6. Ian

Chapter 6

Ian

I wondered if she could feel it too. The intangible force that was drawing me to her and making me incapable of pulling away. It held me still at the same time it pushed me forward. I looked at Hazel in that moment and I saw the fire in her brown eyes.

My gaze scanned her face, settling on her full sensual lips. They were slightly parted, and they quivered with each breath she took. I’d never noticed these things about her before. Not once in all the years I’d known her had it ever occurred to me that her lips could look so inviting.

I was crazy for thinking that way about a woman I’d spent several years hating. How was it possible that I now felt attracted to her, so much so that I was actually tempted to kiss her?

What was happening to me?

I tried to rein in my growing attraction to her but it was of no use. The tension building in the small supply closet was too overwhelming. I placed my hand on the wall beside her head.

Hazel turned and her lips slightly brushed my exposed skin. It was so brief, but it lit a fire within me that was so intense it burned through every part of my body. She looked at me again, her eyes wide. The surprise I saw in them told me she’d felt it too.

It required all my strength to finally pull away from her. I shoved my fists into the pockets of my pants, feeling incredibly angry with myself for even considering kissing Hazel of all people.

She was the last person I should be attracted to. After everything she’d done to me, how could I possibly feel that way about her?

I stepped as far away from her as possible in the small room I could still smell her vanilla scent from here. It surrounded me like a cloud, suffocating me and making me wish I’d just spoken to her out in the open.

I turned and reached for the door handle. When I pulled it open, I found the rest of the Starlight Tribune employees standing outside. It was obvious they’d been listening to our conversation with their ears pressed up against the door.

It infuriated me that even in a moment like this, I still was not accorded any form of privacy. I couldn’t even have a simple discussion without people standing by to scrutinize everything I said.

“Ian, would you like a cup of coffee?” one of the employees asked, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that I’d caught her eavesdropping.

Her nonchalance only added to my anger. I looked around the room and for a moment, I was tempted to tell them how I really felt, tempted to finally speak my mind instead of always having to say the right thing because I was a public figure.

I held myself back, as I always did. “No, thank you,” I said. I walked out of the office feeling even more annoyed than when I’d walked in.

The car I’d rented purred to life when I turned on the ignition but for a moment, I didn’t move. I kept thinking about my moment with Hazel and everything that led up to it.

I’d been at the cafe ordering a cup of coffee when I heard the news of Emily’s disappearance. I walked in there that morning because I wanted a shot of espresso, but I got something else entirely.

I was waiting in line and someone recognized me. I thought it was a good day when I walked in there and I wasn’t immediately approached by fans. Somehow the universe had aligned so most people there didn’t know me. It was going well at first until one person recognized me.

The man stared at me for a moment before realization dawned on his face. I shook my head slightly, hoping it would signal to him that I didn’t want people to know who I was.

He did not pick up on my signal.

“Hey, aren't you Ian Carter?” he asked, loud enough for everyone to hear.

They all turned to me with confused looks. With time, their faces contorted to one of realization as they recognized me. “Yes, it is!”

I sighed. It was an annoying turn of events, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world. Sadly, being recognized turned out to be only the beginning of what would end up being a really shitty day.

“Isn’t he the reason that missing woman came into town?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“She came to Cloverhill because she’s his fan and now the poor girl is missing.”

I listened to the conversation happening around me with knitted brows. At the time, I had no idea what they were talking about. I’d made a habit of avoiding the Starlight Tribune, so I hadn’t read anything about a missing woman.

The people continued to look at me like they were expecting me to say something. Someone must have noticed my confusion because he handed me a copy of the morning paper. I took my time reading through the story. Apparently, a woman named Emily traveled to Cloverhill with her friend Olivia because they wanted to see the town where I’d grown up.

Olivia stepped out briefly and when she returned, her friend was missing. The story was tragic, and I hoped the woman was found alive, but I didn’t understand why I had to be involved in it. Everyone in the cafe was looking at me like I was somehow to blame for the disappearance of this woman I had never met.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” the man who recognized me first asked.

