Unravel Me (11 page)

“I’m not leaving you. Stop saying that.”

“You have to understand,” he paused, brushing his knuckles on my cheek, “my desire to protect you and keep you safe is important to me. I don’t want you turning to that prick for help.” His jaw tightened. “He doesn’t respect you. In his eyes, you’re nothing more than a prize to be won.”

I sank into the mattress, the weight of my guilt pressing heavily against me.

“You have a good heart. You want to see the light in everyone. If not for that, I probably wouldn’t be here with you. I’ve been shrouded in darkness for so long I didn’t know there was any light left. You saw it. You made me see it. But there isn’t any light in Nathan. He’s a con artist. He knows which strings to pull and if you’re not careful, he’ll play you right back into his arms.”

I bristled at his insinuation. “I’m not that easily manipulated, Alastair. I know his game, trust me. I can hold my own with him.”

“Retract those claws, kitten.” A cocky grin spread from ear to ear. “I come in peace.”

“And you say I have a smart mouth.”

He brushed the pad of his thumb along my lips, fixing a molten stare on me. “Your mouth is meant to be covered in my kisses.”

Love and lust pooled together in the pit of my stomach. Only one man could play me perfectly into his hands and I was already tangled in bed with him.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The plaza in front of the Amway Center teemed with people. Various radio station vans and television trucks were parked in the drop-off circle. Almost lost among them was a gunmetal gray Mercedes SUV. I stared at it, noticing the silhouettes of two grown men sitting in front.
Overprotective, party of one
. Shrugging off my annoyance at the adult babysitters, I turned my attention to Alastair and Stephanie. They were engaged in friendly conversation, thankfully.

“Looking forward to starting your new job?” Alastair asked her.

“Yeah. I’m nervous though. I’ve only done some freelance work on the side. This is, you know, the big time.”

“You’ll do fine. Sarah runs a great company and you’re part of one of the best graphic design teams in the UK.”

“Do you know what projects you’re going to work on yet, Steph?” I asked.

“Nope. They mentioned magazine advertisements to start but that could all change once I get there.” She shrugged. “They’ll probably put me on something low key to see if I know what I’m doing.”

“Maybe not,” Alastair said. “Sarah mentioned they just closed a deal with Summit Enterprises for their new ultra lounge called Pulse. It’s owned by Brent Garrison.” He looked in my direction. “I’m sure you remember meeting him.”

I did. Brent was around the same age as Alastair and successful in his own right in real estate. There was obvious tension between them thanks to Alastair’s previous relationship with his sister. Brent took it upon himself to enlighten me with some of the details while at the garden party last month. I still didn’t know exactly what happened and really had no interest in delving deeper into my boyfriend’s history of getting laid and discarding women when he ‘got what he wanted.’ But I knew now that side of him was triggered by his decision to avoid any and all emotional attachments. We’d obviously managed to make a breakthrough in that department, but his reputation still preceded him.

“You’ll most likely be working on that campaign,” Alastair concluded.

Stephanie’s eye widened. “Really? How do you know?”

“I know everything, Stephanie,” he smirked.

She rolled her eyes and elbowed me. “Seriously, with this one?”

“Welcome to my world,” I laughed.

“Do you have a place already lined up?” he asked, ignoring both of our comments.

“I’m staying with Darren for a bit until I get settled into the job and I’m confident they won’t fire me. Then I’ll probably look for my own place.”

“If you need help, I know a few realtors in the area who can find you something spacious without it costing an outrageous amount of money.”

Her eyes widened again. “Thanks, Alastair. I’ll keep that in mind.”

A tiny smile pulled at his mouth as he scanned the growing crowd. I had no idea what he was looking for. He’d been a little on edge all morning, which made me anxious. Even now, standing on the sidewalk in his designer jeans and pale gray Henley shirt, he looked uncomfortable.

A loud cheer erupted to our left. One of the radio stations started whipping everyone up into a frenzy by tossing out t-shirts and recruiting people for a game. It was rather basic. Contestants were blindfolded and had to throw a football into a garbage can. Out of the six people chosen, only one was lucky enough to have the ball land inside the can.

“Is that my girl, AG?”

