a wave of laughter and clicking cameras. Tears streamed down my face as I stood, extending a hand to help him up. When he took it, I leaned back, bracing myself for his weight, but he tugged, pulling me down into him.
I squealed, giggling as he wiped his slippery face all over mine, trying to push him away, which was as fruitful as attempting to shove a brick wall. He buried his face in my neck, making chomping noises as water lapped at our legs.
His lips finally found mine, the kiss awkward, a little smelly, and broken by laughter.
The director and trainer helped us up, and I was thankful it had gotten a warmer, though we were still freezing. The trainer had the sea lions do a few more tricks, but the crowd was watching Tommy and me as we laughed through chattering teeth, wiping each other’s faces, fixing each other’s sopping jackets.
“I brought us clothes,” he said, smiling down at me.
“Oh, so they warned you?”
He shrugged. “I had my suspicions.”
I swatted his chest. “You could have warned me.”
But he laughed. “No way. I was banking on that look on your face when you thought I was cheating on you with a sea lion.”
“I was more concerned she was going to make a meal out of your face.”
“Psh, please. Charlie and I have a complicated relationship built on mutual respect. She’d never eat my face. Now, I might worry she’d mistake other parts of me were a minnow.”
“A minnow? Maybe a bull shark but definitely not a minnow.”
That earned me a full-blown throaty laugh that chased away the chill and kept it gone.
An hour later, we were changed and shaking hands with the director again. Tommy had thrown his damp hair into a careless knot at the nape of his neck, and I stared at the exposed skin, the knot of his Adam’s apple as he spoke.
I didn’t think there was a single stitch of skin on his body that wasn’t gorgeous, even his throat and the unassuming cords of his neck.
Ridiculous. Ri-goddamn-diculous.
We headed out of the office buildings, which were hidden in a quiet corner and away from the crowds. No one had seemed to follow us with the exception of a couple of photographers and Vivienne Thorne.
Tommy tensed when he saw her, pulling me closer. His arm around my shoulders was fiery iron.
We walked past her without acknowledgment.
Undeterred, she fell into step beside us. “Cute show. They’re eating you two up.”
“What do you want, Vivienne?” Tommy snapped without slowing our pace toward the exit.
“Oh, just wanted to say hello to the couple of the hour. The public can’t get enough of the Banes these days. Press is clamoring for all the details, especially about Mrs. Bane. Seems there’s not much to dig up.”
“And you won’t find anything past what we’ve already told you.”
She laughed. “Oh, come on, Tommy. Nobody’s that squeaky clean.”
I worried my bottom lip, hanging on to Tommy.
He squeezed me once. Don’t worry, the touch seemed to imply.
I would have laughed if I wasn’t so uncomfortable.
“What are the odds,” she started, “that sweet Amelia here has never had a boyfriend?”
I stiffened. She smiled. Tommy held me to him and picked up his pace.
“So a nobody blogger who’s never had a boyfriend ends up with Tommy Bane in a whirlwind romance twenty-four hours after he got arrested. Just seems a bit of a stretch, doesn’t it?”
“Well, lucky for us, we don’t need to convince anyone of anything,” Tommy shot.
“But what a story it would make if they found out the whole thing was a sham?”
“The fuck do I care what they think?” He gripped me tighter, holding me into his side like he wanted to absorb me.
“Oh, I think you care. In fact, I know you care.”
“You don’t know shit, Viv. You think you’ve got everything figured out. But what if you’re wrong?”
She lifted one shoulder in a carefree shrug. “Truth is, nobody cares if I’m wrong, not if they get a good story about it. You know that better than anyone, don’t you? Controlling the narrative is your favorite trick.”
“Well, gee, looks like you’ve got all the answers. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have anywhere to be but here.”
Vivienne ignored him, pinning me with a glare. “I know what you’re doing, Amelia. You think you’re the only one Janessa has tasked with getting this story? Once upon a time, it was me.”
Shock zipped down my spine. I glanced up at Tommy, who was firing daggers