I frowned at her doubt but I totally knew how she felt.
“And what happens when Ryan doesn’t need him anymore? He’ll have to find other clients. He can’t drag his girlfriend around in a suitcase . . . well, unless he buys one of those inflatable ones, although I highly doubt he’d ever go plastic.” I chuckled. “He is a damn good-looking man.”
“That he is. Looks even better naked.” She grinned.
“Is he being weird or anything since? You seem happy, so I guess he hasn’t turned into a flaming asshole yet.”
“No.” She laughed modestly. “He’s been super-sweet. Almost too good to be true sometimes.”
“He calls you all the time.” She was glowing with that look of dreamy love. “I know.”
I read Ryan’s reply, asking me to fill him in once I knew Pete’s condition. “Then quit your worrying.”
She huffed. “But then you’ll be strapped.”
“I won’t be strapped. It will all work out.”
I practically jumped out of my seat when Tammy came through the double doors. Her face was ashen and worried. “Is he?” I started, not sure of what to ask. I handed a tissue to her.
Her hand shook when she pushed her hair behind her ear. “He’s awake but he’s banged up pretty bad. He just had an MRI and now they’re taking him for X-rays. He’s got a big lump on his forehead. His left arm is definitely broken and his knee and ankle are all swollen. The doctor wants to make sure that he doesn’t have any internal bleeding or swelling since he hit his head. They said he was unconscious for a bit on the job site.” I wrapped my arm around her back, guiding her to sit down for a moment. “What happened?”
Tammy wiped the corners of her eyes.
“Apparently he was carrying a pack of shingles and slipped. He fell like eight feet.”
Marie grabbed the box of tissues that was on the table in the waiting room and took the seat next to her. “He’ll be all right. He’s tough.”
It took about an hour, but I was relieved when we were finally able to visit with him. I almost wanted to cry seeing him bandaged up with a big white cast on his arm. Pete gave me a weak smile, as if he were embarrassed. I slipped my hand into his and he squeezed my fingers while I tried not to think about how bad this day could have been.
The large purple lump on his forehead and a few cuts near his eye were frightening reminders of how things could have turned from broken bones to tragedy.Chapter 16
Limelight
I climbed into the large, black Suburban that had been dispatched to take us to the MTV
Movie Awards; I was holding the edge of my thigh-revealing dress so I wouldn’t accidently flash my undies. Thoughts of my friends, of Pete’s slow recovery and that I wasn’t there to help, were with me even though my friends were thousands of miles away on the other side of the States.
I sat quickly in the single seat, ridding myself of my stilettos to make the climb into the bench back seat easier, tamping down the budding nervousness growing from the anticipation. Ryan climbed in behind me, looking devastatingly gorgeous. He was wearing fitted black jeans, a black V-neck tee, a gray blazer, and his game face. The scent of his cologne was enough to make me want to strip him bare and nuzzle his neck for a few hours.
He leered over at me, smirking with those wet lips that knew my secrets, reminding me that all of this celebrity ass-kissing, management team ordering, fan-pleasing hoopla came with the game.
“What?” His question came out as a low, hungry purr.
All I could do was smile and keep the overwhelming
craziness
in
perspective.
Nuzzling his nakedness would come later. I bit my bottom lip, thinking about rolling my tongue over all of his secret spots. My mouth was actually watering from thinking about it.
His eyes darkened. “I like the way your mind works. Can you hold that thought for a few hours?”
Mike cleared his throat and by his private little chuckle I could tell we weren’t discreet enough.
David sat in front of me, playing with his Rolex again, going over the details of our evening. Trish sat in the single seat in front of Ryan, reviewing some papers and then giving Ryan the rundown of what was expected at our arrival.
I could tell by his concerned look that he was more worried about me than another public appearance. Leaning his head toward me, he softly asked, “You okay?” My mind initially screamed “hell no” after seeing the huge crowds gathered. Instead I nodded sharply, giving him my most assured smile. “Oh sure. This is old hat,” I joked. I felt the warmth of his hand when his fingers laced with mine.