“You will tomorrow,” Gary said. “Two, in fact. They’re arriving by plane in the morning.”
“I don’t like dogs.”
“No problem.” Dani gave a careless lift of one shoulder. “I’ll phone up and cancel the dogs, and I’ll get out of here. I’m sure Jake’s got somebody else I can babysit.” She put as much scorn as she could into the word and Gary winced. “Or maybe I’ll stay out here and take a vacation. Move to the coast, find a hotel, lay on the beach somewhere.”
A couple of weeks laying on the hot sand, soaking up the sun, plenty of swimming to strengthen her leg. Yes, it was definitely appealing. At least way more tempting than babysitting a spoiled rich guy.
She came out of her daydream to find both men staring at her with almost identical expressions of disapproval.
“What?” she asked.
“You’ll do no such thing,” Gary replied in his no-nonsense, sergeant-major tone. “The dogs are coming. It’s not negotiable.” He turned to Zach. “You promised Jake you’d do whatever he suggested. You weren’t loving the idea of having more guards around the place so dogs are the ideal solution. They’re also ideal at sniffing out explosives.”
“Okay.” Zach put up his hands in mock surrender. “No problem. Dogs it is.” He gave Dani that lazy smile. “Seems like you, me, and the dogs are stuck with each other.”
“Good,” Gary said. “That’s settled then.” He tossed Dani a warning look, and she closed her mouth. “I did actually bring Dani over this afternoon,” Gary continued, “but it looked as though something had come up.”
Dani sniggered at his choice of words.
“Did I miss something?” Zach raised his eyebrows in query.
“You were”—Gary’s lips twitched—“in the pool with a friend.”
“Actually, that was my accountant.” He turned to Dani with a smirk on his face. “And did you like what you saw?”
She sniffed. “There wasn’t a lot to like, that I could see.”
He cast her an amused glance, and she suspected he didn’t believe her. “Why don’t we all drive into town, get some dinner, and Dani can explain exactly how she’s going to protect me.”
“I’ll let Gary do that,” Dani said with a shake of her head. “I’m going to rest. I’ve had a long day.”
She stood up, wincing as she put weight on her leg. Zach’s gaze was on her as she crossed the terrace, but she still couldn’t hide the slight limp.
“Did you hurt your leg?” Zach asked.
“It’s nothing,” she dismissed, not bothering to turn to face him.
“It doesn’t look like nothing. There’s a twenty-four-hour doctor in town—I’ll drive you down there…before dinner.”
“I don’t need a doctor.”
“You—”
“Leave it, Zach,” Gary interrupted. “Dani can take care of herself.”
She glanced back over her shoulder. “I’m going to get dressed. Please feel free to leave before I get back.”
She stood in front of the mirror, her eyes bright with temper, her face flushed. Why was he getting to her? Obviously it didn’t help that every time she looked at him, she saw that long, lean, naked body. So much for being immune.
She pulled off the towel and ran her fingers through her damp hair, all the styling it ever got. In the army, she’d kept it short but hadn’t been bothered enough to get it cut in the last six months. Now it reached her shoulders, curling riotously in the damp and heat.
After slipping out of the robe, her gaze flickered briefly to the scar that wound its way along the length of her left thigh. The doctors had said the mark would fade in time. Or plastic surgery was an option. But she didn’t really care how it looked. What she cared about was the weakness that still afflicted her when she put any pressure on her healing limb. And the fact that the injury might be enough to keep her from reenlisting and going back to her unit. The army was her whole life, the one place she had felt like she belonged in all the years since her brother, Sam, had died. Where would she go if she couldn’t go back?
With a sigh, she pulled on white cotton panties, dark trousers, and a khaki T-shirt. She lingered a bit, hoping the guys would be gone by the time she went back out there.
No such luck.
The murmur of voices drifted in through the open door to the terrace as she emerged from her room. For a moment, she considered retreating, but she’d never been good at taking the easy way out. Instead, she took a deep breath and promised herself that nothing Zachary Hunter said would ruffle her.
Zach lounged against the balustrade, a bottle of beer in his hand, appearing in absolutely no rush to move anywhere. He glanced across as she came out onto the terrace and then did a rapid double take, leaning toward her, no doubt to get a better look. “Christ, you’ve got red hair.”
Dani glowered. She hated anyone mentioning the color of her hair. As a child, it had been a bright carrot orange, the subject of vast amounts of teasing. The shade had mellowed a little with age, but it was still a touchy subject.
He took a step closer, head cocked to one side, and his lips curled in a slow smile. “And freckles.”
“So?”
His gaze shifted from her hair to her freckles and back again “I just didn’t expect red hair. I don’t know why, considering…”
Dani almost rose to it but managed to bite back her retort. She closed her eyes, counted to ten again, opened them, and smiled. A little strained, but still a smile.
“Here,” Gary said, handing her a cold bottle. “Have a beer, cool yourself down.” He cast her a speculative glance. “Zach was suggesting that you move into the main house.”
“Why?” she asked, pressing the cool bottle against her forehead.
“Maybe he thinks you might be uncomfortable sharing a place with two guys.”
She took a mouthful of cold beer before casting Gary a look of disbelief. “And I’m supposed to feel better sharing a place with one guy?”
“It’s a big house,” Zach added, his smile still in place.
“Thanks but no thanks. Anyway, what about your girlfriend?”
“What girlfriend?”
“The blonde from the pool?”
“I told you, she’s not a girlfriend. She’s my accountant, and she had to go back to London.” He swallowed the last of his beer and put down the bottle. “Come on,” he said to Gary. “Let’s go find Simon and head into town.”