Passenger Princess: A Grumpy Sunshine Bodyguard Pageant Queen Romance (Evergreen Park Book 1)

I could barely focus on anything for the rest of the afternoon, not after Jaime pressed me up against a wall and kissed me as if I were his. It took me a full five minutes to float back down from whatever planet that kiss took me to, fix my lipstick, and step into the hallway. When I did, he put a light hand to my lower back, guided me toward the elevator, and acted as if nothing at all happened.

The afternoon event is simple, exploring the cute Main Street of Augusta, Miss Georgia’s hometown, and then going to a fundraising dinner with a meet and greet where fans donated extra to say hi to me and Miss Georgia, a sweet woman named Vanessa, and, unfortunately, Anne.

When we walk into the room, it’s super cute. There are two high-top tables with headshots and markers on top and a big cream backdrop with tiny pink bows all over it. Two men dressed in black, with additional security from the hotel where the dinner is being hosted, are chatting with each other,.

‘I’m going to be in that corner,’ Jaime says as we walk in, pointing to a corner of the room as we walk to the high-top table I’ll be standing at. ‘Don’t throw a fit because I’m not right at your side; I don’t want to be in your pictures.’

I fight a smile before shaking my head at him. ‘It’s all right, big guy. I think this is a solid exception.’

‘Why is he even here?’ Anne asks, coming over to us, all drama and attitude. I give Vanessa a here we go, look, and she smiles with wide eyes. ‘What kind of trouble could you possibly get into at a meet and greet?’

With a sigh, I turn to Anne, trying to make my voice as calm and friendly as possible. ‘Despite what you seem to think, Jaime isn’t here just to keep tabs on me and report my every twitch to Regina, but because I’ve got some weirdos with just a bit too much interest in me.’

Anne huffs before rolling her eyes at me and putting her hands on her hips. ‘You know, we all have weirdos in our messages, Ava. I don’t know what makes you so special to need a bodyguard.’

I lift my hands, attempting to appease her. ‘Look, talk to Regina. I never said I needed a bodyguard—you were at the meeting where I said it wasn’t necessary. They just stuck me with this guy,’ I say, hitching a thumb at Jaime, even though I’ve been increasingly happy he has been by my side over the past three weeks.

‘Well, you’re just going to be here shaking hands and taking pictures. There’s security at the hotel. I’m going to be in the main room where there’s no security.’ She tips her chin up and puts her hands on her hips. The stance and her face make her look like a small child who isn’t getting her way, like she’s about to stomp her foot or lie on the floor, tantruming until she gets her way. ‘I want him to come with me.’

Jaime’s body tightens next to mine, and a wave of jealousy and panic overwhelms me, but I keep my snotty smile on.

‘Come with you? For what, Anne? To protect you from the millions of people who voted for you to win?’ Vanessa lets out a small snort, but I keep speaking. ‘If you feel so threatened by them that you want Jaime to assist you, you have to talk to Regina. Or Jaime, but good luck with that.‘

‘Good luck? What’s that supposed to mean?’ she asks.

‘It just means he isn’t really into all of.’ I wave my hand around the room. ‘This.’

‘Well, maybe it’s just you he’s not into,’ she replies in a way that kind of makes me want to rip her hair out.

My mind goes directly to the kiss this morning, the way he held me, the way he looked at me, the groan he let out when I ground on him…

Oh, he’s definitely into me.

But I won’t be letting Anne know that, of course. ‘You’re so right,’ I say with wide eyes. ‘That must be it. Maybe you can fix him, you know?’ Jaime snorts before coughing to disguise the laugh as she looks at me, assessing before rolling her eyes and walking off.

As she does, Vanessa leans into me. ‘God, she’s insufferable,’ she says. ‘How are you doing it?’

‘Doing what?’

‘How many stops has Anne been on with you? And how have you not absolutely lost it on her yet?’

‘Oh, that. Yeah, too many, if I’m being honest. But on the bright side, she hates my guts so much that she mostly stays away from me.’Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Vanessa lets out a laugh and gives me a genuine smile.

‘God, that must be nice. I’ve spent so long playing nice with her since we’ve been on the same circuit; I think she thinks we’re friends.’

‘Ah, yes, well, unfortunately, or, maybe, fortunately, for me, I don’t think we’ll ever get to that final state of acceptance.’

‘Definitely fortunate,’ she says before her voice drops a bit lower. ‘Wicked witch and her monkey incoming.’

‘Wha—’ I start, but Regina is walking my way on a mission, Anne trailing behind with a smug smile, and I understand.

‘Mr. Wilde, today I need you to go with Anne to her signing,’ Regina says without any sort of hello to anyone.

‘What?’ he asks. ‘No, I’m assigned to Ava.’

Her posture goes straighter, and her chin juts out, and something tells me this woman is not used to not getting her way. ‘Well, actually, you’re assigned to the Miss Americana pageant. We’ve just asked you to follow Ava.’

Jaime’s jaw goes tight. ‘We’ve had active security threats on Ava. Have there been any threats on Miss Utah?’

