The Bodyguard and Ms. Jones by Susan Mallery

toward the door. Cindy followed more slowly.
    At the front door there were frantic kisses and calls of goodbye. Nelson waited by the now-open trunk and waved to his children, but he didn’t glance at Cindy. She knew they would be back tomorrow promptly at four-thirty. If there had been a change of plans, Nelson would have had his secretary call and tell her.
    Without wanting to, she peered at the front passenger seat. She couldn’t see much of Hilari except for her long, dark curls. Cindy had seen the woman close up once. She was startlingly beautiful with long legs and a perfectly flat stomach. She was also very young. Maybe twenty-two. Nelson was nearly forty.
    As the kids climbed into the car, they stopped to hug Hilari. Cindy felt a stab of pain in her heart. She knew her children loved her, but watching them with bimbo number two was difficult.
    She waved until the car turned on the cul-de-sac then sped off. She closed the door and slowly walked back to the kitchen.
    â€œI hate her,” Cindy said as she grabbed her coffee and sat down at the table. “I suppose it’s transference. I don’t want to hate Nelson because I might say something to the children, and I don’t want to make it harder on them. So I hate her.” She took a sip of the hot liquid and grimaced. “I wish he would pick them up Friday night so I could get drunk or something, but what is there to do at nine on a Saturday morning?” She shook her head. “I sound pretty pathetic. Did you see her?”
    Mike was measuring milk. “Who?”
    â€œNelson’s girlfriend. Hilari. One L, and an I instead of a Y .”
    â€œYou’re kidding? Yeah, I saw her. So?”
    â€œShe’s very beautiful. Even younger than the woman he left me for. Nelson kept his trophy wife for nearly a year, but they’ve separated now.”
    He cracked an egg, then looked at her. “Let me get this straight. You’re upset because your ex-husband is dating some skinny teenager who can’t even spell her name? Cindy, you’re a beautiful woman, you’ve got great kids. Nelson is obviously a fool as well as a cad. Forget him.” He picked up a fork and began stirring the batter.
    She stared at him. His words floated around in her brain, then sort of settled in place. Mike thought she was beautiful. He’d said it casually, as if it was an obvious fact. The way most people would comment on the color of her eyes, or her hair.
    She sipped her coffee and grinned. The most gorgeous man she’d ever met was standing in her kitchen, cooking her breakfast, telling her that her ex-husband was a jerk and that she was beautiful. If Mike kept that up much longer, she wouldn’t have any choice—she would have to fall for him.

Chapter Five
    â€œI thought it would look like Tara from Gone With the Wind, ” Mike said as they pulled up to the country club.
    Cindy glanced at the large white building in front of them. It sprawled out on either side. To the left was the swimming pool where the kids’ swim team practiced and had meets, beyond that, the tennis courts. On three sides was the private golf course. She suspected living close to the golf course was one of the few things Nelson missed about their marriage.
    â€œSouthern Gothic would have been too obvious,” she said. “They went for a sort of art deco look, instead. More contemporary.” She left the keys in the ignition and took the parking stub the valet handed her.
    Mike had already opened the side door on the passenger’s side. She grabbed her small gym bag. “It’s pretty crowded on weekends,” she said, pointing to the cars filling the parking lot. “When you come on your own, you don’t have to use the valet. I thought it would be easier today.”
    Mike picked up his bag and slid the door of the minivan closed. “I appreciate it. I wouldn’t want to use up all my strength walking to the