Page 28 of The Road Trip Romance

He laughs. “Yeah. We’re fine. We’ll just keep a low profile.”

We walk another block in silence, both of us sipping our coffees and people-watching. Jordan has this older-brother vibe. I feel like I could talk to him about anything, and it’s sort of refreshing.

“Is it hard for you and Alisha? Being famous?” I ask because I’m truly interested.

“Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes I wish I could whisk her away from all the madness. Protect her, you know?” he confesses.

I practically swoon. God, what would it be like to have a man want to protect me like that? I guess Tate’s rescue at the park is a little glimpse of that. I shake my head to clear my mind of inappropriate thoughts about my new friend.

“Do you guys only live in LA?” I question.

“Right now, we do. I’ve been wanting to get a permanent place somewhere else. Somewhere we can just be us,” he explains as we approach a trash can. He holds out his hand and takes my empty cup, tossing them both away.

“Why don’t you?”

“I haven’t decided where. Alisha wants to move to Nashville. I want completely out of the limelight, like maybe near Denver or New England,” he replies as we turn a final corner, and the famous bean comes into view.

“You should take her on a trip to the places you like and then decide together,” I suggest.

“It’s hard to get away together,” he explains as we approach our destination.

“Make it a priority. She’ll appreciate it,” I advise.

He smiles and nods. “You give good advice, M.”

I like it when they call me “M.” It makes me feel like I have a place in their inner circle. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be in a group of friends. Mark and I had so many friends, but they were couples and it got weird after we divorced. I still see some of them, but it’s not like before. So many things changed after we separated. I feel like my insecurities multiplied tenfold. It’s hard doing things alone. Lex comes out with me sometimes, but she doesn’t live close to me. And Anissa, well, that woman is always traveling or off doing some crazy new activity.

My attention turns back to the giant sculpture in front of us.

“Shall we take an obligatory selfie?” I ask as I look at it.

“Sure, but no posting until after we’re home,” he warns.

“Fair enough,” I agree as I pull out my phone and click a picture of us.

I see a few people looking our way and Jordan ushers me in a different direction than we came.

“Let’s go find the water,” he suggests as we walk. When we’re back on our way, he speaks again. “Thanks for being so good to Tate. He’s been going through a lot.”

Frowning, I turn to look at Jordan, but he keeps his eyes straight ahead.

“Is he…alright?” I ask out of complete concern for this man who just showed up and began weaseling his way into my heart.

Jordan makes aso-somotion with his hand. “He found some shit out about what that asshole Warren did to a fellow actress, but he hasn’t shared it all with us, or at least I feel like he hasn’t. And on top of that, the breakup with Lacey has been really hard on him. Basically, he feels responsible for not protecting his friend and he is gutted about Lacey.”

“W-what happened with Warren?” I ask, almost afraid to find out.

This time Jordan does look at me. I see his jaw clench and I know whatever it is…it’s not good.

“He assaulted an actress. She was Tate’s co-star and she wants it kept under wraps. She’s afraid it will kill her career. We’re trying to talk her into going public. Anyhow, Warren made a snide comment and Tate lost his shit. Tate hasn’t told us everything, but that’s the general gist of what went down last week,” he says, his jaw still tight.

I swallow hard. “Damn. That’s awful.”

“Yeah, Tate called his doctor to come take a look at her afterward. It was a whole thing. Tate’s a really good guy, but…I think you see that in him,” he states, still watching me.

“He is a good guy,” I say and then quickly add, “I’m excited to work with him on the film project.”

I can see Jordan raise an eyebrow, giving me a look that says he doesn’t quite know what to make of my comment.

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