“Honestly?”
“Always.”
“I want to spend the day with you doing whatever it is you want. Show me your life.”
I kissed her on the tip of her nose and held out my hand. “That I can do. Just remember, you asked for this.”
Her eyebrows crinkled and she leaned back eyeing me before sliding her hand into mine. “I’m not sure what I just got myself into.”
19
Bay
Sweat poured down my face. “This wasn’t what I had in mind.”
Keyton laughed, whirring away on the rowing machine beside me. “I know, but it helps me start my day off right. Although I normally do it before breakfast.”
He’d shown me to his gym after we ate. My protests about not having shoes for exercising had been killed when a man in a hotel uniform showed up at his front door with a pair of sneakers and fluffy socks. A perfect fit. Dammit! My backpedal about doing everything he’d normally do in a day hadn’t worked.
Stupid full service hotel, even to people on the residence side. The hotel was split in two, with the residences and the hotel rooms only linked through a doorway in the lobby.
“I thought it might be easier than you going back to your suite where Holden or Emily might find one of the thousand things on your schedule to sidetrack our day.” There was a shyness to his words.
It was a sweet shyness that made me want to jump on him. He didn’t want me to leave as much as I didn’t want to leave. There was no doubt that if I showed up back in the suite, an emergency meeting, conference call, fitting, or something else equally not-as-important-as-this-day issue would arise. It was better to leave my phone off and not turn it on until the clock struck twelve—or six AM, in my case.
“Good idea, but the thirty-seven pieces of bacon may have been a mistake.” The workout was on par with what my trainer usually put me through, but then I didn’t have a hearty breakfast with syrup chugging through my veins. The salty deliciousness was kicking my ass right now.
His machine beeped in triumphant completion of his workout.
Mine slipped into the cool down. I had to admit, working out with him beat the sessions alone with my trainer or on the treadmill in the wings of the arenas before a show or a hotel gym.
My machine slowed to a crawl reminiscent of stepping off a moving sidewalk in an airport. Relief swept over me. I wanted to flop to the floor and kiss the non-moving ground.
He jumped up onto the treadmill and stepped up behind me, falling into perfect pace. His arms wrapped around me, resting on my hips and anchoring me to his chest. Lips tickled the shell of my ear, nearly knocking my legs out from under me when they turned to jelly. “Now…” The scruff from his morning stubble scraped against the side of my neck.
My breathing intensified like I was back at top speed.
He tapped the STOP button when I wanted to do anything but. “It’s time to get cleaned up.”
I whirled around and pushed his chest. “You tease.”
With a wink, he hopped off the treadmill and held his hand out for me. “Don’t pretend you don’t like it.”
That was beside the point, but I glared, mentally promising retribution later.
Our shower wasn’t quick or efficient. It was more languid and thorough. So thorough, I was happy for the heated marble bench inside and even happier for Keyton’s attention to detail when it came to soaping me up and down. Three times.
All thoughts of payback from earlier were gone with my fingers streaking across the shower tiles.
I repaid him, of course.
He groaned out my name with one hand braced on the glass and his fingers buried in my hair as he spilled into my mouth.
Toweling each other off was just as much fun as getting clean, but he put a moratorium on any more below-the-belt action until we’d successfully made it out of the apartment. My disappointment was edged out by curiosity at what we’d be doing today. My schedule normally involved being shuttled from place to place with a quick debrief before each call, interview, photoshoot. Today was a day of possibilities and excitement.
With even more deliveries from the hotel shop, I was outfitted for the day.
My disguise included a gray knitted hat, tortoise shell sunglasses big enough to cover half my face, a face-rubbingly smooth gray scarf, soft pink and gray sweater, jeans, and warm and comfy flats. “How do I look?”
He held onto me and stared at me with an emotion simmering beneath the surface.
All the electrifying feelings from the shower paled in comparison to the breath-stealing stare that traveled across time and space to solidify the rightness of this. Of today.
“You look perfect. We have six hours of sunlight and the city is ours to explore at your leisure.” He laced his fingers through mine and we walked out of his apartment.
The door slammed closed behind us and a needle of panic threatened to burst this happy little bubble we were in. It was the first time I’d been out without security or Holden in a long time. What if this all went south and someone recognized me? Drawing a crowd was once a worry I’d had. Would anyone show up to my shows? Now, drawing a crowd could mean danger, not just for me, but for others. Was this a stupid, irresponsible thing to do? Was I putting myself in harm’s way? More importantly, was I putting Keyton in harm’s way?
In the elevator, a man rushed for the slowly closing doors.
I shrank back against the wall willing myself to be invisible.
Keyton glanced back at me. The muscles in his neck flexed, not straining, but poised—ready.
Dual feelings of comfort and worry warred in my chest at the thought that he’d protect me and that he’d feel the need to.
The older gentleman glanced over with polite smiles for both of us and jabbed his finger into the button facing front with his newspaper in hand.
My heart skipped a few beats. Suddenly, I felt naked until Keyton edged in front of me, his arm brushing against my chest. The broadness of him shielded me.
The elevator stopped at the ground floor.
I held my breath, waiting for an onslaught. Instead, the doors opened to nothing out of the ordinary.
The older man tipped the paper toward us before stepping out. “Have a good day.”
A couple people waited outside for their chance to get in, but no one spared me a second glance. For so long I’d wanted to break out of the invisibility around me, but now the panic of being seen was a lot scarier.
Keyton took my hand and pulled me out of the elevator. “It’ll be okay.” He kissed me in a reassuring way that didn’t sound patronizing or like I was a complete moron for being afraid to go outside. “What do you want to do first?”
“We’re supposed to do what you do. If I’m with you, it’ll be a good day.”
On the other side of the lobby windows, people walked down the sidewalks in their light jackets and coats. Stores were open and people wandered in and out. Food trucks and carts dotted the street.
“And I wanted to do what you want to. Let me.”
My gaze narrowed hating his argument. I already felt selfish enough, but I didn’t want this to turn into a back and forth out in the open. My trainer would hate it and I’d pay for it with even more time on the treadmill, but why the hell not. “After working out, I feel we deserve a treat. Ice cream.”