Cami’s Georgia Patriots Romance Collection Page 43

  Shar screamed and tried to correct her footing, but she was already sliding in the loose gravel down the steep incline. She could spot several alligators. One was half out of the water not far below her, and the scream caught in her throat as icy horror encased her body and seemed to seal off her vocal cords.

  Mike’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm, easily hauling her back up the hill. Shar scrambled for solid footing and landed back on the trail with Mike’s arm wrapped around her lower back. She flung both arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. “Big teeth, alligators, scary, bite my head off,” she stuttered out, trembling as she clung to him.

  Mike held her close and murmured, “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

  His strong arms around her felt so safe and secure, and the trembling gradually changed from fear of becoming an alligator’s breakfast to the euphoria of him holding her close. She knew she worked too much and didn’t date often, but she was certain this was an over-the-top hug. The tingly, good feelings that Mike’s body infused into her as he held her had never been matched with previous manly embraces. He smelled wonderful, clean and crisp, and she wanted to just bury her head in his chest and never let go.

  He stepped back first. Of course, he did, but he stared down at her with such protection and depth in his gaze, she almost fell back into the alligator-filled pond. “You’re okay,” he muttered.

  “I didn’t even get a toe, or a finger, nibbled off,” she reassured him.

  He chuckled, and then he was hugging her again. Wow. She’d take a near-miss with an alligator to have this kind of attention from Mike. Closing her eyes, she just hung on for as long as he’d let her.

  Two people were upon them before Shar even noticed anyone approaching. Mike pulled back and then released her completely. “Oh, hey,” he said.

  Shar forced herself to look at the couple, and her eyes widened in surprise. “Gunner? Lily? What are you two doing here?” These were her sister’s in-laws and super cool people. They traveled the world on protection details for Sutton Smith, fighting human trafficking, drug lords, and all sorts of bad dudes. Gunner was super tough, and from what Preston said, had known his entire life that his career would be military and protection. Lily, on the other hand, had ditched her famous singer dad and actress mom when she turned eighteen to live on her own. She’d learned self-defense, and when Gunner rescued her from her mom’s crazy plan to kill them both, she’d convinced him to teach her how to be a security op so they could always be together. Why would they be in Hilton Head? She knew she couldn’t ask because they were probably protecting someone awesome and famous. She stared at Mike. Someone awesome and famous? Could they be his bodyguards? How cool was that?

  Gunner’s face was much too serious, big surprise, but Lily was smiling and welcoming as always. “Hey, Shar! Crazy running into you out here. We’re on a weekend getaway. Ally told us to come eat at your restaurant.”

  “I’d love that. Come by anytime.” A weekend getaway. That made sense. Mike was famous but would someone as tough as him need bodyguards like Gunner and Lily Steele? It did seem like overkill. “Do you both know Mike Kohler?”

  “Of course,” Lily said. “Through Preston,” she hastily added.

  Gunner shook Mike’s hand, and Lily gave him a brief hug.

  “You two just out running?” Gunner arched an eyebrow as if they were committing a sin or something.

  “We just ran into each other,” Shar spoke up when Mike didn’t respond besides giving Gunner a stern glance. What was that all about? “And I almost fell in that,” she pointed, “and Mike saved me.” She gave a shudder as a gator slid through the water.

  “Wow.” Lily’s eyes widened. “Watch where you’re going, chickee.”

  “I will, from now on. I challenged Mike to a sprint and wasn’t paying attention.”

  “You challenged Mike Kohler to a sprint?” Gunner’s disbelieving voice showed how mentally slow he thought she was.

  “I was just trying to be funny.”

  Lily elbowed her husband and said, “That is funny. Remember when we first met at that lake in Idaho and I tried to beat you at running, swimming, wakeboarding, fighting.” She ticked off the list on her fingers and winked at Shar. “The only thing I could beat him at was flirting.”

  Gunner actually smiled at his wife, and Shar liked seeing a happy side of him. The guy was way too serious and had the look of, I’m-a-military-man-and-will-kill-you-with-my-bare-hands, down to a science. He wrapped his arm around Lily and said in an undertone, “I’ll let you beat me at anything.”

