“Can I get another beer?” Izzy slams her glass on the bar a little too hard and I think it might break. Luckily it’s stronger than she is and withstands the pressure.
“I think you’ve had enough,” Tucker says.
She shakes her head a little too forcefully, proving Tucker’s point that she is indeed drunk. Tucker usually doesn’t cut people off unless they’re driving, but Izzy lives right across the street from Haymakers, in an apartment over the antique shop she runs with her grandmother.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Izzy fires back.
“Then stop acting like a baby,” he replies.
She narrows her gaze at him, but refrains from saying anything more. I think she knows she’ll never win a battle against Tucker. I’ve only met one person in my life who is not intimidated by Tucker Wilde, and that’s his girlfriend Gracie.
For the next twenty minutes or so there’s a steady stream of customers into the bar. One of the great things about owning the only bar in Old Town is that we’re never short on customers, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.
I breathe a small sigh of relief when I see Coop and Riley hurry inside. I don’t want to seem too anxious, but I’m beyond ready to get out of here and be alone with Kat.
As Coop gets closer I notice his brow is furrowed like something’s wrong.
“We’ve got a problem,” Coop announces as he approaches the bar. Riley is trailing behind and I notice she has creases of concern on her forehead.
“What’s up?”
“Where’s your girlfriend?” Coop asks as he scans the bar.
“She’s not…” I stop myself from saying she’s not my girlfriend. I point over toward one of the tables instead.
“I’m not sure how or why it happened, but there are a shitload of photographers starting to gather right outside of the bar.”
It takes a minute for me to register what he’s saying. “They can’t be here for Kat. How would they even know she’s here?”
“Well they’re not here for you and they’re definitely not here for Tucker. They ignored me and Riley as we walked in.”
I shake my head. “This is bad. How in the world did they find her here of all places?”
“Who knows how those assholes find celebrities. They’re kind of like cockroaches.”
When I glance over at Kat I notice how happy and carefree she looks. I wish I could stop time so she could feel that way forever, but I know as soon as we step outside everything will change.
“Do you think we could sneak out the back?” I ask.
“You’ll have to move your truck. It’s parked out front.”
My mind races trying to figure out a way to not upset Kat, but I know she’ll be devastated as soon as she finds out. She was put through the ringer with the media when she ended things with Devon. They made her out to be a villain. Already being with another man, and a cop no less, would be another terrible blow to her image.
I want to do everything in my power to protect her, but this may be beyond my abilities.
“Where’s Jake?” Coop asks.
I frown. “Where do you think?”
“It’s been fifteen minutes.” Tucker gives a nod to Cooper. “I’m sure he’s close to finishing.”
“Don’t forget he had two of them,” I add.
“If you get the truck and pull around back, Tuck and I can act like bodyguards and walk Kat to the truck. We’ll make sure no one gets near her.”
I glance at Tuck and he gives a quick nod of agreement.
To my surprise Izzy hops down from her barstool and says, “I can distract them for you.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “How do you plan on doing that?”
She actually grins at me. “Trust me. Everyone in this one-bar town already thinks I’m crazy. Why not give them something to really talk about?”
People in town have called Izzy all kinds of names from “demon chick” to “crazy bitch.” I don’t really believe she’s possessed, and she is definitely not crazy. I think something really bad happened to her just like something really bad happened to my brother when he was in Iraq.
“Okay,” I say to Izzy. “If you can distract them while we drive away I’ll owe you one.”
“Deal,” she replies.
I see Jake finally come back from his office—his latest conquests trailing behind. When he joins Tucker behind the bar Tucker pulls him aside and talks to him. When Jake looks over at me and Kat I can see the concern in his eyes. I know my brother can be a real asshole when it comes to how he treats women, but he does care about his brothers.
Fourteen
Katie
I can tell by the creases in Hunter’s forehead that something is wrong. When he grabs my hand and pulls me away from the table I just served I notice how sweaty his palm is.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
He gives me a quick kiss before he answers. Then he looks into my eyes. I haven’t known him that long, but I haven’t seen him look as upset as he looks right now.
“What’s wrong?” I repeat.
“Don’t panic.”
My eyes grow wide. “Whenever someone says don’t panic it’s usually not good.”
“I don’t know why and I don’t know how, but apparently there are photographers camped out in front of Haymakers.”
“That can’t be. How could they possibly find me here?”
He slowly shakes his head. “I don’t know. And I don’t think we should worry about that now. We just need to worry about getting you out of here and not being followed.”
I try to blink away the tears that are forming in the corners of my eyes. I don’t know why I thought I could have a normal life again, even just for a little while.
Hunter grabs me and holds me tight. I try to relax into his strong arms. If I could stop time and live in this one moment, in Hunter’s arms forever, I would trade everything I have to do it.
“I’m going to get the truck and pull around back. Tucker and Cooper are going to walk you out and they’ll make sure no one gets near you. Izzy said she’d do something to distract them long enough for us to drive away.”
