Chapter 2

2

" N o," Stone says, simple as that, his green eyes hard and determined.

My stomach plummets into my feet, and I can already feel stupid tears prickling my eyes. "Why not?"

"Go shower, Tinsley. I'm freezing and soaking wet and in no mood for games. I want to get in there after you so I can go to bed."

He's angry and annoyed. He wanted to be here alone and I'm intruding on that. I get it. I'm not sure I was ever his favorite person anyway. He was always a little cautious and distant with me. Plus, something is clearly going on with him if he's here and talking about how he's trying to get his shit together.

"How's this?" I offer. "You go shower since this is your room, and I'll gather my things and move down the hall to one of the other bedrooms." I give him my sweetest smile. The one I wear at award shows. Only I must look like a drowned rat, and after that dip in the marina, I probably don't smell much better.

He grumbles something under his breath that sounds like "Just go fucking shower already," and then he leaves me here, storming out of the room and back upstairs, probably to grab the stuff he dropped when I knocked him overboard.

I gnaw on my lip and shake out my tingling hands. I don't know what to do. I don't want to leave. The thought of going back to California or even to Boston sends a rush of panic through me. This is the most freedom I've ever had. It's exhilarating and liberating. It's the happiest I've been in so long and it only took a couple of hours like this to get me here. That's telling, and I don't want it to end. Not yet.

I'm tired, so incredibly tired. I just need some time to sleep and think until I find a little clarity and a lot of courage, and I can make the changes I know I have to make with my life. So I can't leave. I can't go back. Not yet. I need more time. Just a little more time without it feeling like a crushing weight is bearing down on me every time I take a breath.

Truth be told? I know I had no right to break into his boat and camp myself out without at least asking. It was stupid and wrong and definitely insane, but I didn't exactly think it all through when I did it. I was in desperation mode. I needed a break before I had a breakdown. It felt like I couldn't move or breathe as the walls of my life closed in around me.

I had no freedom. No space. Nothing for myself. A team of people surrounding me at all times telling me what to do and when and how to do it. Much of that started when the letters started—I was a minor then, so it was understandable—but it's been two years since my stalker went to prison, and nothing has relented. If anything, it's gotten worse.

Since I broke up with Forest last year and then briefly tried dating a few other guys, the press has been relentless. They stalk my every move, even following me to the gynecologist for my annual and then reporting I was pregnant from the guy I had just ended things with. That was a fun one. They throw out false claims about a hundred different men I'm dating and make it so that I can't leave my house to do anything, let alone live my freaking life.

Last week, the press got ahold of a leaked photo of me kissing my co-star in a scene from a movie we just finished filming. It spread like wildfire—something I believe the studio had a hand in to ruckus up free PR—to the point where Forest called me upset that I'm so public with my new relationship that I'm not even in.

It was my breaking point.

My label is pushing back on me, and my agent and manager are shoving me in a million different directions I'm not sure I want to go in. My manager, Apollo, is especially driving this train to the max, and it's turned into a wreck. He's the one I need to get rid of first. I can't write music. I can't leave my house. My cell is blowing up nonstop. I haven't been sleeping with the stress of everything.

I get it. Poor celebrity Tinsley. If you don't want the heat, you shouldn't have started cooking in the kitchen. But the truth is, I love what I do. Most days, the ends are worth the means, and I can handle it. I grew up in the spotlight. Being the daughter of Greyson Monroe, a famous rock star, leads to that.

But it was never like this for us growing up. There was never this level of frenzy before.

My dad suggested I come home and hide out in Boston for a bit, but the press would find me there without even breaking a sweat. No, I needed to go somewhere no one would ever think to look for me, and Stone's sailboat immediately popped into my head. It felt perfect. Genius in a way, since I knew he didn't use it.

I flew across the country and had the plane drop me in the middle of nowhere in Georgia. My assistant rented a car for me under her name, and I made my way to and through Florida, driving mostly at night, and now here I am.

