Hero Duty Read Online Free PDF Page B

said. This was about self-respect.
    ***
    The plane landed ten minutes early. Not that it mattered. Jessica hadn’t told anyone when she’d be returning to Sydney. For the last six weeks she’d been living mostly at the family home, taking unpaid leave from her university. There was just so much to do with the lawyers and at Numbat. Her old bedroom was scattered with papers she had to read.
    But this time she wouldn’t be returning home alone.
    She hugged the knowledge to herself as Brodie opened the taxi door.
    After their talk on the plane had gotten uncomfortably deep and philosophical, she and Brodie had retreated into silence. He’d read a newspaper. She’d called up some of the documents she had to read on her computer and skimmed through them.
    The warmth of his hand holding hers had lingered. Comfort, connection.
    Now he lightly touched her back where her T-shirt met her jeans, guiding her into the taxi, while placing himself between her and the group of tourists stampeding towards their bus.
    It was old-fashioned but sweet. Sexy, too. Nothing was sexier than a man who used his strength to protect.
    She slid along the taxi’s back seat as she gave the driver the address, aware of Brodie folding himself into the car.
    ‘Is there a hotel I can stay at, maybe a B&B close by?’ he asked as the taxi driver jerked out into traffic.
    His question distracted her from the terrifying ways of taxi drivers. People who drove all day, every day, took risks she’d never consider. ‘You’ll stay at the house.’
    Silence, and not the good kind.
    ‘What?’
    ‘I can’t land myself on your stepmother. She lost your dad only a few weeks ago.’
    ‘Do you think she misses him?’ Jessica asked grimly.
    ‘Excuse me?’ He definitely sounded disapproving. It was a low growl.
    ‘Dad cheated. He wasn’t even discreet about it. Girls my age or younger. I think he found them cheaper than sports cars for his midlife crisis.’
    ‘Whew.’ Brodie whistled under his breath. ‘That’s harsh.’
    She tucked her trembling hands under her thighs, rocking forward in her seat. ‘I guess. I’ve never said that before. Never even thought it. Portia had her own affairs.’
    ‘Messed up. Would you ever…?’
    ‘Cheat? No.’ She sat up straight. ‘Never.’
    ‘A hot button issue.’ He was watching her carefully. ‘Did you have a boyfriend cheat on you?’
    ‘I thought guys hated heart-to-heart conversations.’
    ‘Our situation isn’t quite normal. You hired me to walk into an emotional minefield. I want to learn where some of the bombs are.’
    ‘I guess for a million dollars, a guy could talk about feelings.’ She hated feeling hurt that his concern was professional. She wasn’t so stupid as to think she could buy friendship, not true friendship.
    ‘Not fair.’
    She shrugged one shoulder, knowing he was right but not willing to admit it. ‘As far as I know, no boyfriend ever cheated on me. That wasn’t what I was reacting to. I hate the idea that you think I’m weak enough to cheat. I might give in to emotional bullying, but I know right from wrong. I’d never hurt someone that way. How about you?’
    ‘When I make a commitment, I keep it.’
    She hesitated. ‘Do you have a current girlfriend? It’s none of my business, except do you have to explain about…about working for me?’
    ‘I don’t have a girlfriend.’ He tilted his head. ‘How are you going to introduce me to your family?’
    ‘Not as my boyfriend.’ She could see where he was going with the question.
    ‘What other role is there that would make it right to crash at your stepmother’s home?’
    ‘I own the house,’ Jessica said bluntly. ‘That’s one of the things the lawyers made clear. Dad bought it using my money, in my name. Learning that was when Portia tried to scratch my eyes out.’
    More of Sydney passed by the taxi windows. The boa constrictor in her tummy awoke and started to tighten its coils. She practiced controlled