By Your Side

7

Gracelyn

I'm heading to the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee when I see Rosie taking out a tray of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

"This looks and smells delicious, Rosie," I say, heading over to where she's standing. Just as I reach out to grab a cookie, Rosie swats my hand away. "Wash your hands first. And I didn't bake these for you this time, sorry, Grace."

"Who are they for then?" I pout.

"I baked these for your new bodyguard," Rosie admits.

I give her a puppy-eyed look. "You baked them for Mr. Dimitriou but not for me too?"

"Next time, dear," Rosie chuckles.

I smile and glance at the cookies again. "So, is this a welcome gift for my bodyguard?"

Rosie nods. "I've noticed that he keeps to himself and doesn't leave the guesthouse much, even though he is welcome to come over to the main house. Last night, I invited him over to join us for dinner, with your mother's permission of course, but he declined. I know you're not moving back here permanently, but I still want him to feel welcome as one of the staff."

She's not wrong on that first part. When I previously lived in the Pearce Manor and when Ian was still my bodyguard, he enjoyed interacting with the family and our staff at any given opportunity. But Ioannis seems more reserved and like someone who prefers his own space and alone time, let alone outside of work hours.

"I think he prefers to keep to himself," I observe. "But he did miss out on the delicious casserole you made last night."

"I thought this might be a small gesture for now," Rosie adds, pointing to the cookies. Something then changes in her expression as if she's had a light bulb moment. "Actually, why don't you go and give them to him instead?"

"Hmm," I say thoughtfully. "If I head to the guesthouse to give them to him will you let me have one?"

She rolls her eyes. "Fine. But you still have to wash your hands first."

"Deal," I cheekily say.

Ten minutes later, I arrive at the guesthouse with Rosie's cookies which she's now packed into a container. I knock on the door and when Ioannis opens up, a look of surprise flashes across his face when he sees me, probably because this is the first time I'm "visiting" him.

But he's not the only one surprised.

I'd obviously expected him to be there, but I hadn't expected him to be standing there like that in a white t-shirt and goddamn gray sweatpants, a contrast to the darker colors I've seen him sport the majority of the time so far. Gray sweatpants which reveal an obvious and indeed impressive—

Oh God. Remember the TED talk you gave yourself on his first day of work.

"Hi," he says, and I quickly snap my gaze back up to his face. "Is something up?"

I clear my throat and hold out the container to him. "I have a delivery for you. Rosie baked these cookies as a welcome gift."

Ioannis's gaze drifts from my face to the container. "That's very kind of her. Please pass on my thanks."

"No problem."

He takes the container out of my hand. "Would you like one?"

"Oh, trust me, I've had more than one already," I admit. "Rosie said I could take one but I ended up taking two. Don't ever let her know that though."

A small closed-mouth smile forms on his lips. "Your secret's safe with me."

Surprise briefly infiltrates my face, before it's replaced by something else. It's now been a month since Ioannis has been my bodyguard and this is the first time I've seen him smile. But more importantly, he has such a nice smile and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see it again.