Page 53 of Puck of the Irish

“Back the fuck up!” he yells at the paparazzi, sounding pissed as hell. The fury in his eyes startles me and I think he might really kill these guys if he gets his hands on them. “So help me God if you’re still standing there when I get out of this car…”

We’re kind of stuck. If I pull myself off of himeverythingwill be on display for the cameras.

“AJ, I can’t move…I don’t know what to do…” This is beyond mortifying. I’ve never been caught hooking up in public before. I feel like a stupid teenager caught under the bleachers by the principal.

“Here,” he says quietly, and I can tell he’s trying to keep his voice level. He grabs my sweater from the other seat and drapes it around me as he hoists me up, effectively shielding me from aBritney circa 2006moment, and sets me in the passenger seat. He’s all but shaking with anger and irritation, but when he meets my gaze as he shoves his cock back into his pants, there’s also fear there. Is he worried that I’ll be upset? That I’ll blame him?Iwas the one who said I couldn’t wait until we got home. He runs his fingers through his hair and then turns to open the door, yelling at the paparazzi some more. They’re smart enough to scatter before he even makes it out of the car and I quickly yank up my pants while he chases after them. My heart is beating out of my chest and my arms and legs feel almost numb from the shock of it, but it’s slowly starting to wear off. I’m mostly just embarrassed I think.

AJ comes back to the car, slamming the door behind him.

“Fuck!” he yells, starling me as he punches the steering wheel. He squeezes his eyes shut and I reach over and lay a hand on his arm.

“Hey,” I say gently. He sighs heavily and opens his eyes, turning to meet my gaze. He looks…distraught.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Nat.”

“It’s alright. It’s not your fault.”

“It is though. This shit is my life, not yours. You didn’t ask for that.”

“I asked for you, and all of this comes with it. It’s a small price to pay.” He looks like he’s trying to gauge if I’m serious or not. “I knew I’d get photographed with you at some point, I just thought I might have my top on when it happened.” I smile at him and he huffs out a small laugh. “We’ll just have to be more careful next time we decide to fuck in public like horny teenagers, that’s all.” He slowly relaxes, a small smile curling his own lips.

“So, there’s going to be a next time?”

“Oh you better believe it, Thirst Trap…”

“So, do you want Annie’s or The Lighthouse?” I ask as I unlock my front door. I need to grab a change of clothes and start some laundry before we head to get some breakfast.

“Hmm, I’m thinking Annie’s—they have the best waffles and I’m definitely feeling waffles.”

I laugh as we walk through the doorway, rummaging in my purse for my phone. It’s been buzzing all morning but I haven’t checked my messages yet. AJ and I were…distracted before we left the house. Twice. I look up and scream when I see a man standing at my kitchen island. AJ immediately steps in front of me, pushing me behind him with a sweep of his arm.

“What the fuck?”

“It’s fine, AJ. This is my dad.” I roll my eyes and step around him. He doesn’t completely relax his posture, still eyeing dad mistrustfully. “By all means, let yourself in, dad. Jesus Christ.” It takes me a minute to notice how tense he is, almost shakingwith…anger? His gray eyes, so like mine, are practically burning with it. What the hell? He ignores my comment about barging in.

“Wonderful, the hockey player is here too,” he spits.

“What the hell? What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?What am I doing here??” He slams a tabloid down on the counter, followed by three more. I stare in horror when I see…me. Me in AJ’s lap, half naked in his car, to be exact.Oh God, the paparazzi from last night.I don’t know why, but I hadn’t even considered this as a consequence of being caught in the parking garage. I just thought “oh, well I guess people will know we’re dating now, no big deal.” I feel so fucking stupid now.

“Oh God,” I whisper.

“I wake up this morning to see this shit plastered on every tabloid in the newsstands.” I want to point out that hardly anyone actually buys stuff from the newsstands anymore, but I know that doesn’t matter. Sure enough, he holds up his phone, open to one of his social media apps. “All over every fucking social media platform.” He turns the phone back to him so he can read the caption on one of the posts. “Natalie Morgan, aka Natalie Harrington, daughter of real estate and hospitality mogul and well-known philanthropist, Charles Harrington?—”

“Harrington…?” AJ asks, trailing off as realization hits. “Holy shit,” he breathes. My stomach knots. I didn’t exactly lie to him, but I haven’t been completely truthful and he has every right to be upset right now. I give him a look that says we’ll talk about it later and can only hope he’s fine with that. I turn back to face dad before I can read his face.

“—was seen getting up close andextremelypersonal with Seattle Vipers’ star center and notorious playboy in a parking garage after last night’s game.”

“Dad, stop, it’s not—” He cuts me off, looking more furious than I’ve ever seen him, even when I nearly burned downthe lake house when I was sixteen and threw a party without permission, and I swallow hard. There’s a dull ringing in my ears and there’s a somewhat dream-like quality to everything. This can’t possibly be real.

“Thisis what you’re so hellbent on doing with your life? Why you refuse to give up this bullshit career,” he doesn’t need to use air quotes for me to know exactly what he thinks of my job. I clench my jaw, but he’s not done yet. He shakes his head in…disgust, and despite everything, it fuckinghurts. “Your mother would be so disappointed in you, giving up the life you should have at the company to be his whore of the month.” He sneers in AJ’s direction and it feels as if he’s slapped me in the face. To bring mom into this, to say that she would be ashamed…and a small, sad, broken voice in the back of my head wonders if he’s right. Tears well and I feel like I can’t breathe.

“Hey, that’s enough!” AJ says firmly, stepping forward. “You can say whatever you want about me, I don’t give a shit, but you willnotspeak to her like that. I don’t give a fuck if you’re her father, or the richest man in Seattle, or the Queen of fucking England. You will not disrespect her again, or we’re going to have a big problem, do you understand me?” he says, his voice scarily calm. He squares up to dad, pulling himself up to his full, impressive height and I think for a second he might really clock my father right in the jaw. His hands are loose at his sides, but I know his stance is deceptively casual. AJ knows how to fight. Hell, in a way, he gets fuckingpaidto do it.

Dad isn’t used to not being regarded as the most intimidating man in the room, but he’s smart enough to know that AJ would destroy him if he pushes his luck. It’s not like Iwanta fight to break out but I’d be lying if the fact that AJ is willing to go there for me is one of the only things keeping me from spiraling and completely breaking down right now. Dad clenches his jaw over and over, but takes a very small step backwards before turningback to me. I can tell he’s trying very hard to keep his voice even when he speaks again.

“You either stop this now, all of this,” he cuts a glare at AJ before looking back to me again, “or I’m cutting you off.”

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