Page 127 of The Shot You Missed
“And if the attention gets to be too much, tell me, okay? I can’t make it stop, but I can hire security or get you a place in abuilding with a doorman. I know you didn’t want this, but please give me a chance to deal with it.”
I hate the deep furrow between his brow and the tight set of his jaw. Reaching up, I smooth the wrinkled skin with my fingertips. “It wouldn’t be any better in LA. In fact, it would probably be worse. There are photographers everywhere. At least here, most of the attention we get will be from fans with cell phones. Or haters. But whatever.”
He chuckles at that. “Fuck the haters. They don’t matter.”
Not compared to him, they don’t. Not with friends around us.
Here, in the Twin Cities, I’m not alone. I don’t have to face this with only Lola at my side. I have a whole hockey team and their partners to square up for me, and it means more to me than I could hope to express. I won’t let that go simply because I have haters.
My phone buzzes, but I ignore it. Soon, we’ll have to leave this bed so Bash can get ready for the first game of their final playoff series, and then the craziness really starts.
I groan when it buzzes two more times, because it’s probably my agent, Elise.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You can check it.” Bash reaches for my phone on the bedside table and hands it to me.
It’s not Elise.
Dad
Hey, sweetie. Sorry I’ve been MIA. I’ve missed you.
Dad
Sounds like I’ve missed a lot in the past few weeks. Your mother says you and Sebastian have reconnected and are dating?
Dad
She also tells me you’re a well-known author? I always knew you were talented, but I’m blown away, kiddo. Proud of you.
Dad
What’s the address where you’re staying? I have souvenirs for you and Lola. Would have gotten something for Sebastian, but I didn’t find out about him soon enough.
My smile is wide enough by the end of the texts that my cheeks hurt. My parents may not be conventional, but I know they love me. Despite being almost thirty, I can still count on my dad to bring home something fun or pretty for me whenever he’s on location. When Lola and I became inseparable, he started picking up things for her too.
“It’s my dad,” I tell Bash, showing him the screen before typing my reply. “Sorry you don’t get a souvenir.”
Sebastian laughs. “That’s okay, Rosebud. I’ve got everything I need right here.”
Glowing from the inside, I type out a response to my dad and hitsend.
Me
Thanks, Dad. I’ll share my souvenir with Bash. I miss you too.
I send him the rental’s address and tell him he’s welcome to visit if he wants to. Not that he will. Filming for his current project may be done, but he probably has two or three more lined up that will keep him on the West Coast or somewhere exotic.
Maybe Sebastian and I can add a second leg to our trip this summer? We can spend some time with his parents, then make a shorter trip to LA to visit with mine.
My stomach growls.
Sebastian laughs and kisses my temple. “Come on, Rosebud. Let’s get showered, then I’ll feed you. It’s going to be a long day, and we’ll both need our strength.”
He’s not wrong. The team and all their fans are counting on Bash to be in peak form tonight, and I need to psych myself up to deal with the looks and whispers that will inevitably follow me everywhere I go as soon as we step into the arena.
Bash needs to be cool as a cucumber on the ice, and I need to pretend to be unaffected by all the attention. We both have games to play. And it’s important for both of us that we win.
forty-three
