Chapter Ten
Ben
Summer is folding clothes in her room, having done laundry, and I sit on the couch, checking work email on my laptop.
I’ve had a few peaceful days with no stress from Summer’s schedule and no word from my father.
I didn’t expect to hear from Nate, and I’m not of the mindset that no news is good news, because his silence could just as easily mean he’s gone back to his drinking rather than make an attempt to sober up. Time will tell.
As for Summer, she doesn’t have another engagement planned until a media junket over the following weekend.
According to her agent, Jade’s tour opens in a little over two months, and she is getting closer to making a decision.
As much as I want Summer’s dreams to come true, I’m not looking forward to the end of this assignment.
The end of us. I didn’t listen to my gut or my own words to Summer, and kept my distance.
I introduced her to my friends and colleagues and brought her into my fractured family life. She knows me better than even those at Alpha Security who are closest to me. And she’s supported me in ways that I’ve never let anyone else do.
I allowed her to see the weakest part of me, and instead of running away, she stepped up. Hell, she cooked for my old man. She was quiet when I needed silence to process the day, and open and giving when I needed her later that night.
And I knew her. From her hopes and dreams of success to her endearing insecurities before going on stage, I understand her. I want to protect the girl who was hurt by her parents from further pain, and at the same time, I wish I could shake them and make them be there for her when she needs them.
This is the closest I’ve let myself get to any woman in my life, and losing her is going to rip my heart out because I’ve fallen in love with her.
I was too wrapped up in my anger with my father to see it then, but looking back, I knew it the second I saw her making eggs for my hungover dad.
Ponytail bouncing against her back, no judgment in her gaze, she is my perfect woman.
No matter how big a star she becomes, I love the normal girl she is inside.
And fuck. That thought rips through me painfully, because there is no happy ending that I can see.
The upcoming feeding frenzy with the press junket might be the last event before her life’s direction takes a drastic change.
I refuse to consider that she won’t get the opportunity she deserves, because I don’t want to be with her only because she lost her big chance.
She’ll never be happy that way. Not even with me by her side.
I run a hand through my hair and groan just as an email from Dan pops up on my screen.
I open the note from my boss and read: No luck with Tawny Renee situation.
From all indications, she’s absorbed in her own opportunities.
Even her bodyguard interview came up empty.
He thinks she’s innocent of all wrongdoing against Summer. Still watching her though.
As for Michael Gold, the man is a piece of work.
He married into money and got his start thanks to his father-in-law being in the talent industry.
And his wife, with whom he has three children, is a brilliant entertainment lawyer.
He’s been treading water as an agent before he went to work for his father-in-law, owing everything to the older man.
Or so it seems. So he is greedy and a slimy asshole, but nothing stands out on him, either, in Dan’s report.
Which means until whoever is after Summer makes a mistake, we are shit out of luck.
Summer walks out of her room, wearing a pair of ripped leggings and an oversized sleep shirt. Makeup-free, she looks even younger and so beautiful.
“Hey.” She treats me to a wide smile.
“Hey yourself,” I say.
“So I was thinking,” she says as she rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet, clearly wired.
“What’s up?”
“I need a change of scenery. I want to get away from these walls that feel like they’re closing in on me.”
I narrow my gaze, my focus on her safety, as always. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well…” Her eyes glimmer with excitement.
“When we were driving out to your father’s, I saw a carnival off one of the exits.
The Ferris wheel was in the distance. And it was closer rather than farther from the city, and I want to go.
” She settles in next to me on the sofa and nudges my arm.
“And before you argue, it’s spur of the moment, so nobody will know we’re going except us.
It’s perfectly safe.” She folds her arms across her chest and meets my gaze, all but daring me to argue.
I toss around the idea in my mind. Crowds of people, yes, but she has a point when she says nobody will know where we are going in order to follow us.
“A carnival, hmm?” I ask, deliberately dragging out my decision, teasing her a little.
She nods. “The kind with cotton candy, funnel cake, rides, and games where you can win me a stuffed animal. Come on, please? Please? Pretty please,” she says, a grin on her pretty face as she tries to pester me into agreeing.
Having just accepted my feelings for her, there is very little I wouldn’t give her while I can … as long as she is safe.
