He shakes his head. “I don’t have that many friends. It happens when you have three older brothers. And, no offense, but they probably would have no idea who you are. They're really not into movies. The only person I know who probably would have heard of you is Harley.”
“Your motorcycle?”
He laughs. “Harley is my oldest brother Jake's…umm…I'm not sure what to call her. Jake's kind of like Devon. Monogamy isn't his thing. But if he was ever going to settle down—and that's a big if—it would probably be with Harley.”
I’ve got millions of fans, many of them are guys Hunter’s age. Yet he has no interest in Katie Lawrence at all. It kind of freaks me out, but it’s also refreshing.
“And you just broke up with Devon. Don’t you want some time to deal with that?”
I let out a single, cold laugh. “We haven’t really been a couple in the true sense of the word for quite a while. Devon doesn’t believe in real relationships.”
He raises an eyebrow. “And what about you? Do you believe in real relationships?”
I can feel my eyes getting damp and I try to blink back the tears forming in them. I can’t believe I’m going to admit this. “Devon was—um.” My throat is completely dry and it’s difficult to get the words out. I swallow then take in a deep breath. “He’s the only guy I’ve ever been with.”
His eyes go wide. Is it that hard to believe I’ve only been with one guy?
“You look surprised,” I comment.
“A little,” he admits.
“Just because I’m an actress doesn’t mean I’m easy or that I get around. I’m not like that.”
“Then what’s this?” He makes a gesture between the two of us.
I plop down on the couch and rest my head in my hands. “I don’t know. I’m obviously not very good at seduction. Hell, my own boyfriend wants to sleep with everyone in Hollywood but me.”
I will myself not to cry, but it’s pointless. Once the sobs start I can’t control myself. It’s like a dam has broken as the tears stream down my face.
To my surprise Hunter sits down right next to me and takes my hand in his.
“You’re so cold. Do you need a blanket?”
I snivel. “Yes.” I’m sure I’m extremely attractive with my nose running.
He gets up, grabs a throw that’s hanging on an overstuffed chair, and then carefully places it over my shoulders. “Better?”
“Thanks.” I pull the blanket tightly around my body hoping it will stop the shaking.
“Maybe I’d better go.” Hunter’s looking at me like he’s not sure what to do next.
“No,” I practically yell. Even I’m surprised by the tone of my voice.
He sits back down next to me.
“I don’t want to be alone,” I whisper so softly I’m not even sure Hunter hears me.
He’s probably just being nice staying with me. Or he thinks it’s part of the job. Hell, maybe he even has a girlfriend. Who knows? After a few moments of us sitting in silence I ask, “Don’t you find me attractive at all?”
He frowns as if I’ve just said the stupidest thing on the planet. “You’re very attractive. But I think you already know that.”
I feel so confused. “I don’t understand. Why don’t you want to be with me?”
“I don’t sleep with girls I don’t know. I actually have to have feelings for a girl before I sleep with her.”
Great. I just tried to seduce the last gentleman on planet Earth. “This isn’t the 1950s. They had a sexual revolution decades ago.”
He actually gives me a slight grin. “You just told me you’ve only been with one guy. Like you have room to talk about a sexual revolution.”
“That’s different. I’m a girl.”
“And guys aren’t supposed to have feelings?”
I shrug. “Sometimes I don’t think Devon does.”
“The guy’s a jerk. Don’t think all guys are like him. Some are, but not all. I wouldn’t leave you alone on a Friday night to hook up with someone else.”
When he gives my hand a squeeze I look into his eyes. Hunter has the most amazing brown eyes with just a few flecks of gold in them. He’s got such a sweet face, and when he smiles at me my hand is drawn to his cheek like a magnet.
He takes in another sharp breath when I place my hand on his face. It makes me wonder how many women have touched him.
Our eyes lock for a moment and neither one of us moves. I feel like all of the air has been sucked out of my lungs. I have an overwhelming urge to kiss him. To feel his lips on mine. To feel us connect in a more intimate way.
“Maybe you’d better get some sleep,” he suggests.
I’m snapped back to reality and I quickly remove my hand from his face.
“Will you stay with me?” I ask. I can’t believe how small and uncertain my voice sounds. “Just for a little while.”
When he glances at his watch I feel like I’ve made a big mistake. He obviously doesn’t want to stay. He probably just feels like he has to because he’s been assigned to guard me. “It’s okay.” I shake my head. “You don’t have to.”
“I have to go to work soon. I’ve got the midnight shift.”
“You already said that,” I tease.
He nods. “I’ve got to get ready to perform my duty as an Old Town police officer.”
“Was it really stupid of me to hit on a cop?” I don’t know why I suddenly feel like I did something wrong.
He laughs. “It’s not illegal. I’m also a human being. I’m allowed to date and have relationships. Although I’m not sure how the hotel would feel about me sleeping with the woman they’re paying me to protect.”
“Good point,” I reply. “Will you be back tomorrow? As my bodyguard?”
He shakes his head. “No. I’m not working security tomorrow.”
“Oh.” I can’t help the utter disappointment in my voice. And I’m sure I’m wearing it on my face as well.
