“I’ve never known it to rain in a gallery.” I mean whose idea was this, anyway, and what purpose did it achieve? Where I came from it rained almost every bloody day.
“It’s out of service.” Tobias gave a look of resignation. “The motion detectors are meant to pick up movement—”
“Stop the water hitting you when they detect you’re beneath,” added Gabe. “I love this one. When it works.”
“Is my makeup smudged?”
“It’s a new look for you.” Gabe gave a shrug. “Party girl.”
Oh, no.
Running my fingertips beneath my eyes I tried to wipe away the mascara.
Gabe reached out and took my purse off me and gave it a shake. “I’ll take you back to the hotel.”
“Do you have leather seats?” Tobias inflected concern. “This water—” he pointed to me “—will ruin them. What do you drive?”
Gabe frowned. “Audi R8.”
Tobias cringed. “Leather seats?”
“I’ll get a taxi,” I piped up.
“No cab will accept you like this,” said Gabe.
“It’s settled, then,” said Tobias. “I’m taking you.” He reached out and grabbed my purse from Gabe. “We’ll go out the back to avoid the press.”
“Press?” It came out as a screech.
“They’re out front ready to get their money shot.” Tobias waggled his eyebrows. “Looks like you’re it.”
Gabe gave me a reassuring smile. “Zara, come to Brentwood and have lunch with me tomorrow. I have the afternoon off.”
“I’d love that,” I said.
He stepped forward and kissed my cheek. “Call me. Let me know you’re okay.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m so sorry. Please stay and enjoy the evening.”
Gabe lit up with an impressed smile. “We so appreciate this, Mr. Wilder.”
My glare chastised him for being so enamored.
That’s Wilder’s superpower, I silently warned Gabe, he sweeps you up and saves the day and then you go and fall for him.
All very inconvenient.
When we stepped out the back of the gallery I was at least reassured by the warm climate. One phone call on the way and Tobias had his posh-looking silver Ferrari waiting for us. He tipped the young valet, who was polite enough not to look my way before he hurried off.
“What about your seat?” I peered into his beautiful car.
“It’ll be fine.”
“But you have leather seats?”
“And?”
“They’ll be ruined.”
His grin widened.
I fisted my hands and rested them on my hips. “You told Gabe—”
A flash went off.
“Get in!” Tobias snapped. “You drive.”
Blinking through the fading glare of a flashbulb, I watched a young man on a skateboard zooming away along the pavement. Tobias leaped over the car door into the passenger seat. Dread spiked my veins as I scurried around to the driver’s side and pulled open the door, threw his jacket down to protect the seat and flung myself in.
“Drive,” said Tobias. “We can catch him.”
Staring at the control panel I panicked when I realized this was an automatic. “I’ve only driven an automatic once.”
“Please hurry. He’s getting away.”
“I don’t know how.”
“For God’s sake, Zara. Grow a pair.”
“You grow a pair.”
He looked back at me, amused. “You’ve already had the pleasure of being acquainted with my—”
“Tobias!”
“Okay, then, Jade, you drive.”
“What!”
“Seat belt. Now.”
The engine roared to life and I tried to remember to breathe, grappling with my seat belt as the car pulled away from the curb and accelerated along the road.
“What the fuck is going on?” I slammed my hand to my mouth.
Tobias jumped up into a crouching position on his seat and then brought his right foot onto the window ledge as though surfing as he leaned out.
“Careful.” I gripped the wheel and then let go when it turned freely.
“Thirty miles an hour, Jade,” Tobias snapped. “Make that forty.”
Our Ferrari aligned with the skateboarder zipping along and the man gawked when he saw us. Tobias reached out and snatched the camera from him and then flung himself back into his seat. As we sped along he turned the camera screen for me to see.
I stared horrified at the shot of me looking completely naked beneath my wet dress as though I wasn’t wearing any underwear. Tobias removed the memory card and tucked it into his pocket.
“Jade,” he ordered. “Park.”
The Ferrari slowed and then parked curbside. Tobias flung open his door and climbed out. He leaned against the car and waited for the skateboarder to catch up. He threw his camera back to him.
The man looked shaken. “I’ll report this,” he snarled. “This is harassment.”
Tobias gave a confident smile. “Without evidence?” He gestured for me to switch seats and then came around to the driver’s side. “Tell your boss ‘Hi’ from me.”
“Fuck you.”
“Have a great evening.” Tobias snapped a salute.
After sliding over to the passenger seat, and pulling his jacket back over me, I felt grateful to see the man skate off without my naked image on his camera.
Tobias watched him scoot off down the sidewalk. “He’s paparazzi.”
“Thank you.” I reached out to squeeze Tobias’s arm.
Once that photo was unleashed on the internet there’d be no turning back. That was the second time he’d
