Luke kept thinking to himself, there's no way Nina is serious about him. It's not like they've actually gone out or anything. Maybe she's crying over some other billionaire idiot. It surely can't be over a pragmatic simple minded bodyguard like himself. No way. But is she dating anyone? If she is, then why is she messing with him? Women are so confusing. That's why he should stay clear of women.

Luke's frown deepened thinking about who that billionaire idiot could be that broke Nina's heart. Who's back should he put his target on? The thought of Nina in anyone else's arms, caressing her beautiful face, kissing those plump lips is making his blood boil. Who the fuck? Luke can already imagine himself pulling the asshole off of Nina, and slamming him on to the ground, feel his hard knuckles crack as his fist lands a punch after punch across the asshole's jaw, and break his nose while he is at it. Yeah, he deserves that. Just wait till I get my hands on you. Fuck!

Arthit was still reading the labels on the back of a bag of doggy's dental chew when he noticed the odd sound of crunching about a meter away from him. He curiously looked up, and found Luke clenching his jaw, staring hard at the shelf, and hands crushing a bag of dog treats so hard that his knuckles were turning white.

"Luke! Luke! Put that down. Hey! You're about to bust that bag open." Arthit warned seeing how tight Luke was grabbing the bag of dog treats.

Boom!

Too late. Dog treats scattered all over the floor before Luke came back to his senses. He was too busy plotting murder, and how to get away with it.

"Luke! What the heck man? What's wrong with you?" Arthit shook his head. It clearly had something to do with Nina. And before Luke can respond, Arthit flagged the first store clerk he spotted to come clean the mess. Luke apologized, and offered to pay for the wasted merchandise, but the store clerk smiled and declined. The clerk told them it was okay, and to please move along so he could clean up the mess in the aisle.

Both Arthit and Luke sheepishly walked away quickly with their cart. They only slowed down when they turned around the corner to go down the next aisle where all the dog shampoo was located.

"Uh, sorry about that." Luke said awkwardly, and shifting uneasily next to Arthit. He watched Arthit browse through the selection of dog shampoos, opening each bottle's cap to smell the product inside. He either made an appreciative face, or a sour face with his lips, nose, and eyes all scrunched together.

Arthit smiled when he saw a bottle of Burt's Bees Oatmeal Shampoo for dogs. It had a nice pleasant subtle scent. The price was a little more expensive than what he used to buy, but it's okay since it says it's all natural ingredients. Then Arthit noticed the grey bottle with a red cap Chi for Dogs Oatmeal Shampoo that they are just running out of at home. What the heck! It's five times the price of the already expensive bottle that he was going to get. It's more expensive than the shampoo he used to buy for himself. Why did Kongpob have to spend so much money on a bottle of dog shampoo? Arthit turned to look at Popeye accusingly with his eyes narrowed. "You are so spoiled. Now, I know why you're a traitor."

Popeye just wagged his tongue and tail innocently. He is just happy for Arthit's attention. Arthit placed the Burt's Bees back on the shelf, and grabbed the Chi instead. He justified buying it since he noticed Popeye didn't itch as much as he used to with the cheaper brands. So, maybe the price is worth it. Maybe.

"So, as I was saying earlier, Nina is so heartbroken that she hasn't shown up for work for the past few days already. Nina loves her restaurant, it's so unlike her to not go. Kongpob is very worried. He says he has never seen Nina like this. So, what did you do to her?" Arthit didn't bother to beat around the bush anymore. He can tell Luke definitely has something to do with it by the way he is frowning, and listening to him with that guilty look on his face.

"Huh? What did I do? I have done nothing to her. If anything, I've been avoiding her so I can keep doing nothing to her." Luke answered defensively. Honestly speaking, there's so much Luke wants to do to Nina, but nope. He has done none of it. He crossed his arms over his chest, and schooled his expression back to his usual stoic self.

"Ah ha! So she is crying because you are avoiding her. Actually, that can't be all of it. You must have done something more than that. I just can't believe a man like you would make a woman cry like that." Arthit glared at Luke, and then turned away pushing his cart.

Arthit grabbed a few more items off the shelf, and headed for the checkout line. He didn't give Luke much chance to say anything else. Luke took a deep breath, and wordlessly followed Arthit. He doesn't know what Arthit thinks he did, but whatever it is he didn't do it.

Arthit waved goodbye to Popeye who was staring at him with stinkeyes. Arthit had to leave Popeye with the groomer for a haircut, and his nails trimmed. The pet salon was right inside of the pet store, so it was very convenient. Arthit had noticed this time that Popeye wasn't as scared as he used to be. He was still a little anxious, but he was no longer shivering and whimpering like he used whenever he was at the groomer's. A silly thought came across his mind, maybe Kongpob's confidence has rubbed off on Popeye.

Walking out of the pet store, Arthit decided to go to the Starbucks right next store while he waited for the groomer to take care of Popeye. He spotted a cozy table by the corner with two armchairs, and he plopped down right away. He dropped the two bags he was holding on the ground next to his feet. This is probably a better place to talk than standing at the pet store.

Luke didn't know they were going for a coffee break since Arthit was giving him the cold shoulder. He placed the two bags of stuff he was holding on the ground across from Arthit. "What do you want to drink? I'll go get it."

"Just a regular cup of coffee with a little bit of cream please. I don't know any of those fancy names." Arthit replied without looking up.

