It was exhilarating. She felt so much better.
Wow. She actually was a good singer. Why had she never danced around heartbroken to one of her own songs before?
Maybe because she’d never had a broken heart before.
When she went into the bedroom, the first thing that caught her eye was Hunter’s cell phone, its screen lit with an incoming text. Ugh, she’d intended to give it back to him, but had totally forgotten.
She reached for it, planning to turn it off, when she saw the text was from Dan Coyle.
It was very profane.
It called Hunter all kinds of nasty things, and ended with, “Why does every F-ing paparazzi in the world know where she is and her own label doesn’t? I’ll F-ing sue you!”
What?
Frantically, she scrolled back through his texts. The last one—the one she’d seen—had come from Coyle the night Hunter had found her. She scrolled up to see the text Hunter had sent to Coyle. It was short and to the point.
“She’s safe. That’s all you need to know.”
Oh no.
Starly scanned through his calls over the last two days. Many calls had come in from the PopZilla office. But no calls had gone out. And no calls had gone to anyone else. Hunter hadn’t called the media. He hadn’t contacted PopZilla except to inform them that she was safe.
He’d stuck by her side, supporting her mission of redemption, and how had she repaid him? By acting like a jerk.
Now she owed him another apology. No, she needed to grovel at his feet. Beg him to forgive her. Tell him how much she loved him. She owed him that, at least.
Except that she was trapped in this room! Step one foot outside and she’d be paparazzi-meat. Especially without…
She let out a long breath.
Without a bodyguard.
Chapter Nine
Half an hour later, a knock on the door had her jumping to her feet. Hunter. But when she yanked it open, she saw the tattooed, muscular owner of JT’s. Her heart plummeted down to her feet.
“Hi, I’m Levi with a message from Hunter,” he said, sticking out his hand. “He said to make sure you stay in this room no matter what. I’m a big fan, by the way.”
“Oh.” She shook his hand. “Did …” She chewed on her lower lip. “Did he say anything else?”
“No. But he bolted out of here pretty quick, so he didn’t have much time.”
“Bolted out...do you know where he went?”
He gave her an odd look, as if puzzled that she wouldn’t know. “He didn’t specify, but he took his Jeep.”
She nodded, trying not to cry.
“I’m really sorry for the hassle. I heard someone talking last night and tried to shut him down. Guess it didn’t work. I should have warned you.”
“It’s not your fault. I’m the one who should apologize. I’ve been so...so stupid.” She finished with a whisper. Stupid for coming to Hope Falls, stupid for not trusting Hunter.
“Hey, it’ll be okay. Hope Falls can handle a few assholes with cameras. We’ve got a plan, so just hang in there.”
Starly nodded and managed a grateful smile. If Hunter wanted her to stay put, she would, even though she longed to go chasing after him. She’d give anything to be able to take her accusations back, to tell him she loved him.
After Levi left, she kept the curtains closed so the paparazzi had no chance of getting a shot of her. But she opened the window so she could hear what was going on out there. She heard when the fire department showed up to maintain crowd control. She knew when the police chief arrived and discussed the property line with the media. She kept her ear cocked for any sign of Hunter, but didn’t catch so much as a whisper.
He’d probably done the smart thing—packed up his Jeep and taken off. He was probably halfway to Jupiter Point by now. She didn’t blame him one bit.
She heard the rumble of a vehicle arriving in the B&B’s gravel lot. Then the sound of its doors opening and closing.
All of a sudden every paparazzo out there was shouting one person’s name. And it wasn’t hers.
“Karina! Karina Black! Over here! Are you here to see Starly Minx? Is the feud escalating? Is Starly a home-wrecker? Karina! Karina! What do you have to say to Starly Minx?”
Then the voices died down. Starly rushed to the window, ripped open the curtains and leaned out. She didn’t care if they saw her or not—she had to see what was going on. What could Karina possibly be doing here?
