“Deal,” I agree a little too quickly.
“Fine. Damn party poopers,” says Madison before going to get the brownies she was baking from the oven. In the presence of chocolate, all men are forgotten.
The next hour is spent talking about the wedding and going over final details we’ve been meaning to plan with Amelia. I’ll be providing the flowers, and I couldn’t be more excited. Well, I could be more excited if I also had a date to take to the wedding, but I guess that’s beside the point.
Later, after we’re all heading out for the night, Amelia stops me at the door once Emily and Maddie are walking to their trucks. “Okay, so I’ve been thinking about your dating predicament and what you said after the movie.”
“Do you think I should visit a senior citizen center to find an old man to marry?”
Amelia frowns. “I’m disturbed by how quickly you said that. Makes me think you’ve been contemplating that idea all along.”
“Continue with your thoughts.”
Amelia smiles. “I’m still putting all the pieces together in my head right now, but if I had a way to help you get better at dating, would you want to do it?”
“Sure,” I say easily, because honestly, I trust Amelia with my life. I’d do anything she asked of me. In some ways, I feel closer to her than I do my sisters. I don’t know how it happened, but when Amelia came into my life, our bond felt like one that had been forming since childhood. “All I want is to marry someone as perfect for me as Noah is for you and my dad was for my mom. If you can help me make that happen, I’ll do anything you say.”
Amelia gives me a wide （slightly devious?） smile. “Perfect. I’ll let you know when I figure it out.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Will
After a sleepless night, it’s finally a normal hour to get up for the day. Five A.M. （Okay, so it’s normal for me at least.） It carries over from my military days. I served in the Air Force for six years on active duty as a Security Forces specialist, and two years in the reserves while training and starting my career as an executive protection agent, aka an EPA. To be honest, I entered the military for all the wrong reasons. It had never been my dream, but when I needed a path to take quickly, it was there. I don’t regret my time in the military, but it just never quite felt right for me. There wasn’t a lot of happiness in it for me. And now here I am, year five as an EPA and still not sure this is what I’m supposed to be doing.
I open my eyes and have to reorient where I am. Right. Rome, Kentucky, sleeping in the room that will be mine for the next month. I roll my head to the right and am assaulted with a piece of embroidery art hanging on the wall: Bless This Mess. It’s really too bad the guard shack isn’t finished yet, and I have to sleep at the inn.
Since I was here last, Amelia and Noah have made a lot of alterations to their property. Not only did they install a top-of-the-line security system around the house and the perimeter of their property, but they are building a security house on the premises. For now, there is a small surveillance trailer at the front of the property where Harold monitors at night and then trades off in the morning with another guy, Sam, to monitor during the day.
I’ve worked for several celebrities during my career as an executive protection agent （or bodyguard, as the masses call us）， and every celebrity approaches their security differently. Some think having a security team is a waste of money, and they don’t put nearly enough into their own protection. I hate seeing that. Usually it takes something really awful happening to wake them up and show them that more money needs to be thrown into their security budget.
But then there are people like Amelia, who have always taken their safety seriously （except for the time she bolted in the middle of the night and didn’t tell any of us where she was going）。 Fortunately, this town is safe for the most part, and no one, not even the press, knew where she was for a while. She was never in serious danger. Plus I’m confident Noah would have beat the shit out of anyone who came near her. But now word has gotten out as paparazzi have spotted her here in town, which, unfortunately, has put Rome on the map. So Amelia puts an enormous amount of her income into security, which is why I’m here. I’ll follow Amelia around through the month and make sure she stays safe and unbothered.
On tour, my job is exciting nearly all the time. I sweep locations before she goes in, and then I accompany her everywhere, constantly scrutinizing the people around us, and sometimes intentionally blocking the paparazzi’s view if she doesn’t want to be photographed that day. And during concerts, I hover backstage, ready to help restrain any overzealous fans who get past stage security and onto the platform.