If this kept up, the press would eat her alive.
They’d had a few awkward back-and-forth exchanges, to say the least, but this one was taking the cake. Granted, it seemed as if she was also keen on blaming the mountain air for their lip-lock situation. Brilliant, they were on the same page. That’s what it had to be. They’d ventured into a new town, and each had new endeavors on the horizon. It was bound to feel a bit unsteady.
It took time to get one’s bearings, right?
Oh, who was he kidding?
It didn’t matter how high up they were. He would have kissed her if they were ten thousand feet beneath the sea.
She turned toward him. With those sparkling eyes and kiss-swollen lips, an urge that had nothing to do with the altitude had him cupping her cheek in his hand. “Try not to worry about the media, plum. I’ll be out there with you. You won’t be alone.” His emotions were all over the bloody place—that is, until he touched her, and the energy that flowed between them smoothed out his jagged edges.
“Okay,” she whispered when the chorus of creaks and footsteps caught his attention, and they pulled apart.
“Augie and Luanne are here,” Sebastian reported, grinning from ear to ear, clearly amped up from the activity. “I met Luanne. Augie says she’s his friend, but I think she’s his girlfriend.”
“That’s enough of that, lad,” Augie teased in a dry tone, coming up the stairs with Luanne by his side.
The addition of Aug and Luanne begged another question.
What the hell were they doing here, and what exactly had Briggs scheduled?
Again, he wanted to punch himself in the mouth for blowing off those emails. He took in Aug’s rosy expression. The man hated pressers. He’d gotten damn good at them over the years, but that was only because everyone loved an old sourpuss. But today, he had a bona fide grin on his face. Then again, he’d never had Luanne by his side at one of these dog and pony shows.
“Briggsy’s about to blow a gasket. How much longer will you make them wait?” Augie harped.
There was the piss and vinegar trainer.
“Oh, give him a break, honey,” Luanne said with a pat on Augie’s arm. “How are you, Erasmus?” the woman continued. In khaki pants and a blue tunic with a straw hat covering her silver hair, Aug’s girlfriend looked the part of a seasoned geologist ready to venture into the field.
He embraced the woman. “It’s good to see you, Luanne. It appears you’ve met my son, Sebastian.”
“I showed Luanne Libby’s gemstone, and she knew it was aquamarine right off the bat,” Sebastian chimed, tittering with delight. “She didn’t have to look in a book or on the internet or anything. She said I was a budding something or other. What did you call me, Luanne?”
“A budding rockhound,” the woman replied, gifting Sebastian with a grin. “You’ll love this part of Colorado. There are rock and mineral treasures just about everywhere you look.”
Libby reached out to shake Luanne’s hand. “We haven’t met. I’m Libby Lamb the…”
“The spiritual advisor slash nanny,” Luanne interjected, sharing a look with Augie before shaking Libby’s hand. “Yes, Sebastian was telling us about this special yoga you two are doing up here.”
Special yoga? More like sucking face like horny teenagers.
It could be worse, though. At least Luanne didn’t ask if he was up here nursing a sour belly and farting up a storm.
“Yes, the special yoga! So very, very special,” Libby replied through a blush.
And the awkward meter had skyrocketed through the roof again.
He had to shift the subject from this special yoga to literally anything else. But what? His mind had gone blank.
Fall back on formality. You’re English. Use your bloody manners.
“Libby, you remember Augie from the night we agreed to…”
He shot a look at Sebastian, then met Libby’s gaze.
Crikey, so much for relying on pleasantries to introduce a neutral topic!
He should have asked about the blooming weather. Brits could go on and on about that subject. He sure as bloody hell couldn’t mention the whole vibrator debacle with Sebastian standing two feet away.
“Yes, I remember Augie,” Libby said, swooping in. “We met the night you and I agreed to represent Denver’s first responders in the Ass-in-Nine pack burro race. An event we absolutely weren’t coerced into doing under threat of prosecution.”
Oh, sweet Jesus.
“Well,” Luanne said, amusement sparkling in her eyes, “you both should be commended for caring about the community.”
“We’re happy to help,” he answered, plastering on a grin.
Yep, that’s it.
It was run with jackasses or face time in the slammer.
And, of course, Luanne knew everything. He’d be a fool to think Augie hadn’t mentioned the whole insane story to the woman. Then again, she’d probably seen the vibrator encounter. Most of the human race and a decent number of astronauts had viewed the viral video.
It was time to move on.
With the introductions made and no one dropping any vibrator talk, he turned to Augie. “What’s going on out there? Did Briggs tell you to be here for a PR thing?”
Aug and Luanne had left for his place in Aspen a few days ago, leaving him to train alone in Denver. The two hadn’t spoken in a few days. Still, the man hadn’t mentioned anything about coming to Rickety Rock today.
“Are you not reading those emails from Briggsy?” Aug huffed. “Why am I not surprised? It’s like you’ve been on another planet this past week,” the man shot back when, speak of the posh devil, Briggs Keaton sprinted up the stairs, mobile in hand.
“The mountain air is quite invigorating,” Briggs announced, sporting the least-mountainy outfit in his trademark three-piece suit as he surveyed the group. “Excellent, you’re looking terrific, champ. Aug, you don’t mind sitting this one out, do you?”
“I do not,” the trainer answered.
“And, Libby,” the agent continued, his attention bobbing between the nanny and his mobile. “It’s so good to see you. There’s already chatter, thanks to Sebastian, here. Social media is blowing up after only a few minutes.”
Social media’s blowing up?
He better not be trending because his son blurted out his dad was a bloody car farter!
“What do you mean? We just got here,” Libby asked, confusion marring her expression.
“It’s about you, Miss Lamb. Let’s walk and talk,” Briggs said, gesturing for the group to head downstairs.
Sebastian was the first to hit the steps, followed by Luanne and Augie, but Raz hung back to keep an eye on his agent. The man was ogling Libby like she was made of money. Granted, as a sports agent, Briggs’s job was to make deals and rake in the cash. He gave the guy a fair share of shit, but Briggs Keaton was good at what he did. Nevertheless, when it came to Libby, all he wanted to do was protect her from the glare of this world.
“Per my email,” Briggs began, “we’re here for a little meet and greet. The mountain west is excited to have a heavyweight champion training in their backyard. But the big names got wind of it and sent crews. You know how it goes.”