Danny reacted instantly, his party-boy demeanor vanishing. “Not a fucking chance,” he growled, lunging for the door, ready to slam it shut in the face of whatever journalist was on the other side.
“Wait!” I yelled, catching a flash of vibrant red hair and wide, panicked blue eyes through the widening crack. I threw out an arm, grabbing Danny’s shoulder just as he was about to put his full weight into it.
The door swung open the rest of the way, and Beth stumbled into the room, nearly colliding with Danny. She looked from me to him, her breath coming in short, sharp gasps.
“They’re everywhere,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “The reporters. I think they recognized me.”
“This is Beth,” I told Danny, my voice low.
Danny’s eyes widened for a second in recognition before a slow, appreciative grin spread across his face. “Beth. From the pub. The redhead with the ‘dangerously high wit’.” He let out a low whistle, his agent brain already calculating the new PR angle as he turned back to me. “Okay, new plan. We’re getting you both out of here. A dramatic escape will sell better, anyway.”
Beth’s gaze darted between us. “There’s a way out,” she said, her voice regaining a sliver of its strength. “Through the back gardens. Follow me.”
She led us through a maze of corridors to a wooden door that opened onto a lush, secluded garden. The air was cool and smelled of damp earth and roses.
“Okay, I’ll head around front and get the car. Try not to cause an international incident while I’m gone,” Danny saidwith a pointed look at me before disappearing through the hedges.
I turned to Beth. She stood a few feet away, arms wrapped around herself, a fortress of defensive posture. The silence between us was heavy, charged.
“So,” I began, deciding against a joke this time. “You work here.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. “I volunteer here. It was supposed to be my fresh start. A way to prove I wasn’t just... her.” She gestured vaguely, a bitter twist to her lips. “The girl from the tabloids.”
The defensiveness in my own chest flared. “And sneaking into my speech was part of that plan?”
“I saw the poster. I was curious,” she shot back. “I didn’t expect you to stop talking and stare at me like I’d just grown a second head.”
“You have a memorable face,” I said. “And you left a memorable note. What was I supposed to think?”
“You weren’t supposed to think anything!” she retorted, her voice rising. “It was a one-night stand, a mistake. That’s what people do. They move on!”
The words were a gut punch, and the sting of it made me lash out. “Right. A ‘mistake.’ Was that what it was when you were screaming my name? Or when your nails were digging into my back? Because from my perspective, ‘mistake’ wasn’t the word that came to mind.”
She flinched, a flash of hurt in her eyes before she masked it with anger. “You’re a bastard.”
“And you’re a hypocrite,” I countered, stepping closer. “You’re angry at me, but you’re furious with yourself for feeling the exact same thing I do.” I saw the internal struggle play out on her face, the war between her pride and theundeniable pull between us. “This isn’t just about a mistake, Beth. And you know it.”
My hand came up, cupping her cheek before I could second-guess the impulse. “Tell me you don’t feel this,” I whispered, my thumb tracing her jawline.
For a second, she leaned into my touch, her eyes fluttering closed. Then, with a sound that was half-sob, half-growl, she surged forward, her lips crashing into mine with a desperate, frantic intensity that stole my breath. It wasn’t a sweet kiss; it was raw, angry, and filled with all the unspoken frustration that had been simmering between us. I responded instantly, my arms wrapping around her waist, pulling her flush against me, meeting her fire with my own.
And then reality came crashing back with the harsh flash of a camera.
We broke apart, gasping, turning toward the source of the light. I caught a glimpse of a figure darting away through the bushes. “No,” Beth whispered, her face draining of color. “No, no, no.”
“Shit,” I muttered, the single word encompassing the spectacular clusterfuck we’d just created.
Beth was already backing away, her eyes wide with panic. “This can’t be happening,” she said, her voice trembling. “My parents… the foundation…”
“We’ll handle it,” I said, trying to sound confident, though my own mind was reeling.
“Handle it?” she scoffed, a wild, humorless sound. “God, you really don’t get it, do you? This isn’t your world, Sean. You don’t know the rules.” She shook her head, a look of finality in her eyes. “Thiswasa mistake. All of it.”
Before I could react, she spun away and disappeared into the maze of perfectly trimmed hedges.
“Beth, wait!” I called, but it was useless. She was gone.
I stood alone in the damn garden, the ghost of her angry, passionate kiss still burning on my lips. Danny might be right that this was great for business. For my life? It was a goddamn catastrophe. And I had a feeling the storm was just getting started.