Before I could turn to see who it was, a pair of strong arms lifted me off the pavement and spun me around once.

“Oh my gosh, Grant,” I exclaimed, giving him a big hug. “I haven’t seen you in ages. How are you?”

“Ah, you know, same old, same old. What about you?” He draped an arm across my shoulders. His dark chocolate skin was warm against mine.

“Nothing too exciting. My parents are visiting so we’re taking them to the game.” I motioned toward my best friend. “You remember Stephanie?”

“Absolutely. How are you, beautiful?”

Stephanie grinned and shook his hand.

“And this is—”

“Alastair Holden. Good to meet you, Grant.” His introduction was more professional than friendly. A look of surprise flashed on Grant’s face.

“Uh, wow. Wasn’t expecting to run into the big boss today,” he laughed, extending his hand.

Alastair shook it, studying him with a cool, dispassionate gaze.

I gave him a look. “Grant is the sports producer at WTDO.”

“If this is your first time at an arena football game, you picked a good one. These two teams don’t like each other so it’ll be an exciting one to watch. They don’t call it the War on I-4 for nothing.”

Thawing out a little, Alastair grinned. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Alright, I should get inside.” Grant gave me a quick squeeze good-bye. “Great seeing you, AG. Nice to meet you, Mr. Holden.”

Stephanie waited until he was out of earshot before snickering. “Mr. Holden. I’m sorry, that’s hilarious.”

“You find my employee’s respect amusing?” he lifted a brow.

“No. It’s just funny to hear people refer to you so properly. I mean, you’re Alastair, the guy my best friend tripped and fell into. You’re not,” she made air quotes, “Mr. Holden.”

“I’m not?”

“Ugh, you’re so stuffy and British. Loosen up,” she chided.

Running an index finger across his lips, he smiled. “Stuffy and British. Where have I heard that before?” Tilting his head, he eyed me with delight.

“See?” I poked him in the side. “I’m not the only one.”

“The two of you share the same brain,” he said dryly. “I thought one smart mouth was bad enough.”

Stephanie and I exchanged glances and laughed. I liked teasing him, especially when I had a partner in crime to add to the fun. Maintaining his cool-as-ice demeanor, Alastair shook his head and continued scanning the crowd.

“I’m gonna go check out what that radio station is doing. Be right back.” Stephanie bounded off in the direction of the large crowd.

I sidled up close to Alastair, placing my hands on his waist. It was like touching marble.

“You okay, chief?”

“Yes.”

I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. “Can I ask a favor?”

He stared at me blankly, not moving or answering.

“I would really appreciate it if you told Paxton and that other guy to take the afternoon off. They could go to Disney World or something.”

The muscle in his jaw twitched. I knew he hated this.

“They’re here for your protection.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “But you’re here with me. And my parents are on their way. I just…it would mean a lot to me if their first time meeting you didn’t include a private security team tailing us.”

He scanned my face with eyes as hard as granite. Getting him to back down was going to take a huge effort on my part.

“No.”

Swallowing back a bitter response, I looked away. His whole demeanor was off-putting and this just added to my annoyance. Lacing my fingers through his, I gave his hands a quick squeeze.

“Please. Just for today.”

“Lia, don’t argue with me. You’re being followed. They stay.”

My temper flared. “By a tabloid reporter, not a psychopath.”

Tension from our combined stubbornness blossomed and spread around us. He was immoveable but so was I.

“They. Stay,” he said through clenched teeth. “This discussion is over.”

The finality of his words shackled me. I didn’t like feeling as though I’d been backed into a corner. That was usually when my claws came out.

“Jackass,” I snapped.

“Feel better now that you’ve gotten that off your chest?”

“Do not stand there and make a joke out of this. You’re being ridiculous. I don’t need baby-sitters. I’m about two seconds away from telling all three of you to get back on your goddam plane and leave.”

Softening his expression marginally, he bowed his head. “You have to trust me,” he said. “I’m not doing this to be difficult. I’m doing this to keep you safe.”

A cold chill swept through my body. Much like last night, I had a feeling he wasn’t telling me everything. The way he looked at me pretty much confirmed my suspicions.

