Page 130 of The Stalker

Hayden’s hand stilled entirely, and Tatiana could’ve sworn that her heart stopped beating. She kept her face firmly forward, but she saw Hayden turn his head to look at her in her peripheral vision before he turned back to Heather.

“You know Blake. Even from the first night Tatiana was with me, he thought we were having sex,” Hayden said in a casual tone.

“Even though you don’t make out with her in public?” Heather asked, sounding amused.

Hayden started stroking Tatiana’s skin again, and she couldn’t understand how he was comfortable enough to do it when she was so on edge from the conversation that was happening. She was completely aware of Harrison’s bodyguard looking at her, as well, knowing that he now shared a bus with Jesse.

“Just being too close to someone is like making out with them as far as Blake is concerned. In his eyes, I might as well have been making out with Tatiana when we were having our picture taken with April,” Hayden laughed.

“God knows how you put up with him for so long. So you’re single now?”

Hayden squeezed Tatiana’s leg as he said, “Yes, I am. Why?”

“No reason, darling,” Heather said cheerfully.

“And yet I find myself terrified about your ‘no reason,’” Hayden replied.

“I would be,” Harrison chuckled.

“I’m just thinking about something Sebastian said at Gabriel and Ariana’s wedding, that’s all,” Heather said in a casual tone.

There was silence for a few seconds before Hayden asked in a tentative voice, “Do I even want to know what that was?”

“Wouldn’t you know, it’s completely flown out of my head. Go figure. Anyway, have you spoken to April lately?” Heather asked.

Tatiana was flummoxed by this sudden change in topic. She also perked up at the mention of her favorite singer. She dared a glance at Hayden, who looked amused, with a sexy smile on his face as he looked at his friend.

“No, I haven’t. Why?”

“She’s got some time off before she goes to Los Angeles, so I was thinking about bringing her with me next time I come to see you. You’re a big fan, aren’t you, Tatiana?”

Heat flooded to Tatiana’s cheeks as she turned to join the conversation. “Um, yeah, I am.”

“Well, you would get a chance to talk to her without some asshole accusing you of terrible things,” Heather laughed and shook her head. “Blake is such a dick. Anyway, what do you think?”

Tatiana blinked as she looked at Heather’s pleasantly smiling face. She couldn’t quite understand what was happening; Hayden was still softly stroking her leg, and the arousal she felt was numbing her brain.

“That sounds good, I guess.” She managed to shrug.

“All settled,” Heather said with a grin. “I’ll text April and ask if she wants to come see you guys.”

Tatiana looked at Heather for another few seconds, trying to discern what was behind her expression. She had a sense of wicked humor about her over the conversation they’d just had, but Tatiana didn’t know what caused it. A part of her wondered if she was making fun of her for being a fan of April, but she’d defended her against Blake, so Tatiana didn’t think it was that.

She turned to look at Hayden, and he smiled at her, then said, “That’s pretty cool. Thanks, Heather. It’ll be good to see April, and it’s nice of you to think of Tatiana like that.”

He turned back to smile at Heather again, and she said in a cheeky tone, “Hey, no need to sound so surprised. I’m known for being the most thoughtful and selfless person you know. ‘Always thinks of others,’ that’s what they say about me.”

Hayden scoffed and said with a grin, “If you say so. I can’t say that I’ve ever personally heard that about you, but I can’t rule it out, I guess.”

Harrison laughed, and Heather made a sound of outrage before saying, “I can’t believe you would laugh at that, honey.”

“Where’s the lie, though?” he asked her in a casual tone.

“I should’ve gone in the van with Sebastian, Ariana, and the rest of the people who actually love me,” Heather huffed.

Harrison and Hayden both laughed at her as the van pulled to a stop in front of a pool hall. Hayden surreptitiously pulled Tatiana’s skirt back down her thigh as he removed his hand from her skin, and she smiled at him as she stood up.

She exited the van into the warm morning air and immediately searched the area for any possible threats. The rest of the entourage were getting out of the other van, and the bodyguards all looked around the area as they made their way toward the pool hall.

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