In the Eye of the Storm (15 page)

He had to admit that the smile on her face and the sound of her laughter was enough to make the pain worth it. She was obviously having a great time. And so was he. Aside from a few annoying photographers, and a fan or two that wanted an autograph, they’d been left relatively alone. He was grateful for that. The scene the day before in the airport had made him more than nervous with Kate. He just wasn’t sure how she would react to the reality of what his life was like. But he supposed that she would have to deal with it sooner or later if she was going to be a part of his life at all.

For the past few weeks, he’d found himself growing more and more comfortable with her. In fact, the idea of not having her around was starting to bother him more than he wanted to admit to himself. That was the main reason he’d invited her on this trip. He hadn’t wanted to say goodbye to her—not even for a few days.

The thought was disturbing and he found himself frowning. He’d gone into this with an open mind and the intention of keeping it easy with no strings. But every time he looked into those big brown eyes of hers, he found himself falling a little deeper. This was not something he was used to. And it was not something he knew how to handle.

All the same, he was determined to make this a special trip for her. He knew she wasn’t used to anything like this, so he planned to pull out all the stops.

That evening, after a quick trip back to the hotel to warm up, they ventured out to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. It was lit up brightly, in all its glory. Beau had seen it before. Kate hadn’t. Somehow, seeing it through her eyes had him seeing it for the first time all over again.

He knew that she had experienced a rough childhood. Kylie had told him that much. It was unlikely that she had many good Christmas memories. That bothered him. He had lived a very sheltered life back in Callahan, Arizona. His memories of family holidays were all warm and cozy and made him smile. He couldn’t imagine any other way of life. But Kate’s reality was very different.

When they got tired of looking at the Christmas tree, she begged him to take her on a carriage ride through Central Park. This was something he’d never done himself, so he was enjoying the first time experience.

“It’s so peaceful here,” she remarked, snuggling into his side.

“It looks that way,” he agreed. “But in reality, this park is probably the most dangerous park in the country. I wouldn’t be walking around here at night by myself, that’s for sure.”

“I guess you’re probablyHe walked over and crouched down in front of her. d into her driveway right.”

The ride was just long enough, and once they had arrived back at the hotel they were both anxious to warm up.

That night while they lay in bed, he listened to her breathe. The sound was comforting. He found himself frowning again. What was happening to him? He needed to put some space between them. He knew that. He was breaking just about every rule that he had regarding women. So why did that task seem so hard?

Her leg tangled with his and she curled into his side tightly. He shut his eyes, lifting his arm and resting it around her.

Shit.
The thought hit him hard. He was falling for her. For the first time in his life, he had real feelings for a woman.
A woman that he had no business having real feelings for.
The realization was disheartening. He blew out an uneasy breath and waited for his panic to subside. It did moments later as he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

At seven the next morning, Beau was up and showered. He had to be at the studio by eight. A car was already waiting for him outside. He grabbed his phone and wallet and then glanced down at Kate. She was still sleeping soundly, her dark hair curled haphazardly around her face. He would have liked nothing more than to crawl back into bed with her, but he knew he couldn’t.

Sighing, he leaned over and brushed the curls from her face. “Baby, I have to go. I’ll probably be tied up for most of the day.”

She grumbled, her eyes opening only halfway. “It’s early.”

“I know. I have to be at the studio at eight. Tommy is going to call you in a while. I thought that maybe you would want to go shopping since you’re here in New York and all. He has an assistant that’s going to take care of everything for you, okay?”

“Shopping?” she mumbled. “But I thought I could go with you and see you film your commercial.”

“You’d be bored out of your mind. Go have some fun instead.” He reached into his wallet and pulled out his credit card. She started to shake her head and he gave her a warning look. “Don’t be a pain, Kate. Just go out and have some fun. We’ll worry about the money later, okay? Tommy’s already been told not to accept any of your crap, so don’t bother trying it.” He forced the credit card into her hand and then leaned over and gave her a hard kiss on the mouth. “I’ll see you later.”

He heard his phone ring and grimaced, knowing he was running late. Without a backwards glance, he headed for the lobby.

