Don't Fall for the Younger Bodyguard: A Clean Fake Relationship Romance: Take My Advice, #5

By Palmer King

Strong. Handsome. Young. How can she resist the man whose first priority is keeping her safe?

Protecting celebrities is Brian's job and he's good at it. So, when movie star Jules Taylor finds herself with a stalker problem, he's the perfect man for the job. There's just one problem. Jules is determined to keep this a secret and the only way to explain Brian's constant presence is to pretend they are in a relationship. Before he knows it, he's not just her fake boyfriend, but her fake fiancé, and the jealous stalker has put a target on his back.

Jules didn't want a bodyguard at all. So, when Brian shows up with his watchful eyes and over-protective nature, the stubborn actress has no choice but to rebel a bit.

But when the threat of her stalker hits a little too close to home, she's glad to have the younger bodyguard around to make her feel safe. Now, if only she could stop thinking about how handsome he is.

Can these two overcome their differences and give in to the feelings they have for each other? Or will the ever-present danger of a man obsessed get in the way?

Don't Fall for the Younger Bodyguard is a sweet, clean, contemporary fake relationship romance. As always, a happy ever after ending is guaranteed. Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dina Marie
• Release date: Jun 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393743422

Book preview

Chapter One

Brian

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How dare you!

Riley, I’m sorry. I must have grabbed the wrong package. It was a mistake.

"I can’t perform like this. I told you I wanted wintergreen mints. These are peppermint. Are you an idiot?"

Brian stood in the corner of the room, watching this interaction with disgust, but he carefully kept his face neutral. His client, Riley Hart, was tearing into her assistant over a package of Altoids, of all things. The pop star was about to perform for 20,000 people, so her attitude could be mistaken for nerves, but he knew better. This was Riley’s third concert in the Los Angeles area in the last two years, and he provided security for all of them.

She was a spoiled brat.

Not that his opinion mattered. He was just there to be her bodyguard.

I’ll run back out the store right now, Riley’s assistant said, already hurrying to the door. I’ll be back in five minutes.

Riley just scoffed in disgust and took a seat in front of the large mirror that took up one whole wall of the dressing room. As her assistant shut the door behind her, Riley’s makeup artist, another silent spectator of the peppermint meltdown, stepped forward and started applying Riley’s makeup . She worked quickly and without speaking, clearly trying to get the job done and avoid getting caught up in the diva’s drama.

As her makeup was applied, Riley fiddled with the silky petals of the roses on the counter beside her. Brian knew that these were one of her many special requests when agreeing to perform here; two dozen red roses in full bloom placed on each side of her when she was sitting in front of the mirror, as if to frame her while she admired her own reflection, which she did constantly.

Suddenly, after several minutes of silence, Riley held out her hand and snapped, Cristal.

Her eyes didn’t leave her own reflected face, so it wasn’t clear exactly who she was talking to, but Brian didn’t care if the demand was meant for him. He wasn’t going to cater to her demands.

Her hairdresser, who had been waiting patiently on the couch to style Riley’s blonde hair, jumped to her feet and pulled a bottle of champagne out of the ice bucket on the coffee table. Pouring as she walked, she filled a flute with the golden liquid and handed it off to Riley, who took it without a word of thanks.

Typical.

Just then, the door beside Brian burst open and a gaggle of girls in short dresses came in. He knew they were her entourage, and it would be easy to assume that they were harmless, but that wasn’t how the job worked. He always had to be on the lookout for threats to his client, so he watched them closely.

A few of the girls appeared to be drunk already, based on the way they were tottering on their mile-high heels. Riley’s assistant trailed in after the group, her chest heaving as if she’d run the whole way from the gas station across the street. She handed off the mints, which Riley offered to her surrounding admirers, neglecting to eat one herself. As the entourage talked over one another, trying to earn Riley’s attention, her assistant was shuffled to the side, ignored as if she’d never been there at all. Brian tried to catch the poor girl’s eye to give her a sympathetic look, but she just hung her head.

He sighed. This assignment shined a spotlight on all the worst things about working in this industry. He was quickly becoming disenchanted by it, but what else could he do? There weren’t a lot of people lining up to hire a former Marine with no job experience outside of the service. He was forced to come face-to-face with the truth when he left the Corps two years ago; he had no practical skills.

