Landon

By the time we sat to eat our lunch, the salad was wilted, the crusty bread holding the lobster salad was soggy, and the champagne was warm. None of that mattered since I was walking on cloud fucking nine.

She sat across from me, smiling throughout the meal, dressed in nothing but the fluffy white robe the hotel supplied. Knowing she was naked beneath it made it difficult to let her eat in peace.

Part of me felt like the hourglass holding our time together was draining minute by minute, and I needed to get as much of her as possible while I could. The other part felt that this was just the beginning of a long and scorching relationship. There was no way to know when I’d be seeing her again once I left. Any measure of time was sure to be torturous for me. How was I going to concentrate in California knowing that she was here in Hawaii, now that she was mine?

There was still a lot we needed to discuss. While I debated whether to bring any of that up, she beat me to the punch.

“Lance, what happens if I get this job?”

“I expect you to take it.”

“I don’t mean that. I mean when would we see each other?”

I placed my napkin on my empty plate. “My schedule can run anywhere from being wide open and having a lot of free time on my hands to working around the clock seven days a week. When I get back, I suspect my agent will have me booked solid with meetings and auditions, but I don’t always listen to him. He isn’t thrilled with my sabbatical.”

“He’s probably not going to be happy about me, either.”

My gut instinct was to lie, but I refused to ever lie to her again. Nor would I sugarcoat the reality of my life. “No, Roger will not be and neither will my female fans.” I watched a frown predictably appear at my statement.

“They’ll hate me.”

“Some will. The tabloids won’t help in that department.” I reached for her hand and held it in between mine. “Zara, once our relationship is exposed, the press will dig to try and find out everything they can about you. If you move to Honolulu, you’ll be an easy target to locate, to stalk, to harass. You’ll see yourself on TV, in newspapers, and in magazines. The big island isn’t as sheltered as Lanai, and your identity will be vulnerable.” I paused to watch her intently. “Do you want to talk about this another time?”

“No. I don’t want you to hold back. I want to understand your life.”

“Okay, but having said that, it will take time for you to adjust. That’s why I think it’s best we keep our relationship a secret as long as possible. When you come to LA, I have no problem hiding you in my house the entire time. But that wouldn’t be fair to you. So, being seen with you is inevitable. When that happens, I need you to promise me to ignore all the gossip that follows me wherever I go. Unless it comes from my lips, not one thing you hear or read about me is true.”

“I promise.” Her quick response should have warmed me, but instead it caused dread to fester in my gut. She really had no clue what she was getting herself into.

“I don’t want to overwhelm you so soon. Learning to live with such chaos that follows fame doesn’t happen overnight. We’ll take one day at a time, and keep communicating with each other. While we are apart, remember it’s just my job. None of it is real. If you hear or see something that upsets you, you come to me first.”

She nodded, repeating again, “I promise. Do you begin filming as soon as you go back?”

“No. The movie I wrapped up before coming here doesn’t release until next spring, but I’ll need to do press for it. That involves a lot of traveling, hitting talk shows and interviews across the world. So thankfully, we will have a few months before my life gets really crazy. I’d like to take full advantage of that and have you fly to LA on weekends.” The apprehension in her eyes was obvious. “What?”

“Lance, I’m not sure I can afford—”

“Stop,” I immediately interrupted. “Let’s get this out in the open, as well. I’m very wealthy, Zara. I will be spending money on you. I will be buying you whatever I want. I will be paying for your flights back and forth, no matter where I’m at in the world. One weekend I could be in New York, the next in Texas, and the next in London. None of this is negotiable. Okay?”

I waited for her to process what I was asking. Without batting an eye, she nodded with a smile. “It’s a good thing I like to fly.”

Returning her smile, I lifted her hand and kissed her palm. “If I have nowhere to be during the week, or on a weekend even, then I’ll be flying to you. If you want me to, that is.”

“Hmm.” She tapped a finger against her full bottom lip. “I’ll need to think about that.” While still holding my hand, she came around the table to sit on my lap. “The only problem I foresee is resisting the urge to tie you up and hold you hostage.”

“Tying me up sounds interesting. We need to try that.” She smacked my chest before kissing my lips. I pulled away first, wanting to get one more thing off my mind. “I need to warn you about the costar rumors.”

“Costar rumors?”

“Yes, baby. It’s probably the worst part of my job.” I paused to hold her gaze. “Every movie I make, the tabloids link me to my costar. Sometimes they have us having a torrid affair, and sometimes they claim we’re getting married. Sometimes they’ll go as far as saying she’s pregnant. They’ll take pictures of our films where we’re kissing or in bed for a scene, and release them like it’s real life. They’ll pretend we were photographed in public, caught in the act. They’ll spin it to look very sneaky. They’ll claim I’m cheating on you, and go to great lengths to prove it with these fake pictures. It’s all to sell their magazines, and they have no remorse for what they print.” I watched a gamut of emotions cross her face. “Does that scare you?”