When Kate woke up, she found the spot next to her where Beau had been sleeping empty. His scent still lingered, and for a moment, she lay there and let the spicy, musky aroma surround her.

Suddenly, she remembered talking to him that morning. He’d told her he was leaving. She’d been half-asleep at the time.

Reaching under her elbow, she pulled out the piece of plastic that was imprinting itself on her skin. It was a gold AMEX. Beau’s name was neatly imprinted on it in bold letters. He’d told her to go shopping, she remembered now. Staring at the credit card for a long moment, she contemplated her options. She’d never been much of a shopper—that was more Richard’s department. However, she was in New York. Who knew if she would ever get back here? It might be fun to check out some shops and see what the city had to offer. Of course there was no way that she was using Beau’s credit card. She had credit cards to make him feel better. ’onhe was of her own. And while she appreciated his generosity, she wasn’t about to become any more indebted to him.

The sound of her ringing cell phone brought her out of her sleepy haze. She reached for the device that rested on the nightstand.

“Hello?” she answered, a moment later.

“Kate, it’s Tommy Hyatt, Beau’s agent. Did I wake you?”

Kate looked at the clock. It read ten-thirty. How in the world had she slept so late? “No,” she forced herself to mumble, grabbing the complimentary white robe at the end of the bed and folding it around herself tightly.

“Good. I’m down in the lobby. I have Patrick Longwell here. He’s my assistant. He’s going to be your tour guide today.”

“My tour guide?” Kate ran a hand through her hair, confused.

“Can you meet us down here in the lobby in twenty minutes?”

“But I thought—”

“Just get yourself ready and come on down. We’ll be waiting.” The line went dead.

Kate frowned. Tommy Hyatt was unmistakably pushy as hell. Sighing, she got up and headed for the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, she walked into the lobby, immediately spotting Tommy, along with another man. This guy was younger, probably in his early twenties. He was prematurely balding and thin, his three piece suit impeccably pressed and wrinkle-free. He set his friendly blue eyes on Kate and smiled widely.

“Kate Nyland? I’m Patrick Longwell. I’ll be assisting you today.”

Assisting her?
Kate found herself frowning again.

“She’ll probably do that a lot today, Patrick. Just ignore her and keep her in the program,” Tommy said, grinning as he indicated Kate.

She found her frown growing more pronounced. “I really don’t need all this fuss. I don’t mind going out on my own.”

“Not a good idea,” Tommy said, absently, as he checked his messages. “We’re being pretty cautious with Beau because of this maniac that’s been bothering him. He gave me pretty explicit instructions. He also told me you would argue and not to pay any attention to it.” He grinned when she scowled. “You’re in the coolest city in the world, Katie girl. Just enjoy yourself and let the rest go for a while.”

Katie girl?
She wasn’t sure she appreciated the endearment.

“We’ve got a great day planned,” Patrick said, smiling widely. “We need to get a move on though because you slept a bit later than I thought. You’ll be late for your appointment.”

“What appointment?” Kate asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Full treatment spa. Hair, nails—the works. Enrique did me a favor fitting you in and he isn’t a fan of late arrivals so we should get going.”

“Wait a minute, Beau didn’t say anything about all this. He said I was going shopping.” There was no way she could afford to pay for hair and nails and God knew what else this
Enrique
was going to do to her.

“Mr. Callahan told me to plan out a day. He didn’t have specifics.” Patrick had her by the arm and was ushering her out into the early morning sunshine. It was over andonhe wascrisp and cold and the air bit at her nose viciously.

“I’ll catch up with you later,” Tommy said, giving them a wave.

“But—” Kate called. Tommy ignored her and climbed into a waiting cab.

“Your chariot awaits,” Patrick said, holding open the door of another black Suburban. Didn’t these people drive anything smaller than a giant SUV?

Knowing she didn’t have much choice unless she wanted to make a scene, she climbed into the vehicle and buckled up her seatbelt. “This really isn’t necessary,” she said again, when Patrick had climbed in behind her.

