Page 17 of Lovers at Seaside
“No, you won’t. That woulddefinitelymake the papers.”
Chapter Six
PARKER FELL SILENT halfway to the Beachcomber, arms crossed over her chest and an adorable pout on her lips, and she kept it up even as he parked. He knew she was worried about her image, and cell phone pictures, and whatever else went along with being a celebrity, but he wasn’t going to let anything like that happen.
“Are you really going to make me go in there looking like this?”
“I wish you knew how beautiful you looked right now. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen you look prettier.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, wondering if she’d thought about him all afternoon, as he’d thought about her.
“Without all that makeup and your fancy clothes, you don’t look like a famous movie star. You look like a gorgeous beach bunny who needs to have a little fun. I don’t think anyone will recognize you.”
She rolled her eyes and finally cracked a smile. “Beach bunny?”
He hadn’t realized how much he wanted to see her smile until this very second, and now he wanted to see her smile more often. “I’m better with my hands than words.” He liked the spark of heat that brought to her eyes a whole lot, too.
“You’re pretty great with words,” she said softly. “Typed or spoken.”
Her confession brought his own. “The truth is, the thought of you hiding out alone in that big house was killing me.” He added the surprise in her eyes to the growing list of things he liked about her. “I’ll be your bodyguard tonight, and I won’t let anything happen. No pictures, no autographs. But I really don’t think you have to worry. The bar’s dark, and it’ll be so crowded, you’ll blend in. Trust me?”
“Trust a guy who hauled me over his shoulder and kidnapped me?” She looked toward the bar.
“Yeah, trust that guy.”
“I do trust you.” She poked him in his chest. “But if I end up on the front of some rag magazine, I’m hiding out in your basement. With Christmas, chocolate, and a boatload of horror movies thatyouhave to watch with me.”
“Sweetheart, if you move into my house, you won’t be watching movies or hiding out in the basement. You’ll be lucky if you make it out of the bedroom. In fact”—he slid his hand to the nape of her neck, causing her eyes to glaze over with desire—“maybe I should take a few of those pictures andmakethat happen.” He’d taken a chance, saying something so brazen and holding her like this in the cab of his truck, but he couldn’t hold back.
Her breathing hitched, and her lips parted, a whisper away from his, giving him the clue he’d been looking for. So tempting. Too tempting. He forced himself to step from the truck before he succumbed to the lust coiling deep inside him, and inhaled the brisk sea air. Focusing on the music coming from the building instead of the kiss he’d just given up, he helped Parker from the car and slid an arm around her waist. He wasn’t about to take her out in public and not claim her ashis. Confusion filled her eyes, and he couldn’t be sure if it was from what he’d said, that he hadn’t kissed her, or his arm around her waist, so he went with the lightest of the three as he found his way through his own tangled thoughts.
“Bodyguard, remember?”
Thankfully, she didn’t fight him on it. They made their way to the rear deck of the Beachcomber, which was packed with scantily clad twenty- and thirtysomethings bumping and grinding to the beat of the band. Parker’s movements were rigid, her eyes wide with worry.
He tugged her tighter against him. “I’ve got this.”
She nodded and slipped her arm around his waist.An added bonus.
His eyes swept over the crowd, looking for signs of recognition, but while a handful of men were checking Parker out, there was no indication that they recognized her astheParker Collins. He moved through the crowd with her safely against him, ignoring the women checkinghimout, and focused on keeping Parker comfortable.
“Gray!” Pete waved from a table across the room.
They made their way to the two large tables his friends had pushed together. His younger sister, Sky, leaped to her feet. Her fiancé, Sawyer, tugged her down for a kiss before releasing her to greet them.
“My fiancé is so needy.” Sky hugged Grayson. “I’m so glad you guys came. Hi, Parker. I’m Sky, Grayson’s sister, and the hot guy I was kissing is Sawyer.”
“Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.” Parker waved to Sawyer.
Grayson arched a brow, wondering when she’d heard about Sky.
“In the emails,” she reminded him. “You talked about her tattoo shop and a bonfire. Oh, and a birthday party for your niece, Bea.”
While he tried to process the fact that she’d remembered those things from months ago, Sky pushed past him and hugged her.
“He’s crazy for Bea,” Sky said. “Where’s your entourage?”
“She doesn’t have one,” Grayson said possessively. “Speaking of which”—he moved to the head of the table and motioned for his friends to lean in and listen—“Parker’s going incognito tonight. Let’s keep it that way.”
Sky put her arm around Parker. “You’re just one of the girls tonight.”
