Page 10 of Trouble
Fingers reach for my belt and tug. “It’s okay,” Melina says. She leans forward and gives the man a small smile. “We’re trying to have dinner. Ask next time, and I’ll be happy to let you take a picture.”
My jaw hardens, and my chest tightens. Fuck. She’s used to this kind of intrusion. Is this how her life always is? She’s been on for hours, singing for our town, taking pictures and signing autographs with Lake, answering the press’s many questions. After all that, she’s trying to relax with people she trusts. Can’t they just let her have a drink in peace?
“Who’s the guy?” the man says, unaware of how close to a fist in the face he’s coming.
Melina’s responding laugh isn’t light like the ones she’s let out all night. This one is rehearsed, tight. “You know the rules. We leave civilians alone.”
With a glance at his phone, the guy breaks into a smarmy smile that tells me I won’t like the next thing out of his mouth. “My source says he’s Cade Fitzgerald, assistant coach of the Boston Bolts.” One by one, he scans the people at the table, his eyes getting brighter as he goes. He’s no doubt realized he’s hit the jackpot. Not only is Melina here, but so are Aiden and Brooks, two of the NHL’s most famous players. “He your boyfriend, or is he just keeping you company for the night?”
“Watch your mouth,” I warn, my tone deadly now, my blood pressure spiking.
Cade presses a hand to my back. “I got this.”
My every cell is telling me not to move, to protect my people. But the way he’s touching me leaves me little choice. His touch burns my skin, even through my T-shirt. With a sigh, I step to the side, relinquishing control to my best friend.
Cade nods at the reporter. “Boyfriend.”
It takes all my willpower not to whip around and shout out anotherwhat the fuck?Never in his life has Cade been anyone’s boyfriend, and I know for a fact he’s not hers.
Melina bites her lip shyly. “It’s new, though. So if you could keep it quiet…” She winks at the reporter like he’s in on this secret.
My blood boils. Reporters don’t keep secrets. This is reckless. Stupid and reckless. The girl is supposed to be in hiding because she has a stalker. Instead, the two of them have been flirting and flaunting themselves. Now they’ve drawn a big-ass bull’s-eye on my little town. Everyone will know where she’s hiding. I should have shut down the press at the event earlier. I should have stopped her from singing. But, fuck, selfishly, I was focused on how much good this event could do for the town.
Now I realize how reckless that was.
Of course, it took seeing the two of them claim each other for me to feel that way.
Hypocrite.
Nothing I say right now will be helpful, so I stalk to the bar and order a drink.
As if they have no idea the storm they’ve likely just caused, the group falls back into easy banter and laughter.
I sit at the bar, sipping my whiskey, watching. Because that’s all I ever do.
“They’re hot together,” Hailey says, leaning across the bar, following my line of sight.
I turn back to her and shrug noncommittally. “Who?”
She throws her head back and laughs. “Oh, Chief, you’re a funny one.”
Then she disappears to check on her other patrons.
She’s wrong. I’m not the funny one. And there’s nothing funny about the way I’m feeling right now. So instead of heading back to the table, I shoot a text to Cade, telling him I’ll see them at home. Then I head back out into the cold winter night.
Alone.
CHAPTER 6
Melina
Beside me,Cade scoffs, and on instinct, I lean back, almost making the mistake of looking at the screen of his phone.
You trying to hide something?
The memory of Jason’s words—a.k.a. the worst human ever—echoes through my brain, bringing with it a wave of dread. Quickly, I shift out of Cade’s lap and into the chair Declan vacated. Speaking of Declan, where did that broody man get off to? I scan the bar in search of him, but Cade’s hand on my thigh stops me.
“He left.”