by Rachel Lacey
As her phone buzzed in her pocket, she realized her scheduled post about the mystery prize had just gone live. Soon, the park would be crawling with fans, on top of the paparazzi presence. Shit.
“Do you live here in the city?” she asked Josh, increasing her stride.
“I’ve got an apartment over on Ninety-Sixth. You?”
“I only live here part-time, but I think New York will always feel like home.”
They passed Belvedere Castle, and Kate guided them onto the path toward home. Another ten minutes, and she’d be in the clear.
Josh nodded. “I know the feeling. My family lived here until I was ten before we moved to Massachusetts. I loved it there. I even became a Red Sox fan, but I couldn’t wait to move back to New York after college.”
Kate threw her head back and laughed. “A Red Sox fan in New York City? That’s dangerous.”
“No kidding.” He unzipped the side pocket of his briefcase to show her the Red Sox cap tucked inside.
Her jaw dropped. “You wear that? Here, in Yankees territory?”
“Sure do. It just doesn’t go with my work clothes.”
“Wow, you must get tons of rude comments about it, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “I do, but who cares? I don’t know them, and they’re the ones being rude.”
If only she could shrug off every rude and unfair thing said about her that way. It was a heady thought. “Well, I’m from Connecticut originally. Yankees fan, sorry.”
Josh gestured to the sky as if she had cursed against his God.
She laughed. “I pulled the whole Madonna ‘drop me in the center of everything’ bit when I got here.”
He gave her a blank stare. Wow, he really knew nothing about celebrity, a trait she was beginning to find irrationally appealing.
She gestured around them. “I showed up here when I was seventeen with nothing but a backpack and a handful of change in my pocket. Big city, big dreams.”
“What did you dream of being?” His eyes were earnest.
She paused, as her afternoon escape collided with reality.
“Oh, I—” Her cell phone rang, saving her from immediate answer. “Sorry.”
Josh nodded in understanding.
She pulled the phone from her pocket. It was Jennifer MacDonald, her personal assistant. “Hey, Jenn.”
“Hi. I need you back ASAP,” Jenn said.
“Really? Why?” Kate glanced at her watch. It was only a few minutes past two, and she wasn’t due back to prep for interviews until three.
“Vero got an earlier flight, so I moved the In Touch interview back to give you time to meet with her and Harry first.”
“Oh, okay.” Kate glanced around to get her bearings. “Can you send Anton to the corner of Seventy-Seventh for me?”
“He’ll be there in five.”
“Thanks.” She ended the call and turned to Josh.
He stood watching her with narrowed eyes. “You never did tell me what you do for a living.”
“Right. Actually—”
A shrill scream cut her off. She whirled, smacking into Josh. His fingers closed over her elbow to steady her. Instead of fear, this time, warmth gathered on her skin beneath his fingers.
“Oh my God. It is her!” someone yelled.
“I told you it was. Katherine Hayes!”
More screams ensued as a half-dozen teenage girls ran toward her. Ben and Jerry pinned their ears and flattened themselves against her legs.
“Oh my God, can I have your autograph?”
“Can I take a selfie with you?”
Their questions overlapped as the girls clustered around her, squealing and vying for her attention. Several of them were busily typing on their cell phones, no doubt sharing photos on social media, spreading the word that they’d met Katherine Hayes in Central Park. All around her, girls leaned in, phones held high, snapping selfies.
Kate signed scrap paper, cell phones, and even a hand. She gave hugs and cheerfully posed for photos while assuring them that yes, “Hold Me Close” was on the set list for her upcoming concert at Madison Square Garden, and no, the nude photos were not real.
Behind the group of teenagers, her gaze settled on a little girl with blonde pigtails and a purple jacket, bouncing in light-up sneakers, the blue-wrapped package Kate had hidden earlier clutched in her hands.
A wide grin covered Kate’s face as she pushed her way over to the girl. “You found it!”
The girl looked up with wide blue eyes and an even wider smile. “My mom and I were here in the park when we saw your post, and oh my gosh, this is way too cool!”
Kate took the girl’s hands in her own. “You’re too sweet. What’s your name?”
“Ava.”
Her mother stood behind her, beaming with pride. “Ava listens to your music every day.”
Ava’s eyes welled with tears. “I want to be just like you when I grow up.”
“That’s an awfully nice thing to say,” Kate told her. “Will you be able to make it to the Today show tomorrow morning?”
Ava nodded vigorously.
Kate looked at the girl’s mother. “Those passes will let you bypass the crowds and stand right in front of the stage. I’ll be doing my sound check around six, then I’ll come back out at eight thirty for the live broadcast.”
“This is so cool,” Ava whispered, clutching her mother’s hand.
“Do you mind?” The girl’s mother held up her cell phone.
“Not at all.” Kate wrapped an arm around Ava’s shoulders and leaned in with a smile while her mother took several photos. “So you want to be a singer when you grow up?”
“Yeah, but my mom says I have to finish school first.”
“That’s good advice. Always listen to your mom, okay? It was great meeting you, and I’ll be looking for you tomorrow at the Today show.” Kate pulled her in for a quick hug.
Joyful tears streaked Ava’s cheeks as they parted.
Her mother stepped closer. “Thank you for giving girls like Ava someone they can look up to. It’s nice to know you’re as genuine in person as you seem on TV.”
Warmth welled in Kate’s heart, seeping into the place her own mother had left empty. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
She squeezed Ava’s hand, then turned away. The noise level intensified, and the clicking of cell phones was drowned out by the snap and pop of professional cameras. The paparazzi had finally caught up with her. Photographers pushed through the crowd, snapping photos and shouting questions.
Kate ignored them, continuing to sign autographs for the group of teenagers. She realized peripherally that Mick, her bodyguard, had joined the fray. If he was here, the car must have arrived, and thank God, because she was in way over her head at this point. Mick backed up the photographers and ushered the fans on their way, then planted a hand on her shoulder and hustled her down the path toward the exit.
She brushed a strand of hair from her face as she hurried to match his long stride. Thank goodness he’d shown up when he had. She ventured into the park without her bodyguard more often than she should and usually got away with it.
Not today.
Josh was probably horrified. Speaking of Josh…oh, crap.
Her heels dug into the pavement. She shook free of Mick’s grasp and turned around.
Josh stood about twenty feet down the path, watching, stony-faced.
She took a few steps toward him. Mick charged past her to back the paparazzi around the bend and out of sight.
“Josh…” She pushed the sunglasses up on her head, abandoning the pretense of anonymity they’d afforded her earlier.
Josh’s eyes narrowed, accusation in their hazel depths.
She suppressed a sigh. So much for escaping reality for a little while. The last thing she needed right now was a humiliated Spanish teacher selling her bad manners to the gossip blogs. Not to mention, she felt genuinely terrible for deceiving him.
Time for damage control. She flashe
d Josh her most dazzling smile and stuck out her hand. “Let’s try this again. I’m Katherine Hayes, but my friends call me Kate.”
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About the Author
Rachel Lacey is a contemporary romance author and semi-reformed travel junkie. She's been climbed by a monkey on a mountain in Japan, gone scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef, and camped out overnight in New York City for a chance to be an extra in a movie. These days, the majority of her adventures take place on the pages of the books she writes. She lives in warm and sunny North Carolina with her husband, son, and a variety of rescue pets.