Under His Protection by Karen Erickson Read Free Book Online

her order. She allowed
herself to indulge in a flaky, frosting-covered morning roll and a
skinny latte. Though secretly, she wanted to order the latte
full-tilt with whipped cream on top.
    Ah, to hell with it. She quickly changed her
latte order to regular, requested extra whipped cream and handed
the barista a ten dollar bill with glee. If she got fat, who cared?
No one paid any attention to her anyway, certainly not Mason.
    Irritation grated on her and she gave a
quick shake of her head. Why did it always come back to him? Why,
why, why?
    Because you want him, that’s why.
    She ignored the evil little voice in her
head. Its sole purpose was to make her feel bad, and it
accomplished that task most excellently.
    Gathering her breakfast, Blake sat at a
small round table close to the window. She cut into her pastry with
a fork and popped a bite into her mouth, nearly moaning aloud at
the warm, cinnamon sweetness melting onto her tongue. Normalcy felt
good. It was a relief, being away from prying eyes, the flashing
cameras, the endless stream of political analysts wanting to spout
their opinions at her.
    Being on Whitney Island, she could almost
pretend none of it was real.
    Well, her shadow threw a wrench in those
plans.
    She kept one eye on the window, spotted
Mason standing outside at a respectable distance. His arms were
crossed in front of his chest, his jaw hard as granite as he leaned
against a lamppost. A slight breeze ruffled his brown hair and he
reminded her of a warrior, standing guard outside the
damsel-in-danger’s castle.
    How she hated being the helpless princess
locked in the tower.
    “Man trouble?”
    Blake glanced up to find a woman about her
age sitting alone at a table across from hers. A cup of coffee sat
in front of her and she held a book in her hands.
    “Um, not really.” Blake paused. Was she that
transparent? “Why do you ask?”
    The woman flicked her head toward the
window, right in Mason’s direction. “He’s staring at you.”
    “He’s got sunglasses on.” Blake didn’t even
look in his direction.
    “Trust me. He’s looking right at you. Is he
your boyfriend? An ex giving you trouble, maybe?”
    The sharp bark of laughter that escaped from
Blake drew the attention from the other patrons yet again. She
covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers. “Oh, no. Not even
close.”
    “He’s attractive, though he looks a
little—stubborn.” The woman shrugged. “But most men are,
right?”
    “Oh, my God, yes.” Wasn’t that the
truth?
    “Are you new around here? I don’t think I’ve
ever seen you before.”
    “My family owns a house on the island, but
we don’t live here full-time.” She purposely didn’t mention what
family she came from. The natives knew and didn’t make a fuss about
it. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself.
    “It’s something I’m now considering, though.
We’ve been coming here since I was a child and I love it,” Blake
continued before she took a sip of her latte, getting a mouthful of
homemade whipped cream in the process.
    It was delicious. Well worth the extra
calories.
    “Ah, okay. I’ve only been here a couple of
months, that’s why you’re not familiar. Us full-timers get to know
everyone who lives or visits frequently here pretty quickly since
there are so few of us.” The woman set her book down and smiled.
“My name’s Suzanne.”
    “Blake.” She smiled in return and waved at
the empty chair across from her. “Why don’t you join me?”
    Suzanne gathered her belongings and settled
into the chair, pushing her long dark brown braid off her shoulder.
She was pretty, downright exotic with tilted, almond-shaped brown
eyes and olive skin. Blake’s complete opposite, looks-wise.
    “So what brought you here?” Blake asked.
Hardly anyone chose to actually live on Whitney Island. They were
either from a long line of natives or came to vacation here and
eventually fell in love with the place.
    It was one of the