I groan, pretending to be put out at the idea … more teasing on my end before giving in.
“Pretty please with sugar on top?”
I laugh, then nod my head in agreement. “Fine. We’ll go.”
“Wait. What? Really? Thank you!” She squeals in excitement and claps her hands with glee before leaning in and kissing me hard but quickly.
Too quickly, considering I’d rather pull her down on the sofa and find myself balls deep in her wet heat.
“I’m going to change!”
She runs into her room, and while she is there, I catalogue my own clothes, deciding my jeans and a tee shirt will be fine.
I holster my gun beneath the shirt just as she bounces back out to me, this time wearing a pair of light jeans, a faded gray tee shirt, and sneakers, a pair of aviator glasses dangling from her fingertips.
I grin at the sight. “Wait. I have an idea.” I stride to my duffel in her room and return with a New York Mets ball cap, plunking it down on her head, tugging on her braid for good measure. “There. We want you as disguised as possible.”
“Not that I think anyone will recognize me but okay.” She pats the brim of the hat, her big eyes peeking out from beneath.
She wrinkles her nose, her expression fucking cute.
“Mark my words, no one will recognize me. Today we’re just a normal couple out for a day of fun.”
And I intend to savor every last second.
* * *
Summer
I am having a blast. I can’t recall the last time I went to a carnival or festival for the pure fun of it, not to perform and entertain.
The day is warm, the sun overhead as Ben and I walk around the site, arm in arm.
Wanting to take advantage of my time here, I coax him on every ride imaginable, from the Ferris wheel I saw from the highway to the other rides like the Round Up and Scrambler, to the more sedate carousel.
Ben is a great sport, not once complaining about the type of ride I’ve cajoled him onto or all the junk food I eat. Our current stop is the cotton candy stand, where I watch a woman turn spun sugar into a coated sticky delicious treat.
Ben hasn’t let me pay for a thing, so after he takes care of buying my latest indulgence, we walk to an empty bench and take a seat. I scoop a finger full of candy and hold it out for him to taste.
His heavy-lidded eyes meet mine as he grasps my wrist, lifts my hand, and swirls his tongue around the soft, sugary treat, pulling my finger into his mouth and biting down on the tip.
An electric jolt travels straight to my sex, and I am unable to control the low moan that escapes my throat, my nipples tightening, moisture pooling between my thighs.
“You’re a bad girl,” he says in a husky voice, his gaze hot on me.
I grin in reply. “You started it.”
“I’d finish it, too, if we weren’t sitting in a public place.”
I squirm in my seat, my sex damp and desire flooding through me.
“Excuse me.” Two young girls walk over, interrupting us.
“Yes?” Ben asks.
“Hi,” I say, using a tone warmer than my bodyguard had.
“Umm, aren’t you Summer Michelle? I saw you on The Morning Show.”
I purse my lips in thought. A part of me wants to give the girls what they want, but this is my day out with Ben. I assured him we are safe, and I intend to keep us that way.
“No, I’m not. But you’re not the first people to think that,” I say, trying to lighten their obvious disappointment. They were hoping for a mini-celebrity sighting.
“Okay, well, sorry to have bothered you,” the other girl says. She nudges her friend as they walk away. “I told you it wasn’t her! You’re so ridiculous.” Giggling, they head off toward one of the rides.
I glance up at Ben. “See? We’re just a normal couple out for a day at the carnival,” I say, punctuating my statement with a bite of cotton candy.
He stares at me for so long I grow uncomfortable and wipe at imaginary pink sugar on my face. “What?” I finally ask.
“You just surprised me, that’s all. For someone who wants fame, you just turned down the chance for an autograph and photo op with fans.”
I shrug. “I think that would be obvious. I love to sing. I want to be recognized for my voice. It’s about the music, not being identified everywhere I go or losing my anonymity.” I blush as I say, “I’m really shy at heart.”
“I love that about you,” he says, his eyes softening as he speaks. “Promise me something?”
I run my tongue over my bottom lip. “What?” I ask softly.
“Whatever happens in the future, don’t change.” He leans closer, his lips hovering over mine. “Don’t lose that innate sweetness inside of you, okay?”
“Okay.” I can’t imagine being anything or anyone other than what or who I am.