Page 42 of Rock Me

AndIknewher.From her hopes and dreams of success to her endearing insecurities before going on stage, I understand her.I want to protect the girl who was hurt by her parents from further pain, and at the same time, I wish I could shake them and make them be there for her when she needs them.

This is the closest I’ve let myself get to any woman in my life, and losing her is going to rip my heart out because I’ve fallen in love with her.

I was too wrapped up in my anger with my father to see it then, but looking back, I knew it the second I saw her making eggs for my hungover dad.Ponytail bouncing against her back, no judgment in her gaze, she is my perfect woman.No matter how big a star she becomes, I love the normal girl she is inside.

And fuck.That thought rips through me painfully, because there is no happy ending that I can see.The upcoming feeding frenzy with the press junket might be the last event before her life’s direction takes a drastic change.I refuse to consider that she won’t get the opportunity she deserves, because I don’t want to be with her only because she lost her big chance.She’ll never be happy that way.Not even with me by her side.

I run a hand through my hair and groan just as an email from Dan pops up on my screen.I open the note from my boss and read:No luck with Tawny Renee situation.From all indications, she’s absorbed in her own opportunities.Even her bodyguard interview came up empty.He thinks she’s innocent of all wrongdoing against Summer.Still watching her though.

As for Michael Gold, the man is a piece of work.He married into money and got his start thanks to his father-in-law being in the talent industry.And his wife, with whom he has three children, is a brilliant entertainment lawyer.He’s been treading water as an agent before he went to work for his father-in-law, owing everything to the older man.Or so it seems.So he is greedy and a slimy asshole, but nothing stands out on him, either, in Dan’s report.Which means until whoever is after Summer makes a mistake, we are shit out of luck.

Summer walks out of her room, wearing a pair of ripped leggings and an oversized sleep shirt.Makeup-free, she looks even younger and so beautiful.

“Hey.”She treats me to a wide smile.

“Hey yourself,” I say.

“So I was thinking,” she says as she rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet, clearly wired.

“What’s up?”

“I need a change of scenery.I want to get away from these walls that feel like they’re closing in on me.”

I narrow my gaze, my focus on her safety, as always.“What did you have in mind?”

“Well…” Her eyes glimmer with excitement.“When we were driving out to your father’s, I saw a carnival off one of the exits.The Ferris wheel was in the distance.And it was closer rather than farther from the city, and I want to go.”She settles in next to me on the sofa and nudges my arm.“And before you argue, it’s spur of the moment, so nobody will know we’re going except us.It’s perfectly safe.”She folds her arms across her chest and meets my gaze, all but daring me to argue.

I toss around the idea in my mind.Crowds of people, yes, but she has a point when she says nobody will know where we are going in order to follow us.

“A carnival, hmm?”I ask, deliberately dragging out my decision, teasing her a little.

She nods.“The kind with cotton candy, funnel cake, rides, and games where you can win me a stuffed animal.Come on, please?Please?Pretty please,” she says, a grin on her pretty face as she tries to pester me into agreeing.

Having just accepted my feelings for her, there is very little I wouldn’t give her while I can… as long as she is safe.

I groan, pretending to be put out at the idea… more teasing on my end before giving in.

“Pretty please with sugar on top?”

I laugh, then nod my head in agreement.“Fine.We’ll go.”

“Wait.What?Really?Thank you!”She squeals in excitement and claps her hands with glee before leaning in and kissing me hard but quickly.

Too quickly, considering I’d rather pull her down on the sofa and find myself balls deep in her wet heat.

“I’m going to change!”

She runs into her room, and while she is there, I catalogue my own clothes, deciding my jeans and a tee shirt will be fine.I holster my gun beneath the shirt just as she bounces back out to me, this time wearing a pair of light jeans, a faded gray tee shirt, and sneakers, a pair of aviator glasses dangling from her fingertips.

I grin at the sight.“Wait.I have an idea.”I stride to my duffel in her room and return with a New York Mets ball cap, plunking it down on her head, tugging on her braid for good measure.“There.We want you as disguised as possible.”

“Not that I think anyone will recognize me but okay.”She pats the brim of the hat, her big eyes peeking out from beneath.

She wrinkles her nose, her expression fucking cute.

“Mark my words, no one will recognize me.Today we’re just a normal couple out for a day of fun.”

And I intend to savor every last second.