“Only with other celebrities?” Amanda asks.
I think of Mia. “Pretty much with anyone I’m seeing.”
“Oh.” Her voice is hollow. She’s quiet for a moment before she says, “Harvey told me he didn’t want us seen together while we’re in London.”
I’m immediately irritated. “Who cares what he wants?”
“Um, I do. He questioned me today.”
Sitting up straighter, I remove my arm from her shoulders, trying to fight the irritation rising within me. “Questioned you about what?”
“My intentions.” She pauses when I frown. “Toward you.”
I gaze off into the distance. “That’s none of his damn business.”
“He seems to think it’s his business.”
“What exactly did he say?” I ask, turning my attention toward her once more.
“He thinks I might be using you. He finds it suspicious, how I all of a sudden came back into your life. He believes I want something from you,” Amanda explains, looking uncomfortable.
“Yeah, you want something from me all right.” She blinks, clearly shocked. “My body.” I smile, trying to lighten the moment, but she’s not having it.
Amanda scowls at me, shaking her head. “Seriously, Jordan. He doesn’t trust me. At all.”
“So?”
“So, if he sees photos of us together coming out of a restaurant splashed all over the internet, he’s going to flip.”
“I don’t care if he flips. He can talk to me if he has a problem.” She starts to protest again, but I touch her lips, silencing her. “Don’t worry about Harvey, Mandy. I mean it. I’l
l take care of him.”
She blinks up at me, worry filling her dark eyes. “But I don’t want to make things hard on you.”
“I can handle anything Harvey throws at me,” I say with confidence. And I mean it. I’m not scared of Harvey Price.
I don’t want Amanda scared of him either.
“Forget Harvey. Forget the photographers. Forget everyone.” Reaching out, I brush a few wayward strands of hair away from her cheek, lightly caressing her skin. I need to distract her. “We good?”
“Of course, we’re good.” She smiles faintly and I tug her close to me once again, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. Having her so close, it feels natural. Right. “I’m also kind of sleepy,” she murmurs, nestling her cheek against my shoulder. “I think it was all the food.”
“I’m not that tired.”
She lifts her head, her gaze meeting mine in the dim light. “Wait a minute. You said you were exhausted earlier. In the restaurant. That’s why we left.”
I shrug. “I lied.”
Her lips curve. “So you were just trying to get me alone.”
“Well, yeah. I thought you knew that after what I said to you earlier.” I touch her cheek. Her skin is so soft. Everywhere.
“Well, I thought that’s what you meant, but you confused me. One minute calling me dessert, the next minute saying you were exhausted.”
“I’m never too tired for you.” I touch her lips, her chin. Back to the corner of her mouth. I love this mouth. I’ve kissed it so many times, I’ve lost count. When I was a kid, I would fantasize about kissing that mouth. I’d also fantasize about those lips on other parts of my body.
Turns out the reality is way better than the fantasy.