They nearly made it to the end of the line, she could see him now chatting it up with fans, signing things, and giving Tanner a load of shit about something. Her heart thu-thunked in her chest.
“Time to put the plan in action,” Becca whispered.
Irina nodded, pulled out her phone, and dialed his number.
She frowned as she went straight to voicemail.
She turned off the call, her heart sinking a little that he hadn’t picked up right away. This would’ve been better if he picked up like she’d planned.
Fudge. She’d just have to go with plan B.
But just as she started to dial Bax, the current slew of fans moved on and Knox stepped back from the table, pulled his cell from his pocket, and smiled the kind of smile that made her all kinds of warm inside.
Her phone chimed with an incoming text:
Knox:Signing shit. Call in 30?
She tapped out a message back, pulling her lip between her teeth.
Irina:That’s not going to work for me.
He frowned, pushed buttons on his phone, and her screen lit up. But she was already at the table, so she shouted to him in a French accent, “Sir, I believe it’s my turn?”
That’s when he looked up from his phone, met her gaze, grinned like he’d won the lottery, and practically pole-vaulted over the table to her.
There was crashing and some shouting. Tanner yelled something along the lines of, “What the fuck?”
She missed quite a bit of the ruckus given that his mouth was on hers, and she was welcoming the kiss. Yes, she sort of missed the rest of the chaos, but there were definitely some catcalls, security got involved, and Knox held her tight, holding her face close to his.
“You’re here,” he said, holding her face with his hands.
“That’s a helluva hello,” she said against his mouth.
Cameras were clicking away in the background, but neither of them cared.
“This is way better than anything I could’ve imagined,” Courtney said from somewhere in the distance.
“I did not expect the table jump,” Becca added. “I don’t think Linx would’ve jumped over a table for me."
“I totally would’ve,” Linx said from somewhere nearby. “You want me to do it now?”
“Did Courtney know about this?” Knox asked, peppering Irina’s face with more kisses.
“Who do you think bought me the sweatshirt?” Irina looped her arms around his neck, and let him nuzzle her.
They got the table righted, he finished signing things, but insisted she stay right beside him while he finished. When the line was done, Courtney handed him a note and a set of keys.
“You’ve got reservations in thirty at this restaurant. I’ve already tipped off the paparazzi so they will be meeting you there. Smile lots.” She pointed to Knox. “Kiss her.”
He did just that.
“I meant in front of the photographers?” Courtney said the words as though she was rolling her eyes.
“Right,” Knox said.
“Right,” Irina said.
“Don’t lose the photographers, okay?” Courtney asked. “But give them a little chase so it looks real.”