  Ah, they were so cute. Lily made Gunner soft, and Shar loved that. They stared at each for a beat, but then Gunner glanced back at Mike and Shar and stiffened.

  There was an awkward pause before Lily tilted her head to the side and started walking away. Gunner didn’t move with her, so she grabbed his hand. “We’d better finish our run. We’ll come see you soon, Shar.”

  “Great. It’s on the house for sure.”

  “Thanks.”

  They started off at a jog. Mike and Shar both watched them go. Gunner glanced over his shoulder at them once before they were swallowed up by the trees and a corner. The look in his eyes was full of concern. She knew Gunner was a serious guy, but he seemed a little too concerned. For her or Mike? Maybe they were Mike’s bodyguards. Maybe the alligator incident bothered him. She knew a lot of people were terrified of them. Shar had gotten used to them, seeing them every day, but she didn’t want to tempt fate by getting too close.

  “What are the chances of us running into those two?” she mused.

  Mike’s eyebrows shot up. “Crazy, eh?”

  “Yeah.” A pause ensued, and she thought she should probably just keep running. This interaction, minus the near-miss with an alligator, was a million times better than last night. She didn’t want to tempt fate and have Mike act all weirded out by her again, but at the same time, would she even see him again? There was something about being close to him that told her this was more than a crush obsession. She needed to capitalize.

  “Would you want to … run together for a while?”

  “Um, well …” She could see the indecision in his eyes, and it hurt. He still thought she was off, or maybe he simply wasn’t interested in getting to know her better. “We’re not going the same direction.”

  Shar held up her hands and rolled her eyes. “Hey, it’s no skin off my rear if you don’t want to be around all this fun. Your loss.” Turning, she jogged down the trail, depression filling her. She’d had another shot with Mike, and once again, it had not gone well. Though she had gotten a pretty great hug out of it after her alligator incident, she’d somehow messed it all up again.

  Footsteps pounded after her, and she resisted the urge to glance over her shoulder; partly because she didn’t want to run into a lagoon, but also because she didn’t want him to know how desperately she wanted him to come after her. Her heart leaped with joy when he ran alongside her.

  “My loss, eh?” he said, gifting her with that beautiful smile.

  “Definitely.”

  He chuckled.

  They jogged along for a few seconds, and she let herself sneak a glance. He was big, and he was beautiful. “You’re looking thick and fine,” she said.

  Mike laughed.

  “No, you’re supposed to respond, ‘You’re looking thicker and finer.’” She winked.

  “I couldn’t really respond with that since you’re thin and fine.”

  She grinned. “Well, thank you, Mr. Mike Kohler, superstar extraordinaire.”

  He shook his head and laughed louder. “You’re a little nuts. You know that, right?”

  She laughed with him. “My sisters prefer ‘spicy’.”

  “Spicy?” He drawled it out so beautifully she almost stuttered off the trail and back in with the alligators. “Hmm, I like that.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “So just you, Ally, and Kim?”

  “You know Kim too?”

  “I
watched her show years ago.”

  Kim was just getting back into acting in California while her husband Colt worked for the famous Sutton Smith. Maybe Shar could text Colt and see if he’d give her the inside scoop. All of Sutton’s operatives she’d met were pretty closed-mouth about cases, but he could at least tell her if Gunner and Lily were truly on vacation.

  “Kim’s awesome,” she said. “You have three sisters, right?”

  He looked at her strangely and stopped running, turning to face her in the middle of the trail. “How do you know that?”

  “Well, I’m kind of an obsessed fan. I thought you would’ve noticed that last night.”

  His eyebrows raised, and he muttered, “I’d better head back to my hotel.”

  “Oh, okay.” She was strangely disappointed. “Where are you staying?”

  He inclined his chin to the east, toward the ocean. “By the ocean.”

  So he didn’t even want her to know what hotel he was staying at. She understood. He was super famous and unbelievably attractive, and she’d admitted to being an obsessed fan. Of course he didn’t need another obsessed fan after him, but it still stung as she really, really liked him. Even more so, now that she’d been around him a miniscule amount of time. What she wouldn’t give to spend more time with him.

