Chanel

I woke up before Kobe the next morning, lying next to him, watching him sleep. We were both still naked in my bed, under the sheets. He slept peacefully for the most part. Didn’t snore or make weird noises. I watched him for about an hour with so many questions on my mind.

There were still things I wanted to know, so as soon as he rolled over and opened his brown eyes to meet mine, I asked the question that’d been weighing heavily on my mind.

“Why did you take a year off from work?”

He shifted a little, his barely-there smile fading. “How do you know about that?” he asked, tone serious but still filled with sleep.

“My dad told me. Said it made him suspicious when he first hired you, and now it has me curious because no one knows.”

“Oh, fuck, Chanel. We had a great night,” he griped. “Do I really need to fill you in right now? This fucking early?”

I propped my elbow on the mattress, my chin in my hand. “Yes, you need to fill me in, Kobe. This is important to me so tell me already.”

He let out an agitated groan, looking away. He was quiet for a few seconds, most likely contemplating. “I took off for my wife.”

I sat up, my heart dropping to the pit of my stomach. “What? You’re married?”

“Not anymore. That’s—that’s over now,” he responded quickly, and my guard lowered again, relief washing over me like a tidal wave. His eyes seemed to sadden when he said that. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions. Maybe she broke his heart. Maybe he was cheated on, and that’s why he didn’t want anything serious right now.

“Why take so much time off? A year is a really long time to be out of commission…”

He ran a rough hand over his face, looking anywhere else but at me. He then shoved out of the bed, bending over to pick up his T-shirt and jogging pants. “Damn it, Chanel. I really don’t want to fucking talk about this right now.”

“Wait—” I dragged the sheets with me, climbing off the bed. “Wait, Kobe. Just—please. Tell me what happened,” I pleaded. “You can talk to me. I won’t tell a soul, I promise.” I was desperate to know. Whatever it was, it was cutting him deep, hurting his heart. I could tell from the sad, guilty look in his eyes alone.

His forehead creased, eyebrows pinching together. Relief struck me when he let out a hard, long breath, cursing beneath it as he sat back down on the edge of the bed with his shoulders hunched.

I sat beside him, giving him all my attention.

He was quiet for a long time—so long that the busy Manhattan streets sounded too close. He stared down at his hands, his head doing a slight shake from side to side. “I took the time off because she was sick.”

“Sick? With what?”

“Breast cancer. She was stage four and didn’t have long to live. So, I spent the final days she had left by her side.”

Oh. My heart thumped a little harder. I knew it was something, but I didn’t think it would be this. I suddenly felt like the world’s biggest bitch for even asking.

“I was working so fucking much, building my life so she wouldn’t have to find a job, and so she could be happy. We bought a condo here in Manhattan, in a private and quiet area. But I was hardly ever there. I worked so damn much that she spent most of her time alone. Instead of being behind her and having her back, I was behind other people, protecting their lives when I should have been protecting hers.” He lifted his head and I caught the shimmer in his eyes. He dropped his gaze to the floor again. “She didn’t tell me she was sick until two months prior to her passing away. As soon as she told me, I backed out of the job to be with her. She refused to go through chemotherapy.” He laughed a little. “She was a hippy that way—free spirit. Rebellious and didn’t care about some of the laws and not about politics either. She didn’t believe in having chemicals pumped into her body. She wanted to go out the most natural way possible. So, she let the cancer eat her alive from the inside.” His throat bobbed. “I would spend months—months—away from her. Working so much. Calling and not even noticing how feeble she sounded. She kept it a secret for so long that by the time she told me, it was already too late for me to do anything about it.” He sighed hard. “When she died, it took me months to recover from the loss, but after paying for the funeral, and with the bills piling up on me, my savings started running low. I couldn’t live in the condo we shared anymore so I finally sold it. She was everywhere in that place—her smell, the memories we shared. Everywhere. After moving to a one-bedroom apartment in the heart of the city, I decided it was time to start looking for work again. I looked, but I didn’t take the plunge until a few more months had passed and I felt ready. I did it for her—to keep my head up and move on. Live my life with no regrets like I promised her I would.” He looked up at me through damp lashes. “I applied to a few jobs, found a good, well-paying one, and then I started working to protect you.”

“God, Kobe.” My words were meaningless. What was I to say? I felt horrible for forcing that story out of him. So selfish. “Why didn’t you just tell me it had something to do with losing a loved one? Something where I wouldn’t push for more.”

“It was too soon. Still raw. I didn’t want to talk about it at all.”

“I would have understood.”

“I know you would have.” He smiled softly. “It might sound crazy, but you remind me of her. Your free spirit. Your rebellious attitude. There are a lot of similarities, but still so many differences.”

I smashed my lips together, warmth coursing through me, blooming in my cheeks.

“That’s why I kept my mouth shut, told you we couldn’t get in too deep. It was starting to feel too real. I’m just the bodyguard—”

“No, you’re not just the bodyguard.” I grabbed his face, putting his eyes on mine. “You’re more than that to me and you know it. Don’t say that.”

“I can’t be with you, Chanel. Your father won’t have it and my career is all I have now. My reputation, as well as yours, is on the line.”

“You’re wrong.” I held his face tighter in my hands. “This job isn’t all you have. You also have me. He can’t tell me who not to be with—who I shouldn’t fall for.”

He put on a crooked smile. “You’re insane to fall for me, superstar,” he chuckled, the tip of his nose running over the tip of mine.

“I can’t help who I want.” I draped an arm around the back of his neck. “Thanks for telling me. I understand now.”

He made a small grunt, grabbing my waist, and brought me on top of his lap. I settled into his groin and he lifted his chin, his soft, warm lips pressing on mine, consuming me.

I sighed and moaned behind the kiss, my tongue sweeping over his as I glued myself to him. I was naked on top of him, wanting so badly to get rid of his pants again and let him take me.

But that thought quickly vanished when someone banged on the door and I heard a voice I didn’t want to hear while being naked on Kobe Ward’s lap.

My dad’s.