Page 117 of Slumming It

"What?"

A hint of rawness crept into his voice. "That I let him get that close to you."

In spite of everything, I was stupidly flattered. "But you couldn't have known."

"Wrong," he said. "I could have. And I should have." But then, a wry smile lifted the corners of his mouth. "So, who's the mall cop now?"

In spite of my best intentions, I felt my own lips curve into a genuine smile.Was he actually making a joke at his own expense?I couldn't even imagine. Regardless, the point was totally absurd.

Silently, I took in his appearance. He was dressed semi-formally in dark slacks, a creamy button-down shirt, and a dark sportscoat. He wore no tie, and the top two buttons of his shirt remained open, revealing only a hint of the muscular torso underneath.

Even so, he looked like a man not to be tangled with. And, judging from all of the sly looks he was getting from a nearby table of all women, he also looked like a man to be shamelessly ogled in spite of the fact that he was out with somebody else.

I replied with a joke of my own. "Oh, please. You could never be a mall cop. And do you wanna know why?"

"Why?"

I flicked my gaze to the nearby table. "Because the women would be oglingyouinstead of the merchandize. The mall would probably go under."

He barely glanced in the women's direction. "And what about the men ogling you?"

At this, I couldn’t help but laugh. "Yeah, right."

Reese looked at me like I was crazy. "Don't tell me you don't notice?"

For dinner, I'd borrowed a dress from Vivian – a black cocktail dress that fell just below my skinned knee. And even though its hem length was a little longer than I usually liked, the dress more than made up for it with a slightly daring neckline and a flattering bodice that made me look more buxom than I actually was.

For shoes, I was wearing the same high heels I'd worn with the Daisy Dukes. But this time, they actually matched the outfit, making me feel all dressed up, not like a spectacle on parade.

With the addition of my grandmother's emerald ring and matching faux earrings – not to mention way too much effort on my hair and makeup – I felt prettier than I had in a long time, but not nearly as pretty as his words implied.

I had to be realistic. "If anyone's staring at me, it's only because I'm with you."But then I remembered something, and my heart sank. "Unless it's because of all those stupid stories."

On the upside, the publicity hadn't followed me to our hotel or to the trailer where I lived with Vivian – probably because the hotel had never been mentioned, and the trailer had no mailing address of its own.

For allIknew, every trailer park in the county was being searched by heavens-knows-who from heaven-knows-where inhopes of snatching a picture of me doing heaven-knows-what – probably playing a banjo or something equally unlikely.

The idea might've been funny except that I knew for a fact that all of those strangers would eventually find me – and Vivian, too, in the process.

Across from me, Reese asked, "Is everything alright?"

His question startled me out of my thoughts. "Sorry, I was thinking of, well…the publicity, I guess. But you've been through this sort of thing before, right? So, what happens next? Do you think they'll find out where I live? Should I be worried? And what about Vivian?"

As my thoughts progressed, I felt the blood drain from my face. "Or my parents. I mean, they're out of town at the moment, but what happens when they return? Do you think they'll be hounded?"

Reese studied my face for a long, intense moment before replying with one simple word. "No."

Chapter 45

Reese

From the other side of the table, Emily gave me a puzzled look. "No to which question?"

"The ones you're worried about."

"So, youdon'tthink we'll be hounded?"

I replied with a question of my own. "You remember why we're here, right?"