Page 23 of Full House

CHAPTER NINE

“Ready?” Nate’s deep, smooth voice filled the room.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Victoria looked up while tying her tennis shoes. Nate leaned on the doorframe, disguised in an old pair of jeans, ripped at the knees, a baggy sweatshirt, and a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. Once he put on the dark, large-framed sunglasses he held in his hand, any passerby would need more than a casual glance to recognize him.

“You sure you want to do this?” she asked, tying her last shoe and standing from the bed.

“Is that a dare?” He gave her a smirk, the cocky twist of his lips one of her favorite expressions. How was it legal for one man to be so handsome?

She gave him her version of his smirk. “Not a dare. You said it was hard for you to do normal things in public. I wanted to make sure you got enough sleep last night—you know, make sure your stamina is up—in case you’re attacked by an overzealous mob, and we need to make a run for it.”

“It would be a sin to come all the way to San Diego in February and not take you whale watching.” He eyed her up and down. “Is that what you’re wearing?”

Victoria looked down at the skinny jeans and long-sleeved thermal tee she wore. “I don’t need a disguise. Unless it’s a true fan, it’s rare I get recognized.”

“Sweetheart, in that outfit, you’ll get attention, recognized or not.”

She gave him a wave of her hand before walking to her suitcase and rifling through it. “Someone’s exaggerating.”

“I’m not. But for the sake of argument, I’ll let it go.”

“How sporting of you.”

“You’ve no idea.”

She looked over at him, expecting to see him smiling, but the look on his face was dead serious, and she wasn’t sure what to make of that.

They held each other’s gaze a few beats before he said, “You know, you’ll be recognized after our movie comes out. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

Victoria shrugged, turning back to her suitcase. “This is what I’ve always wanted to do. The fans I love—without them we wouldn’t have a job—it’s the paparazzi I can live without.” She found the zip-up hoodie she was looking for and slipped it on. Walking to the center of the room, she executed a twirl. “Better?”

“Hardly.” Nate drawled.

Exasperated, she said, “I’m literally covered from neck to toe. How will my outfit draw attention now?”

Raising a brow, he asked, “Have you seen your ass in those jeans?”

Laughing, she threw her arms out to her sides. “I give up. You win.”

Standing from the door jam, he stalked the few feet to her then captured the back of her neck with his hand. “If I’d won, you’d be wearing a different pair of jeans.”

She curled her lips up and patted his cheek. “I hate to break this to you, stud, but my ass looks great in all my jeans.”

She watched his lips quirk, fighting a smile before he said, “Of that, I have no doubt.” Then to emphasize his point, he smacked her ass before letting her go and taking a step back. “We’d better go, or we’ll be late.”

“I’m ready.”

Staring her in the eyes, he said cryptically, “Almost, but not quite.”

It only took fifteen minutes to drive from Nate’s mom’s house to the pier in downtown San Diego. Pulling into a large parking lot, Nate drove to a secluded section and pulled the car into a reserved parking spot.

Victoria looked over at Nate while unbuckling her seat belt. “Special treatment?”

Nate took the keys from the ignition. “You’d be surprised the strings I can pull. I rented out the whole boat that will take us out today.”

“Are you trying to impress me?”

“That depends.”

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