Farrell.”
“Someone who followed me all the way to Hawaii to stalk me? No. I think one of your wannabe boyfriends saw you getting sweet with a tourist and they got jealous.”
“Pft,” she breathed as she bent in to look closer at the pictures. “I don’t have any boyfriends, wannabe or otherwise.” She must’ve realized who she was talking to because she glared at him over the folder. “And don’t even pretend you want to be my boyfriend. I know exactly what you want.”
He highly doubted that. At this point, Robert barely knew what he wanted. It wasn’t as though he’d never been turned down by women before. Just usually they had excuses like “I’m married” or “I have a runway show in Milan that day.” Malia had turned him down cold turkey and still hadn’t given him one damn explanation.
And he knew for a fact that she was attracted to him. She couldn’t hide that.
“No matter what I do or don’t want, someone took these and doesn’t want me hanging around you.”
“So the first thing you did after getting these was come knocking on my door? Are you sure you’re not the one who wants me dead?”
“You deserved some type of warning and, considering that you never called me back or tried to get a hold of me in any way, yes, I figured this warranted an in-person visit.”
“Great. I’ve been warned. Now will you leave?”
He didn’t make any motion to get off the porch. “Someone might want you dead. Shouldn’t we go to the police?”
“They only want me dead if you keep on hanging around me. Therefore, you leave and we’ll be better off.”
“I think you should come back to the resort with me.”
She opened her mouth and then closed it as she considered him. “I’m sorry, I’m having a hard time following your train of thought right now. How would me going to the resort with you be any better?”
“Because I can keep an eye on you. Make sure you’re safe.”
“I’m willing to entertain the idea that you’re not a complete moron. You might actually be good at all the business stuff that your family is known for. But I fail to see how any of this qualifies you to be a bodyguard.”
“Once you’re under my protection, no one will think about hurting you.”
“As enticing as that idea sounds, I don’t need anybody’s protection. Good-bye, Robert.”
She started to shut the door in his face, but he stuck his foot in to keep it open a crack. “This isn’t over, Malia,” he warned.
“Just give me one good reason why it can’t be over?”
“You have three hours to pack your bags and get your affairs ready. Then I’m coming back to pick you up.”
She faked a smile. “I’ll be here with bells on.”
Robert removed his foot from the door. He knew she was lying, but it didn’t matter. He was coming back as soon as he finished up his ten a.m. conference call with Jonathan and Lindsey, and then he’d be able to devote the entire rest of the day to getting Malia to come back with him—whether she wanted to or not.
––––––––
M alia set the pictures down on her bed and tried to shake off the uneasy feeling. As much as she liked to call Robert out on his stalking tendencies, he never made her feel like this, at least.
As though she needed another reason to stay away from the Farrells. Just two quick days and she was already getting death threats. The only person she could think of who might want her dead for hanging out with one of the Farrell boys was her mother, but the whole threatening email aspect was a bit too subtle. No, Mom would’ve run out to that beach and slapped Malia for kissing Robert, whether she knew who he was or not.
Besides that, she was completely clueless about anyone who’d be possessive over her. She could count on one hand the number of guys she’d been with since coming to the island—or ever, for that matter—and none of them were the take secret pictures and send threatening emails type.
No. Whoever was
Matt Christopher, Robert Hirschfeld