Page 26 of Saving Stella
Cliff hesitated. The last thing he needed right now was to be around Stella. He couldn’t be alone with her, not when he was already messed up in the head. He should tell Charley to find someone else.
Unfortunately, his father answered for him. “He’ll be there. And he won’t leave her side until this whole thing blows over.”
“Good idea,” Charley added. “Knowing Stella, she’ll want to come to the penthouse and make sure we’re okay. Cliff, you can’t let her get anywhere near this mess right now. Keep her occupied, go on the tour with her, then take her to dinner. We had it all set up, I’ll text you all the details, including the name and number of my contact at Carnegie.”
Did he hear that right? She asked him to spend the entire afternoon and evening with Stella? “Wait, Charley, you can’t?—”
“I gotta go,” she said, cutting him off. “Thanks, Cliff, I owe you one.”
Fuck.
He couldn’t believe he had to go and spend the rest of the afternoon with Stella.
His wolf, however, wagged its tail in excitement.
He frowned at his wolf. What the hell was wrong with you?
But it didn’t answer him.
“I should call your mother.” Connor tossed him a towel, which he easily caught. “Son, if there’s anything you need?—”
“Yeah, I know,” Cliff interrupted. He really didn’t want to talk about his strange obsession with Stella, especially with his father. “I should go before I miss her.”
* * *
Cliff, thankfully, arrived just outside Carnegie Hall seconds before Stella turned around the corner from Fifty-seventh Street.
Surprise crossed her face when their gazes clashed. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s Charley and Devon.”
Her expression changed in an instant, and she hurried toward him. “What happened? Oh God, are they hurt?” Her hands gripped his forearms. “Please, tell me.”
Her soft palms on his skin made his brain go haywire. This close, he caught the faintest whiff of her delicious scent.
“Cliff?” The way she said his name sent the smallest thrill through him. “Tell me.”
He blinked, trying to get his brain working again. “They’re fine.”
She relaxed. “Then what’s wrong?”
He quickly explained what happened. “And so, they asked me to come meet you.”
Her lips pursed. “I need to see them. I should be with?—”
“No, that’s the last thing you need to do.”
She planted her hands on her hips. “I beg your pardon? He’s my brother, and I need to be with him.”
“I understand; Charley’s my sister, and I hate that this is happening to her.” It had been hell for him, and he didn’t want that for her. “But you going there might make things worse.”
“And how will I make it worse?” she challenged.
“I didn’t say you would make it worse.” Damn it, why did she have to be stubborn? “So far, the press doesn’t know about you. But if they did, you’re gonna send them into a bigger feeding frenzy, plus they’ll never leave you alone.”
She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. “I suppose that makes sense. I guess I’ll just go back to my hotel and wait for them to call when this is over.”
He wanted to tell her that this would never be over. Maybe he should encourage her to leave New York, go back where she came from and never see Devon again. That way he’d never had to see her again either.