The Bodyguard

Ah, we have Hannah. Surprisingly, though she's quite a small person, she works as an Executive Protection Agent, a fancy phrase for a bodyguard. And who is she set to protect? Jack Stapleton. Yes, that's The Jack Stapleton. Actor. Movie star. Drop-dead gorgeous. Jack's being stalked, and it's Hannah's job to watch over him. But Jack doesn't want to upset his mom who is sick, so Hannah must pretend to be Jack's girlfriend. Even though, as she's been told over and over, she's ordinary, and no one will believe it of her.

A few possible spoilers below. You have been warned...

Oh, the lovely snappy talk between Hannah and Jack. That's a delight. But it's more than just the rom-com elements and the setting on a real Texas ranch and the glow a movie star brings to a story. It's Hannah as a bit of a superhero. Hannah's told she's just a regular girl, nothing special, and, in a way, that's the truth. But she is also extraordinary in some wonderful ways, and it's Jack who helps her discover that.

And, goodness, who was expecting great life wisdom in a rom-com? It's there, trust me, and it's lovely.

Let me conclude with a thank you to the author for the scene with Hannah and the cows. In fact, a thank you to the author for the whole book. I needed it.

Really liked this quote:

“You can't make people love you. But you can give the love you long for out to the world. You can be the love you wish you had. That's the way to be okay. Because giving love to other people is a way of giving it to yourself.”

And this one:

“And, in the end, do you ever truly know for sure if you're lovable?
What a question.
You don't. You can't. Of course not.
Life never hands out the answers like that.
But maybe that's not even the right question.
Maybe love isn't a judgment you render—but a chance you take. Maybe it's something you choose to do—over and over.
For yourself. And for everyone else.
Because love isn't like fame. It's not something other people bestow on you. It's not something that comes from outside.
Love is something you do.
Love is something you generate.
And loving other people really does turn out, in the end, to be a genuine way of loving yourself.”