“Do about it?”

“Yeah. She came into town because of you,” he said.

Another patron in the cafe added. “It’s only right that you help find her. After all, she wouldn't have been here if it wasn’t for you.”

They asked what I planned to do and how he would solve the case like I was a police officer and not a hockey player. I didn’t know what to say, so I found myself staring at the paper again, reading the whole story repeatedly like I could find the answers to their questions in there.

And there, at the top corner of the front page, written in bold letters was the name of the woman I despised the most.

Hazel Jones.

It shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me that she was the one who wrote the article. I should have expected it of her. It was as if she built her career on making my life difficult.

After seeing her name, I left the cafe and headed straight for the Starlight Tribune. I went there because I needed to finally put her in her place. Sadly, the only I achieved there was a shouting match and the terrifying urge to kiss the woman I was shouting at.

I still hated myself for feeling that way. I hated that her scent, the feel of her lips on my arm, and the sight of her parted lips were still on my mind. I shouldn’t be thinking about her this way, especially not now when I was supposed to be angry with her.

I sighed and leaned back in my car. I’d gone to Hazel because I needed an outlet for my anger but deep down, I knew she wasn’t to blame for what happened.

She couldn’t control how people reacted to the news. She only reported the truth. I knew that, but it didn’t stop me from feeling angry. It felt like every time she released an article about me, she ruined my life.

I tightened my hand on the steering wheel and finally pulled out of the curb. And just in time too, a few of Hazel’s co-workers walked outside. I didn’t know if they were going for lunch or if they’d somehow found out, I was still parked outside.

I drove down the streets of Cloverhill, not really sure where I was going. After that confrontation with Hazel, I needed something to help me cool off. Unfortunately, there was no place like that in Cloverhill. No place that I wouldn’t be recognized.

I could never really go anywhere and just relax. There was also the chance that the people I met today would want to continue the interrogation I’d endured this morning at the cafe.

Maybe they wanted to ask more questions about Emily, the missing woman who I’d never met but was somehow responsible for. It was crazy to me that everyone was blaming me for her disappearance. That was the result of Hazel’s article.

Yet again, another one of her articles had ruined another part of my life. Before her articles, the cafe was one of the few places where I felt truly welcomed, not because I was famous but because I was myself. I knew it sounded crazy, but it was the truth.

I’d been going to that same cafe for years. I always stopped by there every time I was in town. It was my go-to place whenever I needed to cool off and feel normal. The people who visited there rarely recognized me or if they did, they didn’t care enough to point it out.

What happened today was an anomaly, likely brought on because of Hazel’s article. People who would have ignored me on any other day simply couldn’t because I was involved in the case of a missing woman. If only Hazel had considered that before she published her article but when had she ever considered anyone, least of all me?

She didn’t care if her article affected me in any way. The cafe used to be a place I could go to and relax. Now it held memories of being assaulted with a series of questions about a missing woman I knew nothing about. I had no desire to go back there now.

I genuinely hoped the young lady was found soon. It was terrible to know that she would have never come into town if it weren't for me. I guess a part of me did feel guilty.

She would still be safe and sound in her home but she came here because she cared about me. In the end, it led her to an unfortunate fate. I just hoped she was still alive. I hoped the police would be able to rescue her from whatever situation she was in.

Hazel’s article had created a lot of attention around Emily’s case. And even though I hated to admit it, she was right. Mentioning my name meant more people would take an interest which hopefully meant Emily would be found soon.

I knew all of that. I still felt angry with Hazel though because the least he could have done was inform me about the article before the paper hit the stands. We saw each other yesterday, and she didn’t say anything.

Our interaction was brief, but she still had more than enough time to warn me in advance. She just chose not to.

I found myself parked outside my family’s house a few minutes later. It was the only place I knew I wouldn’t be badgered about anything. As I walked inside, I thought back on the moment when I’d considered kissing Hazel.

“I must have been out of my mind,” I muttered, shaking my head.