Page 21 of Affinity

“I . . . that’s really sweet of you. Thank you, Reeves, I just might take you up on your offer.”

Standing, he pulled a chair out and turned it around backward before he sat down at the table with me. “You should. My cars are heavily tinted to hide from the cameras, and I can promise you it won’t break down.” He glanced at my seen-better-days pizza. “Are you sure you want to eat that? We could order some food?”

“Would it be horrible if we went to get groceries? I could make us dinner tonight.” I wanted to get out of the house and do something normal.

“Possibly, but if you want to go, I’ll take you. Mostly for selfish reasons since you’ll then make me dinner.” He chewed the inside of his cheek. “We will be seen, and our picture will be taken, so you should probably . . . ” He cut himself off and looked at me with big eyes.

I appreciated he didn’t finish his sentence. I wouldn’t want to have my picture taken the way I currently looked with no makeup on and my unbrushed hair up in a messy bun.

“Give me thirty minutes, and I’ll be ready to go.” I looked him over. Never had I been thankful for a man to sit with his chair backward as I was then. If his torso had been on display, I wasn’t sure if I could concentrate on anything he said. “Is that enough time for you?”

“Plenty of time, and it will count for our weekly appearance.” His lips tipped up in an ugly sneer.

I let his look go and tried to be the better person. Giving him a nod, I walked off and started to get ready.

Twenty-nine minutes later, I walked out of my bedroom and into the living room to find Reeves sitting on the couch with his legs spread wide as he texted away on his phone. He was dressed simply in a pair of cargo shorts and a white t-shirt.

“I’m ready if you are.”

Without speaking, he stood and pocketed his phone as he walked toward the garage. I followed behind, wondering what kind of cars he owned. He grabbed a set of keys off the hook as the door started making its way up. When the room lit up, I took in his three vehicles. I wasn’t sure which car he would offer to let me drive to work, but seeing the three Audi’s ranging in size from a sports car, a small sedan, and an SUV, I wasn’t comfortable driving any of them. If I put a scratch on any one of them, I’d never be able to afford to pay for the repair.

Reeves went to the SUV and got inside. I guess it made the most sense, seeing as how we needed to buyeverything. Starting up the car, he rolled down his window. “Are you going to get in or what?”

Hightailing it over, I slid into the passenger seat, and the supple leather molded to every contour of my body.

Shifting in his seat, Reeves looked over at me. “Are you ready for this?”

Pulling my sunglasses out of my purse, I slid them on. “I’ll be ready by the time we get there.” Grabbing my hand out of the air, he laced his fingers through mine and placed them on his thigh. “What are you doing?” I tried to pull my hand away, but he only tightened his grip on me.

“There will be a mob of photographers outside the gate. While the windows are tinted, it’s better to be safe than sorry. We can’t risk the wrath of Catherine.”

I wanted to sayhecouldn’t risk it, but I was sure he’d throw me under the bus if there were any pictures, and we didn’t look like the newlyweds we were. When we pulled up to the gate, I was shocked to see a line of cars parked across the street, and all the bodies angling to get the photo of the day. The moment the gate opened, the flashes started going off. If I hadn’t had my sunglasses on, I would have been blinded. We remained quiet with Reeves looking straight ahead, his jaw clenched the entire ride.

Imagine my surprise when we pulled into Whole Foods, and five other vehicles trailed in behind us.

Swinging my head back and forth, I watched as one by one they got out of their cars with cameras in their hands. “Did they follow us?”

Reeves didn’t even bother to look over before he answered. “Don’t worry, they won’t come inside.”

“Will they be waiting for us when we come out?”

“Unless we take forever or a big story breaks, they’ll have their cameras ready to shoot our mundane life every day for the foreseeable future,” he answered drolly. “Are you ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” I felt like that was going to be my mantra for the next few months.

Reeves nodded as his eyes shifted around the parking lot. “I’ll come around and let you out. Keep your head down as we walk and don’t let go of my hand. Got it?”

I rolled my eyes. Like I couldn’t follow directions. “Yes, Igotit.”

Stepping out of the SUV, he moved lithely around to my side and opened the door. Holding his hand out for me to take, I placed mine in his. Giving my hand a squeeze, he took off at a fast pace toward the store. If he was going to walk this fast every time we were out in public, I was going to have to start working out and power walking.

I kept my head down and was surprised how quiet the world became the moment we stepped inside, and the doors closed behind us. The paparazzi had shouted questions at us from the moment I stepped out of the car until we were inside. I was happy Reeves had me hold his hand as we tried to navigate the parking lot with them closing in on us.

He stopped once we were out of sight and looked down at me. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It wasn’t as bad as Vegas, but it will definitely take some getting used to.”

Grabbing a cart, we headed over to the produce. Reeves looked around as if he’d never seen a fruit or vegetable in his life. I grabbed bags of just about everything since his house was literally empty of all food. While squeezing a new avocado to make guacamole for some fajitas I had planned for later in the week, I nearly dropped the three I had in hand when one of Reeve's hands snaked around my waist.

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