With Me in Seattle Bundle One (131 page)

And then it hits me. “You’re Lori Fitzgerald!”

“Yeah.” She smiles shyly.

“‘Some modeling,’ huh?” I ask with my tongue in my cheek. “That’s like saying I do some breathing.”

Lori laughs. “Well, I guess that’s true.”

“Hey, guys.” Another woman enters the room, consulting an iPad gripped in her hand, not looking up. She’s clearly used to being around famous people.

Thank God.

“I’m glad you’re all here.” She scowls at Leo, but he just stares her down, unflinching.

Leo Nash doesn’t apologize for being late.

A photographer joins her and begins snapping photos of the guys where they are, getting ready for the shoot, talking to each other.

And me, standing next to Leo and Lori.

“Why is that man taking my picture?” I ask, my bitch voice on full throttle.

“He’s taking candids for the spread,” the woman answers me. “I’m Melissa, the publicist for Nash.”

She eyes me for a moment, and then her blue eyes go wide. “Oh my God, you’re Luke Williams’ sister!”

And just like that, my walls go up and I school my features, pull away from Leo and clench my hands into fists. Luke Williams’ sister. No name of my own.

“I haven’t given anyone permission to take my photo.”

Melissa looks to Leo for guidance, but he just shrugs. “She’s right. It’s her call.”

“Are you two an item?”

“No!” I say.

“Yes,” Leo says.

Leo scowls at me. “We are.”

“Holy shit, this is a scoop!” Melissa moves in, and I bare my teeth.

“I am not answering questions. I do not want my photo in this spread. Not one goddamn word, do you understand me?”

She comes to an abrupt stop and frowns. “You dated Scott Parker, didn’t you?”

“You did?” Lori asks, her voice impressed.

“No comment,” I reply and wish with all my might that I wasn’t here. What was I thinking taking an interview in LA? I can’t move here.

“Hey.” Leo turns me around and hugs me, but I stay stiff as a board. “Sam, stop this.”

“Do your interview, take your pictures, and get me the fuck out of here.” I glare at him for a moment and then soften. He didn’t do this on purpose. He just wanted me with him.

I take a deep breath, my back to the rest of the room, facing Leo. He’s frowning, but his eyes are full of worry, not anger. I shake my head and grip his hands tightly in mine.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I just don’t want my picture in this spread.”

“Done,” he replies and kisses my forehead. “Her photo does not appear in this spread.”

Melissa bristles. “But this is a major scoop, Leo.”

“I don’t give a fuck. Unless you want to lose your job, you’ll leave her out of it.”

“Or we leave,” Eric agrees quietly.

For the first time since Melissa walked in the room, I glance around at the other guys. They’re all glaring at her.

“You’re not TMZ,” Lori reminds her.

“Fine,” Melissa snaps, glaring daggers into me. “Let’s do this.” She turns her back, and her heels click across the floor as she walks into the studio.

“She’s a bitch,” Lori whispers and winks at me.

“I’m not a fan of the press.”

“Yet you work in the industry.” Leo shakes his head and laughs at me.

“I am an editor for lifestyle magazines, not rags,” I clarify.

“So, you dated Scott?” Lori asks, catching my attention again.

“Briefly, a long time ago,” I murmur so Melissa and the interviewer she’s speaking with can’t hear me.

“He’s hot.”

“He’s an asshole.” I grin sweetly. “No matter how wholesome and sweet he wants everyone to think he is.”

“I knew it!” Lori laughs. “No one is that put together.”

“You have no idea.”

Leo is watching us quietly and catches my eye. I shrug.

“Let’s go, guys!” Melissa calls. “We’ll be out of here in thirty.”

“Famous last words,” Lori mutters and lowers herself into a chair as the guys move into the studio for photos and to answer questions. “Sit with me.”

“Okay.” I join her and watch the flashes go off in the other room.

“How long?” she asks, her eyes also on the studio.

“A few weeks.”

She nods. “These guys aren’t easy. Sexy as all-get-out, but not easy.”

“Are guys ever easy?” I ask with a laugh.

“Good point,” she agrees.

“Do you two have a past?” I ask calmly.

