inside the door.
“That looks like fun. Um, don’t we get to go inside?” she asked as he closed the door into the house.
“We’re going through the front door, Little girl.”
Kole wrapped an arm around her waist and guided her out of the garage and up the front path to the large door. She admired the big windows, but the entrance needed something.
“You need some flowers.”
“Definitely. You can help me with that,” he suggested and punched a code into the door, triggering a click as it unlocked. Kole pushed the door open before turning to her.
“Allow me,” he said gallantly and scooped Gabriela up in his arms. He carried her over the threshold and held her close as she looked around. “Welcome home, Little girl.”
She pushed at his chest. “Down, Daddy.”
When she stood on her feet, Gabriela stepped back to lean against his powerful body as she took in the beautiful space. From where she stood, Gabriela could see through the main space of the house to an expanse of windows that lined the back. The view had to be gorgeous during the day.
The interior was in shades of gray with splashes of color. At the far side, a family room with a large sectional sofa beckoned her to come curl up and watch TV or read. The kitchen looked like it was made for people to actually cook in there. Even to her untrained eyes, she could see the decorator touches like a pot filler by the stove and a huge refrigerator.