Brian watched as Riley’s hair was styled into long ringlet curls, and her entourage settled onto the couch. The space was too crowded, with so many people. Then, yet another person entered. This was the woman who hired him, Riley’s manager, Jenna.

It’s time, Jenna said as she bustled into the room and stopped by Riley’s side. Have you done your vocal warm-ups?

Of course, Riley lied. She pushed her hair dresser’s hands away from her and stood. The sparkling silver dress she was wearing barely covered her butt as it flowed down her body, shimmering in the bright lights around the makeup mirror. Bringing her champagne flute to her lips, Riley tilted her head back and swallowed down the last drop. Let’s go.

Riley’s friends didn’t bother to look up from their cell phones as she followed her manager out of the dressing room. There were no cries of good luck or encouraging smiles. They weren’t even going to watch her perform. He wasn’t surprised. They were only here to benefit from Riley’s celebrity status, including the party she was sure to throw after the concert.

Pulling his eyes away from the group of girls, he knew he needed to focus. His only concern here was Riley’s safety. Not that he expected any trouble.

Following her to the stage, Brian stopped just short of the red curtain on stage left. He would spend the entire concert here, out of sight but close enough to step out and grab Riley if trouble arose.

"Now, I’ll have four people here after you finish Odyssey. The second you cut off that final note, book it back to this spot and they’ll change you into the red bodysuit, Jenna told her, consulting a clipboard in her hands. Same thing after One Life to Live. You’ll be changing into a crop top and white shorts."

Yeah, yeah, Riley said dismissively.

"Your final costume change will be after Blue Boy," Jenna continued without seeming to notice Riley’s disinterested attitude.

The stage lights, which had been brightly illuminating the stage, suddenly lowered until the stage was nearly black. There was reflective tape on the stage showing Riley where to walk so that she was in the correct position when the lights came back up.

That’s your cue, Jenna said.

Riley took a step forward, then turned to Brian unexpectedly, Wish me luck, she said in a sultry voice. She winked at him before turning and walking away with her hips swinging.

It was dark enough that Brian rolled his eyes, confident that no one would see. She was barking up the wrong tree. Brian didn’t date celebrities.

Jenna stood by his side until the lights came up. The massive audience fell silent, no longer talking as they caught sight of Riley posed with her hip cocked and her head thrown back. One arm was up in the air and the other held a microphone at her side. There was a pause, then the band started. Riley started to perform a choreographed dance while the crowd went wild, recognizing the song immediately. Backup dancers joined her in a perfectly timed routine. Once Riley started singing, Jenna walked away, leaving him standing there alone.

Brian had been trained to stay alert, no matter the circumstance. Boredom didn’t matter. A sense of safety didn’t matter. Not even his dislike of pop music mattered. He stayed a vigilant observer.

He watched the entire three-hour concert. He had to admit, Riley put on a decent show. Costume changes, pyrotechnics, dance routines; she did it all. By the time the concert concluded, she should have been exhausted.

But she made a beeline for her dressing room, with Brian trailing after. He frowned when the door opened. He’d thought it was crowded before, but now people were packed in like sardines. Riley’s entourage had hand-picked fans from the crowd and brought them backstage to party with the pop star.

Someone had brought a small Bluetooth speaker and Riley’s music, which she had just spent hours performing, started to play, so loudly that people had to shout to be heard. Riley jumped right into the party, working herself into the middle of the crowd and taking a shot that was handed to her.

There was hazy fog floating over the crowd and Brian saw that several people were smoking e-cigarettes. He scanned the room but didn’t see any sign of illegal drug use. It wasn’t uncommon to see that at these parties, but he’d be forced to confiscate it or shut the party down altogether if he caught wind of it.

Keeping close to Riley, he did his best to blend into the crowd. The rate at which Riley was consuming alcohol was almost impressive, but she clearly couldn’t hold her liquor. The singer was three sheets to the wind in less than an hour, unsteady on her feet and glassy-eyed. He’d just decided that she’d partied more than enough when a tall man approached her. Riley rejected his