Page 18 of A Reclusive Heart

“Okay, I’m ready to go,” Jamie said meekly as she climbed off the stool and headed for the door with her shoulders slumped and her gaze locked on the floor.

What the hell?

Not that he was complaining. He wasn’t, but he just hadn’t expected it to be this easy. Hopefully, this would be the last act of rebellion that he’d have to deal with from her. At least, it damn well better be, Nick decided as he followed her.

CHAPTER 10

“Oh, my God, I love you, J.L. Lewis!” a woman screamed, startling her.

As discreetly as she could, Jamie leaned to the side to see who was screaming, only to groan. A middle-aged woman wearing a homemade tee-shirt with her pen name written on it was jumping up and down excitedly with five other women sporting the same shirt.

Maybe it was time for a break? Jamie thought, shooting a hopeful glance towards Nick only to watch him shake his head firmly, once. That’s all it took for her to paste the weak smile back on her face and turn around in her chair to greet her next fan.

Only an hour into this and she wasn’t sure that she could do it any longer. This was too much for her. She wasn’t used to this much attention and every time someone stepped up for her autograph, she had to fight back the surge of panic that threatened to drop her to her knees. This wasn’t her. If last night had taught her anything, it was that she couldn’t handle things like this.

Why the hell did she sell her business and take this job? Because she was an idiot and thought that if she forced herselfinto a bad situation that her survival skills would kick in and she’d be able to acclimate. It was a really stupid plan, Jamie decided as she signed her name, barely able to register what the person in front of her was saying. When she walked away smiling, Jamie felt her shoulders slump in relief only to tense right back up when the next person in line stepped up.

This was a bad idea. She couldn’t do this. She didn’t care if they sued her and demanded that she give all the money back. She just couldn’t do this. This wasn’t her life and she didn’t want it anymore and definitely not after last night. She needed to go home to her small, lonely apartment and resign herself to the fact that she was meant to be alone forever.

“Excuse me,” Jamie said, her voice shaking as she stood up and knocked her chair over. She felt her face burn as every head turned in her direction with looks of amusement and confusion.

Why the heck didn’t she sneak out of her room this morning and make a run for it when she had the chance? She’d wanted to, had actually planned on running, but just as she’d grabbed her bag, Nick banged on her door and demanded that she get her butt going so they could prepare for this signing. But nothing, not the three-hour lecture or the pointers that he gave her, had prepared her for this. She hoped that she’d be able to handle this once she sat down at the small table covered with stacks of her books, but she’d been wrong, so very wrong.

The moment she’d stepped into the large ballroom, she’d felt the same discomfort she’d felt last night when she’d stepped into that club. Yesterday, she’d felt excited at the prospect of trying new things. That all ended the moment reality slammed into her.

Within seconds, she’d realized that she didn’t belong, but she’d still forced herself to stay, hoping that it would be okay. As she made her way to the bar, she’d prayed that no one noticed her. Once she found an empty seat, she sat down and refused to leave. After thirty minutes, she’d somehow managed to grab thebartender’s attention and ordered a drink because, by that point, she’d needed sugar badly.

All of her excitement and plans ended the moment she saw the dance floor. She’d been intrigued even as she felt her newfound self-esteem crumble. She didn’t know how to dance and was too scared to give it a try and she wanted to so badly but couldn’t bring herself to take the risk.

Caitlyn was right.

She really was pathetic.

“Are you okay?” the older woman standing in front of her asked with grandmotherly concern that should have eased some of her panic, but it didn’t. She needed to get out of here now.

“Excuse me,” Jamie said, swallowing hard as she took a step back. “I-I just need some water.”

“Here you are, J.L.,” Nick said smoothly as he handed her an ice-cold bottle of water. He picked up her chair, put an arm around her shoulders, and helped her back to her seat.

She looked up at him, sending him a pleading look, but he ignored it as he flashed her a smile that had the other woman blushing.

“I hope you’ll forgive me. I should have brought her a bottle of water an hour ago,” he said charmingly to the woman, but the way he’d maneuvered her back into her seat both impressed and depressed her. “I’m very sorry, J.L.,” Nick said with an innocent smile as he jammed his foot behind her chair to stop her from escaping again.

“Thank you,” Jamie mumbled pathetically, forcing a smile as she made a show of opening her water and taking a sip.

“He’s so sweet. You’re so lucky to have someone like him helping you,” the woman gushed and Jamie was tempted to tell the woman that she was more than welcome to take him when he gave her a nudge.

“Thank you,” Jamie said, already guessing the reasoning behind the nudge to her side. “I don’t know what I’d do without him,” she said with that forced smile even as her brain screamed for her to do something else.

Run.

“I’ll be right here if you need me,” Nick said, taking two steps back to lean against the wall. To anyone else, he probably sounded sweet and considerate, but she knew damn well that it was a threat.

If she tried to move so much as an inch out of her chair, he’d be all over her. The message was clear, if she moved, he’d drag her right back and probably staple her butt to the chair. Knowing that it was pointless to argue, Jamie pasted that smile back on her face and forced herself to get through the rest of the signing.

For the next eight hours, she put up with him shoving water at her as an excuse to remind her to keep her butt in the chair, forced her to take pictures with fans even though the whole thing made her feel uncomfortable, and four denials for a bathroom break. When she told him that she was hungry and asked for a break, he handed her a package of stale crackers he’d bought from the vending machine in the back hallway.

By the end, she was exhausted, humiliated, and more than done with Nick Quinn. She might be stuck doing this tour because of her contract, which he’d reminded her of thirteen times throughout the day, but that didn’t mean that she was going to be stuck withhim.

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