Bill nodded and stepped out of the way, hiding his smile as we headed for the exit. Shep tightened his fingers around mine, refusing to let go as he pulled open the door, letting me step through first.
The flashes were even more blinding this time around, and I lowered my sunglasses again, though they couldn’t hide my Cheshire grin. Somehow there were even more paparazzi swarming on the sidewalk than five minutes ago. What had they done, called all their friends?
The shouts and questions began before the door shut behind us, and as we moved through the crowd side by side, we both waved but kept our heads down.
“Are you two confirming you’re an item?”
“Shepard, what does your father have to say about this relationship?”
“How long have you been a couple?”
“Will there be a royal wedding?”
They followed us down the block with their questions and cameras, and for the first time in my life, I didn’t feel annoyed or anxious about it all. Shep’s hand was firm, unwavering, much like the man himself, and having him beside me, as my partner and my lover, gave me an unfamiliar sense of peace.Thatwasnew, but not at all unwelcome, and I found myself looking at him while we waited at the crosswalk for the light to change.
He looked back at me, his eyes an even lighter shade of ice blue in the sun. Pride swirled in their depths, and I squeezed his hand.
I knew exactly what he was feeling. He’d told me before how much he hated to hide in a relationship, to be someone’s secret, and now here he was, loud and proud in announcing us as a couple to the world.
Without thinking, I brought our joined fingers up to my mouth, kissing his hand the same way he’d just done mine in the lobby. It garnered a genuine smile from my man even as the crowd around us went wild.
The light changed and we crossed the street, the horde following as we headed to the corner coffee shop. The message between us was silent but strong as we stared at one another:Let them talk. I’m not hiding you.
25
SHEP
“CAN WE BOTH agree this is absolutely ridiculous?” Theo took a drag of his kretek and blew it out with the wind where we stood on the balcony of my family’s home in Delaware.
To say the photos of us splashed on the front of every newspaper had gone wild over the last week was an understatement. I knew there’d be some kind of response—I wasn’t stupid. Theo and I had both been in this game as public figures our whole lives, so we knew how crazy it could get.
This, however, was on a different level. And it’d been enough for our families to call a meeting to figure out how to move forward.
Less than half an hour in, Theo needed a smoke break, and I grabbed a full glass of wine on the way out the door.
Theo leaned against the rail, looking out over the vast lake my parents had built this property on after my father left office. It was quiet, the only house around for miles, almost too serene after the hustle and bustle of the city. Some might say it was peaceful, and I supposed it was, though the scene inside had been a bunch of voiced opinions on the best way to handle the public scrutiny.Along with admonishments for springing such a huge surprise on the families without advance notice.
I unbuttoned my suit jacket and sighed as I leaned back against the white banister. “I think they’ve forgotten we’re forty and entirely capable of managing this.”
“Forty? Speak for yourself, old man—you’ve still got three years on me.”
I arched a brow. “Old man? You really wanna go there?”
Theo shot me a wink as he blew smoke over his shoulder. “What can I say? I’ve got a thing for hot older guys.”
“Call me old one more time?—”
He pushed off the rail and stepped toward me. “Did I also mention incredibly sexy?”
“Not soon enough.”
“Smart, sexy, protective…mine.”
I slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him in the remaining few inches. “I feel like a damn teenager.”
“You definitely have the sexual appetite of one,” Theo said, then leaned up to nip at my lower lip. But not even his flirting could get me out of my surly mood.
“What grown-ass adults get summoned to their parents’ house to discuss their dating schedules and relationship intentions?”