She glances at me and back over to the men. “No. It’s always been Gary for me. We’re good friends.” She sobers again. “He’s different, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Well, then.” She exhales and smiles at me while she rubs her belly. “Welcome to the clan.”

***

“When are we heading back to Seattle?” I ask Leo when we are in his car, heading back toward the freeway.

“Thursday morning, why?”

“Do you have your heart set on going to the pier?” I turn in my seat to watch his face. I just enjoy watching him.

He glances over at me and then back to the street. “Do you have something else in mind?”

“I’d love to spend time at the beach, but I’d rather it was more private.” I smile at him and run my fingertips up and down his thigh.

“Hmm, private, huh?” He grins and slips his sunglasses on. “I know a spot.”

“Great.”

He guides the car onto the freeway, and less than twenty minutes later, we’re in his driveway.

“Well, this would be private,” I murmur and grin up at him as he helps me out of the car.

“As private as it gets around here.”

“Do you actually own a piece of the beach?” I ask, excited to get down to the water.

“Yeah, I could have bought a small Third World country for what it cost me, but it’s pretty great.”

I start to walk around the house, but he stops me. “Let’s go through the house.”

“I want to go down to the water.”

“So impatient.” He smiles at me and leads me inside. “We need a few things.”

“Such as?”

“A blanket.” He winks, and my stomach clenches, and the cute little pink thong I wore with these khakis is immediately soaked. One look from this man, and I’m a puddle.

God, I love it.

“Let’s go.” I’m practically jumping up and down with excitement.

“You don’t get to the beach often, do you, sunshine?”

“It’s January, Leo. I believe it was forty degrees and raining when we left Seattle. It’s seventy-five and gorgeous here. Hell yes, I want to go walk on the beach.”

“You can leave your shoes up here. The sand is soft.” He takes my hand in his and leads me down a wooden staircase to the soft white sand below. The water here is so different from the north coast.

“You’d never imagine this is the same ocean,” I murmur and happily breathe in the ocean air.

“Pretty different.” He nods, watching the waves crash on the shore. It’s a picturesque day, sunny and warm, the water fairly calm. The beach is empty.

“Let’s go.”

Leo drops a thick blanket onto the sand and leads me down to the shoreline.

“It’s gonna be cold!” I squeal and step into the warm water. “Oh, it’s like bathwater.”

I jog in place, enjoying the feel of the water on my feet, ankles and legs and kick and splash around, until I realize I’m frolicking like a loony tune, all alone. I stop and look around and find Leo about twenty feet behind me, his arms crossed over his bare chest, sunglasses down over his eyes, and a wide smile across his face.

“Aren’t you coming in?” I ask.

“I don’t think you play very often,” he comments and joins me in the warm water.

“You do?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

“Not as often as I should,” he agrees and pulls me to him. “I love watching you like this, happy and smiling.”

He lifts me into his arms, and he doesn’t just kiss me, he possesses me. Consumes me.

Finally, he allows me to slide down his body, my feet splashing back in the water.

“Let’s walk.” I grab his hand and pull him down the shoreline, splashing my feet in the water as we walk.

“Talk to me about Parker.” His voice is quiet but strong. He’s not going to allow me to evade or give him half answers.

Hell, I wouldn’t either.

“He was in the
Nightwalker
movies with Luke. He played the older brother,” I begin and watch the white foam on the waves.

“Yes, I remember who he is. How did you become involved with him?” he asks.

“Are you going to get all jealous and stupid?” I ask him, only half-joking.

“No, but I have a feeling this might explain quite a bit.”

It’ll explain some of my baggage, but not all of it. I’ll tell him this. I’m not ready for the rest yet.

“I went on location for about a week with Luke when they were filming. Scott was cute. I was stupid.” I shrug. “You know how it is.”

“And then?” he asks.

Damn him.

“And then we dated for a while. The movies were ridiculously popular. Well, you remember.” I roll my eyes at him. “Scott just loved the attention. He couldn’t be any more different from Luke if he tried. He also hated it that Luke was the one who got most of the attention because he was the lead, and the one all the stupid teenyboppers were hot after.”

I shake my head and hop over a piece of driftwood.

“Anyway, I knew relatively quickly that he and I weren’t going to last long. He’s way too egotistical for me, way too self-centered. But I was suddenly caught up in the whole media storm that came with those guys at the time. Poor Luke.” I stop and face the water, staring out at the sun beginning to sink into the horizon. The sky is turning pink and orange, but all I see is my poor young brother in my head.