“A little.” She shrugged casually, but the widening of eyes, the pucker on her forehead, and the way her lips dipped in a frown all said otherwise. “I trust you, Lance.” She stared down at my lips before touching them with her fingertips. “Kissing, huh?”

“I’ll be imagining you the entire time.”

She released a heavy sigh. “I get it. It’s your job. I may not like that another woman’s lips or hands will be on you, but I understand.” Her face suddenly looked so sad. I hated to hurt her, even if indirectly. She truly needed to know it all before she was thrust into the spotlight, though. I internally cringed at what things would be like once that happened. The only positive in the whole thing was maybe being out here away from Hollywood would shelter her from most of it. When she was with me, though, her life would never be the same.

She didn’t deserve all the shit that I had to deal with. But what was I to do, ignore that I had finally found love? Selfishly, I wanted what every human had the right to: I wanted to share my life with the woman I loved. I had plenty to share with her. Didn’t we deserve to be happy?

Slowly a smile spread over her lips. As quick as her disposition turned sullen, it flipped back. “Enough with the movie star talk. When you’re with me you’re no one other than Lance White, a gorgeous accountant on vacation who met the love of his life. Right?”

“Right, baby.”

She dipped in and kissed me long and hard. Alarm bells rang at her rapid change of demeanor. Either she was in denial, or she really didn’t care that her life was about to get crazy. In all the ways I could protect her, there would be nothing I could do once the shit hit the fan. Like a fast-spreading virus, the instant one picture of Zara and me surfaced, my relationship status would go viral with no antidote to stop it.

What the hell am I doing? I thought, just as she said, “So, Mr. World Traveler. Since you’ve seen everything in Honolulu, what do you want to do now?”

Hide. Disappear. Protect you always.

Ignoring the doubt that twisted my gut, I arched a brow while sliding my hand inside her robe to cup her breast. “You.”

The rest of our afternoon I tried to hide my worries from her. We really didn’t do much, except to make love, talk, and make love again, which did manage to distract me. The combined shower we took lasted an hour. By the time we shut the water off, our skin was completely pruned.

I suggested we order dinner in, so we didn’t have to get dressed. Zara vetoed my idea, admitting she wanted to surprise me with a romantic dinner at La Mer.

“Okay, fine. But you’re not paying for dinner.”

“Oh, yes, I am, Landon Price aka Lance White,” she scolded with her hands on her hips. Lifting a finger to emphasize how serious she was, she then added, “I mean it.”

“Or?”

“Or…” Her eyes cut away as she tried to think of an acceptable threat. When her determined gaze landed back on my face she smirked. “Or, I’ll take Marshmallow to the groomer and have him dyed pink.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

She folded her arms defiantly. “I’ve done it before.”

My audible gasp echoed in the room. She looked so fucking sexy. I should’ve taken her right then and screw the reservation. My mind then flashed back to the realization that it wouldn’t be long before going out for a romantic dinner wouldn’t be so easy. I quickly pushed the depressing thought aside once again, not wanting to spoil my mood.

“You’re lucky I love you, Jobert.”

“Ditto, Price aka White,” she quipped, turning on her heel and disappearing into the bathroom to get ready.

I needed to sit on the balcony and slide the door shut to prevent myself from following her into that bathroom.

As we got ready for dinner, we comfortably moved around each other like we’d been together for years. It was a refreshing change to see a woman have such a minimal beauty routine. It took Zara all of five minutes to apply what little makeup she wore, another five to do her hair, and less than five to get dressed.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed tying my shoes when she walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a satin black thong. As she walked past me my eyes zoned in on the tiny ribbon disappearing into the crack of her perfect ass.

Holy-fucking-shit.

My eyes couldn’t look away as she slipped on a black backless halter dress. She noticed me gawking. “What?”

“I’m supposed to sit through dinner knowing all you have on under that dress is a thong?” My voice cracked at the end of that question.

“Yeah,” she said with a small laugh. “Why?”

“Shit.”

While slipping on her sandals she grinned. “You like?”

I stepped closer, meeting her eyes in the mirror that she faced, and wrapped my arms around her waist to press up against her ass. “What do you think?”

“Oh,” was all she said with a closed lip smile. “That could become a problem out in public.”

“Ya think?” I moved away from her ass, because that really wasn’t helping my situation. Her eyes watched with amusement as I adjusted myself in my black slacks.

“Do you want me to change?”

“Well, yes, as a matter of fact. Can you wear a snowsuit or something?” She strode over to where I had purposely distanced myself and wrapped her arms around my torso. When her lips sucked on a spot on my jaw, drawing my skin into her mouth, I croaked, “Zara, I suggest you stop if you want to keep this reservation tonight.”

“Okay, I’ll stop. But the good news is later tonight you get to take the dress off me.”

“Time to go.” Suddenly speeding up my movements, I picked up her tiny purse and grabbed her hand. “A word of warning, if you do that to me at the restaurant I’m taking you right where we are.”

She giggled as I dragged her down the hall toward the elevator…although I was dead serious.