Page 81 of Hideaway Heart

A pause. “I don’t care what you do.”

I entered the room and saw she was still in bed, wrapped to her ears with blankets and curled up on her side, facing the wall.

“Hey.” Careful not to spill the coffee, I sat on the bed.

Silence.

“I’m sorry, Kelly. I’m really mad at myself, and I took it out on you.”

“You don’t need to be mad at yourself. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Setting the cup on the windowsill, I lay down behind her and wrapped my arm around her waist. “I did, but it wasn’t your fault, and I treated you like it was.”

“This is normal for me, Xander. People follow me around and take photos. Do I like it? No. Did I want this bullshit on my vacation? No. Do I want to try to have a good time anyway? Yes.”

I kissed her shoulder. “Okay.”

“I’m sorry your picture is being taken too. You didn’t ask for this.”

“I don’t give a fuck about myself. But we’re going to be more careful, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Do you still want to go on the boat today?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll make you a deal. You agree to move into my house for the rest of your trip and I’ll take you out on the boat.”

She sighed. “Why do we have to move?”

“Because this place makes me nervous. It’s remote—anyone could be staked out in those woods. There are no security cameras. There are no shades on the front windows—practically the entire wall is glass.”

“Does your house have cameras?”

“No,” I admitted. “But it has blinds and curtains. We have neighbors who’d notice a stranger lurking around the house and report it. People look out for each other here.”

“Is this going to be okay with your dad?”

“Are you kidding? He adores you. It will be just fine.”

“We won’t be able to sleep together.”

“Why not?”

“Xander!” She rolled onto her back and looked up at me. “I can’t sleep with you in your dad’s house, while he’sthere. Mabel and Devlin are there too, right?”

“Oh yeah. I forgot about them.” I thought for a moment. “I guess it’s too crowded to stay at the house. I’ll book a hotel room.”

“Xander, we’ll be fine here,” she said, snuggling up to me. “I’m not afraid when I’m with you. And I will take all the precautions you tell me to. I won’t stray from your side. You will truly be stuck with me from now until the moment I leave.”

“Fine. But the other thing we’re doing is working on some self-defense moves. I won’t always be there.”

“I don’t need—”

“You want a ride on my boat, you learn the moves,” I ordered.

She sighed dramatically. “Fine.”