Chapter Fifteen

C hapter Fifteen

A rna

I f it wasn't for the look of pure horror on Andy's face I might not have reacted so astutely to the flashes in our direction.

On any other night I would not have registered that it reflected someone taking photos, and that those photos would be of me. An ignorance that was clearly a luxury. Until now.

One moment I was ready to lean that little bit further, to feel the brush of his lips against my own, and then I was hoisted from the near moment and thrust into a cyclonic mess.

"Fuck!" Andy snapped, shielding me from the direction of the cameras with his body. "Arna, we need to leave now." He commanded, looking directly into my eyes.

Fervency dripped from his tone and was accentuated by tightly balled fists and a glacial look in his eyes. Grabbing my purse, I nodded before Dale seemingly appeared from nowhere looking just as shocked as I felt.

"I'm so sorry, bro. I didn't realise anyone saw you come in. Follow me, we have another exit."

Glancing over Andy's shoulder, the burst of light erupted again and Dale reacted instantly, directing us the opposite way. I couldn't see anything beyond Andy's large body which towered over me, but the feeling of urgency was an encompassing mist making it hard to breathe.

Ho-ly shit. What the actual hell was happening? One minute we were enjoying a meal and the next –

"Gloss. Gloss. Who is the pretty lady?" Indistinguishable voices shot out around us, invisible bullets slicing through our bubble, and I felt myself tense at the intrusive nature of their tone.

"Fucking vultures." Andy muttered. Sensing my uncertainty, he moved in closer instinctively putting his arm around me and I innately reached for him. Grabbing hold of his shirt I craved his security and Andy's gaze flicked down to my fist before he looked at Dale.

"Dale. Get us out of here before they get any more fucking photos of her." I loosened my grip feeling the warmth of protection, the stentorian authority in his voice enough to remind me why he was the leader of his team.

Taking advantage of the feel of his arm around me, I lent in a little and breathed him in. If there was any positive to the sudden pivot of the evening, it was this moment. Only a minute ago I was pushing the boundaries and very nearly gave in to the desire he elicited from me, seeking the knowledge of whether his kiss was everything I imagined it would be. I could no longer deny the voracity of my thoughts. Even his arrogance was starting to call to a hidden craving which would see him devastate my body in the best way.

Turning me around to walk ahead of him, his hands gripped my hips and I internally swooned, my body betraying me as my nipples hardened. Either the role of damsel in distress was a subconscious desire of mine or I was clearly boozed, because I was finding this James Bond style of protection sexy as hell.

Just up ahead Dale stopped at a door, the manic voices left behind. "Your car is just outside. Sorry again, Andy." He looked genuinely apologetic, and I felt bad for the kid.

"All good, not your fault. Appreciate it, bro." Andy said, shaking his hand with the arm not still claiming me like I was a prized possession.

His grip was firm, his hand splayed tight on my hip. Should I step out of his grasp now that we were fine? Did I want to?

I remained tucked into his embrace as we approached Sergio, but clearly this was an anticipated move as two men came sprinting over, cameras at the ready. I raised my hand to cover my face, the light blindingly bright against the darkness of the alley.

"For fuck's sake!" Andy spun me so fast that if he wasn't holding me, I would have fallen. He buried my face into his chest and covered me as much as he physically could as I heard the distinct sound of the car door open.

"Gloss, who is your new girlfriend?"

"She's a pretty one, Andy. What's her name?"

They were relentless. More muffled questions I couldn't quite decipher were thrown, lights no longer hitting my face now as Andy enveloped me in his arms.

"What's your name? What's your name?"

"Don't you fucking talk to her!" Andy's chest vibrated as his anger pervaded the air, the acidity in his words shocking the men enough that the cameras stopped for the briefest moment.

Sergio took advantage and with Andy's help moved me into the car before another photo could be taken. Andy hopped in immediately after and the door was closed, the car too small for the heady concoction of emotions emanating from the both of us. He sat close to me, our thighs touching as he looked back towards them through the privacy tinted windows.

"Are you okay?" I asked, taking my first real breath in what felt like forever. It was likely only about two minutes, but the intensity of the moment finally settled allowing me to process what just happened.

He didn't answer and I gently placed my hand on his thigh at the same time as I spoke his name softly.

"I'm fine." He snapped and I recoiled, reefing my hand away, shocked by the capricious nature of his words. "I'm fine." He repeated a little softer.

Where was the man who I just had dinner with? The one who laughed with me for the last hour and then used his own body to protect me. The one whose lust filled gaze lingered on my mouth long enough to silently invite me closer.