“Women would chase him, literally chase him, down the street. They’d find ways to sneak into his hotel rooms. Offer blow jobs for phone numbers.”

“Sounds like groupies.” Leo smirks, and I nod.

“Yeah, except these groupies were thirteen, fourteen years old.”

“Fuck,” Leo murmurs.

“Exactly.” I rub my face with my hands and push them through my hair. “Leo, I don’t know how many young girls claimed they were pregnant and that Luke was the father.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Nope.” I shake my head and laugh ruefully. “He, of course, never touched one of them, but that didn’t stop the accusations. Anyway, we were all chased all over the place during filming, and during the whole five years or so that the movies were popular. Well,” I amend and offer him a small smile, “not me so much, because after about six months, I broke it off with Scott and went home. But in those six months we were hounded every day. Paparazzi in our faces, whether we were out in public or not.”

I shrug, and we start walking again.

“That’s not really what my life is like, Sam.” Leo’s voice is calm, and his hands are in his pockets as he walks beside me.

“I know it’s not quite the same, but you’re still recognized all the time. We couldn’t even take a regular plane to get here.”

He frowns. “What are you saying?”

“I’m just telling the story. You asked,” I remind him, and he nods. “Let’s back up. So while we were still together, Scott and I were out for lunch one day, and the paparazzi found us, as usual. They wouldn’t stop asking questions, taking pictures, you know. And it pissed us both off, but Scott didn’t want to cause a scene and ruin his squeaky clean reputation. I didn’t give a fuck.”

“Sounds like you,” he murmurs with a smile.

“Well, I should have kept my mouth shut. They hounded us the rest of the day. Ended up causing a small car accident.”

“Hold it.” He pulls me to a stop, his hand on my arm. “Did you get hurt?”

“No.” I shake my head. “But it scared me. And it pissed Scott off.”

“It should have.” He’s so angry on my behalf, and I just want to kiss him.

“No, he was pissed at me,” I clarify.

“For what?”

“For not keeping my mouth shut. According to him, it was my fault.”

“Motherfucker son of a bitch!”

God, he’s hot when he’s angry.

“Yeah, that’s why I broke it off. And then a few years later was the suicide incident in Luke’s house not too far from here.”

He sighs deeply and pulls me into his arms, rocking me back and forth, his hands rubbing up and down my back.

I feel so safe with him.

“Let’s sit on our blanket and watch the sunset,” he murmurs into my ear and pulls away to lead me over to the blanket in the sand.

We spread it out and plop down in the middle, leaning on each other, not saying anything as we watch the sun begin to sink into the water.

“I love the water here,” I comment.

“Me, too, but honestly, I’ll take Seattle over this any day of the week.”

“Really?” My startled gaze finds his.

“Yeah, I guess I didn’t realize until I’d spent the past few months there how homesick I’ve been.”

“I like it when you’re in Seattle, too,” I whisper, tracing the tats on his hand with my fingertip.

“Do you?” He kisses my head.

“Yeah.”

He tips my head back with his fingertip, his gorgeous gray eyes the color of the ocean in the setting sun, and I’m completely caught up in him.

I fucking love this man.

Chapter Seventeen

My eyes drop to the piercing in his lip, and he leans in and gently sweeps his lips over mine.

“You are so sweet,” he whispers and sinks into me, his hands pushing into my hair, holding me to him.

I moan softly as he pushes me onto my back in the soft sand, protected by the blanket. He lies over me completely, we’re still in our clothes, and he just kisses me, brushes my hair from my face, and then pulls up, just a few inches, and smiles down at me.

“You’re going to get cold,” I whisper and rub his warm back with my hands. I love the way his smooth skin feels.

“I’m fine,” he murmurs and shakes his head. “You smell so good.”

“So do you.” I smile shyly and nuzzle his nose with mine. “You’re still wearing pants.”

“Do they offend you?” he asks with a chuckle.

“Yes, I’m horribly offended.” I give him a mock glare and shove my hands between his underwear and the skin of his ass. “I love your ass.”

“I love your ass, too. And it’s still covered.”