a mind to leave here and break down your back door, but I’m afraid I can’t go anywhere in public in my current state.”

“I’m sorry. Did I raise your stress level?” I asked. “I just want to be clear about your current state.”

“Very much so!” he confirmed.

“Then I guess we’re even.” My fingers drifted over several lacy bras, imagining his reaction to seeing me wear something like this.

“Even? Tell me when I inflicted this kind of pain on you without finishing you off!”

I thought about the first time he made my body tingle. “The morning when you played your song on my guitar. I definitely, definitely had an

unsatisfied moment there.”

“Really? Interesting! I would not have guessed that. It’s good to know, though. You sort of had the same affect on me the other night,” Ryan

admitted.

“When?” I asked, surprised to hear that.

“Monday night when you played. Why do you think I took the guitar out of your hand so quickly? I couldn’t think straight anymore!” He laughed.

“I almost tore the guitar out of your hands that same night! I was thinking about chewing on your neck,” I whispered seductively.

“Okay, so you have to talk about something else because I am not in good shape right now,” he groaned.

“That’s debatable.”

“Stop!” he pleaded.

I tried to come up with benign conversation. It was difficult as I was walking through a lingerie store filled with naughty, frilly things.

“You sound exhausted,” I breathed.

“I am. It’s been a long day already and we’re filming night scenes tonight.”

“Crash in your trailer for a while,” I suggested.

“You read my mind,” he whispered. “Sometime between three and seven I’m turning my phone off to sleep.”

I spent quite a few dollars on silk, satin, and lace in different hues. It had been a long time since I felt inclined to, for lack of better terms, dress to

impress, so I got carried away while shopping - for him. My mind wandered over our conversation, and picturing that he was aroused because of it

provided a lot of incentive to buy even more.

I also spent more than I would have liked to on two simple but tastefully adorable cocktail dresses: one was black satin sheathed in black lace

and another in a unique shade of sapphire blue, just in case. My wardrobe seriously lacked formal wear as there was never an occasion to get

dressed up, nor had I ever entertained the thoughts of going out in public with a man like Ryan. I also thought about meeting his parents. That would

definitely be an occasion to look my best. I bought myself a lot of new things so I’d have new wardrobe options.

That night, Marie flipped the television back to the entertainment news, much to the dismay of several of my male customers who were enjoying

watching the sports highlights. My heart sank when I heard tonight’s headlines.

“Ryan’s steamy Manhattan hook-up” was all I needed to hear to send my emotions into a downward spiral. Pictures of him dressed in a suit with

his arm around some girl were flashed all over the screen. She was young, attractive, and there, with him, in pictures. And then I felt the extreme

burn of jealousy roll through me as my phone rang.

“Hi. What?” I answered. My voice definitely sounded perturbed.

“Taryn? What’s wrong?” he asked. “Are you okay?”

“No, not really,” I grumbled.

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Marie turned on Celebrity Tonight,” I muttered.

“I should have warned you.”

“It doesn’t matter.” The damage was already done.

“Yes, it does matter!” he breathed out. “You can’t believe anything you see or hear about me. Please! You promised! The girl in the picture is

the daughter of the producer. I told you he brought her to dinner.”

“No, Ryan - stop. Just stop… please,” I whispered.

He breathed out a heavy sigh. “Then why are you so upset?” he asked point blank.

I just huffed in frustration.

“You asked me to trust you. That goes both ways.”

“Ryan, stop. That’s not why I’m mad. I just hate how the media embellishes the truth with lies. I wish they wouldn’t say that kind of stuff about you,”

I sighed. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him the true reason I was upset.

He laughed softly. “Tar, you know it’s not true.”

I knew why he didn’t want me exposed, but at the same time I wanted to be by his side, supporting him. Maybe if the world knew he had a

girlfriend they wouldn’t speak lies. Maybe if it was me in those pictures… maybe if he just announced on the morning show that he was dating

someone instead of denying it…

“I know it’s not true. I’m trying. It’s hard not to be a little jealous when you’re pictured on TV with someone else,” I murmured.

“Well if you’re done being upset,” he said, unruffled, “I was wondering if you might like to put on one of your new dresses tomorrow night.”

Saturday could not come fast enough. I made arrangements with Marie and Pete to take care of things and I was glad that I didn’t have

entertainment booked for the evening. Cory was working tonight with Marie, so the bar was covered.

Ryan had offered to send a car for me, but I didn’t want to have to explain it or raise anyone’s suspicions – especially the paparazzi’s. I gathered

that he wanted our evening to start off with a certain level of class, but he sided with me to keep it more secretive. We agreed that I would drive to

meet him at the same parking lot behind the textile mill where I had once dropped him off, and we would go from there.

I slipped on my new blue dress over a matching blue strapless lace and silk panties set. The dress had delicate straps with rhinestone details

where the straps met the satin top, which accentuated my curves. I decided against the nylons and opted for bare legs and high heels. It was cold

outside; my dress would be hidden for a while under a dress coat until we got to wherever we were going. My big reveal would have to wait. Our

destination was dinner, but I had no idea where. That too, was a secret.

When I arrived at the lot, there was a black sedan with tinted windows waiting for me. As I parked my car, a man I did not know came to my door

and opened it for me.

“Good evening, Ms. Mitchell. My name is Richard. Mr. Christensen has requested that I keep your car secured until you return.” He held out his

hand for me as I exited my car.

“May I have your car keys, please? Your car will be delivered here upon your return,” he assured me. “This way please.” He motioned for me to

follow him to the sedan.

Richard held the sedan door open, and as I peered inside, the back seat was empty - all except for one long-stemmed red rose. My eyes

flashed back to Richard; I was completely confused and I hoped he would give me an explanation. He smiled and motioned with his hand for me to

get in the car.

There were two men sitting in the front seat; the driver and a larger man who I assumed was security, although he was dressed in a suit.

“Good evening, Ms. Mitchell,” the burly man greeted me. “My name is Anthony. I will be escorting you safely to your destination tonight.”

“Good evening, Anthony,” I replied. “It’s nice to meet you.” My mind wandered with thoughts of where I could possibly end up tonight. Where are

they taking me?

We drove south along the coast for almost an hour until the car turned towards the ocean. The sedan entered a marina and stopped along the

docks where several large yachts were moored. It was then that I realized for our first official date, Ryan chartered a yacht. Unbelievable I thought to

myself as my personal bodyguard opened my door.

“This way, please, Ms. Mitchell.”

We passed several huge yachts; they seemed to get bigger and bigger as we approached. I watched carefully where I stepped for I was