“I can stay with you for a little while longer. Just until you fall asleep. How’s that?”
I nod. “I’d like that.”
Before he has time to protest I wrap my arm around his muscular arm and place my head on his shoulder. I hold my breath for a few moments because I think he’ll try to move away, but to my surprise he doesn’t. He rests his head on mine instead.
I take in his masculine scent as I enjoy the moment. Just being with someone who doesn’t have any expectations or demands. Someone who doesn’t care if I’m a movie star. Someone I can just be Kat with.
I can’t remember the last time that’s happened. Probably not since I left Phillipsburg.
I allow myself to drift off for a few moments…until I feel the softest of kisses on my forehead.
“Katie,” Hunter whispers. “Are you awake?”
I don’t want to admit that I am because I know he has to leave and I don’t want him to. I don’t want this moment to ever end. I feel so at peace with Hunter and so at home. Being with him makes my heart ache for a simple life again. A life I know I’ll have no chance of ever having again.
He moves slightly and I take that as my cue to let go of his arm. When I glance up at him Hunter has a strange expression on his face. It’s almost as if he’s having some kind of internal debate.
Before I realize what’s happening he kisses me. His lips are soft and his kiss is gentle, which seems strange coming from a guy who’s so big.
I can feel my heart race as I open my mouth for him and he slides his tongue inside. A wave of heat rushes through me as Hunter deepens his kiss.
“I have to go,” he whispers in my ear and my body tingles when I feel his breath on my neck.
“I know.” I can’t help the sadness in my voice.
What if I wasn’t an actress in Hollywood? What if I wasn’t a movie star? Would Hunter want to be with me? Would we make plans to see each other again? Maybe go on a date?
It’s no use playing the “what if” game because I am a movie star and I live in
Hollywood and Hunter’s a small town cop who lives in New Jersey.
We’ll probably never see each other again.
But it doesn’t feel right. I feel like we’re supposed to have more than just one night together. I feel like there’s the potential for so much more between us, as ridiculous as it sounds.
“Are you going to be alright?” There’s so much concern in Hunter’s voice it makes my heart ache just a bit.
“I’m not sure,” I admit.
When he leans in I can feel his breath on my neck again. His closeness sends another wave of tingles through me. “Things that are meant to be always happen.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Just my observations on life.”
I’ve never been a believer in fate, or luck, or good fortune. Everything I have I’ve worked really hard for. I’ve always been the kind of person who makes things happen.
I have no idea how to make something happen with Hunter though. Can you make a relationship happen anyway? As hard as I tried to make things work with Devon he never gave me the one thing I thought I wanted. Devon gave me his body when he didn’t have anyone else to be with. And he gave me his time when he didn’t have anything better to do. But he never completely gave himself to me. He never gave me his heart.
When Hunter stands he pulls me up with him. Then he takes me into his strong arms and holds me tight. I completely melt in his embrace.
I can feel a lone teardrop slide down my face. I want to believe him. I want to believe that if it’s meant to be, we’ll see each other again, but a big part of me is skeptical. And what if we were only supposed to see each other one time?
Hunter carefully wipes away the teardrop from my cheek with his thumb. “I’m not worth crying about.”
“Whatever you say.”
“You have so much, Katie. You’re a movie star. You’re America’s Sweetheart. What do you want with a cop from Old Town?”
I don’t want to admit that he’s right. That we live in different worlds and maybe we’re not really meant to be together.
But if we’re not supposed to be together, why does it feel so right when he kisses me? Why does it feel like I belong in his arms? Surely he feels it too.
When he places another soft kiss on my forehead I know that’s his cue to leave. As much as I don’t want to let go of him I don’t want him to have to push me off of him either. I know I’m pathetic, but I’m not that pathetic.
We both stare at each other for a long moment. I feel like I want to memorize his face and maybe he’s doing the same thing. Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part.
I slowly move my hand to his face and run my fingers down his cheek and along his jawline.
He places a kiss on my fingers and then gives me a quick kiss on the lips before he hurries out the door.
I lean against the door and wait for a few seconds, hoping he’ll come back. Deep down I know he won’t, but I wait anyway.
Then I cry. All of the emotions that have been bottled up inside bubble up to the surface and erupt in a big, ugly cry.
I cry because I wasted so much time loving a guy who didn’t really care about me at all. I cry because I no longer have control over any aspect of my life. I cry because a truly nice guy actually seems to like me, the real me, but I can’t have him.
I cry because it doesn’t seem like I’ll ever get the chance to have a real relationship. I feel like I’m doomed to date the next-big-actor, with studio approval, of course. A guy who doesn’t truly care about me. A guy who wants to be with Katie Lawrence because it’s good for his career.
Five
Hunter
It’s a slow night. What else is new? The midnight shift in Old Town is almost always slow. Outside of the drunk drivers or the occasional local accidently hitting a deer there’s not a lot of action in a small town in the middle of the night.
Sometimes I have to pinch myself just to stay awake. Thank God for caffeine and chocolate. I’ve got an extra-large soda from the town’s convenience store and a bag filled with an assortment of candy bars to keep me company.
