“Red Earth’s season ends in September.”
Groaning, I drop my head onto her shoulder and hide my face in her neck as I shift my hands to grip her waist. This is exactly why I would have preferred to keep my question to myself. “That’s three months away. And it’s my busiest time of the year. I won’t be able to come—”
“What if I come to you?”
I lift my head. Slowly. Carefully. Like moving too fast will change what she just said. “To LA? But that’s—”
“The city of my nightmares, yeah.” Smiling softly, she reaches up and presses her palm to my cheek, though there’s a bit of fear in her eyes. “But if putting myself in proximity to Hollywood means I get to see you again…”
She has no idea how much I want that, but I shake my head. “No matter how secretive we are, someone will figure out who you are. Nova Tate won’t be lost anymore, and you’ll be—”
“Back in the spotlight?” She shrugs. “There are worse things.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying,” I argue. The last thing I want is for her to regret giving me a chance, and being forced back into a life she worked so hard to leave behind… “Donovan, I can’t ask you to—”
Hooking her finger on my shirt collar, she leans up on her toes and presses her lips to mine in a kiss that steals my breath. “You’re not asking,” she says without pulling away. “I’m offering. I told you I wantto try, and I do. Besides, no one knows better than I do what comes with dating you, Derek Riley. I can handle your life.”
I curse under my breath and kiss her again, drowning myself in the taste of her.I can handle your life. Words I didn’t know I needed to hear until now.
Donovan’s hand runs up my chest and into my hair, knocking the hat from my head and sparking a fire inside me that blazes hot and wild. My grip on her hips tightens, pulling her into me, and I tilt my head to deepen the kiss, consumed by this woman who is everything I’ve been searching for. I can’t get close enough, and I slowly back her up against the stacked boats to give myself the leverage to kiss her thoroughly and show her how much her words mean to me.
“Derek!”
Someone calls my name, the word hazy and distant because my full focus is on Donovan. It’s probably Hunter or Janie. They can wait.
“Derek, over here!”
Can’t they see I’m busy?
“Derek, who are you with? Is this a new girlfriend?”
A bright flash lights up the shaded pavilion at the same time I freeze, my mind catching up to the moment and the unfamiliarity of the voice shouting at me. More flashes follow the first, and Donovan gasps, her kiss-drunk expression shifting to horror at whatever she sees over my shoulder.
I grab her head, gently tucking her into my chest so I can shield her with my body.Where is Hunter?I don’t dare turn around and give whoever it is a good view of my face. They obviously know it’s me, but there’s no way to know if they already got any clear shots of me. I can’t risk the slim chance that we’re safe for the time being.
“Give her some tongue again, Derek!”
Using my peripheral vision, I look at the door to the office and wonder if we can make a run for it. It’s partially open—Farah, Mason, andThiago must have gone inside while I was recklessly kissing Donovan—but it’s on the other side of the pavilion. Farther than I’m comfortable with. But we can’t just stand here and pray the paparazzi go away!
“Derek!” Hunter’s rough voice booms across the yard, followed by a menacing growl as he shouts at the paps to go away.
We have to take our chance and use the distraction he’s giving us. Keeping my arm around Donovan, I tug her in the direction of the office and start running with my head low and my other arm in front of my face. Hunter joins me a second later and blocks us from view until we crash inside.
“Whoa!” Mason says as Hunter slams the door shut, locking it behind him. “What’s going on?” He and Farah are standing in the little kitchen in the corner of the room, gaping at us as Hunter stalks to the front door and locks that one too.
Ignoring the two guides, I glare at Hunter. “What took you so long?” I demand.
He barely looks at me, keeping his focus out the glass pane in the door. “Sorry.”
“Sorry?” My jaw drops, and I run a hand through my hair as my mind starts running through all the possible disasters that could be heading my way. How long were the cameras flashing before the paparazzo started talking? Did they get video?Probably. And now Donovan… This is exactly the sort of thing I wanted to avoid! “You haveone job, Hunter! One!”
His jaw grows tight, but he doesn’t have a response for me.
I curse loudly, wishing I had my phone so I could get ahead of this thing. But no, I thought it was a good idea to leave it with Janie, who should have been here ten minutes ago. Cursing again, I start pacing only for Donovan to step into my path and stop me.
“Hey,” she says and holds her hands up like I’m a wild animal. She’s pale, a tremor in her fingers, and I can’t imagine what she’s feeling right now. “Calm down.”
I choke out a laugh. “Calm down? Are you serious?”
