Her Soldier Protector (2 page)

“That wasn’t funny,” she said, shaking her head and refusing to smile.

“Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

“So, just the one pass, then?” she asked.

“Just the one,” he confirmed, standing up when a knock at the door echoed throughout the room.

Candace watched as Logan accepted the food and kicked the door shut behind him. He wasn’t hard to watch, the kind of guy she’d always notice no matter where she met him—tall, built and with close-cropped dark hair that matched his eyes. But he was strictly off-limits, eye candy only, because she was staying true to her promise not to get involved with anyone at the moment.

He paused, stood there looking down at her before crossing the room again.

“Candace, I won’t be offended if you say no, but are you busy after your show?”

Why did he want to know, and why did he suddenly look so...staunch?
“Why’s that?”

Logan cleared his throat “I thought you might like a night out in Sydney, you know, to just have fun once you’re done with work.” He laughed. “I’ve been working around the clock for months, and I have a feeling you don’t take much time off, either.”

Candace stared at him, taken aback. He’d just managed to surprise her twice in less than a few minutes. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but it’s just not that easy for me to hang out in public.” Was he asking her on a date or did he think taking her out was part of his job description?

He put the containers down on the low table between the two sofas and sat down, leaning forward, eyes on hers. “You’re in Australia, not America, and the places I’ll take you, if it’s just the two of us, no one will even realize who you are.” Logan held his hands up. “But I have thick skin, so you can just turn me down and I’ll forget I ever asked.”

She took the plastic tops off the containers and reached for a pair of chopsticks, before looking up and seeing the serious expression on Logan’s face. He was serious. And she had no idea what to say to him.

“You promise I’d be safe? That it would just be the two of us?”

“I promise,” he said. “You’ll just be a girl in the crowd instead of a superstar.”

A shiver cascaded down her spine, spreading warmth into her belly.
Now that was something she liked the sound of.
“I’ll think about it, but it does sound nice.” It sounded way better than nice, but she didn’t want to lead him on, not until she’d had time to think about it.

“Well, you just let me know when you’re good and ready,” he said. “Now it’s time for you to tell me exactly what I’m about to bite into here, because I haven’t ever seen anything that looks like this before.”

Candace didn’t usually even talk much before a show, tried to rest her voice, yet here she was chatting with a cute guy and thinking about going out with him. Maybe Australia was exactly the place she was supposed to be right now, to take her mind off everything that had been troubling her since...way too long.

*

Logan fought not to grimace as he held the chopsticks—awkwardly. He wasn’t opposed to trying new things, but the food sitting in front of him looked downright scary. Not to mention the fact that he was more comfortable using a good old knife and fork.

“When you said Japanese, I was kind of thinking about the over-processed chicken sushi that I find at the mall.”

Candace gave him her wide smile again, the one that was making him wish he’d met her under different circumstances. Although, someone like her wouldn’t exactly have crossed paths with him if he hadn’t been assigned to mind her. She was an international superstar and he was...a soldier turned bodyguard for a couple of days. Which was why he’d taken his chance to ask her out while he could. That would teach his friends for pestering him about being single too long and not enjoying enough human company—he’d stepped completely outside of his comfort level with Candace.

“So, I probably should have explained to you that sashimi is raw fish, huh?”

Logan raised his eyebrows and wrangled with the chopsticks some more, trying to mimic her actions. Except she was already dunking her first piece in the soy sauce and popping the entire thing in her mouth, which meant she was way ahead of him.

“Here goes,” he muttered, leaning over the table so he didn’t spill any, his other hand ready to catch anything that fell.

“What do you think?” she asked.

He swallowed. “I can’t say I’ve ever wanted to eat raw fish before, but I guess it’s not half bad.”

“I do have one kind with a cooked prawn on top. Here,” Candace said, opening another box and then pushing it his way. “Try this.”

Logan shook his head. “I can’t go eating your favorite foods hours before your big concert. I’m the help, not a guest.”

She rolled her eyes. “If we eat all this I can order more, so just take whatever you like, okay?”

Logan stared at her, wondering if he was about to see her diva side firsthand. He had a feeling someone that beautiful and talented was bound to be difficult. “You’re sure?”

“Look, most celebrities have a rider about exactly what they do and don’t want backstage or in their dressing room. Me? I just ask to have someone ready to run out and grab me great Japanese food and bottled water, and I request good lighting for my hair and makeup team.” She smiled, shrugging at the same time. “I like the fact that everyone thinks I’m easy to deal with, so trust me when I say we can order more. These people are used to divas requesting a certain number of candles with a particular scent, flowers, bowls filled with expensive chocolates and imported candy. You get my drift?”

