Her Lawman Protector

“Sorry,” Liv said with a wince.

“Don’t be. I like him. He’s honest.” Jack’s squint followed her uncle. “So what’s this about Evan and land?”

“A misunderstanding,” she replied. One she still hadn’t forgiven her ex for, because he’d tossed her into the middle of it.

“Care to elaborate?”

“There’s not much to tell,” she replied, and she heard the stiffness in her own tone. She was still processing a whole lot of anger, apparently.

“And the mayor?” Evan asked with a frown.

“This is a small town,” she said, relaxing a little. “It doesn’t mean the same thing it does in Denver. Trust me.”

Jack eyed her for a moment, then shrugged.

“I need more of that potato salad,” he said after a beat of silence.

“If you were actually dating me, you wouldn’t like my uncle half as much,” Liv said, following him toward the table. Evan had detested her uncle. They’d sparred at every social event, and her uncle had glowed victorious when Evan finally proved himself the lowlife that Gerard had suspected all along.

“You’ve had boyfriends who complained?” Jack asked.

“I’ve had a husband who complained,” she retorted.

Jack was silent for a moment, then shrugged. “I like who I like.”

Not that it mattered. In a few weeks, she’d have to tell them that Jack was nothing more than security anyway and hope that the drama of all those threats overshadowed the more pathetic truth about her relationship to this hunky cop. Uncle Gerard’s bravado was for nothing.

“Liv, how are you?” Tanya said, and Liv looked up to see her cousin approaching, camera in hand.

“Hi, Tanya.” Liv tried to smile. She loved her cousin, but the more people she had to lie to about Jack, the worse she was going to feel.

Liv made the introductions, and Tanya and Jack shook hands.

“So...this is new!” Tanya said with a wide smile. “Liv sure can keep a secret. I’m serious. I mean, she’s normally pretty closemouthed about stuff, but this is crazy! How long have you kept him under wraps?”

“Almost a year,” Liv said with a wan smile. She’d been thinking about how good it would feel to rub some fake relationship into Marie’s face, not Tanya’s. This felt like collateral damage—a family relationship that would suffer because of these untruths.

“Almost...” Tanya’s smile faltered, and Liv saw the hurt in her cousin’s eyes. “What? That long?”

“With her divorce and everything, she wasn’t sure if she’d even like me,” Jack supplied.

“Well, it’s not my business,” Tanya said with a forced smile. “Obviously.”

Liv sighed. “Tanya, you and I need a coffee. When are you off work?”

Tanya and her mother ran a local deli together—it was a family affair.

“I have tomorrow morning off,” Tanya replied.

“Perfect. How about at ten, at the place on the corner?”

“Okay.” Tanya glanced down at the camera in her hand. “I’m putting together a photo album for Grandma for Christmas this year. All the couples and families and all that.”

“That’s a great idea,” Liv said, then suppressed a sigh. She’d have to follow through with appearances on this, too, it would seem. Just great—a photo of Liv beaming adoringly next to some guy she was pretending to date. She was going to have a really hard time living all of this down!

“Look, I’m not upset,” Tanya said, lowering her voice. “I’m just surprised. In fact, call me jealous! You’re on your second cute cop, and I always did like a uniform. What can I say?”

Liv laughed softly, then Tanya brightened.

“Let’s get you two over here by this tree,” Tanya said, nudging Liv over a few feet, then grabbing Jack by the arm and arranging him next to her.

Jack looked down at Liv with a mild expression of alarm. Maybe he was sensing the same thing—a photo gift for Grandma was taking this charade a little far.

“Put your arm around Liv’s waist, Jack,” Tanya ordered, looking through her camera, then she popped back up above it. “Jack—pull her in, come on! I’ve had old people look cozier than the two of you.”

Liv glanced up at Jack, her cheeks warming with embarrassment. She’d intended to be more pulled together than this... She’d wanted to lose the family’s pity, hadn’t she? But it was one thing to hold this man’s hand and quite another to slide into his arms. Should she call this off? Send Tanya over to some other couple? Before she could decide, Jack’s warm, broad palm slid around her waist and he tugged her closer against his muscled side. She fit right under his chin, and he stood behind her slightly, the sandpaper of his jaw resting against her hair.

“Oh...” she breathed. This wasn’t...terrible. It was nice, actually. Uncomfortably nice.

“That’s better!” Tanya said, lifting her camera once more. “Liv, loosen up, lean into him a bit.”

Liv turned her head toward Jack and smiled for the camera. There was a click.

“Perfect.” Tanya beamed. “Do you want to see it?”

Liv and Jack leaned over to see the end result, and Liv was stunned. Tanya had a way with photography, but it was more than that—she and Jack looked really good together. He had a darker complexion compared to her creamy paleness. And the way he’d pulled her into his arms accentuated his bulging biceps. She was used to feeling bigger than her dates—even than her husband! But in this picture, she looked nothing but soft and feminine next to Jack’s latent strength.

“Nice,” Liv said, her voice sounding a little strangled in her own ears.

“Right?” Tanya grinned. “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow morning. I’ve got to go make Gerard and Marie look loving.” She made a face. “Jack, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

Tanya headed off with a wave, and Liv looked up at Jack nervously.

“You didn’t have to be quite so convincing,” Liv said, brushing a tendril away from her face.

“She dared me. What can I say?” He shot her a roguish smile.

“My grandmother has dementia, so I can’t even explain this one to her and have her understand the humor behind it,” Liv retorted.

Jack winced. “Sorry.”

“Whatever. I’ll talk to Tanya tomorrow morning and get her to delete the picture.”

“You sure you want to do that?” Jack asked. “You looked really good.”

“I always look really good,” Liv shot back. “Whatever. We knew this would be eggshells, right?”

“We knew it,” he agreed. “Besides, if I were a real boyfriend who didn’t work out, there wouldn’t be any shame, would there?”