Page 71 of The Stalker

Jesse stood by the door, and Tatiana followed Hayden around the room as he talked and laughed with his guests. He’d greeted quite a few people before his face split into a massive grin, and he walked toward a group of people who she recognized as his family.

There was an older woman and man, both with dark hair and eyes, with light brown skin like Hayden’s, and she could easily see he was a combination of them. With them was a woman with long dark, curly hair, brown eyes, and light brown skin who was standing next to a man with pale skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes.

“Mamá, Papá, it’s good to see you.” He gave them each a hug before turning to his sister and the man Tatiana knew was his brother-in-law. “Ness, hi! Alex, I’m so glad you could come.”

He gave them a hug each as well, and they grinned at him.

“He almost didn’t,” Vanessa laughed. “Our babysitter got sick at the last minute, but luckily his mom was able to watch the kids for us.”

“I’m glad. It would’ve sucked for you to miss out,” Hayden said.

Vanessa looked at Tatiana and raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to introduce us? I’m assuming this is the special bodyguard you were telling me about.”

Hayden nodded and turned to look at Tatiana as well. “Of course. Guys, this is Tatiana Swanson. Tati, this is my mom, Annette. My dad, Luis. My sister, Vanessa Wheeler, and my brother-in-law, Alex Wheeler.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Tatiana said before shaking each of their hands.

“Will you keep my boy safe?” Annette asked her.

Tatiana nodded. “That’s certainly the plan. I’m in this business for a reason, and I’m very good at what I do. I wouldn’t say that you shouldn’t be concerned about Hayden, but I would say that I’m going to do everything in my power to keep him safe.”

“That’s good to hear,” Luis said.

Hayden smiled down at Tatiana, and she smiled back, then he turned back to his family and laughed, “Tati’s already done a bunch of things to keep me safe. I literally have three locks on my bedroom door now.”

“I wish we had three locks on our bedroom door. Maybe we’d get some peace and quiet from the kids,” Vanessa joked.

The conversation continued for a few more minutes before Hayden moved on to greet some other people. It wasn’t long before they were headed toward April Conway.

“As much as I think it’s cute that you fangirl over April, try to be cool,” Hayden said quietly to her.

“I don’t think I can. I’ll just go hang out by the door with Jesse,” Tatiana groaned.

Hayden nudged her with his elbow and said, “Yes, you can. If you have to fangirl, you have to fangirl. Just don’t expect April to invite you over to her house if you do.”

Tatiana stopped in her tracks. She was starting to panic, and it was so stupid. April Conway was probably the only celebrity she really idolized, and she felt like a dumbass.

She glared at Hayden. “Why would you say that? She’s not going to do that anyway. Now you’ve just made me nervous for no reason.”

“Good point. She doesn’t know you. I'll tell you what. I’ll get April to invite me over, and you can tag along. You’re not a secret kleptomaniac or something, are you?” he teased her.

“No. Why would you think that?”

“I just wanted to judge the likelihood that you might snatch yourself a souvenir if you went to her house,” he grinned at her.

“Can we just avoid talking to her? Now I’m all paranoid that I’ll act like a dumbass and embarrass you.”

Hayden put his arm around her shoulders and steered her in April’s direction. “Nope. Face your fears, Tatiana Swanson. Meet your heroes and see that we’re just people.”

Him putting his arm around her again was not helping her nerves as they walked toward April. She was talking to Heather, who had a drink in her hand, and both women looked up as they approached. Both of them immediately looked at Tatiana’s shoulder where Hayden’s hand was resting, and she felt her cheeks flame with heat.

“Tatiana, it’s so lovely to see you again.” Heather said with a smile at her before looking at Hayden and saying, “Hi, darling.”

“Oh yes, we met at Club Delirium,” April said. “Good to see you both again.”

“Tatiana was wondering if she could get a picture with you, April,” Hayden said.

She could barely resist gasping in shock when Hayden said it. She had not wondered aloud if she could have a picture with her idol. She definitely wanted one, but she would never have asked.

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