Only You (Adair Family #5)(67)

“And if I did?” I asked, a hint of seriousness in the question. It took a lot of dedication to stay in shape. Without my personal trainer on hand, I was hitting the estate’s gym hard every morning with Walker before anyone else was awake. When we had time, we swam laps in the glass-roofed pool afterward.

Monroe gave me a tender smile. “Then you’d still be Brodan. Just cuddlier.”

I grinned, relieved, and leaned in to murmur in her ear, “I’m cuddly now, and you’re welcome to explore just how cuddly I am. Anytime.”

When I pulled back, her cheeks were pink, and I recognized desire when I saw it. However, she replied, “I already have a toy to cuddle with.”

An image of her with the toy in question flashed through my mind, and heat flooded my groin. Fuck. I glowered at her in frustration. “Play nice.”

She appeared far too smug for my own good.

“Mom, there’s Walker,” Callie said loudly, reminding me we were not alone.

I glanced over my shoulder to see Walk strolling stiffly through the market while the woman he’d come back to Ardnoch with last night clung to his arm. He’d told me this morning at the gym that he’d hooked up with someone from a pub two villages north and brought her back to the bungalow he’d rented now that we knew we weren’t leaving. Walker liked it here as much as I did, so he’d decided to stay too. He was a man, however, who liked separation of work from living space, so he’d found a place near where Arro used to live. Walker had left the house this morning with the woman still sleeping in his bed, hoping she’d be gone by the time he returned.

Obviously, that hadn’t happened.

Feeling Roe’s arm tense around mine, I glanced down at her and found her staring worriedly at Sloane. Sure enough, the pretty blond appeared crestfallen at the sight of Walker with another woman.

Shit. I’d forgotten Sloane had a thing for Walk.

I wished I could tell her that the other woman probably meant very little to Walker, but it wouldn’t matter, anyway. I’d known the man for half a decade, and in that time, he’d never gotten remotely serious about a woman.

A fake, cheery smile graced Sloane’s face as Walker approached the stall. He gave her a nod and then greeted her daughter. “How’s it goin’, Callie?”

She beamed. “Great! Mr. Adair just bought four of everything.”

Walker scowled at me. “You didn’t buy everything, did you?”

I snorted. “Relax, Sweet Tooth, there is plenty left for you.” I looked at his companion, not wanting to be rude. “Hi.”

She gaped at me. “You’re Brodan fucking Adair!”

I winced at how loud she was and watched Walker’s face darken.

“I love your movies.” She fluttered her eyelashes at me. “You’re an awesome actor. I particularly loved Redemption Road.”

Of course she did. It was the movie where I was filmed naked in the shower. No full frontal, but arse and all. Many a meme had been made from that scene.

“Thanks,” I murmured as I gently pulled Roe tighter against my side.

The woman didn’t take the hint. “You know, I’d love to sit down and have coffee with you, talk about your movies.”

I glowered at Walker.

He had the decency to look apologetic. Then he turned to her. “I’m sure you would, but as his bodyguard, that’s a hard no from me.”

“No need to be jealous,” she purred.

“Aye, okay, this is done,” Walker muttered and then handed Sloane a few notes. “Put aside a box for me, whatever this gets me. I’ll come back for it.”

Sloane took it, not meeting his eyes. “Sure.”

“Right, you, let’s go.”

“But I wanted to see the rest of the fair,” she grumbled as Walker led her away.

Roe grimaced. “Was she for real?”

I shrugged. “Happens.”

“That was rude to you and to Walker.”

Sloane snorted, but it wasn’t a cheerful sound. “Walker wasn’t exactly Mr. Manners either. He didn’t even introduce her to us. Is that how he treats women?”

Looking at Callie, I hedged my words, not knowing how to say this in front of a nine-year-old. “She, uh … is a casual acquaintance he made last night, and I think she invited herself along today.”

“Then he should use better judgment.” Sloane stuffed the money into her apron and angrily placed cakes into a box for Walker.

More people crowded around her stall, and she was clearly in a bad mood, so Monroe told her we’d circle back and we strolled away. As Roe bit into her Santa cheesecake, I said, “So, Sloane has a thing for Walker.”

Roe squeezed my arm and swallowed a bite. “She told me it was just a crush.”

“Seems like it’s more than that.”

She shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you.”

“You wouldn’t even if you could.”

Roe grinned up at me, a dollop of cream cheese on her lip. “Girl code.”

I smiled fondly down at her and wiped the cream cheese off her lip with my thumb before sucking it into my mouth. Her eyes widened, and then she swallowed. Hard.

Very, very good.

“She’s lucky to have you as a friend. Anyone would be,” I told her.