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Rhett passed Jax and approached the line where the older woman stood, and people surged toward him. He put up his arms. “Back up, please!” But no one obeyed him. They pressed closer, reaching for him—some empty hands hoping for a touch, I assumed, and others with pens and pictures or phones open to their cameras.
He lifted his arms higher. “Back up,” he commanded, the power and authority in his tone sending a chill over my shoulders. I’d heard that tone when Rhett commanded a historical navy ship in a movie a few years ago, and it was even better in the flesh.
“I can’t move back, I’m afraid,” the old woman said, concern lining her white eyebrows.
Rhett’s gaze softened. “Not you, ma’am. I was doing thatfor you.”
“Oh.” He’d startled her. “That’s very sweet, dear. Tell me, would you mind autographing this photograph for me?”
“I’d be honored.” He took the Sharpie and a shirtless photo of himself from an old GQ a couple years back and signed with a flourish. “Who can I make it out to?”
“Betsy.”
He wrote a note on the photo, capped the pen, and handed them both back. All he needed now was to help her cross the street, and he was officially doing exactly what Bridget requested. But the softness in his eyes hadn’t fooled me. I had a feeling this wasn’t a result of Bridget’s demands.
Clasping Betsy’s hand, Rhett leaned down and said something softly to the woman. She laughed, then reached up and pressed a kiss to his jaw, making me more jealous of her than any person had a right to be. Those bright-red lips touched his skin. Lucky woman.
Rhett stepped back and whispered something to Jax. The red outline of Betsy’s lipstick wrapped over his jawline.
“You got it,” Jax said, then he bellowed for the crowd to step back again, but Rhett was already on his way down to the water.
I waited with Adalyn before following them down to the date spot. I hitched a look over my shoulder and found that Jax had let himself into the barrier of crowded people. He’d commanded everyone to give him room and then cocked an elbow for Betsy, whom he proceeded to safely escort out of the crowd.
But there were no cameras on Jax. All the cameras had followed Rhett, and no one would know of this kindness he’d asked his bodyguard to provide.
It was hard not to feel a degree of surprise over what just occurred. I mean, Rhett could have done the escorting himself. He could have pointed it out to Adalyn so she made sure to film it and put it on TikTok. He could have done a number of things to gain good publicity from that moment, and he hadn’t.
Heaven help me if this man turned out to be one of the good ones like I was beginning to suspect. I was already head over heels for his media persona, and I wasn’t sure how much farther I could fall.
I saw the moment Rhett noticed his date waiting for us near the dock. I was still walking at the top of the curved hillside path, in the perfect position to see the shock slide over his face. I’d been merely surprised a moment ago by his kindness, but his expression was utter astonishment. He covered it quickly. His gaze flicked over to Bridget, but she remained stony, her eyes saying something that he seemed to understand, but not before a flash of irritation crossed his face.
Understanding lit like a tiny flame in my belly. Oh my gosh. Rhett hadn’t known. Hehadn’t knownthat his ex-girlfriend was Miss Boston. Bridget had flung this on him unawares.
Crap. If only he hadn’t cut me off earlier, I could have warned him.
The depth of his acting skill was evident now. A pleasant smile spread over his lips, and you’dneverknow he’d been fuming a second ago like the steam engine he drove inAll Aboard.
Karina waited, unperturbed, and she looked good. A small little pocket girlfriend that fit under his arm perfectly, with a flawless, slicked-back, blonde ponytail, sporting a cream bodysuit tucked into designer jeans and stilettos. She was gorgeous. I couldn’t help looking down at my own outfit, a poorer replica in my black shirt tucked into dark jeans and wedges. I was also about five feet—okay fine,inches—taller than her.
They chatted for a few minutes while cameras circled them, and another crew got set up in a rowboat so they could film closeups on the water. Karina’s laughter rang out, and she stepped forward, resting her fingers on the side of his face while her thumb wiped the red mark from his jaw.
I started walking then. That was my responsibility. Removing sweet Betsy’s lipstick print was a job for the makeup artist, not the sneaky ex-girlfriend.
Okay, maybe sneaky was an unfair descriptor. She wasn’t the one who kept her identity as tonight’s date a secret from Rhett. A frustrated Rhett who was now helping her onto the raft-like boat and preparing to set off in the nearly setting sun. Good grief, this was romantic.
“Cut!” Bridget yelled, turning to look through the gathered people—cameramen, sound people, assistants—then stalled on me. “Rhett needs makeup. We’ll have to retake the scene. I want those soft smiles while you’re helping her down to the boat again, Rhett.”
Retake thescene? Was Bridget aware that she made this charity date sound like they were filming an episode ofThe Bachelor? I hurried down to his side, and he moved up the hill to meet me. I pulled out a cleaning wipe from my belted makeup bag.
“I’m guessing the lipstick is still there,” he said softly, looking down at me. Karina stood down by the water’s edge, watching us.
“Karina wasn’t thorough enough.” I swiped over the soft red mark. She’d only managed to smear it, mostly. I wiped the majority of it away, but a trace amount of red remained. Oh dear. The woman’s red kiss had stained his skin a bit.
“Still there? Your eyebrows are doing that worried thing.”
“It’s resilient stuff. Your new girlfriend must have gone for an extra-pigmented brand of lipstick today.” I fished around in my belt for the right concealer. “I’ll cover it, but try not to show this side of your face to the camera if you can help it. I can’t promise that it won’t be noticeable on the 8K TVs. Have you ever watched a movie on one of those? It’s so clear. There’s no hiding blemishes on those things.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I have a time or two, like most of the people in America.”
