Page 100 of When the Storm Breaks
Shiloh was special, I’d known that from the start, and not because she wasShiloh Leroux. She was tough and resilient with a vulnerability that made me want to protect her from the big bad world. No matter how many times life knocked her down, she got right back up again and proved how strong she was. I don’t know what I did to deserve her, but now that I’d found her, I wasn’t going to let her go.
Chapter Thirty
Brody
“What the hell?”I stared at the paparazzi across the street. They were waiting outside the Mandarin Oriental and one guess who they were waiting for.
“Dammit. Who tipped them off?” she muttered. “I need to call James.”
I took the phone out of her hand. “You don’t need him. You’ve got me.” I looked across the street at the assholes, my hands clenched into fists.
“Brody…” She looked up at me from beneath the brim of her hat.
“What?”
She took a deep breath and released it. “Okay, listen… we should have talked about this before. This is my world. You showed me yours and now I’m showing you mine. And you have to trust that I know what I’m talking about. You have to keep a cool head, okay? Ignore anything they say, tune it out, and keep walking.”
How was this her fucking life?
As if she’d read my mind, she said, “You have to take the bad with the good, remember?”
I nodded once. I remembered. Didn’t mean I had to like it.
“Let’s go.” I grabbed her hand, and we strode across the street. No use putting it off. Wouldn’t make them go away.
“Remember what I said. Promise me…”
I squeezed her hand. “I promise.” She ducked her head and we kept walking, ignoring the questions being thrown at us and the flashes of the cameras going off all around us. They were pushy fuckers and if she hadn’t made me promise to keep my mouth shut, I would have been tempted to tell them all to fuck off. But I didn’t want to cause her any trouble.
“How do you feel about Acadian Storm’s newest member? Is it true that you and Ari Bell were sleeping together on your last tour?”
“What’s your name, mate? Are you her new bodyguard?”
“Hey Shiloh. Over here. Are you and Dean trying to reconcile?”
My arm around her tightened like a steel band. When we finally made it inside, I grabbed her hand and we hurried to the elevator. It was only when the elevator doors closed, and we were safely inside that I took a deep breath.
“Are you okay?” I looked down at her upturned face.
“I’m fine. You can loosen your hold now.” I loosened my grip on her hand, but I didn’t let go. “Everything is fine. It wasn’t a big deal.”
But nothing about what had just happened felt okay. They were fucking vultures, preying on her, trying to get stories and photos. I had no idea how she lived like this but for the past five years, this had been her life. Her private life wasn’t even her own.
“You get used to it. You can’t let it get to you. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve been accused of.” She laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
I’d fallen for a girl whose life was delved into for public consumption. A girl who lived in the spotlight. Who posed for photos with her fans and stopped to sign autographs. I’d fallen for a girl whose face was plastered on fucking billboards. Few things were sacred when you lived in the public eye. And that was what she’d been trying to protect Hayley from. The public scrutiny. The media. The gossips and news hounds all vying for a piece of juicy news that would sell their magazines and tabloids.
Guarding your privacy was a luxury Shiloh didn’t have. For me, it was a necessity. I had too many skeletons rattling around in my closet. Too many things I never wanted anyone to know about me.
“If you want to be with me,” she said when I swiped the keycard and opened the door for her. “You’ll have to find a way to block it out. Please don’t let this scare you away.”
I heard the worry in her tone. When we got inside the room, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, feeling like she needed my reassurance and protection. “It doesn’t scare me away. But I hate that they feel like they have a right to hound you like that. It’s fucked up.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “The first time I came to London, it was different. I was a nobody, so I walked the streets without anyone recognizing me.”
I kissed her lips. “You’ve never been a nobody, Shiloh.”
“If you want to skip the soundcheck and the meet and greet, I won’t be offended. You can hang out in the room and come for the show.”