My staff put out a story that I'm at an undisclosed yoga retreat for the next few weeks. The kind that doesn't allow you to bring your cell phone in because it messes with their vibe and aesthetic. I gave my family the same bullshit story so they wouldn't worry, not to mention I didn't want any of them to know I'm on the lam like a cut-rate thief and committed a felony by breaking into Stone's boat.

I have no clue how to sail, but frankly, that wasn't part of my plan. I figured I'd hole up, get some sun, write some music, and live off Diet Coke, prosecco, and charcuterie for a week. Heaven, right?

Something else not on my bingo card for this week? Seeing Stone.

But the idea of floating around the Bahamas for ten days sounds too good to be true, and no one will know because no one would ever think I'm with him. It's brilliant. Other than the sailing around with Stone part, but I can work with that. It's a big boat, and there are three other bedrooms for me to choose from.

Only, he doesn't think my idea is as brilliant as I do.

Quickly, I gather all my things and head down the hall to the room I shared with Forest the last time I was here. I didn't want to sleep in here because Forest and I didn't have the happiest time together that weekend. It was the beginning of the end for us, but it's the second-largest room, so here I am.

I toss my things on the bed and scoot into the bathroom. I'm freezing and oh my nipples and tits! They are on full display through my paper-thin white tank top. I look like I just stepped out of a wet T-shirt contest. I face-plant into my hands, wondering how much Stone saw. Then again, I got more than an eyeful of him half-naked.

Hello sexy muscles and tattoos.

I snicker to myself as I start the shower and strip down. I always tried not to look at Forest's older brother, but Stone Fritz is one of those guys who is impossible not to look at. Especially when he's shirtless. He has that gorgeous, bad boy, untouchable thing going for him.

Not that it matters.

All I want from Stone is for him to allow me to stay and tag along.

The shower feels like heaven, and I scrub myself twice from head to toe, singing to keep my nerves at bay and my mind quiet. I wrap a towel around my chest and enter the bedroom just as the bedroom door bursts open and I start. A hiccup of a screech jumps out of my lungs and my hands reflexively jerk, dropping my towel in the process.

Oh. My. Hell. Oh my hell!

My face heats to volcanic proportions, and I dive down, snatching the towel off the ground and pulling it up in front of me.

"What are you doing?!" I shriek while doing my best to covertly tuck my towel back around myself without flashing him again. "Do you normally burst into bedrooms where women are showering and naked?"

His green eyes are wide with shock as they do a slow, raking sweep of me, his tongue gliding along his bottom lip as he goes. The moment his eyes meet mine again, they grow hard and accusing. "Why did you tell me to come in if you're naked?"

His dark hair is wet and all over the place as if he didn't bother brushing it after he showered. He's wearing a tight-fitting green T-shirt that makes the green in his eyes look darker, a bit more sinister, and gym shorts that hang low on his hips. So low that—wait. Did he ask me a question?

I snap myself away from his gym shorts, feeling my face heating once again, and clear my throat, reforming my embarrassment into ire. "I didn't tell you to come in."

He folds his arms over his chest, his temperament hot and angry. "Yes, you did. I heard you say to come in."

I shake my head. "I did not. "

"Yes, you fucking did, Tinsley!" He's out of patience now. "I wouldn't have come in otherwise. You think I want to see you like this?" His hand pans out toward me. "See you drop your goddamn towel?"

"God, you're such a dick. It wasn't meant to be a striptease."

"Now is not the time to talk about my dick or stripteases."

My brows furrow and I tilt my head "Huh?" I wave that away. "Whatever. I was singing . The lyrics were ‘come in, come on in, baby, and be part of my heart.'"

He pauses, his eyes doing a slow, blinking thing. "Oh. All I heard was ‘come in.'"

"Well, I wasn't saying it to you." I tuck my towel tighter. "I didn't even hear you knock."

Stone saw me naked. A giggle rises up my throat at how awkward that is, and I smash my lips together to try to stifle it.

