“I still think I should be with you.”
“We’ve been over this. The public will forget me in a few weeks. Michael is already setting up a few photo ops with other women to take the focus off me. Once those pictures hit the tabloids, I’ll be yesterday’s news. Movies are less than two hours long for a reason, Zach. The attention span of Michael’s fan base is limited. Trust me.”
“I don’t know.”
“Zach, you have a life here. You can’t just leave.” She’d thought a lot about their relationship and what it would mean to keep it going across state lines. Instead of thinking the worst, she wanted to give them some time to see what would happen when they weren’t seeing each other every day.
The airport parking lot was full, forcing them to park off-site. Because of security, they had to say their good-byes long before the plane was due to leave.
Karen didn’t want this moment to be ruined by tears, but she felt them crawling up her throat as the moments they had left together closed in.
Zach held her hand, tugged her away from the line leading to her plane. “Call me when you land.”
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
Zach placed his palm to the side of her face and forced her eyes to his. She didn’t want to leave him. Maybe living in Utah was something she could do.
“Hey…”
He swiped the tear that drifted down her cheek. “You feel that ache?” he asked as he pointed to her chest. “I have the same one right here.”
She choked when he pointed to his own heart.
“You know what that means?”
“It means we’re both saps.”
Zach smiled. “No, it means we can’t stay away from each other for long. So tears aren’t necessary.”
Karen choked back a sob and lifted her lips to his. The tenderness behind his kiss brought more tears. The ache grew wider. Zach was wrong. The pain in her chest told her she loved him. Saying good-bye to someone you loved always hurt.
He ended their kiss and hugged her like a starved man.
As expected, the paparazzi met her at the airport, but not before Rick and three suit-wearing men surrounded her. Only once she was sandwiched between them in the back of a limousine did Karen remove her sunglasses.
“Thanks for your help, Rick.”
He sat to her left and shielded his eyes from the flash of a bulb that filled the inside of the car.
“My pleasure. How’s everyone in Utah?”
“Settling. Becky is staying with Michael’s parents. Nolan is rooming with Zach. It’s all good.”
“How’s Judy?”
Karen smiled. “Good. She really came through.”
“Tough kid.” Rick didn’t meet her gaze when she lifted her eyes to his.
“She’s not a kid.”
“Close enough.” OK, so he had seven…maybe eight years on Judy. But they weren’t that far apart in age.
“I’m sure the men on campus would disagree with you.”
“Hmm.”
Karen grinned…and waited.
“I forgot where she said she was going to college.”
“Boise State.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right.”
Karen couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Judy wasn’t going to Boise State, she was at the University of Washington…and it was obvious that Rick was just fishing for information about the kid.
“What?” Rick asked.
“Nothing.” Watching this unfold would be worth the wait.
The gates to the Beverly Hills home opened and the city lights behind the house reminded her of the millions of people who surrounded her. Rick and his security helped her inside with her bags, and swept the interior and exterior before leaving.
She flopped on the couch and pulled her cell phone from her purse. She dialed Zach’s number and waited for him to pick up.
“Hey, babe.”
She liked that. “Hey.”
“You made it home OK?”
She glanced around Michael’s empty house and smiled. “I did.”
A knock on the front door brought her to her feet. Rick must not have left yet.
“How is Nolan settling in at your house?”
“I’m sure he’s fine.”
Karen held the phone with one hand and opened the door. “What do you mean? You don’t know?”
Expecting Rick, Karen gasped when she opened the door to find Zach standing there.
He dropped his phone from his ear. “I don’t know because I’m not there.”
After the shock of seeing him waned, Karen jumped into his arms. She was sure one of them dropped their phone. She wrapped her legs around him as he carried her into the house. He kept his lips pressed to hers.
“I can’t believe you’re here.”
He kicked the door closed, kissed her again. “I can’t keep you safe if you’re miles away.”
She couldn’t stop smiling. “You’re crazy.”
Karen’s feet slid to the floor and she stared at him.
“Crazy? Maybe…you have to be crazy to fall in love with your brother’s wife.”
Her jaw dropped as his words sank in. “Your brother’s fake wife.”
“I mean it, Karen. I love you and the paparazzi will just have to get used to taking our pictures. I’m not leaving you to face anyone alone.”
“Oh, Zach. I love you, too.”
When she kissed him, their lips sealed their words.
“What about Utah…your job?”
“Utah can do without me. And my foreman can run my job site. They can do without me, but I can’t do without you.”
“Oh, Zach.” She tilted her head, kissed him again. He was here…in her arms…without anyone knocking on the door, any family calling…anything to break them apart.
Karen pulled away only to tug him to the room she called her own while living in Michael’s home.
He lowered her to her bed, pulling the shirt from her shoulders before pressing her into the mattress. Her legs tightened around his waist, her hands trailed down his back and up again. “It’s been too long.” She tossed his shirt to the floor.
“Less than a week.”
“Too long,” she said between kissing and tasting his moans.
“I won’t make you wait again.”
She laughed, pushed him onto his back, and worked her lips down his chest. The clasp of her bra popped free. “Getting better at that,” Zach said before he sat up and tasted the flesh hidden by her bra.