Jade’s cheeks burned.
“Just be careful,” her mother said.
“I will. I’d like to say it was great spending time with you this afternoon but…” She shrugged. “I’m outta here.”
“Where are you going?” Connor demanded.
Jade rose from the couch and slapped her hands on her hips. “Seriously, bro, you are so uptight. When was the last time you got any action? Do you need to go to that house in town with the red light outside? Maybe someone can loosen you up a little.”
Their mother sighed. “Why must you have these conversations when I’m around?”
“Because every time I do something, we seem to need a freaking family meeting.” Jade left with Connor scowling, her mother shaking her head, and Kaitlin grinning like a lunatic.
Chapter 18
A balmy breeze tussled Jade’s hair as she walked to her house. As she rounded the corner of her street, a group of journalists stood on her lawn. She quickly turned to go back the way she’d came, but they spotted her before she could take two steps. A ring of people with microphones and cameras hurried over to her, pointing them at her face. The bright light blinded her, and she held up her hand to shield her eyes.
“Jade, tell us how you met Nathan Harvey.”
“How long have you been seeing each other?”
“He’s never gone public with a relationship before. Does this mean you two are serious?”
“How does it feel to be the envy of thousands of women around the world?”
One after another they fired questions at her. She spun around in circles, searching for a gap to squeeze through to make a bolt for her house, but they closed in tight, giving her no room to breathe.
“Get the fuck away from her,” said a menacing voice, one she recognized well, and she wanted to sag with relief.
Keeping his head low, and wearing a black cap and dark sunglasses even though the sun had just sunk behind the mountains, Nate elbowed and barged his way through the wall of people, grabbed her by the hand, and pushed his way out of the crowd. Once free from the cage, they made a run for Nate’s car parked on an angle on the road like he’d just stopped it in the middle of the street in his rush to get to her. The group followed close behind as they dived into the car. Nate had left it running, and they burned out of there before anyone reached them.
“Those people are fucking arseholes.” Nate slammed his hand against the steering wheel. “Are you okay?”
“Yes-s.” Her teeth chattered and her body shook as if she were cold when outside was a warm, summer evening.
He shot a quick glance in her direction. “Shit.” He pulled over into a small parking area on the side of the road. “You’re shaking and as white as a sheet.”
“Unfortunately, that’s j-just my n-natural complexion.” She tried to smile but her lips wobbled.
He threw off his hat and glasses, pulled her as close as he could with the car’s console between them, and rubbed her arms, trying to warm her up. “I think it’s a little more than that. You’re so white even your freckles have disappeared.”
“I told you I’ve spent a lot of money trying to hide those things. Who knew all I needed was a run-in with the media to get the job done?” The shaking eased, and her body was warming up. It felt so good being wrapped in his arms. “Won’t they wonder who came to my rescue?”
“I’ll have someone leak it was your overprotective brother. That’s easy enough to believe.” He tried to smile but failed. “I’m sorry this is happening to you.”
“It’s not your fault. Why were you at my house?” she asked.
“I knew they’d still be hanging around and that you would walk into…well, exactly what you did. I wanted to pick you up before you got home, but I was too late. I arrived just as they surrounded you.” His harsh tone belied the gentle stroking along her arm.
She sighed with pleasure, the tension slowly easing from her body. “You said it will blow over soon. Do you really think that will happen?”
“Yeah, I do. But the next couple of days will be a lot like what you’ve experienced today.” The dashboard lights illuminated the frown on his face.
“Maybe I’m the one who needs to wear a disguise now. I’ve always wanted to be blonde. I hear they have more fun.” She laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
He twisted a curl around his finger and gently tugged so her face drew closer, their lips almost touching. “I love your hair. There’s no chance in hell you’re covering it up. It’s fucking sexy when it’s wild and crazy. Makes me imagine all the ways I can mess it up.” His eyes flashed heat.
The tremble of her heart vibrated behind her ribs. He loved her hair. No man had ever said that before. If Nate kept saving her from creeps and sweet-talking her like that, she could easily fall for him. But she couldn’t let that happen, so she did the next best thing—kissed him.
