Page 20 of Blame It On The Carols

“I try to protect myself the best I can. I constantly pay attention to my surroundings. I don’t go anywhere without checking in with Curtis to let him know where I’m going and when I plan to be back. I play by the book, yet this guy thinks the rules don’t apply to him. It drives me crazy.”

“I can imagine. But what I don’t get is why you didn’t tell me this was happening?”

“Why would I?”

“Because I can protect you, Makayla,” I said, aggravated that she didn’t understand how much this bothered me.

“As much as I love that you want to, it’s not that easy.”

“Why not?”

“Because we live two very different lives, Aiden. You can’t just drop everything every time something happens to me. Your life is here, and I love that for you. But my life is very different. I travel a lot and spend the majority of my time on tour when I’m not stuck in the studio for hours recording new albums. Add in press conferences and social obligations, and there’s very little time for me to do anything else. That wouldn’t be fair to you, and I would never ask you to give up or sacrifice the things that bring you happiness.”

“Youbring me happiness. Knowing that you’re safe brings me happiness,” I countered, even though I knew it didn’t matter.

She inhaled slowly and then released it through pursed lips.

“You deserve more than I could ever give you, Aiden. If you can’t see that, that’s fine. But I know it, and I won’t allow you to sell yourself short, even if it’s for me. I appreciate you letting me stay with you while we figure out my next step, but you don’t have to do all this extra work to protect me. My security team is in place, so they can take it from here.”

She got up and walked away, leaving me alone and frustrated.

Fourteen

Makayla

“Good morning. May Iplease get a large gingerbread latte?” I asked, trying to ignore the tension radiating off of me as the two guys sent from my security team stood beside me.

They weren’t the guys I usually worked with, and when I questioned Curtis about it, he said that he had little to work with on such short notice. Then he proceeded to go on about how some people take vacations this time of year and that I should ignore them the best I could and enjoy my time in town with my mom.

Sam smiled and entered my order into the computer.

“Anything for you guys?” he asked, leaning around me to make eye contact with them.

They didn’t answer, just gave a slight shake of their head to say no and resumed their watch of the small space inside of Sugarplum Lattes.

“How are things going?” He grabbed a to-go cup and then started making my drink.

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