“I’ve got it, Mom,” Locke says, but she waves him away as we all get up from the table to try and help.
“I’m guessing Sadie doesn't have her stuff with her. You should get her a shirt unless you’re like me and sleep naked.”
“Mom!” Locke barks.
“I’m teasing.” She winks at me.
“She can wear one of my shirts. I didn’t even think about that.”
“Want me to go to your place and grab some stuff?” Charlie offers.
“No,” Locke barks again. “It’s not safe. I’ll have one of my female agents go by and get her something in the morning.” Locke's hand grabs mine again. “Let me find you something to wear. Mom, will you show Charlie out?”
Locke doesn’t wait for a response as he pulls me out of the dining room. Both of them watch us go with smiles on their faces.
I find myself wearing one as well. With all that's going on right now, smiling is the last thing I should be doing. I should be freaking out, but all I can think about is Locke.
Chapter Eight
Sawyer
“Oh no!” Sadie drops her phone onto the table and claps her hands around her cheeks.
I lunge for the phone, preparing to respond to the threat. The green text reads Are you still coming? with a pleading face emoji.
“Who’s this?”
Sadie holds up her hands. “It’s Ramey Carson. She’s hosting a charity event tonight for low-income single moms, and I promised I would come and bid on something. I totally forgot.” She whirls around. “I need clothes, makeup, everything. Oh, how can I be so forgetful?” She snatches the phone out of my hands and sends out a quick reply.
“Can you take me to my place? I wish I hadn’t let Charlie go. He has an awesome makeup artist on retainer. Mine was hired by my mom, and I haven’t gotten around to replacing her.”
“I have a friend,” Mom volunteers. “She doesn’t do any big stars, but she’s really good.”
“I’ll take her.”
“She could bring some clothes, too.”
Sadie falls on my mom. “You’re an angel. Thank you for saving me. Okay, I’m going to go shower. I’ll just do a tight ponytail so if you’d tell her that I’m going simple, that would be fantastic.”
The two speed off in different directions while I’m left blinking in surprise. I guess we need a security team. I call to headquarters and get two others including a driver.
“There’s a makeup artist coming. Put her in the cabana. I’ll bring Sadie there.” The cabana is a small one thousand square foot building with a bathroom and a small kitchenette situated across the street. It’s there for me to hold strategic planning meetings close to home without letting strangers inside the compound.
Thirty minutes after Mom makes the call, the makeup artist arrives with a stylist and hairdresser in tow. After an hour, Sadie is dressed in a colorful floor-length dress that seems to float when she walks. Despite having the makeup artist brush on a million products, Sadie looks like she’s barely wearing more than a little color on her cheeks and lips, but the gloss on her mouth makes me want to sweep her up in my arms and kiss it all off. She’s too delicious to be taken to an event with other people, even if it’s mostly going to be women. The idea of other eyes taking in this kind of beauty rubs me wrong. It feels like she should be hidden away, kept a secret, because otherwise too many people will covet her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asks as we drive toward the event.
“You’re very beautiful,” I answer honestly because she’s already been exposed to the world. Everyone knows Sadie Monroe. She’s been our beloved little sister and then our beloved teen girlfriend and now she’s going to be the beloved adult actress starring in adult roles which means sometimes she’s going to get down and dirty with other people. I need to accept that.
“Does that make you mad?” She taps a hand that’s clenched around my arm rest.
I look down to see my knuckles turning white and force myself to ease up. “A lot of people will be eyeing you tonight. Need to keep you safe.”
“I promise I’m not going to be a problem. I just need to show up, place my bid, and we can go. It’s very low key. I should’ve told you before, but my mind has been in such a muddle.”
“It’s fine. I’ve got a good team, and no one’s going to hurt you while I’m around.”
She gives me a grateful smile that sends my blood pressure up. She’s too beautiful to be mortal.
“This will be one of my last public events.” She settles back against the leather of the car seat. “I’ve a hospital charity event and then a few pressers for Game Changers, but once that’s all behind me, I’ll be able to shut the door on this part of my life, and you won’t need to look after me. It’ll only be a few more weeks.”