“Twenty-six and that’s getting old for a catwalk model.”
“Fuck me,” he said, shaking his head.
The woman was in her prime, barely legal in the US to drink, and she was already considered over the hill.
“I’ll do what I can to make sure she honours her commitments, but,” he said when Sophia smiled, “I won’t compromise her safety. If anything else happens then all bets are off, and I won’t argue with you on that. You and Melvin will just have to fucking deal with it.”
“Fair enough.” Sophia walked away, already digging her phone from her pocket.
It was time to check in with Jack and update him, then he needed to speak with Mitch and Liam. He was just finishing up with Jack when Callie walked off the set, her robe covering her again.
“Hey,” she said with a blush, but she didn’t duck her head like he expected.
“Hey. You done?”
“Yes. Just need to get changed and take this make-up off, then I am. Why?”
“Because I’m fucking starved. Want to grab a burger before we go home?”
“Sshh, you can’t say burger around here. Sophia will have a fit if she catches me eating something like that.”
Reid smiled at her easy laugh. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”
“Well, in that case, give me ten minutes.”
Reid watched her walk to the trailer and couldn’t fight the feeling that it didn’t matter what he did, this woman was going to be trouble. It didn’t stop him from watching her the entire way there with a smile on his face, which instantly made him frown when he realised.
He was so fucked.
Chapter Six
The Fox and Crown pub was crowded with lunchtime regulars when Reid pulled the car into the parking lot. After nearly three years of living here, she still hadn’t got over her love of the family pubs that were around every corner.
This one was a little out of their way, but as she stepped inside, she smiled. The dark oak beams, uneven, tile floor and shining brass optics were gorgeous, and the dried hops that decorated the top of the bar above her head made her feel as if it she was in another world.
Reid ordered a beer for himself, and she went wild with a diet coke, knowing she’d consume enough calories to keep her in the gym for an extra hour as it was. They took a seat in the corner, close to a window and away from too many prying eyes in the bar, and picked up the menu which was sandwiched between the salt and pepper pots.
Callie could feel Reid’s eyes on her and looked up at his frowning face. He’d been smiling when she walked away and into the trailer, but when she’d come out, he’d shut down again.
The impromptu photo shoot had probably been a mistake, but she was already having trouble keeping her body in check around this man. Having him touch her in such a way, look at her like he wanted to kiss her, feeling his hands on her skin, his chest against her back had been hot.
No other way to describe it, she’d been seconds away from kissing him when the sound of the camera had pulled him from his daze. He’d let her go as if she’d burned him and walked out of there like the devil was on his heels.
She knew he wanted her, the evidence of that had been pressed against her ass, and even if it wasn’t, she wasn’t a fool, she knew when a man wanted her. What was unusual was that she wanted him as strongly as she did. Reid affected her in a way no man ever had before, and yet he seemed to hate the fact he was attracted to her.
Maybe it was just a physical thing, or perhaps he didn’t want to feel that way. Regardless, they needed to find a way to communicate because the stalker situation had to be dealt with.
“Listen,” she began, and he looked up from his menu. “I know we haven’t got off to a great start, but maybe we should try and be friends. I need you until my team can get a handle on things, and I don’t want things to be awkward between us.”
“I fired your security team,” he said as he took a sip of his beer.
Callie felt her jaw go slack and fought to keep her composure—and her temper. “I’m sorry, what?”
“They were incompetent and slack. Liam, Mitch, and I should never have been able to walk up to your door, and the security in your home is shit. So, I fired them.”
“You can’t just fire my security.”
“Too late, I already did.”
Taking a deep breath, she practised some breathing techniques while the waitress arrived and took their order. Her appetite gone, she ordered a bacon burger and fries anyway. She had enough to deal with without Reid looking at her like she was going to faint any second.
The fact was, she was about to change her team anyway, but that was her decision to make not Reid’s. She knew he was waiting for her reaction, and it wasn’t lost on her that his announcement came after she’d asked if they could be friends. Reid seemed to be the master of evasion.
“So I take it you have a plan?”
He shrugged his big shoulders. “A few. I need to make some calls.”
“Any chance you want to clue me in as I’m the one going to paying them?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“A friend in Hereford has a security company. I’m waiting for a call back from him.”
“Fine,” she said, letting it go. “You’ve seen my schedule and how much travel I’ve got coming up. What’s the plan for that?”
“I’ll be travelling with you.”
“You what?”
“I’ll be travelling with you as your bodyguard until we get someone else on board and find the stalker.”
“We don’t even know there is a stalker, this could be a random thing.”
Reid shook his head, and his eyes went hard. “Fraid not, sunshine,” he said, sounding genuine. “We found cameras in your home and evidence last night wasn’t the first time this person has been on your terrace.”
Nausea crept up Callie’s throat and she swallowed hard to force it away. Her body shook as panic from Reid’s words invaded her system.
“Fuck.” Reid bit out as he moved so he was crouched low in front of her, hands on her knees. “Focus, baby. Just look at me,” he demanded, and her brain automatically obeyed the command and moved to his face. “I won’t let anything happen to you; do you understand? I’ll keep you safe until we’ve found this guy.”
“Okay,” she said, and her voice sounded weak even to her. She felt him rubbing his thumb over her knee in a calming gesture which was having anything but a calming effect.
“Good, now let’s eat and then get you home,” he said standing and moving away to his seat as the food arrived. Callie instantly missed the physical contact, even though it was small.
She smiled as he watched her and waited for her to start eating before he nodded, seeming content that she was all right for now and then dug into his own burger.
The food was excellent, and as they ate, she relaxed again and asked him about his family and his job.
“Well, mom is still working her ass to the bone. Nessa is in remission, we got the news just last week, and Tori is applying for different colleges.”
“You must miss them,” she said, hearing the affection for his family evident in his voice.