Cocky Protector - Kat Mizera Page 0,1
smile. “Hello, Andrew.”
God, I hated when people called me by my first name. No one, not even my parents, had called me that for years. Mrs. Barrow knew that, since I’d met her on many occasions while I’d been under her husband’s command. So she was just being a bitch and I had no idea why.
Whatever. The bar was calling my name.
After dinner and a couple of drinks I was cornered at the bar by a busty blonde who told dirty jokes and laughed at them herself. Normally, she would have been a perfect target for a night of no-commitment sex, but tonight I had another woman on my mind. I wasn’t sure why either, because as her father had said, she wasn’t my type at all. But every time I caught sight of Shannon, she shot me an almost pleading look, and I was torn.
Senator Barrow had asked me to look out for her, while his wife had made it clear she didn’t want her daughter associating with me. I didn’t know which way to go with this, but Shannon was currently on the dance floor with some suspender-wearing dweeb who kept stepping on her feet and it was obvious she was miserable.
Oh, hell, in for a penny, in for a pound.
I excused myself as the song came to an end and approached Shannon with a smile. “Excuse me, is the next dance free?”
“Oh, yes, thank you.” She all but turned her back on her current partner and gave me a grateful smile.
Luckily, the next song was a popular but slow contemporary song and she moved into my arms easily.
“Well, hello again,” I said.
“Hi. Thank you for saving me.”
“My pleasure.” I looked down into those gorgeous eyes and it was on the tip of my tongue to ask her to take the glasses off. That might offend her, though, so I didn’t. I just wanted to see them better.
She moved easily in my arms, light on her feet. I wasn’t a great dancer but I could hold my own and Shannon seemed perfectly content to go where I led her.
“So, are you in college?” I asked her.
She nodded. “Yes, at American University here in D.C. Mom didn’t want me to go away. Something about peer pressure and unplanned pregnancy.”
I couldn’t see for sure, between her glasses and the dim lights on the dance floor, but I could have sworn she rolled her eyes.
“What are you studying?”
“Teaching.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“Mom is mortified. It’s the equivalent of going on welfare, in her opinion.”
“Your father isn’t like that, is he?”
“No, but Mom rules the house and he gets to escape to work, so mostly I’m stuck with her.”
“You’re not close, I take it?”
“We used to be, but once she realized I’m not the daughter she expected me to be, we drifted apart. She doesn’t understand that I’m twenty-one now, and just because she wants to marry me off to the first doctor that’ll have me, that’s not what I want.”
“What do you want?” I asked curiously.
Her smile turned shy. “To fall in love. To find my own personal Prince Charming, who sweeps me off my feet and takes me away.”
“So the white picket fence and two point five babies?”
She shook her head. “Not necessarily. A high-rise condo in London or a shack on a beach in Tahiti—it’s all the same to me as long as the man I’m with loves me unconditionally. And I refuse to settle.”
Wow, she was sweeter than sweet and cuter than hell. Too bad I wasn’t anyone’s knight in shining armor. “Bet your mom will take issue with the hut in Tahiti,” I quipped, grinning down at her.
“I’m an adult, though she always reminds me I live under her roof.”
“Not when you’re in college, though.”
She sighed. “I commute every day. She wouldn’t let me live on campus.”
“Damn, honey, that sounds awful. Are you a senior?”
“A junior. So a little over a year until I’m free.”
“Then what?”
“Then I’m going to walk up to the first cute guy I see and kiss him.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “How come?”
She blushed again. “I have to start somewhere and I’ve never kissed anyone before.”
My mouth nearly fell open. “But…”
“I know. Believe me. It’s just never been worth the hassle. Teenage boys were…gross. I tried once during a game of spin the bottle and it was not worth risking my mother’s wrath. And now that my dad’s a senator, well, I never know what a guy’s intentions are. I want my