Perfectly normal reaction. Shrug it off.
I started to do just that when one of the other men raised his phone at me, and I froze. Not a normal reaction. Not normal at all!
“Haylee?” he snickered. “I remember this one.”
I didn’t remember him, but I hadn’t really known the entire group. Oh no, I’d been pretty focussed on Jay alone, a lot of good that did me.
“Tell us about your life after fame,” the man behind his phone said.
The rest of the group took greater interest in me after that, and even when Jay tried to push the one pointing his camera at me to stop filming, there was no way that was going to happen.
“Her mother is a solicitor,” he gritted through his teeth, but even that was brushed off as not important. Jay would know. He had to deal with my mum quite a bit after the disastrophe. I’d dealt with my mum often enough to know it wasn’t a pleasant experience. Especially when you lost every single argument with the woman. Jay had most certainly lost. His friend with the camera had no such close encounters with my mother, however. He also had no care in the world, it seemed.
I dropped the rest of the menus in the corner of their table, backing away from the scene. I had to go. I couldn’t do this. I needed a moment, or seven, to breathe and hide. Or better yet, run. I just had to get out of here. Out from the limelight. Bloody hell!
“I—I will be back for the drink order,” I croaked.
I hadn’t even paid attention to the door while stuck in my irrational fear, nor did I notice it was Luke who’d entered, or that he was standing right behind me before I stepped right into him, and his arms came around to steady me. All I knew was that I was locked in a tight embrace now, and there was no way out. All I knew was that I was going to be embarrassed all over again, and there was nothing I could do to stop this situation from unravelling. This would be so much worse than the previous time; we were in a public place this time.
I yelped, shrill and clipped. Now, I held the attention of more than just table nine. Now, every single table I’d served—and the ones that weren’t mine—turned their gazes my way.
I had to hide. I had to hide. I had to—but the camera was still pointed at me, and the snickering only grew more prominent in my ears.
The man behind me leaned closer to my ear, his breath brushing against my neck. I shivered.
“Relax, Red Cheeks,” he murmured against my ear.
Luke. It was Luke. He wouldn’t do any of the things I imagined happening just then. Luke was safe. Goodness gracious, he was safe right? I didn’t know anymore. All I knew was that no words would be able to make me relax. Even after I recognised him, I was tight as a bow string.
“Luke,” I gasped. “What are you doing here?”
He was better in the kitchen than any chef in town. I didn’t think he ate outside at all. I couldn’t see his expression, but the longer the influencers kept laughing the more worried I became. Was this a set up? Was this how my heart would get ripped apart?
Breathe. I just needed to breathe through this.
Luke turned his head to whisper “I missed you” in my ear, then nudged me behind him, and all I saw was the back of his jacket.
Somehow, it was easier to breathe with Luke standing between me and my past.
“I suggest you delete whatever video you just recorded, and we will not have a problem.” Luke’s voice came out in a growl a second after he’d been all but gentle with me.
“Chill, mate, this has nothing to do with you.” Jay held his hands out and gave a fake laugh. So much for being afraid of my mother. “We’re just joking. Right, Haylee?”
I stayed silent and rested my forehead between Luke’s shoulder blades, taking deep breaths and pretending to be anywhere else.
“That’s where you’re mistaken,” Luke drawled out slowly, his voice dropping an octave. I gripped his jacket and kept gasping for air. “You see, Jay—is it?—wherever Haylee is concerned has everything to do with me.”
“Do I know you?” Jay’s humourless chuckle reached through the bubble I was trying to create around myself.
“No, but I know you, and to be honest, I really do not like you. If you don’t want this to escalate, I suggest you do what I say.”
“What are you going to do? It’s five against one,” one of the other men pointed out.
“Why don’t you test me and find out,” Luke growled.
I squeezed my eyes shut. “It’s okay. I’m fine. Let’s just go.”
Luke didn’t hear me or chose not to hear me. He made a go at the phone in the cameraman’s hands and managed to take the influencer by surprise.