He sighs. It's not a happy sigh. Large hands scrub up and down his face, the motion bunching his biceps and the fabric of his shirt that's barely holding onto them. Hot damn, Stone Fritz is cut. I mean, I knew he played Division 1 hockey in college, but I don't remember him being like this. Too bad he can be such a jerk. And is my ex's brother.

I nearly giggle again and redirect my thoughts. "So, um, can I get dressed, or did you want to stay and be part of the audience for my next show?"

It's not a real offer, it was pure sarcasm, but by the look on his face, you'd think I just asked him if I could shove a cattle prod up his ass and turn the electricity to full blast.

Without a word, he turns and leaves, slamming the door behind him. "Your loss," I tease, and I don't know why I'm teasing him, other than poking the bear he's turned into since I asked him if I could tag along is fun. I might officially be losing it. Or maybe he was right about not mixing wine and the sleep gummy.

"Tinsley, just hurry up and get dressed," he growls through the door. "It's late, I'm fucking tired, and we need to figure this shit out."

"Go to bed then," I call back to him as I slip on clean underwear, a new tank top, and a fresh pair of sleep shorts. I'm going to need to do some laundry. I didn't bring a lot with me. "I'm not keeping you from your beauty rest, Prince Charming. I'd love to get some myself."

"Are you decent?"

"Depends on your definition."

Another growl, and this time, there is no stopping my giggle.

"Cut the shit."

"Fine. I'm decent. You may enter, Your Majesty."

He opens the door but doesn't fully enter. He lingers, halfway in and halfway out. His stormy eyes do another sweep, likely checking to see if I was lying about being decent, but that dark look is back, and it makes my belly drop and my nipples once again perk up. Well, that's not the best reaction to have with him staring this intently.

I fold my arms over my chest to hide them and raise a well eyebrow at him.

He clears his throat, his gaze locking on my face before it drops to the floor. His hands dive into the pockets of his track shorts, tugging them down a bit, his shoulder hunching forward.

"Talk. Tell me why you're here."

"Do you have your phone on you?"

He nods. That's it.

"Google my name and see how many hits you get from just the last few days alone."

He doesn't pull out his phone. Instead, he leans against the frame and lifts his chin until his eyes catch mine. "So you're running from the press and you thought you'd do it here where no one would ever think to find you. "

Damn, he came to that conclusion fast, and when he puts it like that, it all sounds so simple and shallow, which makes me frown. "More or less."

"And if I called your handlers to come and get you?"

That pisses me off, and I march over to him, getting right up in his face. "I'm not being a diva. I'm not being a spoiled brat princess. I appreciate that you're mad, and I know I shouldn't have just come here without speaking to you about it first, but I was starting to lose it and don't want to lose it, Stone. I don't want to be that pop star who has a nervous breakdown and ends up cutting off all her hair and dancing naked through the streets of LA."

"Huh?"

"I'm a caged lion at the zoo!" I exclaim, staring up at him because he's freaking tall, begging him to understand me. "Do you know what happens to those lions after a while? They either go postal and eat a tourist or they're so hopeless and beaten down they're merely shadows of their former selves. These past few years have dumped a lot of shit on me, both good and bad, but I haven't processed any of it. I keep moving, keep going forward, keep doing what I'm told. I don't even know who I am anymore other than what I am to everyone else."

My voice cracks, and I do my best to clear it. I will not cry in front of him.

"I won't be in your way. I'll keep to myself. But I feel like I'm drowning. Like I'm losing pieces of myself, and I'm scared of what will happen to me if I don't recover them. I just need a breather. A week off and away from the world. Please, Stone. Please let me come with you."

"Forest would have a lot to say about it."

I squint at him because that's not at all what I thought he was going to say after I unloaded all of that on him. "Why would he care if I'm here? "

"Because you'll be alone with me on this boat?"

"Are you planning to get down and dirty with me?"