Logan got the picture. “Okay, pass me the prawn one, then.”

“That’s more like it.”

Candace pushed the container closer to him, as well as a cup with a lid on it.

“What’s this?”

“Miso soup. You’ll love it.”

Logan took off the lid, staring into the brownish liquid. “You sure this stuff won’t kill me?”

“Positive. Now stir it with your chopsticks and take a sip. The green stuff is just seaweed, and there might be a few pieces of tofu floating around, too.”

“Tofu?” he asked, pausing before the cup touched his lips. “You’re killing me. I don’t even think Ranger would eat tofu.”

As if he understood exactly what they were saying, Ranger let out a low whine that made Candace laugh.

“Tofu,” Logan muttered, taking a sip.

It wasn’t half as bad as he was expecting, so he had some more, careful to avoid anything solid that was floating around in the soup. He was probably the only person in the building who hadn’t tried this type of food before, but he was a soldier and a rancher—he was more used to simple steaks, vegetables and fries than the latest cuisines. Not to mention he was having to act like a regular guy instead of one who usually couldn’t go a day without exercising like a crazy thing—sprinting as hard as he could to outrun his demons.

“So, what do you think?” Candace asked, pulling her long hair from her face and throwing it back over her shoulders.

“I think,” he said, clearing his throat and putting down his chopsticks, “that it’s time I went and did another perimeter check.”

He was starting to become way too comfortable sitting around with Candace, eating fancy food like he did it every day.

Smoke billowed around him, obscuring almost everything. He walked slowly, not able to see even one of his feet, but he never let go of Ranger’s leash. And then he stumbled, looked down and realized he’d just walked over another human being, facedown in the sand.

Logan cleared his throat, pushing away the memories that always hit him when he was least expecting them. If he wasn’t on duty, he would have changed his shoes and hit the gym. But today that wasn’t an option, and neither was giving in to his memories.

CHAPTER TWO

C
ANDACE
TOOK
A
deep breath, mentally preparing for the concert. She’d been given her sixty-minute countdown already, which meant it was time to start running through her exercises, have a little something to drink, stretching out so she was all limbered up and dressing in her first costume.

But preparing for the performance wasn’t taking up all her energy like it should have been.
Instead she was thinking about a certain man who’d as good as knocked the wind from her earlier in the afternoon.

She’d been single for so long, not to mention the fact that she hadn’t met a man who’d even remotely interested her for close to a year. Maybe that was why Logan had surprised her so much. Because even if she stayed true to her promise to remain single, she could still appreciate a good-looking man. And Logan was a fine-looking addition to the male species.

Candace cleared her throat and was about to start rehearsing when there was a knock at the door. She didn’t call out because she was saving her voice, but she did cross the room to see who it was.

“Hey.”

The man she’d been trying her best not to think about was standing in the hallway.

“How did you get past my security detail?” she asked in a low voice.

Logan grinned. “It just so happens I know the boss.”

She laughed and pulled open the door so he could come in. She was about to ask him in when he held his hand up and shook his head.

“I’m not going to disturb you, I just wanted to check that you felt safe,” he told her. “I personally handpicked the men working tonight, so you’ve got nothing to worry about, and I’m going off duty now for a quick break.”

Candace thought for a second before saying what was on her mind. “What do you think about escorting me to stage and watching from the wings?”

“Like my own private concert?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She grinned. The idea of having Logan close by in case something
did
happen would be reassuring.

“What if I made you a trade?” she asked.

He cocked his head, clearly listening.

“I’ll say yes to the night out you suggested, tonight, if you look after me for the duration of my performance.”

Logan didn’t even blink he answered her so fast. “You’re on.”

Candace met Logan’s gaze, determined to keep her head held high. He was a handsome man who happened to be protecting her, and one she’d agreed to go on a date of sorts with. It didn’t mean she had to go all bashful and forget the confident woman she usually was.

“Well, that’s settled then,” she said. “I’m going to keep running through my routine, so if you could come back in about forty-five minutes?”