  “If you don’t have dinner plans, come by the restaurant.” She smiled. “Maybe you’ll see Gunner and Lily there.”

  His smile was obviously tight. “Thanks. See ya.” He backed away and headed the other direction. Shar stood there, watching him go: those broad shoulders, that tapered waist, the striated muscles in his calves. Whoo-ee, he was thick and fine. And he still thought she was a nut job. He’d said see ya, but Shar doubted very much she’d see him again. She walked up the trail toward her house on Sea Pines. Discouragement over another unfulfilling interaction with Mike Kohler made it hard to get the energy to even run. At least she would have the memory of him rescuing her and holding her close.

  * * *

  After he jogged away from Shar, Mike hurried past thick, interconnecting trees and around a corner of the running trail, and almost ran into Gunner and Lily. They tracked his location through the phone Gunner had given him, so of course they knew exactly where he was at all times.

  Gunner eyed him sternly as Mike ran past them and continued to the hotel. Most of the time they kept their distance so no one would know Mike had a bodyguard, least of all his stalker. He hoped his stalker wasn’t on the island, hadn’t followed him from Atlanta. Could it possibly be Shar? He sure didn’t want it to be.

  They made it back to the hotel and up to their floor. Mike wanted to go shower and think about his interaction with Shar. She was far too appealing to him, and watching her almost go down into the lagoon with the alligators had made him overly protective. It made him want to stay right with her, and make sure she didn’t do anything too crazy. Man, she was cute.

  Gunner followed him into the suite, holding the door for Lily. Mike paced toward the balcony but then rounded on them, knowing Gunner was not happy and ready to face him head on.

  “What were you thinking?” Gunner started without preamble. “She could be your stalker and you just … go on a casual run with her, through trails where we had to stay back so she wouldn’t spot us?”

  Mike folded his arms across his chest. “I hired you, remember?”

  “Yeah, to keep you safe. If you do stupid stuff, I can’t keep you safe.”

  “Gunner.” Lily put a hand on her husband’s arm, and he immediately calmed down. “Let him talk. How are you feeling, Mike?”

  Gunner wisely didn’t say anything, but he did roll his eyes at the feeling comment.

  “I don’t think Shar could be my stalker,” Mike explained.

  “You don’t know that,” Gunner thrust out. “You’re telling me she doesn’t act … completely nuts most of the time? And there’s still the matter of posters of you hanging all over her restaurant kitchen.”

  Mike clenched a fist. He knew nothing about stalkers and their behavior. Yet Shar Heathrow was so beautiful, funny, and genuine to him. Could a woman with a face like an angel: smooth skin, deep brown sparkling eyes, beautiful full mouth, and a cute dimple to boot, really be dangerous? He just didn’t think she had it in her.

  “What have Sutton’s researchers found out?” he asked, knowing Gunner wouldn’t care about his gut instincts.

  Gunner studied the beach outside the suite’s windows. “Nothing,” he admitted.

  “Ha!” Lily did a little shimmy dance. “You haven’t even admitted that to me. Shar’s clean, isn’t she?”

  Gunner gave his wife a slight grin. “It’s a good thing you’re cute.” He looked like he wanted to start kissing her right then and there, but luckily for Mike, Gunner was the ultimate professional soldier. “So far they’ve found nothing in her background and nothing on her devices that would lead us to think she’s the stalker.”

  “So that’s good.”

  He shrugged. “I just can’t get over how out there she acted last night.”

  Mike acknowledged that with a nod. She had acted nuts, and she admitted she was an obsessed fan, but the fact was, he liked her, and without this stupid stalker business, he’d be pursuing Shar Heathrow, hard.

  Gunner’s phone buzzed. He glanced at it and muttered, “Ally.”

  “As in Shar’s sister?” Mike asked.

  He nodded.

  “Maybe she’d have some insight.”

  “I’m not asking her.” Gunner pulled out his phone and slid it open. “Hey, sis,” he said.

