“And I am your guardian, your bodyguard, sworn to protect and defend you. And you are making my job excruciatingly difficult.”

“I am your bodyguard. That's my job. But I'll gladly take tips for my services... or services for my tips...”

“It’s your fault. I was defending you!” I blurted.He paused. “In protecting my honor, you exposed months of work. I should be flattered?”

“You’re a guardian angel now.”...."I’m your guardian angel,” he said.“I get my very own guardian angel? What, exactly, is your job description?”“Guard your body.” His smile tipped higher. “I take my job seriously, which means I’m going to need to get acquainted with the subject matter on a personal level.”

“My job is to protect you, Lady Glinda even if you are loosing your mind.”

“You don’t understand.She was mean to me. Very mean. And she’s dangerous. A very dangerous girl. I’m your guardian, Ayden. I have to protect you!It’s my sworn duty. My sworn duty!”“Protect me?”“Yes!” Pearl hovered frantically in front of “her boy,” and slathered her voice with disgust. “She threatened to…” Oh, she wouldn’t.“Kiss you!”She would. My cheeks fired. I stared at the floor.Ayden laughed. “Kiss me?”“Yeeeeesss,” Pearl wailed in agony. “She promised a big juicy kiss! On a real date. No pretending. With hand holding and—and cuddling!”And I thought it couldn’t get any worse.”