I would have put two and two together and figured out who she was. I guess I’m kind of stunned like that, and really, I never really paid much attention to the excitement in the air or the endless chatter about the movie.
No, these days I keep my head down; my only goal is to work hard and save harder. My plan is to save enough money to afford my own building and purchase top notch equipment for the kids who take my martial arts training classes. The one I’m in now could be taken right out from underneath us, leaving us high and dry.
Still, I should have recognized her. I guess the fear in her eyes, combined with that heated kiss, messed a little with my ability for any rational thought. I stiffen, suddenly remembering the fear in her eyes. Was it my brother who rattled this famous movie star, or something else?
Haven’s smile is a bit shaky as she turns to Stacey, her shoulders not quite as tight as they were when she entered Winchester’s, but still tense. “That’s right. I’m here for the movie shoot. Nice to meet you all.” She jerks her thumb over her shoulder. “I should get going.”
She slowly inches away, but I capture her elbow. Her gaze flies to mine. “Are you okay?” I ask.
Her lashes flutter, and her body relaxes even more under my touch, and dammit if I don’t like that.
“Sorry about that,” she says. “It was a dare. It’s ah…” she rolls her eyes. “A stupid game we play when we reach a new location shoot. You know, pick the biggest, hottest guy in town and kiss him.”
Now why is it I don’t believe a word coming from her mouth? Her big as fuck, mean-ass brother is nothing but a liar, too. Well, not really. We all played the name calling game before a fight. We’d hurl shit against our opponents to excite our fans and build hype. The feud between Rock and me was legendary. We both could have won an Oscar for our out-of-ring performances. When we were in the ring, there was no acting, however. Nope, we were both playing to win, but in the end the motherfucker stole my title.
Instead of calling her on her lie, I say. “You think I’m the biggest, hottest guy in Blue Bay?”
Jared snorts. “She must have lost her glasses on her way in here.”
I kick my brother’s boot and he’s about to stand when our oldest brother Sean raises his hand. “Don’t you two start.”
“I…I should go,” Haven says again.
I nod toward the door. “I’ll walk you out.”
“No need. Everything is fine. It’s not like anything bad ever happens in Blue Bay, right?” She gives a nervous little laugh. “No kidnappings or stalkers.” Her eyes go wide again, and she shuts her mouth like she’s said too much. For a girl who acts for a living, she’s not great at sticking to the script, because everything in me tells me she regrets everything that just spilled from her lips.
“Right, but I’ll walk you anyway,” I say, thinking back to the time Sean’s wife Summer was run off the road by her ex. Blue Bay is a small coastal town, but that doesn’t mean bad things don’t happen.
She puts her hand on my chest, and the heat from her touch sizzles through me. She tugs it away, and from the shocked look on her face, I can’t help but think it set off fireworks inside her, too. “No, it’s fine, really.”
I stand there, rocking on my feet for a second and she backs up, like she’s afraid I’m going to follow her. She grips the door and tugs it open. I glance past her shoulder to look for something, anything that might raise alarm bells in me, but she lets the door go and bolts.
“What the hell was that all about?” Sean asks.
I shake my head and tug on my hair. “Beats the hell out of me.” My boots pound the floor as I walk to the door, and pull it open. I catch a flash of her hair as she hurries down the sidewalk. Most of the trailers for the cast and crew are parked at the edge of town, not too far from the old homestead where we all live with Grandma Nellie. Except for Sean and Jamie. They have places on the water with their families.
That strange sense of longing is back in my gut as I think