What had he gotten himself into this time? Of all the foolish things to do. He’d been so touched by her insistence in believing in him that he’d momentarily let down his guard. He hadn’t thought about where they were or what he was about to do. He’d just reached out to her, needing to feel her warmth and kindness.
How was he supposed to know there was a photographer at the hospital? And how could he anticipate that they’d be noticed? Normally it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but with Kate involved it was different. She already had so much on her plate. She didn’t deserve to have to put up with the press. Those news stories, as they loosely called them, were nine times out of ten malicious pieces of gossip—such as the story his ex-wife had read about him being involved with one of the Carrington models. But it had been only one crack in an already crumbling marriage.
Kate hadn’t signed on for any of this media mayhem. She didn’t deserve to have her name associated with some trumped-up story. He just wished he could shield her from the public eye. With a frustrated sigh, he climbed back in the car.
“What’s going on?” Kate’s eyes filled with concern. “Why were you chasing that man?”
“The man was a reporter and he took a picture of us—”
“What?” Her face lost most of its color. “But why? None of this makes any sense. Why would he be interested in me? In us?”
Lucas raked his fingers through his hair. “Normally it wouldn’t matter. And any other time the paparazzi wouldn’t have given us a second look, but last month there was this magazine article—”
“The one announcing you as Bachelor of the Year.”
“You saw it?” His muscles tensed, hating the thought of being played by her. “You knew who I was from the moment we met, didn’t you?”
“That’s not true.” She held up both palms, feigning an innocent expression. “At first, I didn’t recognize you in your boxers. I guess I was a bit distracted.” Color rushed back into her cheeks. “The more important question is what will this reporter do with the photo?”
He shrugged. “My guess is he’ll sell it to the highest bidder—”
“But he can’t. If it gets out people will think that you and I are...uh—”
“Involved.” He wasn’t used to women being repulsed by the idea of being romantically linked with him. “Is the idea of people thinking we’re a couple so bad?”
“Yes.”
Her snap answer stung. He didn’t know what to say, so he leaned back in the driver’s seat. Maybe he should be relieved by her lack of interest, but he wasn’t. And that knowledge only aggravated him more.
“I’m sorry.” She fidgeted with her purse strap. “I didn’t mean for that to sound so harsh. I’m just not used to the paparazzi. And I really don’t want my picture in the news.”
Now that he could understand. His family had been making headlines longer than he’d been alive and he still wasn’t comfortable with it.
“Most likely something more newsworthy will come along and they’ll forget about us.”
“Oh, good.” The stress lines eased on her pretty face.
He didn’t really believe it, but there was always a sliver of hope. And right now, Kate looked as if she could use some positive thoughts.
* * *
Later that evening, Kate made sure to double-check the dead bolt on the door. She glanced out the window, relieved to find that no one had followed her.
“Anything wrong?”
She jumped at the unexpected sound of Lucas’s voice. “Umm...no.”
Had she imagined someone had been watching her at the hospital? Definitely not. She might be a lot of things but paranoid wasn’t one of them.
“Listen, if you’re stressed about what happened between us earlier, don’t be.” He shuffled his feet and wouldn’t look her in the eyes. “It was all my fault and it won’t happen again.”
Kate didn’t know whether to be insulted or relieved. She hadn’t been able to forget that kiss either—that mind-numbing, toe-curling kiss. And he was right—there shouldn’t be a repeat.
“If you don’t make a big deal of it, neither will I.”
He looked as if he wanted to say more, but then he turned away and headed for the kitchen. “I ordered pizza, if you’re hungry.”
She followed him. The aroma of tomato sauce and sausage wafted across the kitchen. “Smells good. Did you by chance order a salad to go with it?”
“Yes, I did.” He looked very proud of himself as he pulled a bowl from the fridge.
“Thank you.”
She sat down at the counter, still unsettled. She kept going over the memory of that man lurking in the hallway at the hospital. She hadn’t thought anything of him at first. But as the evening wore on, she’d noticed him again.
Lucas waved a hand in front of her face. “Kate?”
What had he said? She hadn’t been paying attention. “Umm...sure. Whatever.”
He placed a slice of the thin-crust pizza on a plate and pushed it in front of her. She didn’t make a move as she kept replaying the events from the day.
“I wasn’t going to ask,” Lucas said, “but you obviously aren’t going to eat until you resolve whatever has you so distracted.”
“There was a man lurking in the pediatrics unit this evening. At first, I thought he was there to visit someone, but he stayed in the shadows and sort of watched everyone. I wasn’t sure about leaving, but when I mentioned him to a nurse, he just sort of vanished.”
“I hired him,” Lucas said in a low, even tone.
That news had her sitting up straighter. “You hired someone to spy on me?”
“He was there to protect you.”
“Protect me?” Her voice rose. “From what?”
“Remember the photographer outside the hospital?” Her hands pressed the countertop as she nodded and he continued. “I didn’t want him or any other reporters to bother you with questions, so I sent an off-duty security guard from Carrington to make sure that didn’t happen.”
“I thought you said the press wouldn’t make a big deal of it.”
“I just wanted to be sure they left you alone.”
“So you do think they’ll go ahead with the photo?”
He wanted to assure her that she had nothing to worry about, but he couldn’t lie to her. “Probably.”
Her eyes lit up. “You can stop them.”
