Page 22 of And They Had a Great Fall

“Kat,” he said, standing up, breathless. “The look on your face.…”

“You could have gotten us in trouble,” she said, her voice in a yelling whisper. “What if we had gotten arrested?”

“Kat …” he started, “I’m smart enough to keep us from getting arrested … especially in a foreign country. I talked to the security guard before I came and got you. He’s a fan and said we could have thirty minutes. Therearea few benefits of hanging out with a celebrity. You’re welcome.”

She looked at him with wide eyes as her laughter erupted. She whacked him on the shoulder. Repeatedly.

He feigned pain and pulled her over to him. He put his arms around her, and Kat suddenly got the distinct feeling he was about to kiss her. They were fairly hidden, but they were still in a public park. He lived with such abandon, an in-the-moment mentality. Realizing she would need to be the one to protect them, she stepped away from him and looked around. Her eyes landed on them immediately.

“I think those girls over there are taking photos of us.”

“Shit,” he said under his breath as his shoulders tensed up. “Keep your head down. I’ll be right back.” He spotted the two girls trying to be discreet but clearly taking a picture of him. He knew all the tricks by now. They were using the most common—the selfie over the shoulder. He jogged over to them. “Hi!” he called out, waving and putting on his biggest smile.

They looked stunned, and he thought for a second they might dash away. “I’m Jake, but you probably know that. What are your names?” he asked. They stuttered and giggled. Once he learned their names, he said, “Hey, want a photo? Like, a good one? Ones taken over your shoulder are never very good. Your friends will say ‘oh, is that really him?’ and you’ll say yes, but when you zoom in, it’ll just be a blur of a weird-looking skinny guy with sunglasses and messy hair. Believe me.”

The girls laughed.Of coursethey would rather have a real close-up picture.

“Here’s the deal,” he said, leaning in and whispering as if they were friends and confidants. “That girl over there. She’s a friend of my parents, and she gets annoyed when she accidentally shows up in the photos people take of me. Like, she won’t hang out with me much because of it. Something about privacy.” He rolled his eyes to signal that he would never feel this way. “I played a little trick on her so she’s in a bad mood, so can you just not post those? We can do a full-on photo shoot right here, and you can post any of the pictures we take together. Deal?”

They shook his hand to seal the deal. In their world, they had pretty much won the social lottery. They made an elaborate show of deleting the earlier photos and even permanently deleting them from the digital trash. He spent over ten minutes posing with the girls and generally having fun. At leasttheythought so. He was a good actor, after all. He glanced over and saw Kat looking at them. He made the girls wave to her, which made her shake her head, but he did see a small smile.

Once they had their shots, he kissed both girls on the cheek and said his goodbyes. The young girls were beaming as they walked away, chattering excitedly. He couldn’t help but smile, feeding off their energy. As weird as it was for him, he understood his power to make people happy.

He jogged back to Kat, and she asked him if they had indeed taken photos.

“Yes, but they deleted ’em. I gave them some better content,” he said as his eyes scanned the perimeter of the park and landed on the black car parked on the corner. “I have a car waiting. We should go. It’s getting crowded out here.”

He pointed to the car across the street and started to walk at a brisk pace. He had an easy time being out in the early mornings, before nine or ten, but it was a beautiful Sunday. He should have been more careful, and he kicked himself for putting them in that position. He had carried her into Rosenborg partially because Kat seemed disappointed it was closed, but also to get them into a private space. The park was getting busy, and Jake knew it was moments before he was spotted. When they ran out of the castle, he got caught up in the moment and was careless.

He didn’t want to hide with her, but this wasn’t smart.You know how to protect her, he thought,get your head together. He vowed to be more careful, starting now—which is why he had texted his assistant to send the private car. They needed to stop using taxis and start using the drivers he trusted. He had protections available to him, and he was going to use every single one of them if it meant protecting Kat.

He finally took a breath when they got back to the apartment. “Kat, I think we should stay here the rest of the day, if that’s okay. It’s Sunday and the weather is beautiful, but I didn’t expect it to bethatcrowded. I’m worried about keeping you anonymous if we continue to be so visible,” he said, taking off his shoes and putting his phone on the charger.

“Okay by me,” she said, looking out the window at the canal below. “This view is gorgeous. Look at all those people down there,” she said, pointing to a busy walkway a few floors below. It was full of people enjoying the clear, fall day. The sun made thecanal shimmer like a thousand diamonds floating in the middle of the city.

Jake slid his arms around her waist, rested his chin on her shoulder, and looked out the window. “I like this more,” he whispered in her ear, happy to put his arms around her without making sure no one was watching, photographing, or filming. He brought his lips to her neck, covering her with small sensual kisses, resuming what he started earlier this morning.

He felt Kat lean back, resting fully in his arms. She rolled her head back on his shoulder, giving him more access to her soft skin. She let out a small gasp as he lightly sucked the base of her collarbone. He turned her around, brought his lips to hers and kissed her with a hunger that felt insatiable. He took her hand and pulled her toward the bedroom. If they were going to stay in all day, this would do just fine.

chapter ten

Kat tiptoed out of the bedroom after a lazy morning spent with gentle kisses, soft caresses, an eventual release, and a short, luxurious nap. Jake was still asleep, and she didn’t want to wake him, so she closed the door to the bedroom before taking up residence on the couch. She checked the clock on her phone to make sure it was a good time to call Becca. She couldn’t wait to talk to her. She dialed the FaceTime, and her face lit up when Becca answered with a loud laugh.

“Hi, Momma!” her five-year-old voice yelled with excitement. Kat turned the volume down on her laptop.

“Hi, Baby! I miss you!” she said. “Tell me everything you’ve been up to.”

Becca was having the time of her life and bubbled with happiness. She’d been playing at the lake every day, and yesterday she’d gone horseback riding. Upstate New York was enjoying an unexpected last burst of summer and their September, instead of turning dreary, was filled with sunshine. The chatter of Becca’s young mind delighted Kat to no end.

“Mama,” Becca asked, “are you having fun? Are you still in the—what did Grandma call it? Oh, the Coping Place?”

Kat started laughing. “I’m in Copenhagen. It’s a city in Denmark. I’ll show it to you on a map when I get back. Yes, sweetie,I’m having fun. This city makes me think of your dad. We came here once.”

“I want to go there someday,” Becca said with a giggle. Her mind worked in such a beautifully simple way. Her dad was just a wonderful idea to her. He was not a real person, but a perfect storybook character.

“You will, my sweet girl, you will,” Kat said, and she meant it. They promised to talk the next day and hung up.

Jake walked out of the bedroom, freshly showered, drying his curls with a towel. “Hey, was that Becca?” he asked. “Next time, let me say hello!”

---