Page 49 of The Publicity Stunt

"He made sure my parents weren't anywhere near here."

"Wow. For a man who says very little, he seems to have a big heart. I might need to reconsider my stance on security guards."

Turning to face her, she stares hard at her best friend. "Don't, Tessa. Please don't put me in a position to choose between my best friend and my head of security."

"I won't!" she says. "It was a joke."

"Bri?" Kace calls.

Turning, she feels her heart drop to her stomach for a different reason. Performing on stage in front of thousands of people? No problem. Appearing on a talk show with millions of viewers? Piece of cake. Walking in and meeting the family of the man she's fallen in love with? Shoot her now.

"Happy Thanksgiving," she says and lets out a deep breath.

He walks up to her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Bobby made her heart ten times bigger," Tessa says.

"I didn't think it could get bigger," he jokes and winks at her.

"He's had someone keeping tabs on her parents to make sure they stay away from here. Did it all on his own."

Nodding his head, he looks at the car parked on the street. "I might have to reconsider my stance on Bobby after his threat to break my knees."

"She's also nervous," Tessa says. "But we brought wine and a salad, as promised."

"Why are you nervous?" Kace asks as Tessa walks into the house, oblivious to the glare Bri shoots at her back.

"Because I don't have a good track record with family gatherings. Part of me feels like I need to go and throw up in those bushes over there, but I don't want you to look at me with pure disgust."

His strong arms pull her to his body, and she wraps her arms around his waist. Letting his presence calm her settles her more than anything she's ever found in her life before, and she wishes she had the guts to tell him she's in love with him. It's too early, but she can't help feeling it.

"Trust me, my cousins are going to lose their fucking minds when they see you. We haven't told them you're coming, so I apologize in advance for the attention you're about to receive. And I hope our eardrums make it out of this intact."

"You have no idea how much I needed this."

Pulling back, he looks down at her. "Needed what?"

"A hug. Something about you can always put me at ease."

His lips find hers, and he groans as she melts against his body. If only they were at a hotel instead of a house filled with family. Something about this man seems to have turned her into a sex fiend, but she's not mad at him for it.

"God, I love how soft your lips are. As much as I'd like to pull you through the house and up to my bedroom, I don't think I'll be able to pull that off. So, let's get prepared to be uncomfortable because it's about to get loud. Really loud."

"I'm kind of excited now."

Once inside the house, Kace hides her behind his back and whistles. "Remember how I said I had a surprise for everyone?"

"Yeah?" a bored teenager asks. "Don't tell us you want us to believe you brought Bri Waters with you. You know everyone online thinks it's fake, right?"

He laughs and moves to the side. "Well, that's awkward. I guess we're not really dating, baby. Laura's not impressed with you, either."

"Well, shoot. And I was having so much fun with you," Bri says, playing along.

The teenager looks up, her eyes wide, before she starts screaming. "Bri Waters is in this house! Everyone, oh my God, it's Bri Waters."

Bri stands completely still and looks around as the entryway fills to the brim with people, all screaming and talking to her at once. All she can hope is the initial excitement will wear off before she does, in fact, blow an eardrum.

"Oh my God, I love you," Laura says once she stops screaming. "Can I take a picture with you to put on my page?"

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