A horrible thought struck her. Maybe Karina was going to expose her theft of Stars in My Eyes to the press. Right here, right now. What better time, with so many paparazzi present?
She stared at the gorgeous pop star, whose onyx hair gleamed in the sunshine. Karina stood tall and proud, commanding every eye. Except for one man’s.
Hunter.
He hadn’t left! And he was staring directly at her with burning eyes. He touched his chest, then pointed at her and mouthed something.
It looked like “I love you.”
Just in case it was, she mouthed it back to him. She couldn’t tell if he got the message though, because other people kept getting in the way as they gathered to hear what Karina was going to say.
Hunter stood a few feet behind the pop star, next to Ryan Perkins. More hunky men were lined up behind them—Starly thought she recognized the fighter Lucky Dorsey among them. The Hope Falls men meant business, clearly. No one was going to mess with Karina. They had her back, literally.
Karina raised her hand and everyone went silent. “I’d like to make an official statement,” she announced, her throaty voice carrying across the crowd with crystal clarity.
Starly braced herself. A statement. That sounded like trouble.
“I’ve known Starly Minx since we were both teenagers. We haven’t always gotten along.”
The reporters laughed and shouted things like, “Do you hate Starly? Are you here to kick her out of Hope Falls?”
Karina gestured for quiet again. “If you have any questions about our so-called feud, ask Google. I’m not here to talk about that. As I was saying, I’ve known Starly a long time, but I became a fan when I heard her sing Stars in My Eyes.”
Starly squeezed her eyes shut. This was it. The moment she’d been dreading. Why else would Karina mention that particular song?
“I played that song over and over, and it made me cry every single time. I’ve heard other versions since then, but no one in the world could ever sing Stars in My Eyes the way Starly Minx did. No one. That song—in her voice—is a gift to the world.”
At that point, Karina looked up to the window, where Starly was gawking like Juliet listening to Romeo.
She smiled and winked.
Starly stared back in shock. She couldn’t even smile back, she was so astonished.
Karina kept on talking. “So I know that you guys in the media like to make drama, and I know that Starly and I have had our moments, but underneath it all, we always, always respected each other as artists.”
She glanced up at the window again, and this time Starly found her voice. “Yes, absolutely true,” she called out loud and clear. “I love Karina’s music. I know all her songs by heart.”
Karina went on. “Which is why I was so excited when Starly came here to Hope Falls to propose a new project. A Karina Black-Starly Minx duet.”
The uproar came so loud and fast that Starly had to clap her hands over her ears. Everyone was shouting questions, reporters were getting on the phone to spread the news, and in the midst of it all, Karina grinned and met Starly’s gaze again. “Okay?” she mouthed.
Starly nodded quickly, tears sliding down her face. She put her hand over her heart and gave a little bow to the pop star. Then blew her a kiss.
“So there you have it. That’s the scoop about why Starly Minx is in Hope Falls. We’ll share more details about our duet as soon as we can.”
The crowd buzzed like a razor on high speed. Some of the reporters turned to Starly and started shouting quest
ions at her. “Why did you leave Cincinnati? What about your tour? Is it true you and PopZilla are feuding?”
Oh sweet Lord. They were hopeless.
Hunter stepped next to Karina and whispered something in her ear.
Karina raised her hand for silence again. “One last thing. If you all leave within the next five minutes, you’ll get those details before anyone else in the press.”
Wow, Starly knew those paparazzi could move fast, but not that fast. She watched in amazement as they packed up their gear and dashed toward their vehicles in world-record time. Hunter grinned up at Starly, who put her hand over her mouth to hide her laughter. Only Hunter would think of bribing the paparazzi like that.
The lineup of incredibly attractive Hope Falls men—and a female firefighter for good measure—kept close watch on their every move. In less than five minutes, every single camera operator had left the premises. All thanks to Karina Black.
A friend was so much better than a nemesis.