When I glance over at Izzy she gives me a quick nod. What in the world could that small girl do to distract what is probably a mob of hungry and extremely aggressive paparazzi? I don’t think Hunter and his brothers or Izzy for that matter know what those savages can be like.
Cooper gives Riley a kiss on the cheek before he motions to Tucker and the two of them head in our direction. At the same time Izzy heads towards to front door.
I take in a deep breath, and try to remain as calm as I can, but I can’t help the feeling of absolute dread that is overtaking me. Hunter is such a laid back guy. He leads such an uncomplicated life. I just can’t imagine him still wanting to be with me when he sees what my life is really like. The complete and utter lack of privacy and the constant scrutiny by the press I face on a daily basis.
I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
“Ready to do this?” he asks his brothers.
They both nod in response as they stand on either side of me. I actually feel a little bit calmer surrounded by Hunter’s brothers. They’re both big guys, but even more than that I know they really care about Hunter and by association, they care about me. I have no doubt they would do anything to protect me.
Hunter gives me a quick peck on the forehead. “Everything is going to be okay.” Then he looks back and forth between his brothers. “Give me about three minutes to pull around back.”
I watch as he makes his way out the front door. I force myself to control my emotions even though I’m nearly a basket case already. There are so many conflicting thoughts running through my head.
Tucker and Cooper don’t seem to be big talkers. The only one of the Wilde boys who seems to talk a lot is Jake. But just feeling their presence right now is comforting.
Three minutes ends up feeling more like thirty. Finally Cooper gives a nod to Tucker and says,
“Let’s go.”
The guys each grab one of my elbows and they lead me to the back of the bar to an exit near the kitchen.
Cooper places his hand on the door then glances back at me. “Ready?”
I take in a deep breath. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”
“We’ll protect you,” Tucker assures me. I don’t think that anyone, no matter how badly he or she wanted a photo, would mess with him to get it.
As soon as the back door opens I see Hunter waiting inside his truck. The sun is just getting ready to set so there’s still enough light for us to be seen pretty clearly.
Tucker and Cooper practically carry me to the truck and hoist me inside. Hunter gives me just enough time to buckle my seatbelt before he guns the engine and we’re on our way.
Unfortunately we’ve still got the drive past the front of the building to get to Hunter’s house. Hopefully whatever Izzy has decided to do will distract the photographers long enough for us to make a getaway and not be followed.
The crowd outside Haymakers is even larger than I imagined it would be. Most of them are focused on someone standing in the middle of the parking lot. Flashes are going off like crazy so it’s hard to make out exactly what’s going on but when I do manage to get a glimpse of Izzy I can see she’s taken her shirt off and is strutting around the parking lot topless.
That’s definitely a distraction.
“Shit,” I exclaim when I see one photographer who’s probably a little too smart for the distraction bit.
When I see him jump on the roof of a car and turn his camera toward us I quickly duck in my seat, but I don’t think it was quick enough.
“What?” Hunter asks, his attention completely focused on the road. “What’s wrong?”
“One photographer didn’t buy the Izzy distraction and snapped a photo of us. I’m not sure I ducked quickly enough.”
Hunter takes in a sharp breath. “Did you get a good look at him?”
“Why?” I ask as I slowly sit back up.
“Maybe I can get the photos from him.”
I laugh. “Good luck with that. Those guys get a lot of money for those shots, especially if he got an exclusive.”
“Shit.” Hunter slams his palm against the steering wheel. “I was hoping we’d make a clean break.”
“Me too.”
He glances in the rearview mirror. “At least no one is following us. Izzy definitely made that impossible.”
I nod. “Did you see she took her top off? She’s going to probably be a YouTube sensation.”
He laughs. “And Izzy is probably the last person on the planet who would care at all about that. Except for maybe Tucker.”
“You’ll have to thank your brothers for me.”
Hunter shakes his head. “Nope. You’ll have to thank them yourself.”
I can’t help but smile. Half of me was thinking he was just going to take me to the airport and send me on my way.
“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that,” I say.
“There’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s not your fault.”
Sometimes I feel as though my celebrity is a prison of my own making. “You shouldn’t have to go through the hassle of dealing with paparazzi when you don’t get any of the benefits.”
He grabs my hand and squeezes it. “But I get to be with you. That’s the only benefit that I care about.”
***
“We have to check on Gracie,” Hunter says as he shuts the front door behind us. “I promised Tucker.”
“Of course,” I agree.
He grabs my hand as we head up the stairs and make our way to the bedroom she shares with Tucker.
Hunter lightly taps on the door. “Gracie.”
After a few seconds I can hear very light footsteps and then the door slowly opens.
“Hunter?” Gracie sounds surprised. She looks even paler than she did the other day. Her skin is almost the same color as the t-shirt she’s wearing. “Is everything okay?”
“That’s what we were wondering,” Hunter replies. “Tucker wanted us to check on you. He’s worried about you.”
She puts her hand to her abdomen, almost like it’s a reflex. “I’ve been nauseated all day. My stomach finally settled down a little bit.”
