I blended in easy enough, looking like I literally just rolled out of bed. My hat hid my hair, and the shades I wore were huge and covered more than just my eyes. No one would know it was me.

Mike, on the other hand, stood out like a sore thumb. The jeans were okay, but when paired with the gray short-sleeved button-down, black work boots, his wanna be FBI glasses, back the fuck off look, and his inability to stop scanning the area every five seconds, he screamed security detail. Which meant when people saw him, they’d look to see who he was guarding.

“I have an idea.” I grabbed his hand and tugged him to the closest souvenir shop. Grabbing a few items, I paid cash at the register and forced Mike into the bathroom to change. When he came out a few minutes later, I smiled and twined my fingers into his. To everyone else, we’d be a couple of tourists. A few hours free with my favorite guy in my favorite city? It was going be a fun day.

Chapter Eighteen

~ Mike~

“What the fuck are you wearing?”

I groaned, turning to greet Noah and Nate as they entered the room where they’d be meeting fans in just a few short minutes. “Molly showed me the city today.”

“So, you decided after one day in New York that you’d betray everything you’ve always held sacred and holy?” Noah asked, staring at my hat.

“Fuck off, asshole. It’s just a hat.”

“A Yankees hat. Where you come from, that’s treason. They’ll burn you at the stake for that shit. Fuck, did it burn your skin when you touched it? You probably just cursed the Sox, man. If they don’t make it into the playoffs, I don’t want to hear you complain.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and stared down at him. “Molly wanted me to fit in. In this, I fit in.”

“Oh. It was to help you fit in.” He nodded as if he understood, and I knew he wasn’t even close to being done. “Spend a lot of time in the woods today? Go hunting little wabbits, Elmer Fudd? ‘Cause that’s the only place a camo hat would fit in.”

“Do you ever shut up?” Truth was, even though it was blasphemy and Jake would be appalled, this was my new favorite hat. The way Molly’s eyes lit up when I put it on, the way she lifted the brim to kiss me, the way she grinned at me every time she glanced up at me—I’d wear the goddamn hat everywhere if she kept acting that way when I did.

“Man, I haven’t even started on your shirt.”

I glanced down at the graphic NYC tee Molly had chosen. It was just the skyline. Nothing horrible. Better than the “I heart New York” one she tried to force me into.

“I can understand why you wore them earlier,” Nate joined in. “But why are you still wearing them now?”

“Because I like the hat and I asked him to keep it on. He looks good in it.” I didn’t miss Nate’s scowl as Molly strolled up to us. One glance in her direction and it was all I could do not to turn her around and march her ass right back to her dressing room.

“Speaking of clothes,” I started, trying to keep my voice casual, “is that what you’re wearing tonight?”

Molly didn’t even glance down, but the little brat twirled slowly before she beamed at me. “It is. Isn’t it adorable? And completely patriotic?”

I didn’t think there was anything adorable about the jean skirt that barely kept her ass cheeks covered and the American flag tank that was more like a small triangle of material than it was a top. The knee high cowboy boots were the only sensible article of clothing she wore, and really, who wears cowboy boots that high?

“It isn’t.”

“Says the Red Sox fan sporting a Yankees hat,” Noah argued, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “You look fucking fine, Mols.”

Before I could argue, Nate stepped next to her, steering her away from me and his brother. The death glare he sent me over his shoulder would have probably sent most men running scared.

I wasn’t most men.

“I thought you’d hide it better.”

“What are you bitching about now?” I snapped.

“Shit, man.” Noah shook his head at me. “All this time I’ve been worried about you hurting her. Never thought about how pissed I’d be if she hurt you.”

“All this time? We talked about it two days ago, kid.”

He snorted. “It was only a matter of time. I knew as soon as I found out you were coming back for her.”

“Shows what you know. I came back as a favor to Lia.”

He smiled. “Sure you did. You keep telling yourself that, and you and Mols might actually believe it. I don’t. Neither does Red. Think about it. If you were coming back for Lia, you would have agreed as soon as she showed up at your door. You didn’t decide to come until she showed you the pictures and told you how fucked Molly would be without you. Just watch yourself, okay?”

“I told you, no one is hurting anyone.”

He nodded. “You keep telling yourself that, too. But watch how you act around her. ‘Cause, if looks could kill, every man that glances at her ass tonight would be dead. You’re not hiding it as well as you think you are. I pray none of them try to cop a feel.”

I growled, thinking about how I would gladly break the fingers off any man who tried to touch my girl.

“Exactly.” Noah nodded, but not in a smug way. “You and Naytron are going to have to talk about this at some point—you know that, right?”

“Nothin’ to talk about.”

“Yeah.” The disbelief in his tone pissed me off, but that’s only because I knew he was right. Nate and I were going to have to talk about me and Mols. It was not a conversation I wanted to have.

Thankfully Sam, the head of Nate’s security, hollered my name, gesturing me toward him. We went over the plan, and then I stood back and watched as people filed in to meet the stars of the night. My eyes may have lingered on Molly a little too long whenever she greeted a male fan. I told myself I was just doing my job; it was up to me to keep my eyes on her so I could keep her safe.

When the DJs that had interviewed her earlier walked through the line, it took every ounce of self-control I had not to stride over to them, pull her into my arms, and stake a claim. I barely stayed on my side of the room when one of them—the one who admitted to being interested in her—leaned over and hugged her tight. I’d taken two steps toward them when Molly pushed him away, stepping back to give herself some space, and I breathed a small sigh of relief.

*****

The show had been more than a success. Molly was called back to the stage three times for encores, and then the crowd demanded Nate bring her back out again. She was glowing when she and the band finally escaped.

For the first time in almost a week, we joined Nate and the ‘Bama Boys at the after party. It was a city that never slept, after all. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with the useless drama and bullshit that these parties almost always brought, but Molly deserved a chance to celebrate with her friends. And to let loose after she’d been so stressed.

I stood with my back to the bar, scanning the crowd for trouble, but my eyes never drifted far from the woman dancing with a group of fans on the edge of the floor. We’d been late to the party, and the place had been a madhouse by the time we’d shown up. I liked to be early, to get my bearings without hundreds of strangers getting in my way, to have escape routes planned and backup security hidden in plain sight.

Tonight, though, the late arrival hadn’t irritated me like it normally would have. Molly had insisted it was a fashion faux pas for her to show up in the same outfit she’d worn on stage and that she had to change. The ripped jeans and low V-neck tee shirt that dipped low between her tits was a step up from the outfit she’d worn on stage. Just barely.

The girls crowded in to take a selfie and somehow the phone fell. Mols moved quickly, bending over to grab it before it got stomped on. I had a great view, her perfect ass right in my line of sight. My smile had nothing to do with what I could see, though. It was all about what other’s couldn’t. The jeans might’ve been skin tight, but at least no one could see her bare ass when she bent over too far. It really was the little things that mattered most.