Every muscle in Hunter’s body was straining to get to Starly. Based on the very brief moment their eyes had met, it seemed maybe she didn’t hate him anymore. But then again, he could easily have misread her expression. There was quite a distance between them—half the parking area and an entire floor level. She was up in that second-story window like some kind of modern-day Rapunzel, and he was down here on the ground.
Kind of a metaphor for their entire relationship, actually.
It was just pure luck that he’d been with Jake Maguire, the police chief, when Karina had called with the news that she too was being swarmed by reporters.
“You’re the one person who can fix this, if you’re willing,” he’d told her after practically arm-wrestling Jake for the phone.
“Sounds like you have an idea. We’ll be there in five.” She and Ryan picked him up in their SUV. On the way back to the Mountain Meadow B&B, Hunter laid it all on the line.
“I know things have been sketchy between you and Starly,” he told Karina, “but she truly looks up to you. All she wants is a fresh start. That’s why she came here. That’s the only reason, not to stir up trouble. And she deserves it, Karina, she truly does. It all depends on you, though. Do you want the feud to end?”
Karina appeared to think it over. “Well, it has been entertaining, in a weird way. But we’re not kids anymore. And I know better than anyone what Starly’s been dealing with. You know what?” Her eyes lit up. “I think I have an idea that might work.”
That’s when Karina told him her idea about the duet. He gave her the big thumbs up.
“I’m just the bodyguard, though,” he warned her. “In my opinion, she’ll love the idea. But that doesn’t count for too much. ”
“You keep telling yourself that, big guy,” she told him with a wink. “When she came to Sam’s house and handed me that suitcase, I saw how she kept looking to you. I’ve seen all my friends fall down the love rabbit hole. I know the signs.”
“Yeah, well, that was then. Today’s another day. She slammed the door in my face. She won’t talk to me.” Why he felt the need to spill his guts to the world’s most famous pop star, who knew?
“Maybe talking’s not the way to go.” Karina shared such a hot, affectionate look with Ryan that Hunter had to look away.
That was what he wanted. That raw, intimate kind of love, in which each person trusted the other with their heart and soul. He’d never felt that with anyone, not even close. Now that he’d spent this time with Starly, he knew why.
Starly was it. There was no one else for him. Some time during the last forty-eight hours the truth had hit him like a hammer hitting a gong. He didn’t just lust after Starly. This wasn’t a crush, or an infatuation, or even the stalkerish obsession he’d feared. It was love.
Once-in-a-lifetime love.
Starly, with her bright smiles and vulnerable marshmallow heart, her fascinating contradictions and brilliant talent, had crawled into his heart and made it her own.
No matter where he went—Los Angeles, Jupiter Point, fucking Timbuktu—that wasn’t going to change.
So when he saw her poke her head out the window, everything in him burned to tell her how he felt. What did he have to lose? She’d already slammed the door on him and told him to go away. He might as well go for broke. If he went down in flames, well, at least he would have given it his all.
“I love you,” he’d mouthed to her.
He was no lip-reader, but it sure looked like she answered with the same words. But they could have been “screw you.” Or “I have the flu.”
Only one way to find out.
He turned to the Hope Falls contingent. “Thanks for the help. I’m going to get her out of town before any more craziness breaks out.”
Karina gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Tell Starly to call me as soon as things calm down. We have lots of work to do.”
“Will do. I really appreciate—”
She waved him off. “Just be there for Starly. She needs you. And from the looks of you, that goes both ways.”
Hunter laughed and ran a hand across the back of his head. He was a goddamn mess, had been since he left Starly’s side. What if she didn’t let him back in? What if he never got to touch her again, never got to laugh with her, hold her in his arms, feel her melt against him? What if he never got to hear her scream his name again?
He glanced up at Starly’s window and saw that it was empty. Shit. Where was she? He flashed back to Cincinnati, when they’d first figured out that she was gone. The stark fear he’d felt, worse than anything he’d experienced as a smokejumper.
Life without Starly would be like endless darkness. Especially now that he’d held her close and felt her heart beat in time with his.
