The Bodyguard (Red's Tavern 7)

But the moment the top of the convertible had shut, the smile dropped from Theo’s face. I noticed that his eyes were a little watery, though his face was like stone.

“We need to check all of those things, the moment we get back,” he said, glancing at the little haul. “Fuck. I’m so stupid.”

“Are you okay?” I asked, the world suddenly shifting on its axis for the second time this morning. “Theo, what’s—”

“I’m so stupid,” he repeated, letting out a long breath as he glanced out the window warily, seeing a bunch of people still snapping photos in the direction of the Porsche. “I got too cocky, thinking I could just come to a farmer’s market. I thought it might be okay, because this is just Amberfield, but…”

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “That was amazing. Everyone was so supportive and sweet.”

He swallowed, pushing his sunglasses back onto his face. “Yeah.”

His tone was clipped. I was swimming in confusion.

“You hated it, didn’t you?” I said, more a statement of realization than a question. “Shit, Theo. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize—”

“No, no, it’s not your fault,” he said, waving a hand.

“You looked so happy,” I said. “I figured you were enjoying it. You looked like you were glowing, out there. I have to admit, even I was a little bit mesmerized, for a second.”

I couldn’t even begin to imagine what life must have been like for him in Los Angeles or Paris, knowing that he could so quickly get this much attention here in Amberfield. In big cities, there were also swarms of paparazzi, too.

Theo puffed out a bitter little laugh. “I know. I’m good at it, aren’t I?” he said. “I was fucking terrified.”

My heart squeezed in my chest. “All you could think about was your safety,” I said, finally getting it. “I’m so sorry. I should have stepped in way sooner.”

“No. You were wonderful,” he said. “I’ve just been scared of everything this year.”

“Since your… situation began,” I said.

“My stalker, yes,” he said. “It’s okay, you can say it.”

“Your stalker,” I said. “Are you okay to drive, by the way? If you need to, I can get us home.”

He shook his head. “Don’t want to go back home quite yet, anyway. We should drive some other places first.”

The gears in my head turned. “So that people don’t follow us back.”

“Yeah.”

“I am starting to realize why you desperately need a bodyguard,” I said. “I won’t let something like that happen again.”

“It will happen again, I’m sure of it,” Theo said. “Don’t worry, I am used to it, for better or worse. It just hadn’t happened that badly here in Amberfield yet. Over the past few weeks, I’d almost gotten used to some sense of normalcy.”

He took a deep breath, finally turning on the car and driving back out onto the street, aimlessly taking off down the long road that led to nothing but farmland. “I don’t mind being recognized, really,” he mused quietly. “Some part of me still enjoys it, even. Like the night we met, in that bar.”

“Red’s Tavern?”

“Yes,” he said. “A couple of the workers there recognized me. I could tell. But they were courteous about it. They knew who I was, but they didn’t mob me. I still got treated like a human.”

“The people at Red’s tend to be good folks,” I said.

My mind was racing, trying to think of every way I could have handled the situation better. Next time, I didn’t want to allow as much space between the two of us. I had to be right at his side, glued to him, ready to wrap my arm around him at a moment’s notice if it was necessary.

And I had to learn more about his stalker. Whatever information I could gather.

“So nobody has been able to figure out who your stalker is?” I asked.

“Not yet,” he said. “Pretty sure he’s probably from California, but he’s clearly willing to travel, which isn’t typical.”

“Have you considered that it might be someone you’ve interacted with before?”

“You know, for a while, I thought it might be one of my ex-boyfriends,” Theo said. “It would be the simplest explanation. But the minute I got even a quick look of him on a grainy camera feed, I knew it wasn’t.”

“How could you tell?”

Theo shot me a quick sideways glance. “I tend to date… bigger men. Beefy guys. It’s just my type, I guess,” he said. “And my stalker is anything but that. He’s kind of scrawny. That’s all I really know about him. Nothing like the guys I’ve been with.”

“I see.”

“Not that I’ve been with that many guys, or anything,” Theo quickly added. “God, I make myself sound like a slut.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You’re charming, intelligent, and insanely good-looking. Of course you’ve had a million boyfriends.”

“Goodness, Roman,” he said. “You’re going to make me blush, now.”