Logan nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Candace forced herself to stop staring at the tall, heavily muscled hunk standing outside her door and shut it instead, slowly slithering to the floor once she did so, cool timber against her back. She was behaving like a silly girl, flirting with a man who probably had no interest in her other than to parade her around a few hotspots on his arm. How many times before had she had someone say to her that they wanted to take her on a quiet date, only to find the paparazzi tipped off the moment they arrived at a restaurant or club? Or a man pretending he wasn’t interested in her fame, only to find out he was a wannabe film star or singer with a CD he wanted to slip her during drinks or over an entrée.
That
was why she’d sworn off men for the time being.

Deep down, she wanted to believe that Logan was different, but until he’d proven that he wasn’t the type of guy she was used to, she needed to tread lightly. No falling for her bodyguard, no touching her bodyguard and definitely no letting herself think, at any stage, that he could be anything more than fun.

She’d tried serious, and it hadn’t worked. She’d even tried marriage, too, and that hadn’t worked out well at all. When it came to men, she’d realized that maybe she just wasn’t good at picking them, and it was probably something she’d inherited from her mom. Her mom might have been an incredible businesswoman, but she’d also had to raise Candace singlehandedly because of her poor decisions when it came to the male species.

Candace sighed, reached out for her first outfit, ran her hands down the silk, shut her eyes and imagined herself on stage, wearing it. Listening to the crowd. Holding the microphone as the band started to play. Hair and makeup would be back any minute, and so would her stylist.

She could do this. She’d performed a hundred times before, and Logan had promised her that the venue was safe and secure. She needed to forget the stupid threats and just do what she did best. Because no matter what happened to her, no one could ever take away her love of singing. Performing was the love of her life and it always would be.

This was her time to shine.

*

“You a fan of country music?”

Logan glanced at the woman standing beside him, her headset pulled back so she could talk to him. She was holding a tablet, and until now she’d had her eyes glued to it and had been speaking intently into her headset.

“I can’t say I’ve ever really listened to it before,” he admitted. Truth be told, he’d never listened to it because he’d never really liked it before, but watching this particular performance was fast converting him to the genre.

“She’s pretty incredible to watch,” the woman said, pulling on her headset again. “I get to see a lot of performers, but she’s hands down the most talented and nicest we’ve hosted yet.”

Logan smiled in reply and turned his attention back to Candace. As the song finished she wowed the crowd with her mesmerizing, soft laugh, before turning around and waving toward the band so they could have their own round of applause. He was pleased that she’d asked him to watch, but he’d actually been employed to stay until the end of her concert anyway. He just hadn’t told her that.

“Thank you for having me here tonight!” she told her fans. “Australia is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve ever visited, and I wish I had more time to spend here.”

The applause was deafening, but Logan could no more take his eyes off her and walk away than he could stop breathing. If there was such a thing as star power, she had it—on stage she wasn’t the sweet, soft-spoken woman he’d spent time with earlier in the day. Up there, her presence was almost overpowering, and the screaming fans only seemed to make her light up more in front of them, her confidence soaring as they encouraged her.

As she burst into another song, Logan leaned against the wall where he was standing. The past year had been nothing short of hard, unbearable, and being here tonight, watching Candace, was the kind of night he’d needed, even if it was technically work.

When Sam had died...
hell.
He didn’t want to go back there. Losing one of his closest friends so soon after his parents’ accident, then coming so close to losing another under different circumstances, not to mention deciding to retire—he’d only just pulled through. But the rush he’d felt when Candace had said yes to a night out with him had given him a much needed boost. He was ready to add some nice memories to his thought bank, and Candace was exactly the kind of memory he’d prefer to dwell upon.

He looked up as the next song came to an end, and the next thing he knew Candace was running toward him.

“What did you think?” she asked, eyes flashing as she glanced at him, a big smile on her face as she ran in her heels. “The crowd is crazy here!”

She kept moving, not pausing, so Logan spun and jogged to keep up with her, even as she was surrounded by a group of people who started to tug at her clothes and talk a million miles an hour.

“You were great out there,” he managed when the crowd paused for a nanosecond.

“You really think so?”

There was an innocence in her gaze that made Logan smile, because this was the woman he’d glimpsed earlier. The one who was so used to being told by others what they thought she wanted to hear, that she no longer knew who to believe, who to trust. She wanted to know whether she could believe him—it was so obvious it was written all over her face, and he had no more intention of lying to her than anyone else.

“I know so,” he told her honestly.

The words were barely out of his mouth before she disappeared into her dressing room, and Logan turned his back when he realized the door wasn’t going to be closed. It seemed like only minutes later that she was running back out again, heading toward the stage, and instead of trying to keep up with her this time he just walked behind. She was still being plucked and prodded, her outfit pulled into shape and her hair fiddled with just before she was due back on stage. The woman with the tablet from earlier was flapping her arms at a group of dancers, before starting a countdown and sending them on as the music started again.