I know it’s stupid, but I can’t stop thinking about Katie. She let me hold her in my arms. She allowed me to kiss her. And I have no idea why.
I have to get back to reality. She’s a movie star. She’s not some girl I picked up at Haymakers after our band played a gig.
But no girl from Haymakers ever made me feel the way Katie Lawrence does.
When I held her in my arms I felt like she reached into my chest, pulled out my heart out, and refused to let it go.
My brother, Tucker, has warned me more than a few times: the Wilde brothers fall fast and they fall hard. He told me that the first time he laid eyes on his girlfriend, Gracie, he knew in an instant that they would be together. My brother, Cooper, said the same thing about his fiancé, Riley. He wanted her from the moment she set foot in Haymakers.
But there’s no way I can fall for a movie star. It’s stupid and unrealistic. I’m nothing but a small town cop. What do I have to offer her?
I decide to drown my sorrows in dark chocolate. Just as I’m about to open the candy bar wrapper, a red sports car speeds by me doing about 60 in a 45 mile per hour zone. And as if that isn’t bad enough, the driver doesn’t even bother to stop at the intersection. Not even a rolling stop. It’s almost as if the stop sign is merely a suggestion.
I decide to light this one up. The car pulls over right away and when I run the plates I find out it’s a rental. Probably some jerk staying at Tawnee Mountain who doesn’t give a shit about blasting right through Old Town on the way to the resort.
I tap on the driver’s window and it gets rolled down quickly.
“License, registration and proof of insurance,” I say on autopilot.
But when I take a good look at the person in the driver’s seat I’m taken aback when I realize it’s Katie Lawrence.
And she’s grinning at me. “Hunter.”
“Officer Wilde,” I correct and point to my badge.
“Sorry.” Her smile fades as she deflates a bit.
I feel like a real asshole.
“Why did you go speeding past me and why did you blow through the stop sign like that?”
She swallows. “I don’t have any excuse. I knew you were working and I wanted to see you again.”
I raise an eyebrow. “You broke the law so you could see me again?”
She shrugs. “You’re a cop. At least I didn’t rob a store or something.”
“You could have waited until I was off duty.”
When I see a teardrop roll down her cheek it takes every ounce of self-restraint I have not to pull her into my arms. But I’m still on duty and she did break the law.
“I’m sorry,” she snivels. “It’s just…I have no idea where you live. I didn’t have any way to contact you. I don’t even have your phone number.”
“I assumed when you went back to LA and back to your life there you wouldn’t have any use for my number.”
“Are you going to arrest me?”
I shake my head. “I should give you a speeding ticket. And a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign. But I’ll let you go with a warning this time. Please don’t do it again.”
“I know it was dumb. I won’t do it again. I promise.”
“And when you sped past, how did you know it was me?”
She shakes her head. “I didn’t. I just hoped it was you. And I figured in such a small town, the odds of it being you were probably good. How many officers are on duty this late at night?”
“More than one. What if it was one of the other guys who pulled you over?”
“I would have asked to be transferred to you.”
I can’t help but smile. It’s about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life, but it may also be the cutest.
“Not everyone’s like you, Hunter.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
She leans close like she’s going to tell
me a secret. “Most people know who Katie Lawrence is. They’ve seen my movies.”
“Are you saying they’d let you out of a ticket because you’re a movie star?”
She grins. “It may have happened a few times before.”
“Let me have your phone,” I tell her.
She eyes me suspiciously, but hands me her cell. I type my contact information in the phone then hand it back. “Now you’ve got my number. You can call or text any time. You don’t have to commit any more crimes just to see me.”
She hits a button on her phone and I can feel my cell phone buzz in my pocket. “You’re calling me? Now?”
She nods. “I want to make sure you have my number too.”
“You should probably get some sleep. You’re supposed to be in your room until the morning security guard goes on duty. You’re not supposed to be driving around Old Town by yourself in the middle of the night.”
She glances at the clock in her car. “It’s not the middle of the night anymore. It’s now morning.”
“Technically.”
“So what time does your shift end?”
“Not for a few more hours.”
“Do you want to get breakfast? After you get off work?”
“I usually go home and sleep for a few hours after my shift. Especially after working two eight-hour shifts in a row.”
She looks more than a little disappointed.
“We could do brunch after I get some sleep,” I suggest.
That brings a smile back to her face. I’m glad that I can make her smile.
“I’m not supposed to be eating anywhere outside of the hotel for security reasons, but I hate the food there. Do you have any other suggestions?”
“I could cook for you. When’s the last time you had a home cooked meal?”
She furrows her brow like she’s giving it some thought. “I can’t remember. Devon doesn’t even know what a stove is. And he likes to be seen at all of the trendy places. In LA it’s all about eating at the right places and being seen with the right people. Nobody actually cares about the food. Not that anyone eats it anyway.”
“I noticed that at the rehearsal dinner. All that food and not one bit of it looked touched. What a waste.”
She nods. “A home-cooked meal sounds awesome. Who taught you how to cook?”
A Wilde Night (Old Town Country Romance Book 3) Page 4