AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My stomach clenched. “What?”
“It may be nothing, but Seth’s been paying a little too much attention to Kali. He wants her. I can see it.”
That was not what I wanted to hear. Kali Andrews was part of the Vegas fighter group and a close friend of the family. She was also the female bantamweight champion.
“Does her brother and Kase know?” I asked.
Ripp sighed. “Doubt it. I don’t want to start something, but I plan on keeping my eye on her.”
“Good. Keep me updated if things progress. We don’t want Kali getting involved with him.”
“That’s for damn sure.”
Peyton finished up her rounds and started toward me. “Hey, man, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”
We hung up and Peyton’s gaze narrowed as she closed the distance, strolling over in her winter blue ball gown and tiara. Her character was a princess, and she looked every bit of the part.
“Everything okay?” she wondered.
I slid my phone into my pocket. “It was Ripp checking up on us.”
Her brows furrowed even more. “You’re worried about something. I’m good at reading people, Ethan. That’s one thing you’ll never be able to hide from me.”
There were so many people around, packing up the set. “Why don’t you go get changed, and then we’ll start on our way to Wilmington? I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
Peyton stared at me for a few seconds and then nodded. “Okay. I’ll be back in a few.”
We had about a five-and-a-half-hour drive from Asheville to the coast. So there was plenty of time for talking. A few moments later, she returned dressed in a pair of black leggings, black fuzzy boots, and a long, cream-colored sweater with her face wiped clean from all the makeup. She was so fucking beautiful that way.
When she first became famous, I expected her to turn into an entitled bitch like many other movie stars who let fame get to their heads. Needless to say, I was shocked when all I saw from her was the same Peyton I grew up with, only now she was older.
Her grin widened the closer she got to me. “I would ask what you’re thinking about, but something tells me this isn’t the time or place.”
I wanted to kiss her, but we were out in the open. To everyone around, I was just her bodyguard.
“It wasn’t anything like that,” I said, smirking. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
One perk about Peyton being the lead actor in the movie was that I could park our rental car right by her trailer. So we hopped into the black Chevy Tahoe, and Peyton stared out the back window as we drove away from the Biltmore House that was still lit up with all the Christmas lights.
It was closing in on five o’clock, which would put us getting to Wilmington around eleven if we only made a couple of quick pitstops.
“As far as all the movie sets I’ve been on go,” Peyton began, “this one was by far the best. The private tour we got was amazing. I loved seeing all the hidden passageways.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, it wasn’t bad.”
She smacked my arm. “Wasn’t bad? You liked it, I know you did. You’ve always been interested in historical sites. Or at least you were when you were younger. The museums in Washington D.C. are your favorites.”
I was shocked she even knew that about me. “How do you know that?” I asked, peering over at her curiously.
She was right. I excelled in all my history classes in school, and Washington D.C.wasone of my favorite places to go.
Peyton shrugged, her expression sheepish. “I may have eavesdropped on you and Ripp when we were younger. I remember you telling him about the museums.” She bit her lip and snickered. “And there was also a time I snuck into your room at your family’s cabin and saw the books on your bookshelf. It was all history-type stuff. I thought it was cute.”
Now that we were out of the parking area and away from prying eyes, I stopped the car; there was no one behind us. I leaned over and kissed her, nipping her lip playfully.
“So, you were stalking me, huh?”
“What?” she shrieked, pulling away. Her cheeks turned red, and she laughed. “I wasnotstalking you. I was a little girl with a crush. That’s it.”
