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“Sir, I swear. I didn’t. All we did was talk.”
“At your hotel?” he snarled.
“Well, yeah, but . . .”
“Um, maybe you should go,” Scarlett said.
My backside hit the side of my car, and I placed my hand on the door. “But shouldn’t I talk to h—”
Her father swung at my face.Woosh!
My stomach dropped to my knees at the sound of metal slicing through the empty air, and I felt the breeze from the Louisville Slugger on my skin.
“Dad!” Scarlett yelled.
Woosh!He swung at my side, and I jumped.
“On second thought . . .” I turned and opened my car door, sliding inside and throwing the car into reverse. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” I hollered out my window at Scarlett, who simply nodded, eyes as wide as the moon above her.
Her father raised the bat over the hood of my car, and my tires squealed as I floored the gas.
“No, Dad!” Scarlett reached for his arm. The bat glinted in the air, and the metal came crashing down, missing my fender by inches.
With a grunt, her father lifted it again. “You get back here!” he yelled.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Rees. I meant no disrespect,” I said, not knowing if it was the right thing because this was a whole new situation for me. The few women I dated were from Hollywood. I’d never dealt with parents before.
But when he twirled the bat, readying for another swing, I got his message loud and clear, so I straightened the car onto the road and rocketed past.
Chapter 13
SCARLETT
AfterThorne’scarpeeledout of the driveway, I stormed inside. Feet stomping on the hardwood, I hung my jacket in the closet, then kicked off my shoes.
I’d never seen my parents act like that before, especially my father. Both were completely unhinged. Mom needed a Valium and Dad needed a straightjacket.
The sound of their footsteps followed behind me, and when the door closed, I whirled around to face them. “What the heck was that?” I asked. “You were acting crazy, like some kind of groupie or something.” I pointed at Mom. “And you . . .” I motioned to my father. “Were you actually planning on beating Thorne with the bat? You know that’s assault and battery, right?”
Dad glanced down at the baseball bat with a sheepish expression before he set it beside the door and returned my stare with one of his own. “Your mother and I were sitting here watching television, and the next thing we know, that—that—that stupid entertainment show she likes came on, and there you were. Both of you. Ducking and running inside of his hotel together. The show host called you Thorne’s new girlfriend or something ridiculous like that.”
Mom’s eyes met mine, sparkling with hope, and I wanted to scream. Instead, I covered my face with my hands and groaned as I sank down onto the living room sofa.
The contract and NDA meant I needed to lie, even to them, but I thought I’d have more time. Never in a million years had I imagined they’d find out so soon, and so . . . publicly.
I released a deep breath and pushed my shoulders back. “That’s because I am. Dating him, I mean.”
Mom squealed and pumped a fist. “I knew it!”
“Alma!” Dad hissed as he glared at her, and I had to agree with him. She needed to seriously take it down a notch.
“What?” She lifted her shoulders innocently. “All I’m saying is that when he came into the bakery the other day, I knew there was something there. All that stuff about the order was just a cover, wasn’t it?”
I blinked at her, having forgotten until this moment that I would need to explain how Thorne and I got to this point. I mean, they were my parents. Other than Penelope, they knew me better than anyone. They would’ve known had I started dating a superstar.
“You got me,” I said to Mom, going along with it. “He was totally messing with me.”
“I think they call that flirting.” Mom winked, and I wanted to die.