“Hey you two, look who I found.” Stephanie’s sing-song voice sliced through the murky gloom hovering over us. My parents stood next to her, beaming at me. Flashing my biggest, brightest smile I hugged them.

“Ready for some football, kiddo?” my dad asked, ruffling my hair. I laughed. That gesture drove my sister crazy but I didn’t mind it.

“Not really.”

“I’m ready for the air conditioning,” my mom stated, fanning herself. “How do you put up with all this heat?”

“I only go outside early in the morning or late at night,” I joked.

Their attention turned toward Alastair, the lone stranger in the group. He waited patiently to be introduced, studying them in the same guarded, curious way he’d done when we met. I took a deep breath.

“Uh, Mom, Dad, this is Alastair.”

His abrupt switch from stony to charming was lightning fast. As many times as I’d seen it, I was still amazed at how smoothly the mask morphed from ‘don’t talk to me’ to ‘tell me your life story,’ especially around people he met for the first time. His expertise at showing only what others needed to see was second to none.

“Alastair Holden,” he smiled, extending his hand. “Pleasure to meet you both.”

The accent alone did it for my mother. I thought glitter and stars were going to burst from her eyes.

“Joseph.” My dad shook his hand. “This is my wife Lillian. My daughter tells us you’re from Scotland?”

“England, actually. I moved to Scotland several years ago to work for my grandfather’s company.”

“Family business, huh? What do you specialize in?”

And just like that my dad and Alastair spent the next half hour talking about market analysis, financial projections and other sleep-inducing topics. Thankfully, the suite was stocked with food and beverages. Stephanie, my mom and I snacked on raw vegetables and cookies.

“Those two hit it off,” Stephanie remarked.

“Yeah. My dad can talk the ears off a deaf person. I’m not surprised.”

“He seems like a nice young man, Lia. A little shy but nice.”

“Shy?” I laughed at my mother. “Alastair is many things. Shy is not one of them.”

“I have to agree with her on that, Mrs. M. I prefer to say he’s—”

“Stuffy and British,” we said in unison.

“You girls,” she shook her head. We settled into our seats and watched some of the game. A loud cheer erupted as the Orlando Predators scored a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Storm. I looked over to my right to see if my dad and Alastair were still chatting. They were. I was floored by how at ease he seemed to be with my family. His whole demeanor, though guarded, was friendly and approachable. Our eyes met briefly. As frustrating as he could be at times, he still took my breath away.

Images of our rendezvous on the kitchen table filled my mind. His sounds, movements and the way he kissed me all flashed through my memory. An ache steadily grew at my core. I parted my lips slightly in order to get more oxygen. Alastair’s eyes darkened as he watched me.

“Lia.”

I jumped, whipping my head around to see what my mother wanted.

“Do you know where the ladies’ room is?”

“Uh, yeah. Down the hall to the left.”

“Thanks.”

“You have that deer in headlights look again,” Stephanie whispered after my mom walked away. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good.”

She looked at me skeptically. “If you say so. Oh! So, Friday night. We have the VIP section reserved, right? I think the entire staff from ShortCuts is coming.” Her whole face lit up talking about the upcoming going away party. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Alastair stand up and pull his cell phone out of his pocket. He scowled at the screen. My heart sank.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to take care of something,” he told my father. Stopping next to my chair, he tilted my chin up and brushed his thumb over my lips. The small, intimate gesture was just enough to let me know our heated discussion was a distant memory. I smiled, comforted by the warm glow in his eyes.

His phone rang, putting an end to our little moment. Answering with a gruff, “Holden,” he walked out.

My dad came over and sat with us.

“All done talking his ear off?” I teased.

“He’s very personable. Smart, too. To be that young and run a successful worldwide company is impressive. I don’t know how you kids do it these days. I’m tired just thinking about it.”

“Oh, stop,” I laughed. “You wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if you ever retired.”

“I did retire.”

“Yeah but then you started doing consulting work. Mom is right. You have busy bee syndrome.”

My mother rejoined us a couple minutes later. “You finally let that poor boy out of your clutches, Joe? I saw him in the hallway on the phone. I hope he’s not working on a Saturday.”