  He paused and didn’t talk much besides some ums, grunts, and murmurs of consent, but his jaw grew tighter and tighter. Lily arched her eyebrows at Mike, obviously as curious as he was. Shar’s sister. He’d been impressed with Ally the few times he’d met her with Preston. Those two had an interesting background as they’d fallen in love when stranded on an island by drug dealers who were trying to get back at Gunner. To hear Ally tell the story, the only hard part was the poisonous snakes.

  Mike wished he could ask Ally questions about her sister, but he agreed with Gunner about not asking her. Ally was feisty. Accusing her sister of being a stalker would not go over well.

  He thought about Shar saying, “My sisters prefer spicy.” She was far too funny and cute to him. He prayed she wasn’t his stalker, but then if she wasn’t, the stalker was still at large, and he couldn’t date anyone anyway. So he still couldn’t be with Shar. Dang.

  Gunner finally muttered, “Fine, see you tonight,” and hung up. He pocketed his phone, blew out a breath, and focused on his wife. “So apparently Shar talked to Ally a few minutes ago and told them we were here.”

  “Okay?” Lily’s face was leery, very unlike her usual happy expression.

  “They figured since Preston has a bye week, they’ll come out for the rest of the weekend.”

  Mike didn’t see this as too bad, but Gunner obviously did. Maybe with Ally and Preston here, he’d get the chance to be around Shar some more and see if they had anything between them. As long as she wasn’t his stalker.

  “So we’re meeting them at Shar’s restaurant at seven tonight.”

  “One big, happy party.” Lily gave two thumbs up, but the look in her blue eyes was very concerned. “So, if Shar is the stalker, we all get poisoned and die?”

  Gunner laughed at that and pulled her into his side with an arm around her waist. “There’s absolutely no history of anyone getting sick from Shar’s restaurant, so I think we’re safe.”

  Lily arched her muscular shoulders. “I’m going to order the exact same thing as Ally, and then switch our plates.” She smiled and nodded. “No way would she poison her own sister.”

  Gunner chuckled at that. “Good plan.” He glanced at Mike. “You don’t have to come with us. You can stay here, order room service. We’ll get the scoop on Shar and see if she’s the stalker or not. This could really be a good thing.”

  Mike shook his head. It was bad
enough he had to be away from football. He wasn’t going to miss out on a chance to be with one of his teammates and friends, or seeing Shar. “The stalker has never threatened me. I’m coming with you. With Preston there, it won’t look like you’re my protection. I’ll text him, and you know he’ll invite me.” And for once he wouldn’t have to eat alone.

  Gunner groaned. “One big, happy family.”

  Mike smiled. He was going to get to be around Shar more. Please don’t let her be my stalker, he prayed.

  Chapter Four

  Shar was excited as she rushed from the prepping station to the grill to the oven that night. Her sister was coming to see her, and maybe Preston being around would mean more interaction with Mike. The two were teammates and decently-close friends. Mike had been at their wedding. The first time Ally and Preston had met, Mike and Preston had been together at a party at Bucky Buchanan’s. Didn’t that just shout bosom buddies?

  Please, please let him come eat, she thought as she plated a crab meal and called to Anna that the order was up.

  “Shar!” The delighted yell came from behind her. Shar whipped around, and there she was. Her twin sister, one of her favorite people in the world.

  “Ally!” She rushed to her and hugged her tight. Ally was soft and curvy and exquisitely gorgeous. When people said they looked just alike, it made Shar happy. She must be an uncommon beauty if she looked anything like Ally.

  Ally hugged her and then pulled back, grinning. “Hey, my spicy sis, please say you’ll cook my dinner to perfection and then shut down the restaurant so you can spend quality time with me. I know you can never get enough.”

  Shar laughed. “Your dinner will be perfection, and I do have lots of help tonight since its Saturday, so I might get a break to talk to you.”

  “Ah, but I need more time with you.” Ally’s lips drooped.

  “Okay, okay. Honest truth. I’ve got someone else shutting down tonight, so I can leave with you. We can stay up late talking since the restaurant is closed tomorrow.”