Page 98 of How to Love a Rockstar

“I’m safe now.” She hiccups. “With you.”

“You’re always safe with me.”

I pick her up and carry her to the bed. I lay her on it and notice it’s completely stripped. “Where are your blankets?”

She points to the closet. I open the door to find she made a bed for herself on the floor. She must have been terrified and hiding in the fucking closet.

I hang my head. This can’t happen again. I can’t fail her again.

I grab the blankets and cover her with them before crawling into bed with her and cuddling her close.

“I’m sorry.”

She sniffs. “It’s okay.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Pretend everything is fine when you were hiding in your closet terrified.”

“Thanks for reminding me of what a wimp I am.”

I pinch her chin and force her to meet my gaze. “You’re not a wimp. Those paps can be terrifying. Have you forgotten what happened to Princess Diana?”

Her eyes widen with fright. Way to scare the woman you love, asshole.

“Forget I said anything. Are you okay now? Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

“My phone died and I didn’t want to abandon my cocoon to find a charger.”

“We’re buying extra chargers and putting them in every room in the house,” I declare.

“Whoa. Slow down. This is my home. My apartment.”

“And you’re mine to protect.”

She scowls and opens her mouth – probably to remind me of how crappy of a protector I am – but I place a finger over her mouth to stop her.

“I know I failed you today, but I won’t fail you again.”

She shoves my finger away. “You didn’t fail me.”

I lean my forehead against hers. “I did, but it won’t happen again. Promise. We need to get you an alarm system and maybe a bodyguard when I’m gone since Fender can’t keep a promise. How do you feel about dogs?”

“I don’t want a bodyguard or an alarm system.”

“But you’ll accept a dog?”

“I’m serious, Dylan. You need to slow down. Take a breath.” Her brow furrows. “Maybe we should take a break.”

“What? You’re breaking up with me?”

“I didn’t say I was. I said we should take a break.”

“What’s the difference?”

“This is moving too fast,” she says instead of answering my question.

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