He needed to lay eyes on her. Right away. Then put his hands on her. Make sure she hadn’t disappeared from his life.
“Gotta go, guys.” In a big hurry all of a sudden, he cut short the rest of his goodbyes. He heard a few knowing laughs behind him as he strode toward the charming little B&B.
When he reached the outer wall, he craned his neck to gaze up at the window. “Starly!” He called. “I love—”
Something hit him from the side, a whirlwind of flying hair and warm skin. Soft arms wrapped around his torso.
“I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you,” she was chanting, like a song on repeat. “You, Hunter. I love you.”
Staggering slightly, he turned and lifted her into the air. She wrapped her legs around him. He enveloped her in his arms and buried his nose in her hair. A feeling of rightness came over him, as if the entire world had just settled into a place.
“I love you too,” he growled into her silky hair. “You scared the living crap out of me. I thought you disappeared again.”
“You don’t have to worry, Hunter. You’re not going to get rid of me so easily.” She tilted her torso back, while keeping her legs wrapped snugly around his hips. Her face was wet with tears, her violet eyes misty pools. “I have to apologize. Again. I saw a text from Dan Coyle and jumped to the wrong conclusion. That’s why I told you to leave. I’m really sorry, I shouldn’t have thought for a second that—”
He stopped her flow of words by sealing her luscious lips with his. He felt her body relax under the long, drugging kiss. Her fingers tangled in the hair at the back of his neck, sending shivers of happiness through him. As long as he held her in his arms, nothing could bother him.
When he ended the kiss, they both were breathing at a rapid pace. “Dan Coyle wanted me to report back to him, you didn’t get that part wrong,” he told her. “But the hell with him. He doesn’t know this, but I never saw him as my boss. In my mind, I was there for you. Only for you.”
“Yes, but you could have gotten an even better job. Head of all security. I nixed it.” A worried frown creased her forehead. “I was so selfish. Thinking only of myself and how much I wanted you to be near me. Even if I couldn’t touch you or kiss you, at least I could feast my eyes on you.” She
rolled her eyes at herself.
“Sweetheart, they offered me that job.”
“They did?”
“Yes. I turned them down. I had no interest in that promotion.”
She frowned at him, not understanding.
“Honey, the only reason I was working for PopZilla was for you. My first day on the job, the second you touched my hand, I was yours. That was it. End of story.”
“So...I didn’t stand in the way of your career?”
“Fuck no. Listen, Starly. There’s a lot of things I want to do in life. A lot of things I can do. I have money put away, I have skills and training, and I’m a free agent. I don’t owe anyone anything. I do exactly what I want to do. I took the bodyguard job because Coyle needed me. And then, like I said, I got stuck. On you.” He grinned. “Doesn’t look like I’ll be getting unstuck.”
She gave him a mock-frown that he found utterly adorable. “Not if I have anything to do with it.”
“You have everything to do with it.” He regarded her seriously and let her feet slide to the ground, keeping his arms looped around her shoulders. “I’m yours, Starly. I mean that. I’ve done all kinds of things in my life. I served in the Army. Jumped behind fire lines in the Sierras. Kept groupies from breaking through the VIP barrier at the Starly Minx shows.”
She laughed at that.
“But being with you is now the most important thing to me. I think you’re incredible. You bring so much happiness wherever you go. I see people’s faces when they listen to your music. You’re not just a pop star. You’re a spreader of joy. Whatever you want from me, it’s yours. If you want me to be your bodyguard forevermore, I’ll do it. If you want me to give you an orgasm every night, I’ll do that. If you want me to go away and leave you alone, I’ll...well, I’ll consider it.”
Based on the way Starly’s eyes were glowing with joy, he wouldn’t have to put too much thought into that horrible possibility.
“I love you, Hunter McGraw. But right now, there’s really only one thing I want from you.”
He braced himself. That sounded a little ominous, quite frankly.
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