“That is so cool.” One of the girls says just as the other asks, “Is he your boyfriend?” Pointing at Jude.
Before I can answer, Jude wraps his arm around me, pulls me close, and whispers in my ear, “Just go with it.” He then turns to the girls. “Yes, I am.”
“Can we get our picture taken with you?” The first girl asks, both of them shoving their phones at Jude like he’s their personal photographer.
Without saying anything, he takes their phones but looks at me for approval before snapping any pictures.
“Sure.” I smile and motion for the girls to stand on each side of me.
Jude snaps a few pictures with each phone before handing them back to the girls. “Thank you so much. Melinda is going to die when she sees them.” With a wave, the girls rush off.
“Does that happen a lot?” Jude nods towards the girls.
“It happens enough.” I shrug.
“Doesn’t it bother you that your private life has become so public?”
It’s hard to explain, but I do my best. “Without them and the rest of my followers, I wouldn’t be where I am. Even though I don’t make a ton of money, a lot of doors have opened up for me—something I never thought would happen.” I go back to looking at the lingerie, hoping to distract Jude. But no such luck.
“You didn’t answer my question.” Jude lightly grips my arm and turns me to face him.
“I don’t know—you tell me, boyfriend. Are you bothered by strangers coming up to me to ask for a picture?”
Jude drops his hand from my arm and runs his fingers through his hair. “It seems like a good cover. I wasn’t sure if you wanted your followers to know you had a bodyguard. Normally I just blend into the background, but since we were shopping together, it just made sense.”
Jude is so different from what I imagine a bodyguard to be. Having him near me makes me feel safe—having him as a fake boyfriend gives me the perfect opportunity to touch him in public. Which might finally help me lose my pesky virginity.
“You’re right. It’s the perfect cover story and won’t affect my ability to do my job promoting the town—I mean, I don’t think it will look good for the town I’m trying to attract tourists to if I have to have a bodyguard following me around all the time.” I loop my arm through his. “Alright, boyfriend, let's buy this stuff and get checked into the cottage—it’s food truck Friday night, and I’m starving.”
four
Jude
“Hold up your margarita-flavoredtaco higher.” Kat grabs my hand, holding it higher in the air. “Just like that.” She drops her hand and takes a couple of pictures. “I need to post this—my followers are going to love this taco truck.”
“Aren’t you worried about them seeing my face?” I glance at her phone and the picture she just posted of me holding the taco.
“You’re kidding, right?” She posts the picture with the caption“hot summer nights, with a sexy boyfriend and a spicy margarita taco—what better way to spend your time in Sunbreak Harbor.” “Those two girls at the mall already tagged me in a picture they took of us buying lingerie together. They must have done it when we weren’t looking. It already has twenty-five thousand likes.”
“So, our cover’s working?”
“Yes, look.” She turns and hands me her phone. “Just look at those comments.”
I glance through the thread, noticing that most comments are about the tacos and Sunbreak Harbor, but more than I expected are asking about the man in her life, since they’ve never seen her post about a boyfriend before. It strokes my male ego, even if I’m a fake boyfriend.
“A lot of these people want to visit Sunbreak Harbor.” I keep reading the comments. Our small town has about 12,000 people, and its population triples during the busy summer tourist months. Most of the town depends on tourist dollars to support it for the rest of the year. Kat’s posts will help increase thenumber of tourists and the money coming into this town. “This is really going to boost the town’s economy.” I hand her phone back, still in awe of how many people she reached with a single picture of me holding a taco.
“That’s what I’m getting paid to do.” She takes a big bite of her mango-flavored taco, some of the sauce dripping onto her chin.
“You have a little something on your chin.” I grab my napkin, but before I can wipe the sauce off, my phone vibrates.
Knowing the only people who call or text me are my boss or my buddies, I hand Kat the napkin and glance at my phone at the incoming text messages from my SEAL buddies.
Riker:Ashton’s pissed, you know Kat and didn’t tell her. She’s been dying to meet her and collaborate on her new book.
Riker’s fiancée, Ashton, is a famous romance author—they met while he was pretending to be her cover model.
Jack:So are Elsa and Ember. Ever since they saw that photo of the two of you at the mall earlier today shopping, they’ve been texting each other nonstop.
