Hollywood Playboy (Hollywood Royalty 1)

“The bus is going to be another ten minutes, so I was going to grab a coffee. Would you like anything?” I ask him.

“I’ll come with you.” Turning to Cassie, he says, “Meet you at the front.” We walk to the coffee stand. “Aren’t you cold?” he asks me, and I look at him. “Your whole shoulder is out,” he says, reaching forward and trying to cover my shoulder with my sweater, but the way it’s cut, there is no covering my shoulder. “Here,” he says, taking the scarf off his neck and wrapping it around mine, “that should work.” The smell of him all around me stumps me for a minute; a euphoria I’ve never known envelops me, and I have no idea where I am when the lady behind the register asks me for my order. I look at her, blinking, my thoughts all hazy. “She wants a latte, non-fat milk, no foam.”

“What just happened?” I ask him when we step to the side and wait for my coffee order. “Did you just cover my shoulder up with a scarf?” He twists open the bottle of Pellegrino that he just bought and takes a long pull.

“You looked cold,” he says, smiling but hiding it with the bottle at his lips. “You’re welcome.” He grabs the coffee when they call his name and hands it to me.

“Thank you.” I look at the coffee. “For the drink, not the scarf.” He laughs at me, and we walk back to the lobby and see that the bus has arrived, and everyone is getting in line and getting on the bus. I walk to Autumn. “Sorry, there was a line,” I tell her, and she just flicks her wrist, not caring. I roll the bag out, leaving it with the valet person who tosses it under the bus.

When I climb on the bus, I sit in the empty chair by the window, taking my phone out and scrolling through my messages. I got a couple from Mary who tells me that my apartment is just fine. A couple of emails from Stephanie praising the scoops I’ve gotten while I’ve been away. I got one message from Brooke asking me about my time away.

“It’s a seven-hour flight to Dubai,” Jonathan says from behind me. “Seven hours closer to home,” he says, and I laugh with him. Tyler plops down in the chair next to me, and Cassie sits across from him. She’s looking at me and glaring, so I close my eyes and shake my head. I don’t say anything to him as we make our way to the airport. Once the bus stops, Tyler gets up and waits for me to get out, then follows me down, and we walk to the plane together.

“You know Cassie hates me, right?” I say with a smile, not caring. “That just doesn’t help.” I look at him, and he just shrugs. “Are you cold? Would you like your scarf back?”

He doesn’t say anything; he just looks at me and glares while I walk up the stairs and say hello to the attendant. I walk down the aisle and take a seat near the window, and Tyler sits next to me. “If I end up chopped in pieces,” I say, taking off the scarf from around my neck, “you are to blame.”

“Put the scarf back on,” he almost hisses. When I look down, I see that my shirt slipped a touch, exposing the top lace of my bralette. I jump and cover myself and look around to make sure no one saw but Tyler. “Maybe next time, you should dress appropriately.” My head snaps to him, making sure he was the one who actually said those words before I unleash my inner beast.

“Wow,” I say, making sure my shirt is okay. I unsnap my seat belt and grab my purse while he watches me. I hop over his knees, tossing his scarf at him, and make my way to the pods in the back. I sit down in one, tying my seat belt. I look up in time to see Tyler march into the back of the plane and shut the door to his room. “Asshole,” I mumble to myself. I sit here for takeoff and then totally shut the pod during the flight. We arrive at one p.m. local time, and when I walk off the plane, I make sure my sweater covers everything it should. We get on the bus, and I sit next to Autumn while Tyler gets on and sits in the front with Cassie next to him.

“Do you have a dress for tomorrow?” Autumn asks me, and I shake my head. “Me either. Kendall and I are going to go shopping.”

“That sounds good,” I say, thinking retail therapy is always a good idea. “Is there a special dress code?”