He glanced up from his iphone. “You’re not going to give me a bunch of trouble are you? Because I might get fired if you don’t play nicely. Beau Callahan is a big client of ours—possibly our biggest. I don’t really want to piss him off.”

Kate hadn’t really thought about the awkward position Patrick was in. “He goes over the top. I can’t afford all of this.”

“It’s already been taken care of, Ms. Nyland. Just sit back and enjoy yourself.”

Kate heard her cell phone beep and she looked down at the text message that adorned her screen. It was from Beau.

“Quit making things awkward for once in your life. If a person can’t share some of his wealth, what’s the point in having it? I will hook up with you later. P.S. Don’t be a pain in the ass. Patrick isn’t paid enough to take a bunch of BS.”

She found herself smiling halfway. Evidently Tommy had already called and given Beau an update on the situation.

“You’re going to like Enrique,” Patrick said, interrupting her thoughts. Deciding to make the best of things, she forced a smile.

“I’m sure I will.”

As it turned out, Enrique was a thirty-something, six-foot-five black man, with a Mohawk on his head. It was colored red, yellow and green. It was the most interesting hair-do that Kate had ever seen.

In contrast with his looks, Enrique was friendly and easygoing. He laughed often and chatted up a storm. Kate found herself relaxing instantly.

The first order of business was a facial. She wasn’t sure what was spread on her face but it was green, thick and pasty. It smelled odd, but not bad exactly. After that, she received a manicure, pedicure and a massage. She’d had manicures and pedicures before, but never a massage. She’d had no idea what she’d been missing.

By the time the massage was over, her muscles felt like jelly. She was so relaxed that she didn’t bother arguing with Enrique when he wanted to add some blonde highlights to her hair and flat iron it. She was used to a curlier look so the finished product was a bit of a shock at first. She liked it though. It was far sleeker than her prior hair-do. It made her feel much more polished—sexy and flirty.

When she was led back out to the lobby, Patrick was seated in a chair waiting for her patiently. She felt bad that he had been forced to spend three hours sitting in a chair while she’d been primped and pampered.

“You look great,” he said, smiling openly. “Are you ready for some shopping?”

Knowing better than to argue, she just nodded.

For the next two hours, at your place?”

th Avenue were next. She just thumbed through the clothing mostly, flabbergasted by the prices on things. This was unreal.

“Where’s Target?” she asked and Patrick laughed. “If you’re not used to this it can be a bit of sticker shock.”

“Sticker shock is an understatement. Do you live here in the city?”

“Actually, I’m from LA,” Patrick said. They now stood at a coffee counter waiting for some lattes.

“So you travel a lot for your work?”

“I’ve only worked for Tommy for about three months. This is all new to me.” Patrick offered her a latte and then took one for himself. They started making their way down the busy street again, window-shopping as they went.

“I can’t imagine traveling all the time. It would be quite the lifestyle. I don’t know how Beau does it.”

“Yeah, professional sports can be hell that way. I’m mostly on the west coast so I don’t rack up too many frequent flyer miles.”

Kate stopped at the window of Victoria’s Secret. She’d never really been one for lingerie. Maybe it was time for a change. She let Patrick know she was going to take a look inside. He just nodded and scrolled through his phone, apparently uninterested in venturing inside the store.

For once, Kate didn’t worry about money. She selected several items and carried them to the counter, not even flinching at the astronomically large total. To hell with it, she was in New York. Beau was right, it was okay to let loose and have fun once in a while.

When she walked back outside, Patrick was nowhere to be seen. Caught off guard, she looked around the street. There were people milling about everywhere. Nobody paid her even the slightest bit of attention.

Kate frowned, wondering where Patrick had ventured off to. Maybe he’d gone in search of a restroom. She’d thought he’d used one at the coffee place they’d visited earlier, but perhaps he was like her and coffee went straight through him. She leaned against a light pole and waited. Several minutes went by and still Patrick didn’t reappear.

Hearing her phone ring, she answered it quickly.

“Hey, Beautiful.” It was Beau.

“Hi, yourself,” she said, finding herself smiling stupidly. Why did his voice always seem to do that to her?