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“Well, of course he has.” Her mom’s voice had gone soothing. “Darling, I’m not saying Gavin ever made a move on you. But no one wants to hear that. It’s an age-old story. Beautiful young woman and an aging-somewhat-gracefully old man.”
“He’s only a year older than you,” Brynn pointed out.
“Is he? He seems older.” Her mom smoothed back her hair. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll bring Stephen out. He’s dying to see you. Between letting the photogs take a couple of pics of you with him and doing the morning shows with the dog, everyone will forget those nasty rumors.”
“She’s doing the morning show with the dog?” Ally asked.
“Well, that Tighty . . .” Her mom seemed to change her mind when she heard the growl that came from Brynn. “. . . Mr. Major Deputy person doesn’t seem to want to go on television for some reason. Perhaps he’s got some secrets he needs to hide. So we’re going to focus the whole story on saving this beautiful, crazed, poorly trained animal.” Her mother huffed and turned her attention to Dolly. Of course, the minute she actually looked at the pup, she melted. “Oh, you’re prettier than he is. And you were a smart thing, weren’t you? You barely got wet and he lost his pants.”
Her mom had never met a dog she didn’t love. Her mother would turn up her nose at a person not wearing the right clothes for dinner, but a mangy dog covered in fleas was something to save.
It was another reason she put up with her mom. She was complex. She was human.
“I’ll ask Major if he’s okay with us hijacking his dog.” She wasn’t sure she wanted to do the morning shows, but she also knew if she didn’t, they might show up here in town to track her down. If they tracked her down, they might find Major, and she didn’t want that for him. The press could be invasive when they wanted to be, and fans could be less than pleasant. Sometimes they forgot the person they claimed to love was an actual human being. Sometimes they were terribly cruel. They could make life very uncomfortable for a private person.
Was she being selfish trying to get close to him? Would she bring him trouble? More trouble than she was worth.
She brushed a frustrated tear off her cheek. If the press was around, she couldn’t show a moment’s weakness.
She wished they were back on that blanket. The day had been so peaceful. She’d felt . . . free. She’d known she wasn’t really free. No one was, but for those hours she’d been with him, she’d felt all of her burdens lift. She’d been able to concentrate on what felt important to her.
“Well, we should go and settle in to the hotel.” Her mother reached out and picked up Duke, cradling him to her chest like she had so many times before. “Come along, dear. That sheriff person’s boat will hold us all. When we get back to dry land, we’ll need to send someone out to get the essentials.”
There were a couple of problems with her mom coming out early. “Production assistants aren’t here yet, Mom.”
Her mother turned to Ally. “Oh, but one is.”
Ally groaned. “Naturally. I get to run around this place looking for decent coffee.”
“This place has excellent coffee. There’s a grocery store close to the town square. You can’t miss it. It’s the one with the alligator statue in front of it in honor of our town mascot.” Major was walking down the dock, a determined look on his face. When he concentrated his jaw went straight.
She couldn’t help but remember how his whole face had softened when she’d kissed him. He’d relaxed and let her explore right up until the moment he’d taken over.
That had been a revelation. Her whole body had felt electric, and she’d realized that this was what it meant to deeply want a man. She’d thought she’d felt desire before, but it had been nothing like the need that had flooded her system when Major had flipped her over onto her back and pressed her into the blanket. In that moment, she would have gone anywhere he led. She wouldn’t have cared if he’d stripped her down and taken her right there on the ground.
He was a dangerous man. Dangerous to her goals and her heart. He’d talked about how she could break his heart, but she thought he could do the same to hers. The right play would be to walk away now. It would be best for both of them. She could thank him for the lovely day and then avoid being alone with him again because she wouldn’t be able to trust herself.
He held a hand out. “Brynn, come with me. We need to talk.”
