Page 13 of Take Hold of Me

Wills returns to my side after what feels like thirty minutes, yet the large clock by the hostess stand shows only two have actually elapsed. “Everything okay?”

“Oui.” I exhale all of the air from my lungs.

He scans me from head to toe. “I’m going to block you from the onlookers.” With that, he steps closer to me and turns so that my view is of his back.

My heart rate slows from being in his protection, then speeds up again as I inhale the fresh-clean scent of Wills. From my new vantage point, I take in his blond hair and notice a silver chain around his neck. My arms itch to wrap around his slim hips and pull him back to my front but I ball my hands into fists instead.

“You know,” I whisper. “It took me a long time to be able to handle unexpected intrusions of the paparazzi.”

“You handled this like a champ.”

“Merci.” I need to explain. He needs to understand just how important he is to me. “Having to walk past all the cameras at the hospital after you were shot in front of me that day was awful. You saw the photos in the tabloids.” Ones that played up my publicity relationship with Cole, but really captured my feelings about Wills.

His breathing hitches. He nods but remains silent.

“My terror in those photos was real. I was so scared for you—” My voice breaks.

“Hush,” he murmurs. “I’m fine.” He pats his shoulder where Starr’s bullet entered his body.

“Oui.” I reach up and rub the back of his shoulder, where the bullet exited. Beneath my fingertips, his body is as tense as if he is sculpted from marble. I drop my hand. “Anyway, thanks to my therapist, I learned to hide behind my modeling smile and think of Paris. I still get the jitters, though, when the paparazzi show up unexpectedly.”

Not moving from his guard position, he says, his voice strained, “God, Ems. I’m so sorry. Everything I touch goes bad.”

“No, no. I am good.”

I cannot stop my arms from winding around his waist, and I rest my head on his back. His right hand lands on top of mine for a moment. Turning his head, he steps forward, breaking my embrace. His voice is all-work again. “Okay, the car’s out the side exit. Stick with me and I’ll get you in the Jeep before the paparazzi even know you’ve left the building.”

Without another word, he turns and wraps his arm around my shoulders. This is not a tender hold, rather a professional one. We walk triple-time down a hallway and out a side door where the valet has the passenger door open. I have a split-second to register that the top has been put back on before Wills lifts me into the Jeep as if I weigh nothing. When my legs are safely inside, he closes my door and runs around to the driver’s side. Within moments, he jumps in and we pull away smoothly. No photographers in sight.

“Wills.” I cross my arms in front of my chest and then uncross them. When he does not respond, I try again. “Wills. Thank you for getting me out of the restaurant without causing a scene.”

He glances at me from behind the steering wheel, then his eyes return to the road. “I’m sorry I didn’t think ahead. I should have been able to avoid the paparazzi altogether.”

“I really appreciate what you did.”

His fingers tighten around the steering wheel, then he turns the blinker on and enters the freeway. Warmth infuses my body with how he protected me just now, without being required to do so. He always looks out for me. He cares.

“Wills?”

The only indication that he heard me is the hollowing of the inside of his cheek.

I lick my lips and try again. “I am scheduled to attend a club opening tomorrow night. My new bodyguard will be there, but I do not have a date. I would love it if you could join me.”

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