He looks disgusted, his eyes studying me as if to remind himself of what I look like naked and all the ways I don't even remotely turn him on. And wow, isn't that a shot to my ego? Not that I was planning to do that with him, but still. A girl likes to be desired regardless. Probably better though. It's been way too long since I've been good and kissed—or laid for that matter—and Stone gives off the vibe that he's good at both.

That would be a colossal mess in the making.

"Didn't think so," I continue, brushing all that off. "And since I'm not planning to do that with you either, there isn't much he could have to say. So I guess it's tough shit for Forest if he doesn't like it." I shrug. "He's not my boyfriend anymore. He hasn't been for a long time, and while I still care very much about him, he doesn't get to dictate my life. That's part of my problem right there and one of the things I'm aiming to fix. That said, I don't exactly want people to know I'm here, so if you don't tell him, or anyone else for that matter, I won't either. It'll be our secret."

"This is a bad idea."

I grin, some of the pressure in my chest easing because it sounds like he's caving and there is resignation starting to flicker in his eyes. "Probably, but don't all the best things in life start off as the worst of ideas? Come on. Say yes. You don't want my mental health on your conscience, and let me tell you, she's holding on by a thin thread."

"I can see that," he deadpans, and I laugh and shrug. "Who knows you're here?"

"No one," I promise.

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't want them to tell me not to do it or try to talk me out of it, which they would have since this isn't my boat. "

His eyes narrow. "Where does your family think you are if they don't know you're here?"

"At a yoga retreat."

"Such a celebrity thing to do."

My eyebrows bounce at the sardonic edge to his tone, but I ignore it because he's not wrong. "Now you're catching on. My ruse worked. Well, until you showed up and foiled my plans. But I'm not above begging. I'll even drop to my knees."

"And let your mouth do all the work for you, Little Rose? You think I'm that easily swayed?"

"What?" I tilt my head and then blanch when I realize what I said. "Oh. No! Totally not what I meant. I wasn't talking about… you know… that ." A laugh bursts out, and then I do the stupid thing and glance down at this dick. Again.

He cups my chin and lifts it, his eyes cool and controlled, but with something else lingering there that I can't quite make out. "I know that's not what you meant. Or what you want from me." He pauses and stares a little harder as if he can see through me straight into my soul. Finally, he gives a tight nod, sighs again, and says, "You'll keep your distance from me."

It's an agreement, an order, and I salute him. "Yes, sir."

His eyes grow blacker than the night outside the windows, and he leans in, his chest practically touching mine now, the heat and spicy scent of him bearing down on me. My heart starts to race, and my inhales are short and choppy like I can't catch my breath, but I don't dare move. Not with the look he's giving me.

His mouth dips to my ear and he whispers against me, "Don't call me sir again and don't beg me with those big, pretty eyes of yours. I promise you'll regret the outcome."

My teeth sink deep into my lip so I don't… I don't know. Implode. Spontaneously combust. As it is, I'm dying to reach up and touch his pulse point to see if his heart is thrashing the wa y mine is. Somehow, I doubt it. I think this reaction is all mine, and it's not one I want to have or even fully understand.

I will keep my distance from him. That's for sure.

He pulls away and immediately takes a step back but hasn't quite managed to break the spell he just put me under. Another step, and he clears his throat. "We leave tomorrow at dawn."

I do a slow blink and snap myself out of my trance. "Wait," I call to him as he turns his back on me to go to his room. He stops but doesn't turn around. "You never told me why you're here. What does getting your shit together mean?"

"You've got five hours to get some sleep, Little Rose. Hopefully, you come to your senses and change your mind about this before I cast off."

Then he's gone. His door shuts behind him, and I'm left standing here going through the events of the last half hour. I have no idea what just happened but whatever that was, it made me restless in a way I've never been before. Little rose. He's called me that a few times now. My hands fist at my sides, and I bounce in place, staring down the hall at his door.

Maybe he's right.

Maybe I should come to my senses, get off the boat, and return home.

But I already know I won't.