Chapter Twenty-Eight
Emily swallowed her allergy medicine in her room, gulping it down with water. She set the glass down on her dresser. No matter how much these pharmaceutical companies claimed these were non-drowsy, these pills always knocked her out.
But she was ready for bed anyway. This day had already exhausted her. Only two more and then she was home… no, not home, Nashville. Emily wasn’t sure what she thought of that, only that she didn’t want to leave Nash.
He’d told her that he loved her.
Emily replayed those sweet words until she felt gooey with giddiness. For the first time, she’d admitted that she returned his feelings—not in the lyrics of a song, but in real life. She didn’t know what had come over her, only that Nash made it very easy to confide in him. There was something about him that overcame her natural reservations and forced confessions out of him.
Nash charged through her open door. “You can’t sleep in here,” he said.
She twisted around. “What do you mean?”
He searched her room, lifting lamps, overturning the clock, examining pictures on the wall. He was confusing her. His relentless rummaging made it seem like he was hunting for a spider that he couldn’t kill. “Just… trust me,” he said. “You can’t be in here. I doubt we’ll be getting any sleep tonight.”
“Speak for yourself.” She laughed. “I just took some allergy medicine, so I’ll be out like a light, as much as I’d love to spend all night talking.”
He shook his head. “We wouldnotbe talking.”
She smirked. That sounded scandalous. He was acting strange, almost protective, but she didn’t get why. A furry body lunged into the room. Nash let out a muttered cry and dashed between Emily and Lizardman.
Man, he was jumpy. “Thanks!” Emily said playfully. “Yousavedme!” She reached around Nash to pet the puppy between the ears. Dakota had been playing with the little teddy bear all day, so it was nice to finally get her hands on him. “You never know,” she goaded Nash, “Lizardman might’ve licked me to death.”
Nash shook his head and seized a stack of books on her dresser. He made a grunt of discovery. “There it is.” He picked off a round black piece of plastic and held the tiny thing between his fingertips.
Her eyes narrowed on it. The circular gadget had lens on it. “Wait,” she said. “Is that a…?”
“A camera,” he said.
She sobered immediately. He dropped it into her glass of water on the dresser.
“I just got… a tip,” he said. “You’re getting filmed in your room.”
A cold chill ran through her. Was this a dark web kind of thing? It wasn’t funny. “No!” She tried to remember everything that she’d done in here, but it was impossible to recount, only that—besides Nash’s occasional intrusions—this was supposed to be a place of privacy.
Was this the price of fame?
Her skin prickled at the eeriness. Either way, she wasn’t sleeping in this room again. She fell into Nash’s arms, shaking her head. “I can’t believe it.” And then another thought occurred to her. What if there were more? “Idefinitelycan’t stay in here.”
His chin rested against the top of her head. “No,” he breathed into her hair.
Her mind was awash with questions. “How did they find us… and then get a camera in here?” Her suspicions flew to Mia. She’d tipped the paparazzi off before, Emily was sure of it, but even Mia wouldn’t go so far as to intrude on her client’s privacy.
Nash dragged the blankets off her mattress and hustled her from her room. She’d already gotten into a baggy tee shirt and stretch pants for bed, and luckily, ever since Nash barged in that one morning, she’d taken to dressing in the bathroom. Still? She shivered at the invasion.
“You can sleep on my bed,” Nash said. “I’ll take the couch.”
How was that any better? She clung to him. “I’m seriously creeped out right now.”
He brought her close to him. “You’re okay. I’ll be with you.”
“But what if they found something that they could use against me?” she asked.
A storm of anger broke through his blue eyes. “I’ll make sure that they don’t.”
How was that possible? Nash wasn’t Superman. Her medicine was taking fast effect, however, and her mind felt cloudy. This all felt nightmarish. His hand grappled with the doorknob to his bedroom. Lizardman pressed his head against her legs.
“You’d better give me Lizardman tonight,” she said.