I opened my purse to take out my phone, desperate for something to do with my hands to distract myself from the awkward silence lingering in the car. Andy was already doing something on his own phone, fingers smashing into the screen with his gnawing anger. I sent Marlee a text to see if she was awake and was relieved when I saw the grey dots indicating her reply. I told her I would be calling her in ten minutes, and she needed to make sure she answered because there was no way I could unpack this alone.

Locking my phone, I turned back to him, hoping to salvage what had otherwise been an incredible night. His head rested against the seat; his eyes closed.

My heart ached.

This was something he probably dealt with every single time he went out. Something that impacted his everyday life so much that he avoided going anywhere. His animosity and reluctance to answer questions now made a little more sense. I wanted to reach out and apologise, tell him I was sorry if being photographed tonight was going to cause him more of a headache – but mostly, I just wanted to give him a hug. To provide him with some form of comfort and try to get the man I had at dinner back. But I didn't even know where to begin and with the anger wafting from him, I wasn't certain he would even want that.

When we pulled up to my apartment he didn't appear to notice. His mind was far from the confines of this car, and I tried not to take it personally despite the connection I knew was not only one-sided. I placed my hand on his arm, startling him again. When he looked over at me, his face was a stoic mask of indifference, but his eyes were pained. He glanced down at my hand before looking back towards me.

"I'm sorry, Andy. I had a really nice time tonight though."

"Yeah." He didn't elaborate instead opening his door and coming around to open mine, holding his hand out for me as I thanked Sergio before exiting. He followed me to my front door and waited while I grabbed my keys, putting them in the lock. Turning, I looked up at him, confused how not long ago there was an intimacy simmering between us which was now nowhere to be found.

"Thank you again." I smiled shyly and he nodded, his hands stuffed tight into his pockets. He didn't say anything else, and I watched his retreating form move back to the car, wishing the night had ended differently.

Marlee answered on the first ring, her wide-eyed gaze filling the screen.

"Ummmm, bitch, have you been online?" She looked as though she was both horrified and doing her best not to laugh. My internal alarm bells fired as I realised this was not going to be good.

"No. I literally just got home from dinner and called you. Why?" I leant back against my pillows and propped my phone on my bedside table.

"Umm, because you are everywhere! You and Andy freaking Gloss!" My heart dropped and I quickly reached for my laptop.

"Don't lie." I said, hastily logging on.

"I'm sending you an article right now. Oh my god! My best friend is dating the captain of the fucking HEARTS!"

My face paled the instant I clicked the link. Numerous articles loaded, all of them pinned with photos from tonight.

‘Hearts' Captain fires a dinner date goal with mystery blonde'

‘Is love on the field for Andy Gloss?'

‘Hearts' skipper dines with a mystery woman as fans are left guessing who she could be'

I skimmed the articles, zooming in on the photos, before moving to the next.

"Oh my god, Marls. This is not good." My stomach churned with nerves for how this looked. Darren was going to think I was fraternising with a client, and I had absolutely no idea what Andy was going to think given there were photos of us everywhere. Photos which did not paint the story of a journalist and her client.

"Calm down, you can barely tell it's you. But can we focus on the fact he is literally snuggling you in a restaurant?"

I could hear her voice, but I was still scrolling, starving for every single article about me , desperate to swallow every word and headline. Some of the trashier sites had us engaged, another saying I was a childhood sweetheart who had returned after years overseas. How these articles were even written, let alone published in what was at most, an hour since the photos were snapped, was beyond me. They evidently didn't have an editing process like Urban Pulse. Yet another reason why I wanted to be senior editor. There was no way I would allow our site to print such incendiary bullshit.

"Marls, this is so bad." I closed my laptop and looked at my phone for the first time since I found myself on the opposite side of the tabloids. Marlee was laying on her bed, her long brown hair thrown up into a bun on top of her head. She was eating cucumber sticks, her eyes dancing with joy.

"You gave him a blowjob under the table and they photographed you bad or you're going to get fired bad?" She clarified sarcastically.

"Can you be serious for a second? I could lose my job!" I shrieked. "Marls, you should have seen his face. He looked so sad. They are so rude. They literally just kept taking photos of us no matter what he did or said."

She stared at me smirking.

"What? Why do you keep giving me that look?" I asked, frustrated. "I can't imagine living a life where this is considered normal or expected."

"How about you start at the beginning and tell me what you were doing serving up that look at a business dinner ?" Her eyebrows were almost in her hair line and she used air quotations around business dinner making me huff a laugh.

I leaned back and sighed. "So, it started with him meeting Paul."

"WHAT?" Marlee yelped.