The Bodyguard - Completed.

Chapter Sixteen

She never felt so alone as she did now, not even when her supposed-to-be-friend betrayed a whole town and at first blamed her, thinking she had been a part of his scam, when she came home to a devastated town. At least she had put one thing right. Clutching at the veranda pole, she leaned against it as she visioned his dark, forbidding look, tearing her heart apart, fighting back tears.

Today it was final. The twenty-fifth.

He would be married to her cousin and she was left out in the cold. Her hand dropped down to her flat stomach, shaking her head. Something that would have made everyone's life too complicated, yet a part of her still would have loved to carry his child. Time to let go. Time to move on. She turned around, time to get back to work, only faltering at the sight of the last person she ever expected to see again.

Was he that cruel, he had to rub it in her face? She guessed, he felt betrayed by her actions. She closed the distance and hugged her cousin. "What are you doing here?" She tried to keep her voice light.

"Since you didn't come to the wedding, it seemed only fitting to find out why?" Jodie stepped back, frowning.

"Whatever do you mean? The wedding was today," she pointed out. Well that said it all, he even brought the wedding forward. Nervously she looked around. "So where is the groom?" Her stomach turned that she sunk into one of the many chairs on the outdoor veranda.

"He is joining us later," Amanda eased into a chair opposite. "What is going on Jodie? Why are you working here?

"I never planned to keep the money Mandy. I grew up here, and they needed my help and by the way, it was the only reason I agreed to go along with your crazy plan, though," she shook her head, still dazed by it all, "still don't understand why it had taken so long to get to one destination." Marbella and Monte Carlo had been a mistake in the end.

"Because of me, I went off the radar and they had to find me, which Caleb did."

"Ah, the real Caleb, while I had the impostor," Jodie gave a weak smile that trembled ever so slightly, and pushed hair back from her face. He had also had an impostor, so could understand his anger, especially when he thought he was going to marry her. There had been no pretending of strangers, he was claiming what he believed to be his.

Sighing, she stood on trembling legs. "I really have to get back to work, maybe we can catch up later," she offered, not quite looking her in the face. Now she felt so guilty, but she wasn't going to say a word. That was up to Xavier. Amanda touched Jodie's hand, who look down at her with tortured eyes, stopping her departure. "I am so sorry, forgive me, Amanda," tears welled and spilt over as she pulled free and tore away, passed a stranger. She headed inside and up to her room, gathering herself together, before she went back to work.

Splashing water onto her face from the free standing basin, she grabbed a towel, patting dry her face, crossing over to answer the door expecting Ted. "Sorry...." She gasped at a familiar face, crying out and threw her arms around his neck to be taken into a bear hug, lifted off her feet and walked back in the door, closing the door with a slam.

He took her face into his hand, looked down at her washed out look. "Okay, kid what is going on? I come back to what? Scandal, deceit, betrayal, and all your fault, so what the hell is going on!" He demanded to know. Miserably she looked up into blue eyes, such clear, bright blue eyes, she once thought had belonged to her. Scott Duncan, tall, blonde and handsome who had always been there for her, her protector then he had left. He asked her to go with him she had said no. If Xavier had asked she would have said yes. There it was, sad, but simple. She hadn't really loved Scott, not as she had him, easing out of his hold, clutching at her arms, eyeing him warily.