Her Soldier Protector. Сорейя Лейн

She stood up to use the phone, ordering way more food than they’d ever consume.

      Candace turned back around, eyes locking on Logan’s as he met her gaze. It wasn’t something she was used to—a man not intimated by meeting her, not fazed by the circus they’d confronted when he’d escorted her from her car. She knew that she was no one special, but men usually reacted badly to her fame or her money, and the way Logan was behaving was the complete opposite. He was just staring back at her like she was...ordinary. Although she guessed a lot of it, dealing with the crowds and stress earlier, was more to do with his training than anything else.

      “Can I ask you something?”

      He shrugged. “Shoot.”

      “You’re the first guy in years who’s treated me like a regular woman and not a celebrity. Is it your training or just how you are?”

      He leaned back, crossing his legs at the ankle and stretching out his big body. Logan was tall and fit, the T-shirt he wore snug to his athletic frame, pants stretching over his thigh muscles. She’d sure hit the jackpot where he was concerned.

      “Aren’t you a regular woman?”

      She felt a blush crawl up her neck and heat her cheeks. It had been a long time since a man had drawn that kind of reaction from her, but he’d said it like it was the most logical answer in the world. Which she kind of guessed it was.

      “Of course I am,” she said, refusing to be embarrassed. “It’s just that men usually avoid me, look at me like I’m some freak show because they’ve seen me on television or in magazines, or otherwise they’re all over me. Even most of my bodyguards have never gotten used to dealing with the whole fan and paparazzi thing.”

      “Sounds like you haven’t spent much time with real men,” he said with a chuckle. “Or maybe it’s just that Australian men aren’t so easily intimidated. A pretty lady is a pretty lady, no matter who she is, and at the end of the day, I’d rather a camera in my face than a semi-automatic.”

      He thought she was pretty? “Well, maybe I should spend more time down under. Is that what you call it here?”

      “Yeah, that’s what we call it.”

      Candace could tell he was trying not to laugh.

      “So, are you going to hang around for the concert?”

      “Is that an invite?”

      “There’s a VIP pass with your name on it if you want to stay. And I can’t say I’d mind you hanging around, knowing that you’re keeping an eye on things that could go boom.”

      “Sure thing. Can’t say I’ve ever been given the VIP status before, so it’ll be a nice change.”

      Candace cleared her throat. “Ah, do you have a partner or anyone I should add to the list, too?”

      “Yeah, but he’s probably not that interested in a show.”

      “Oh.” He was gay? She sure hadn’t seen that one coming, and it wasn’t exactly easy to hide her disappointment. “If you’re sure, then.”

      Logan met her gaze, his eyes dancing with what appeared to be...humor? “You’ve already met him, actually.”

      She swallowed, trying to figure out why he looked like he was about to burst into laughter again. “I have?”

      “Yep. He’s pretty big, beautiful brown eyes...and he’s staring at you right now.”

      It took her half a second before she locked eyes with the dog staring at her, his black tail thumping against the ground as she showed him a hint of attention, like he’d figured the joke out before she had.

      “That wasn’t funny,” she said, shaking her head and refusing to smile.

      “Sorry, couldn’t help myself.”

      “So, just the one pass, then?” she asked.

      “Just the one,” he confirmed, standing up when a knock at the door echoed throughout the room.

      Candace watched as Logan accepted the food and kicked the door shut behind him. He wasn’t hard to watch, the kind of guy she’d always notice no matter where she met him—tall, built and with close-cropped dark hair that matched his eyes. But he was strictly off-limits, eye candy only, because she was staying true to her promise not to get involved with anyone at the moment.

      He paused, stood there looking down at her before crossing the room again.

      “Candace, I won’t be offended if you say no, but are you busy after your show?”

      Why did he want to know, and why did he suddenly look so...staunch? “Why’s that?”

      Logan cleared his throat “I thought you might like a night out in Sydney, you know, to just have fun once you’re done with work.” He laughed. “I’ve been working around the clock for months, and I have a feeling you don’t take much time off, either.”

      Candace stared at him, taken aback. He’d just managed to surprise her twice in less than a few minutes. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but it’s just not that easy for me to hang out in public.” Was he asking her on a date or did he think taking her out was part of his job description?

      He put the containers down on the low table between the two sofas and sat down, leaning forward, eyes on hers. “You’re in Australia, not America, and the places I’ll take you, if it’s just the two of us, no one will even realize who you are.” Logan held his hands up. “But I have thick skin, so you can just turn me down and I’ll forget I ever asked.”

      She took the plastic tops off the containers and reached for a pair of chopsticks, before looking up and seeing the serious expression on Logan’s face. He was serious. And she had no idea what to say to him.

      “You promise I’d be safe? That it would just be the two of us?”

      “I promise,” he said. “You’ll just be a girl in the crowd instead of a superstar.”

      A shiver cascaded down her spine, spreading warmth into her belly. Now that was something she liked the sound of. “I’ll think about it, but it does sound nice.” It sounded way better than nice, but she didn’t want to lead him on, not until she’d had time to think about it.

      “Well, you just let me know when you’re good and ready,” he said. “Now it’s time for you to tell me exactly what I’m about to bite into here, because I haven’t ever seen anything that looks like this before.”

      Candace didn’t usually even talk much before a show, tried to rest her voice, yet here she was chatting with a cute guy and thinking about going out with him. Maybe Australia was exactly the place she was supposed to be right now, to take her mind off everything that had been troubling her since...way too long.

      * * *

      Logan fought not to grimace as he held the chopsticks—awkwardly. He wasn’t opposed to trying new things, but the food sitting in front of him looked downright scary. Not to mention the fact that he was more comfortable using a good old knife and fork.

      “When you said Japanese, I was kind of thinking about the over-processed chicken sushi that I find at the mall.”

      Candace gave him her wide smile again, the one that was making him wish he’d met her under different circumstances. Although, someone like her wouldn’t exactly have crossed paths with him if he hadn’t been assigned to mind her. She was an international superstar and he was...a soldier turned bodyguard for a couple of days. Which was why he’d taken his chance to ask her out while he could. That would teach his friends for pestering him about being single too long and not enjoying enough human company—he’d stepped completely outside of his comfort level with Candace.

      “So, I probably should have explained to you that sashimi is raw fish, huh?”

      Logan raised his eyebrows and wrangled