Page 50 of Captivated By You
I debated for several moments whether I was brave enough to step out in public or wherever we were going and not have a disguise and decided against it. Opening the bag, I slid out the wig, flopped it around in my hands until I came across a section of bangs. The hair was lighter. Caramel with streaky blonde highlights. It was pretty. Felt real.
Which was sort of gross, but whatever.
I tucked my hair behind my ears and smoothed down my top before sliding the wig on. It took several moments of adjusting it in the small rearview mirror in front of us for it to look only slightly crooked. With more time, clips for my hair, I could do better and when it was on, I slid on my sunglasses. Black, round plastic frames covered my eyes and face all the way to the faux-bangs of the wig.
I was definitely unrecognizable.
Nerves settled somewhat, making me feel like a bigger idiot. He’d told me to trust him and at the first sign of fear, I hadn’t.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. My fingers curled in fists and he grunted, not turning to acknowledge me in the least.
We zipped through city streets, what I assumed was Kansas City and soon we were in the country, or suburbs based on the housing divisions we flew past. They were all cookie cutter homes, bland paint colors, white fences and sprinkled in between were fields of hay and corn, red and white barns with horses and cows.
Every mile further from the city, Liam tensed.
Every mile closer to his family’s I began wondering if he’d even heard my apology.
Worse, if he cared.
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“Why are we here?” I asked, the first thing said in the car since my apology. I’d expected a two-story suburban home, white shutters, gray vinyl siding and a lot of land with perhaps cornfields edging along the back yard.
Instead, we had pulled up to a covered valet parking area of what had to be the best hotel in town. A circular drive with a water fountain in front, the place was sparkling and much nicer than anything I’d thought a small-town would offer. The entrance sign on the way in had declared it Carlton’s Golf Resort and Spa.
“Friend of mine owns it. He’ll make sure his security will keep reporters away if anyone texts I’m here.”
“Right.” Gosh, I really was a shmuck. “Liam.”
He was already out the door before I finished his name. Apparently my apology fell on deaf or ignoring ears but his coolness still stung.
Less than twelve hours before, I’d let himinsideme. Stupid me for thinking a gift, as cliché as the word was, would mean something to a man like Liam.
But he had done everything he said he would, the least of which was make sure our identities were protected.
I tugged my wig to the right, fixing the part, and slid out of the door Liam held open for me.
Once outside, his hand immediately clamped around mine. The warmth and strength in his grip was comforting but I pulled away.
“Don’t,” he all but groaned. “It’s been a shitty day. And there’s too much shit for me to deal with right now. Just…let me hold your fucking hand, Claudia.”
I squeezed him back, useless of words. He stole them with his scowls and growls but it was the broken, wrecked sound in his voice that pulled me close. I sidled closer to him, our arms brushing as we walked into the lobby.
We were immediately met with a behemoth of a man, black perfectly fitted suit, silver-wired eyeglass frames on the bridge of a straight nose. Wide, rough jaw and eyes that almost smiled as wide as his mouth when he saw us.
“Fucking punk,” the man shouted and pulled Liam into one of those odd shoulder-back slap type hugs. With my hand still in Liam’s, I was jerked back and forth until the giant settled Liam back from him. “How the hell are you?”
“Good. Shitty. Whatever. Thanks for helping us on short notice.”
“Fuck you, loser. If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be in jail for ditching MacNatty’s old Ford into the river. I owe you one.”
They shared a laugh, a memory of years ago, I assumed.
“Still. Thanks. And let’s keep teen hijinks on the down low for a while, right.”
“Anything you need, superstar.”
As if he just realized there was a woman standing next to Liam, the man turned his gaze down to me and I swore. Everything inside me faltered. Flickered to life. He was just…wowzers. And I felt that pull. Like I bet all the women in town did, too.
