Chapter 9

"Looks like the interview is about to air," Kai said and immediately pulled out his phone.

We'd finished eating and were chilling in a small, private area of the restaurant, snacks and drinks continuing to flow. Already, I was blown away by the strange way dinner had been conducted. It hadn't been anything like the eating-out experience I was used to. We had our own waiter, and there was no apparent rush to our meal.

Although we'd all ordered fairly early on, one of the band members had signaled for them to bring out each of the next courses, and it had happened. There had been almost an hour of chatting between the main course and dessert.

"I'm guessing you have no desire to watch it again," Jack said quietly, leaning toward me so only I would hear him.

As several of the other guests got up and went to Kai's side to watch, I nodded. It was bad enough that so many of them were watching it and would want to comment.

Again, Jack took my hand and led me through a set of double doors to a sort of game room. I'd noticed a few of the others head this way earlier, and I saw them playing pool at the far end of the room. At this end were several large game machines, one of them pinball. All of them had a pot with a sort of token inside.

Grabbing one, Jack pointed toward the pinball machine.

"Do you like these sorts of things?" he asked.

I'd never really played one before, but I wasn't about to admit that. Instead, I nodded and moved closer. He'd been heading toward it, and that was enough for me right now.

As he slipped the token in, the machine seemed to come to life, and a ball fell out of somewhere onto the trigger. I watched him pull it back and let it go before moving his hands to the paddles on the side and making sure it didn't come back down too fast.

He managed to catch the first fall with a good flick, sending the shiny object up to bang on lights and start racking up a really good score. Glancing at me a moment later, he waved me closer. As soon as I was near enough, he motioned to the left of the table.

"You take the left flipper," he said, and I happily obliged, looking at the table, our bodies side by side, only inches apart.

We batted it around a few times, neither of us speaking, but both of us clearly trying to make it work. My timing was far from perfect, however, and I reacted too slowly a couple of times, the second time losing us the game.

"Sorry," I said as the game ended.

"Don't worry about it. I've had a lot of practice. You can learn quickly." He grabbed another token as he spoke and shoved it in. Instead of pulling the trigger, he ushered me closer to the center of the table and moved behind me.

"Put your hands on the flippers, and I'll try and show you when to flick."

I did as he suggested, feeling the warmth of his body behind mine, his hands cupping the backs of mine and making me almost freeze for a moment.

"Ready?" he asked.

"I think so," I replied, trying to concentrate on the game and not the attractive man standing so close to me. It wasn't easy. Standing like this, I could smell his cologne again. The slightly citrus-style smell had hints of smoked wood and possibly vanilla. It was hard to tell, but I found myself almost drinking it in.

Jack pulled the trigger again, and then I tried to concentrate, his trigger finger over mine on both sides.

He pressed gently each time he tried to encourage me, not trying to do more than indicate to me to press. It still took me several attempts to get into the same sort of rhythm, but I got there eventually, and then we were pressing it together, each attempt a little better than the one before.

"It's a shame we're not in London for long," he said. "I could show you some of the boys' collections of these things."

"Maybe another time you're around," I replied without missing a beat. It was kinda fun and almost hypnotic, flicking a small metal ball around a machine that lit up and made noises whenever you got something right.

"Definitely." He pulled the trigger again and set us both off, but this time, he gently pulled my hands out of the way. Leaning into me a little more to get a better angle, he took over.

I got the feeling he was showing off a little, but I didn't mind and kept still while he bounced it around and racked up the points on the headboard. Although I'd been getting better, Jack was far more skilled and showed he'd had experience with the game. It just kept giving him more points, and he never missed a flick.

Suddenly, the door opened again, and several more of the group strode in.

"Nice interview," one of the women yelled, although I couldn't remember her name. The group came closer, and I got the impression Jack deliberately let the ball drop so he could back up and put some distance between us.

As he did, he caught the side of my body with his arm, not hitting me hard but catching one of my larger bruises with enough force that I sucked in my breath and winced.

Immediately, he seemed to notice and came back to me. His eyes fixed on my hand. It had gone instinctively to cover the hurting area. I lowered it and looked away to draw the focus from it.

"Sorry," he said quietly, leaning in a little. "Are you badly hurt? Did I catch you somehow?"

I could see the confusion on his face. After all, we hadn't connected that much, but here I was in pain. However, my brain froze, and I didn't respond or explain, not knowing how.

While the couple at the pool table were finishing their game, the new arrivals appeared to be distracted. Before I could stop him, Jack had come over and swept my blouse out of the way, covering the view from anyone else in the room.

As he got a good look at the yellowing but still very dark bruise, he sucked in his breath.

"That looks like it hurt," he whispered, gently covering it back up again.

"I slipped," I replied without thinking, unable to meet his gaze. "Distracted by an idea in the shower. Stupid thing, really."

"Have you been in pain all day?" he asked.

"Painkillers have taken the edge off, but yeah, it still hurts a little when I sit. I was lucky not to break anything, but I'll be fine in a few days."

Jack paused and studied my face, his doubt and questions lingering in his eyes. Again, I looked away, but he reached for my chin as if he was about to give me a stern but caring lecture.

"What are you two up to over there? Acting out a scene from Miss Writer's book or something?" one of the other women asked, grinning as she did.

I thought I heard Jack sigh as he let go of me and turned, but I couldn't be sure. He put distance between us and asked a question I didn't hear, the pinball machine behind choosing that moment to begin its jingle and remind people it was there to be played.

Trying to look normal, I slipped out of the room and found the nearest ladies' room. Not just to relieve myself but also to check the bruise that had taken another battering.

Although I couldn't be sure how much Jack had seen in the dimmer and mottled light of the games room, checking it now made one thing clear. It was a really nasty-looking bruise.