Just before she disappeared, Candace turned and locked her gaze on his, smiling for barely a second before throwing one hand in the air and returning to the stage.

There was no doubting she was a brilliant performer, but she was also like a little girl desperately in need of someone to look after her and trust in. To tell her the truth when she needed it, but also to shield her from harm.

“I’m not that person,” Logan muttered to himself, even as his instinct to protect reared within him before he could stamp it out.

He’d protected and looked after people all his life, and still he’d lost those he loved. Some of the people he cared most about in the world, and some strangers whose faces he’d never forget until the day he died, too. Looking after Candace while she was on stage and during her press conference tomorrow was his job, and one he intended on doing well, and tonight was about having fun with a beautiful woman. There was no need to overthink the situation or turn it into something it wasn’t.

He wasn’t going to be the one to rescue her, because he was still waiting to be rescued himself. Tonight was going to be great, but after that he’d never see her again, which meant she wasn’t his to worry about. Or protect.

*

Candace took one last bow after her second encore song before walking from the stage. It had been the kind of night she loved, the type that made her remember how lucky she was to perform for a career, even though her nerves had jangled whenever she’d let her mind stray to the hate mail she’d been receiving. There were always those times when she wondered if that person was in the crowd, watching her, but with Logan standing in the wings and the security amped up for the evening, she’d tried to make herself just relax. And for the most part it had worked.

Her heart was still pounding, adrenaline making her feel a million dollars, as she disappeared into the darkness of the wings, her eyes taking a moment to adjust from the bright lights she’d been performing under.

“I think you’ve made me like country music,” a deep male voice said.

She recognized Logan’s Australian twang the moment she heard it, and her heart started to race a little more.

“I’d say I don’t believe you, but I kind of want to,” she said with a laugh.

“I’m actually thinking of joining your insane fans and lining up for a CD and T-shirt. It seems to be the thing to do.”

She laughed, brushing her hand against his as she passed and then snatching it back like she’d connected with a flame. It had been a long time since she’d just touched someone impulsively like that, and it wasn’t something she wanted to make a habit of. Especially not with a man, even if she was enjoying his company.

“You can have a free T-shirt, I’ll even autograph it for you,” she teased.

“So what time do you want to head out?” he asked, following her.

Candace took a slow breath, still energized from her ninety minutes on stage. She always felt amazing at the end of a performance, exhaustion never setting in for hours after she finished.

“We’ll need to wait until the crowds die down. I don’t mind signing a couple of autographs, but I’m not going to ruin my buzz by being mobbed. Not tonight.”

Logan shook his head. “I think we’re best to leave immediately, before anyone expects you to depart. My truck’s parked around the back and we should be able to get in before anyone realizes it’s you, so long as we move quickly.”

Candace wasn’t convinced, but then she also usually timed these kind of things all wrong anyway and ended up in the middle of a hundred fans, trying to reach her getaway car. Or else her manager set things up to happen like that for maximum publicity when she gave him explicit instructions to the contrary.

“I don’t believe you, but I’m prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt,” she said.

“Good. I’ll go check the exit now and be back in ten minutes,” he told her. “Shall we meet in your dressing room?”

Candace nodded. “Let’s do it.”

The idea of a night out was exciting—she’d become used to feeling fantastic, on a high from singing, then going straight back to a hotel room, alone. Most of the time she ended up ordering room service, watching an old movie and going to bed, before receiving her wake-up call and taking a car to the airport early the next morning. Before she’d become recognizable, she’d always had a fun night out after any gig, which was why tonight was like a blast from the past for her. Add the tourism campaign she was the face of, and she didn’t have a hope of Australians not realizing who she was.

It was yet to be seen whether she could even manage to leave the building without being recognized or followed, so she could easily end up holed up in her hotel room just when she least expected it.

Candace closed her dressing room door the moment she stepped inside and slipped the feathery minidress off, letting it pool to the floor. She rummaged around in her case for the casual clothes she’d packed, in case she needed them, pulling out a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and wriggling her way into them. She didn’t have anything other than a T-shirt to wear, so she flicked through the tops hanging on her racks, wishing they weren’t all so costume looking, until she spotted a sequined black tank. Candace pulled it over her head, grabbed a studded leather biker jacket, and slipped into a pair of dangerously high heels she’d worn on stage earlier in the evening.