A few minutes later, Luke came back with two cups of coffee. Setting the coffees down, he sat across from Arthit who was busy texting on his phone with his face all tensed up.

"Is everything okay?" Luke asked. He usually wouldn't ask any questions as it's not his place as a bodyguard. At least that's the nature he has with Kongpob. However, with Arthit it's a little different. It just feels different. Maybe he can just relate to Arthit better. Growing up with just his grandma, like Arthit, Luke's childhood wasn't very pleasant either. Luke was his mother's drunken mistake when she was young. His mother hated him for being the reminder of how she messed up her otherwise perfect life. She ignored his existence for the most part of the time when she was around.

*** Luke & Thak ***

Then one day, she just up and left without saying a word. Luke was six years old at the time. Later on, he found out that she had left to marry a foreigner. Not once did she ever come back to see him, or his grandma. At the age of sixteen, his beloved grandma, his only family passed away. So, with nothing to lose, and nowhere to go, he joined the military. He met Thak in the military, and they were rivals at first before they became buddies. Thak was the lovesick cadet that got teased for sleeping with love letters under his pillow. Ah, the good old days. When Luke left the military, Thak introduced him to Sonya Suthilak, and got hired as Kongpob's bodyguard. And that's about it to his story.

"Thanks." Arthit put his phone down, and picked up his cup of coffee. "Kongpob said Nina hasn't been eating or sleeping, and she is still very upset. So, are you going to tell me what's going with you two?" Arthit looked expectantly at Luke.

Luke doesn't know what to tell Arthit, but something in his gut makes him want to explain himself. "There's really nothing going on between us. I'm really trying my best to keep it that way, but she is making it very difficult." Luke didn't mention exactly how difficult it has been for him to avoid the hot damsel that's been haunting his dreams.

"What do you mean? Are you two dating? For how long now? Luke, I think of you as a friend, so I want to know the truth."

"Look. We are not dating. Ever since that time Kongpob ran away to Tokyo looking for you, she has been keeping in contact with me. At first it was strictly her checking in on Kongpob and his whereabouts. I don't know when we started teasing and flirting, but it was all in good fun. Then she asked me to stop by her restaurant sometimes, and I did for dinners. I don't know how or why. I guess I like the food there, and I became a regular. So, that's like eight or nine months now that we've been talking." Luke was tapping his fingers on the armrest, looking away from Arthit's calculating eyes.

"Talking? I call bullshit on that one. You barely ever talk to anyone. Thak says you guys are friends going way back, and you two don't even really talk. So, you're telling me that you and Nina talk? Come on. I've seen the way you two look at each other. I've heard the way she whined about you flirting with all the waitresses. She obviously likes you, and from the way you're behaving, I double down that you like her too. So, what's the problem here?" Arthit questioned with a cocked eyebrow, and took another sip of his coffee. This is nowhere near as good as Kongpob's coffee. What is this crap?

Luke turned to Arthit. "The problem? Seriously? Arthit, I'm a bodyguard, and she is Nina Ruangroj. She is a Ruangroj. She can have anyone she wants. What would she want from someone like me? I have nothing to offer her."

"Well, if she can really have anyone she wants, then we wouldn't be having this talk right now, would we? So what's wrong with being a bodyguard? If she likes you, then she obviously doesn't care that you're a bodyguard. And here I thought I had security issues. Tsk."

"There's nothing wrong with being a bodyguard, but she is Nina Ruangroj. We are from different worlds. Don't you understand that?"

Arthit looks him dead in the eyes. "So do you think Kongpob and I don't belong together? Nevermind, I don't care what you think. Just tell me this. Do you like Nina? Be honest. The only person you would be fooling is yourself." Arthit puts down the awful cup of coffee on the table, and debates if he should get some water instead.

Luke took a moment to sip his coffee. "Well, she's smoking hot, she's beautiful, and she's cute. Did I mention she's fucking hot? Who wouldn't like her? Any man, no, any straight man would want her. So, yeah I like her, but I don't want to become another one of her boy toys. She is notorious for breaking every man she has dated, and those were millionaires and billionaires too. They showered her with gifts, and kissed her feet, and she still dumped their asses. So, a guy like me doesn't stand a chance. It's better that I just stay clear of her. I like my life to be nice and simple." Luke leaned back, resting his case.

Arthit nodded with his head tilted. "So, instead of giving it a chance, you would rather be a coward, and push her away. Got it." Arthit sat back. He knows the real reason why Nina broke all those hearts. It's because she can't have any children, so she rejects all those marriage proposals. However, it's a very personal issue for Nina, and Arthit doesn't think he is in the position to tell Luke this information. He can only hope that Luke owns up to his feelings, and gives himself and Nina a chance. Maybe Luke is exactly what Nina needs to break the terrible chain of heartbreaks.

"Hey, I'm not being a coward. I'm just being realistic. If the end result is the same, then I'm just saving us some time and tears." Luke said, trying to convince himself more than Arthit.

"Fine. Just don't regret it when she meets someone else. Let's go get Popeye, and go to the market now." Shaking his head at the idiot across from him, Arthit got up, and was excited to make some of Kongpob's favorite dishes tonight.

~~~~~~
AN: Sweets, here's another update. I've also updated chapter 3 to include a visual of Thak, and chapter 91 to include a visual of Krystal. Check those chapters out if you are interested. Next update will be back to our main couple.

Stay safe. ❤️