“The flu is going around,” Hunter says.
She blinks a few times and then gets kind of an odd look on her face. “I don’t think I have the flu.”
We wait for a few seconds, but she doesn’t elaborate.
“Did you eat something?” I ask. She looks so small and fragile it’s like one strong breeze could blow her away. She doesn’t look like she could afford to skip a meal.
She nods. “I made some soup and crackers. You don’t have to worry about me.” She looks back and forth between the two of us. “I’m sure the two of you want to spend some time alone. I’ll be fine.”
“We’ll be right down the hall if you need anything,” Hunter assures her. “Don’t be afraid to knock.”
“Is Tucker okay?” She sounds just as worried about him as he seemed to be about her.
“He’s fine. He’s just worried about you.”
“I didn’t want to leave him short-handed. Now that you’re not working as much, he needs me to help out.”
“Riley and Coop are there. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
I cringe at the thought of leaving them to deal with the paparazzi. The parking lot was a mob scene.
“You should get some rest,” Hunter urges.
“Thanks for checking on me,” Gracie says as she closes the door.
Hunter grabs my hand and pulls me down the hallway. “How did she look to you?” he whispers.
“Pale. Tired. Thin.”
“I thought so too. I’m going to give Tuck a quick call. Let him know we checked on her, so he’s not so worried.”
He opens his bedroom door and motions for me to wait inside. I’m a little disappointed when he shuts the door so I can’t hear the conversation. It makes me think he’s also going to ask about what’s happening with the media frenzy.
When I pull my own phone from my purse I’m surprised to see twelve missed calls and messages from my agent, manager and publicist, all within the last few minutes. Even with my ringer off there’s really no escape.
I can only assume that asshole really did get a shot of us and it’s already made its way online. The power of internet. If only important, truly life altering news travelled that quickly.
Instead of returning the calls I toss my phone back into my purse. I just want to spend one more night with Hunter without thinking about all the shit in LA. I just want to be Kat. I just want to enjoy being with the guy I’m falling for even if I know deep down that I can’t ever really have him.
“So?” I ask when Hunter reenters the bedroom.
“Sounds like some of my colleagues with the Old Town Police Department were called and they strongly suggested that the photographers find someplace other than the Haymakers parking lot to gather. I guess when they realized they weren’t going to see you they took that excellent advice.”
“If that photographer did manage to get a photo I want you to be prepared just in case. If they find out who you are it could turn your life upside down.”
Hunter shrugs. “Not that I had much of a life to turn upside down.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You have the job you’ve always wanted. You have a wonderful family. You live in a fantastic house. You’ve got an idyllic life.”
“You have to be the only person on Earth who would ever call my life idyllic. Boring. Predictable. About as average as they come. Those descriptors I can buy. But idyllic?” He shakes his head. “I’m not buying that one.”
“Suit yourself. I want you to be prepared just in case.”
When he closes the distance between us I can feel my body heat up. And when he kisses me, every nerve ending is called to attention.
“Let’s not waste any more time worrying about what if,” he wh
ispers. “I just want to concentrate on what’s next. And I’d like that to include the two of us naked and in my bed. If that’s okay with you?”
I laugh. “You don’t have to ask me twice.”
He takes my hand and leads me over to his bed.
“As much as Harley annoys me sometimes I have to give her credit for that sexy little outfit you’re wearing.”
He takes his time unbuttoning the top. Then he removes my shirt and bra and tosses them both on the end of the bed. As he runs a finger from my collarbone all the way down my chest, I take in a sharp breath. His fingers quickly find my nipples and he plays with them until they’re standing at attention.
When a shiver runs through me Hunter tries to hold back a grin.
“You look entirely too satisfied with yourself,” I comment.
“I love the way your body responds to my every touch.”
“Like yours doesn’t?”
I make a point of placing my hand on his chest and he takes in a sharp breath in response. Then I lift his shirt exposing his rock hard abs. His skin heats as I move my hand over his stomach and chest.
As he runs his hand down my cheek he says, “I guess that just means we’re perfect for each other.”
I can’t help but melt thinking about how perfect we do seem to be. I always hated the line that two people felt like they were made for each other. I always thought it was ridiculous and corny. That is until I met Hunter.
I gasp when he lifts me off my feet and lays me down on the bed. In one swift movement he pulls down my jeans and then grins as he runs his finger along the edge of my panties.
“Do you have any idea how badly I want to be inside of you right now?”
I gulp. “I have a pretty good idea. Probably as badly as I want you inside of me.” And it’s not a line. I can feel the desire building deep within my core.
The hunger in Hunter’s eyes is palpable. He doesn’t hesitate to pull my panties down and take in my naked body.
“You have entirely too many clothes on,” I joke.
He hops up from the bed and practically tears his clothes off. When I see how hard he is I’m turned on even more. He doesn’t waste any time rejoining me in the bed.
A Wilde Night (Old Town Country Romance Book 3) Page 13