Something about him calling me Ava and Anne by her pageant name makes warmth bloom in my belly, but I don’t have time for that because she continues on her tirade.

‘I get weird messages just like Ava does. We all do, right, Vanessa?’ She turns to Vanessa, who lifts her hands in an I’m staying out of this way before Anne crosses her arms on her chest. ‘She’s nothing special.’

The words bring back what Jaime said that first night I met him, when he thought I was some drunk birthday girl trying to cute my way into a VIP section.

The acid churns but doesn’t last for long when Jaime speaks. ‘Ava is incredibly special.’ My entire body stills as I watch a faint blush creep over his cheeks. ‘And she’s also at a higher risk, given her hotel room was broken into barely a week ago.’

‘We have standard security at the event; they can keep an eye on Ava while she’s doing her meet and greet. And the hotel issue was explained to me as some local kids messing around, nothing actually related to Ava herself.’

Jaime’s jaw goes tight. ‘Why can’t that security go with Anne, and I’ll be in this room with Ava and Miss Georgia?’

‘She’s going to be doing some meet and greets in the main dining area to break things up a bit. There’s hotel security here, but nothing upfront. I’m asking you to do the job I contracted you to do, Mr. Wilde.’ The way she says it is a clear threat.

‘I just don’t understand why we can’t⁠—’

‘It’s fine,’ I say without thinking. ‘Borrow him for the afternoon.’

‘What?’ Regina and Jaime say at the same time.

‘This room is small, so they’re only going to let, like, five people in at a time, plus press, and there’s the event security. It would be really hard for something bad to happen here,’ I say, looking directly at Jaime as I do.

‘Absolutely not,’ he says.

‘I don’t understand why you’re having such difficulty following a simple order. I suppose I’ll have to make a note to tell Five Star how—’ Regina starts, and I know the path she’s headed down, threatening Jaime’s job.

I don’t want him to leave me, the idea of it already building my anxiety, removing the security blanket I didn’t realize he’d wrapped around me with his presence, but I won’t let this dumb argument hurt his career.

‘Give us a few minutes, okay?’ I say to Regina and Anne before grabbing Jaime’s hand and tugging him into an empty room.

‘Absolutely not,’ he says with a glare, arms crossing on his chest like he wants to strangle me as soon as the door shuts us in.

‘Absolutely, yes.’

‘Ava—’

‘There’s security in there. There’s very little that could happen. Is it worth Regina reporting to your boss you’re not doing your job? Is it worth losing your retirement?’

‘Your safety is worth that and more.’

My belly goes warm with that, but I can’t let him do this.

‘And I will be safe, Jaime. But I won’t be able to sleep if something happens and fucks up your shit,’ I say. When he opens his mouth, I cut him off. ‘And that might mean they take you off my case, and who else is going to hold Peach while I be pretty?’ His mouth closes, and his jaw gets hard, but I think I’ve won.

‘So I’m just here to hold Peach?’ he asks, his voice somehow lower, huskier.

‘Oh, definitely. That’s the only thing you’re good for,’ I say with a smile, even though I don’t feel any kind of humor. We spend a long stretch of time staring at each other in silence.

‘I don’t like this,’ Jaime says, finally.

‘Why, because you’re so in love with me, you can’t bear not being by my side every second of every day?’ He rolls his eyes.

‘No, because I know you, and even when you’re not trying, which you usually are, Ava, you find trouble at every turn.’

‘I’ll be fine, Jaime. I’ll have other security there; it’s not like it will be a free-for-all. It’s our only option, and you know it.’ I close the gap between us, putting a hand on his chest and looking up at him, all brooding eyes and clenched teeth before pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw.

With that, he lets out a sigh before finally, he nods. ‘Fine. Only if you’re on your best behavior, though, Ava. I mean it.’

‘You’re the best! Thank you!’ I say, stepping back and clapping my hands. ‘Okay, let’s get back before—oof!’ I shout, nearly twisting my ankle as I trip on a small piece of the carpet that’s pulled up. I’m headed for a faceplant on the carpet, but his arm wraps around my waist, tugging me into his chest and saving me from my inevitable demise. My heart pounds, his thumb brushing the bare skin between where my top stops and my skirt starts.

‘See the benefits of having you within arms reach?’ he asks, his voice a low rumble against my chest. I look at him over my shoulder and smile.

‘Yeah, I can see the benefit of having you close,’ I whisper. I don’t miss the way his eyes flash, the way they drop to my lips, the way they move back to my eyes just a hair darker, the thoughts I wish he’d just act on playing there.

And then he leans down, placing a quick peck to my lips like he can’t resist himself before he moves to let me go. His hand gently moves as his fingers linger like he doesn’t want to let go. Once he knows I won’t fall on myself once more, he crosses his arms on his chest and nods, then tips his head toward the other room.

‘Fine, I’ll go with Anne, but not because Regina wants me to. Because you asked me to. But I’ll be having a talk with the security here, warning them about how you are.’

I smile because how could I not?

‘Thanks, big guy.’