She hadn’t spotted Rob yet, but it was clear he was close – and he could see her. She felt a bit like a gazelle being toyed with by a lion. What was his move here? Was he there purely because of her, or was he just using her proximity to mess with her head? Because he could. CCTV or not, he also knew Hannah well enough to realize that she wouldn’t have followed through on that threat. But what was his endgame? Did she have actual reason to be afraid of him? She turned her attention back to the red carpet and saw Ward glancing in her direction, even as the glare of the overhead spotlights obscured her in shadow. Offering what she hoped was a winning smile, she flashed an awkward thumbs-up and encouraging shake of her head.
But his eyes trailed from her gaze and turned toward the press tent entrance whereupon his expression darkened. Whatever distracted half-smile he had been wearing a moment before instantly disappeared.
Hannah furrowed her brow. He needed to snap out of it. OK, so he hated this stuff and was likely now tired of all the calling and requests to turn this way and that, but the red carpet crawl was two minutes at most. Any good pictures already taken were surely going to be overshadowed by him looking like he was ready to spit nails.
And the media noticed.
Ward looked pissed so the cameras urgently snapped with even more abandon. The sports reporters in particular knew that glare, typically reserved for when WildCat McKenzie dropped the mitts and decided to throw an opponent into the boards.
Even as his red carpet companion continued to smile and pose, oblivious to the change in mood, it was obvious that something behind the press line had stolen his attention.
Come on, Ward. Don’t do this to me now.
Hannah’s anxiety intensified as he continued to glower at something unseen.
‘What’s going on with Ward, Hannah?’ one of the events team asked.
Distracted, she turned to face the guy, readying herself to give some sort of halfway believable excuse, like he was just tired or his knee was giving him trouble. She opened her mouth to speak, trying her best to think on her feet and cover for him – but before she could form a syllable, her attention was once again directed elsewhere.
A hand on her elbow and the grip was commanding … demanding.
Hannah didn’t need to turn to figure out who the hand belonged to.
She jerked her elbow away from Rob as if his touch had just burned her skin. He wore the same winning smile typically reserved for the cameras, but his eyes danced with malicious pleasure.
‘What are youdoinghere?’ she asked, all the while trying to appear natural and unaffected. The last thing she needed now was to sully Ward’s press with her dramas.
‘Thought I might find you here,’ he replied with faux sincerity. He cast a glance toward the step where Ward stood, frozen in place. His right arm had since dropped from Shelley’s waist and she too seemed to be trying to make sense of the sudden change in mood. Her eyes flittered nervously from him to the press line and then back to the calling photographers.
Rob narrowed his eyes at Ward as if sensing the challenge. ‘Looks like lover-boy is a little jealous … ’
Hannah felt confusion flood her brain. But Ward had no idea that she and Rob were even connected. Her ex hadn’t introduced himself that morning on the phone and Hannah had never mentioned it either. Had she?
What in the world … ?
She snapped to attention as she felt the eyeballs of others move in their direction. The press had also seemed to realize the subject of Ward McKenzie’s ire was none other than another celebrity attendee, pro golfer, Rob Kendrick. And wait … wasn’t McKenzie’s publicist the same one Kendrick had kissed on camera at that golf tournament earlier this year?
The flashing cameras suddenly began to zero in on them too, as if sensing that something was going down.
‘Rob,’ Hannah hissed at him, trying to keep her face calm, ‘thisisnotappropriate, you know that. You can’t possibly want press so badly that—’
But he closed what little space there was between them and rested his hand on her lower back, non-too-gently pulling her closer.
‘It’s not polite to avoid my messages,’ he spat through gritted teeth, and seeing the dark glint in his eyes, Hannah felt very afraid.
She felt the heat of the flashing lights on her and her vision blurred as her composure slipped. She instinctively stood back from Rob, trying to extricate herself from his grip, but to no avail. The clutch she was holding for Shelley slipped down her arm and the motion also dislodged the pile of one-sheets from her hand, which scattered to the carpet beneath her feet. Far from releasing his hold on her, he roughly jerked her back.
‘Rob, please—’ But before Hannah could utter another word, she was swiftly released from her ex’s tight grip.
‘Get your hands off her.’ As if out of nowhere, Ward was there grabbing Rob’s arm and yanking it off her.
Her ex flew backwards and momentarily stumbled, before righting himself and looking around, trying to assess who in the crowd might have seen him being manhandled. He quickly got his answer as a wave of cameras flashed in unison – lenses suddenly trained away from the red carpet and right in his direction.
‘You OK?’ Ward muttered but Hannah was still too dazed to reply. Ward had placed himself directly in front of her, blocking her from Rob, and the golfer immediately recognized the square off. He jutted his chin in response, but it was evident that he had not anticipated such a public showdown. Her ex thrust his chest out defensively, trying to look bigger than he was. While both men were professional athletes, Ward was built for physicality andaltercation. After all, it wasn’t as if golfers were ever encouraged to develop a gloves-off mindset while on the links.
Rob sniffed sarcastically. ‘What’s it to you, McKenzie? Can’t see how this is any ofyourbusiness.’ He glanced over to where Shelley stood, still rooted in the spot at the red carpet side of the media line, all press attention now turned in the other direction. ‘And why would a dude who can pullthatsort of tail worry aboutthis?’ He pointed a finger at Hannah and snorted a derisive laugh. ‘Unless … ’ he added nastily, clearly for the benefit of the rapt media present, ‘is little Miss Hannah another side piece then? Mixing work and pleasure like she’s known to do. Get paid and get laid? I should have figured …’
‘Keep her name out of your mouth, asshole … ’ Ward glowered. He turned back to check on Hannah who remained there shocked and speechless, her face painted a deep crimson.
