The Bodyguard's Baby (Billionaire Bodyguard Series) by Kristi Avalon Page B

comfortable, cushioned reading chair. “Do you know what guardians do?”
    A girl with pigtails raised her hand and Slone gestured to her. “You guard stuff. Are you here to make sure no one steals anything?”
    “I’m here watching over you, making sure everyone is safe.”
    “Are you a policeman?” another boy with a face full of freckles asked. “I want to be the police when I grow up.”
    Slone smiled and nodded. “That’s a good goal.”
    “I want to be a policeman, too,” another child added, then another, until a chorus of little voices echoed their desire to be one of the men and women in blue someday.
    Lindsey covered a grin with her hand.
    “I’m not a policeman. I worked for the military doing special, secret missions,” Slone said with a slight whisper in his tone.
    “Wow, what kinda missions?” the freckled boy asked with wide eyes.
    Slone rubbed his chin. “If I told you, they wouldn’t be secret, would they?”
    Adoring the way Slone interacted with the children, so natural and unexpectedly charming, Lindsey folded her arms and fought back tears. Stupid hormones, she griped to herself. Why else would she grow weepy watching this big tough guy who’d fought terrorists enchanting small children with the intriguing mystery of his career?
    After he’d patiently answered all their questions at a level first-graders could understand, he cracked open the book and instantly delved into clever characterization. He used distinct voices for the bus driver and the pigeon.
    The pigeon voice he created was hilarious! Without having ever read the story, he mastered the character and viewpoint of the manipulative pigeon who tried to convince the children he should drive the bus. The first graders loved it, grinning and laughing hysterically at the pigeon’s antics as he—Slone—bribed and bartered and finally pitched a fit for the chance to drive the bus.
    The kids won out, par for the course in correlation to the story’s progression.
    When he closed the book, Slone smiled with a joyful twinkling light in his gray eyes she’d never seen before. As though interacting with the kids with such a fun premise had brought out the best in him.
    Would a baby bring out the best in him like this? All the time?
    Her chin wobbled and she glanced away. That’s when she realized Slone had more than first graders for an audience. Several female teachers had wandered in without her noticing their presence. The women ogled him, practically swooning, as they drooled over the sexy hunk reading to kids.
    One cute young teacher with long dark hair sighed. “I knew a fireman was scheduled to read today, but oh my God, hello heaven. I want a calendar with twelve months of him. ”
    Lindsey frowned.
    Another teacher with springy red hair leaned in to reply. “I saw him monitoring the halls this morning. I asked Principal Snider about him, and I guess he’s the new security guard. We’ll be seeing him all the time.”
    “Amen,” the dark-haired teacher replied. “I have a new reason to wake up every day.”
    Lindsey scowled.
    “This story has a good lesson,” Slone explained to the kids, who hung on his every word, staring up at him with fixed expressions of adoration. Much like the growing collection of female teachers who had nothing better to do than pine after the man Lindsey wanted but couldn’t have.
    I hate my life right now.
    “Do you know what the lesson is?” Slone asked.
    The lesson is don’t get attached to a man you can’t have, especially a really, really gorgeous one that any woman would die to sleep with. So not G-rated, and Lindsey felt guilty even thinking that in this building. Though she certainly wasn’t alone, she thought, sending a discreet glare at the now eight female teachers practically climbing over each other to get a closer look at Slone.
    “The lesson,” Slone said stoically, “is when a trustworthy adult gives you an order, you follow it. No matter how someone, even a friend,