Page 12 of Beginnings By the Sea

That wasn’t what I wanted to see, but I was glad Autumn told me about the articles. If Cohen attracted that much attention, it was something I needed to know. Autumn slid her cell into her back pocket.

“Are you going to talk to him about it?”

I nodded. “Of course. He never mentioned any of it to me. The paparazzi, nothing.”

Could I blame him for not saying anything? No, not really, but it would’ve been nice to be warned. Autumn patted my shoulder and sighed.

“Good luck with that. I’m sure he didn’t want to scare you off. Some women would be all for being in the spotlight, but I know it’s not your scene. Cohen probably realized that and didn’t want to say anything. He probably thinks he’s protecting you.”

The thought made me smile, washing away my doubts. “Yeah, maybe so. I can’t be mad at him for that.”

Autumn chuckled. “Nope. It’s actually kind of hot. I like protective men.”

So did I.

I glanced over at the microwave clock and grabbed my purse off the bar stool. “All right, I gotta go before I’m late,” I said, pushing her toward the door. “I want to talk to Cohen alone before we sit down with the others.”

Autumn hurried out to her car, and I went over to my Jeep beside her silver Accord. She waved before getting in and quickly backed out of the driveway. I had ten minutes to get to the restaurant, which was only eight minutes away.

When I got there and pulled into the parking lot, I spotted Everleigh and Jensen’s CRV, Michelle and Grady’s truck, and Seth and Trisha’s blue SUV. Even Cohen’s little sports car was at the far corner of the lot. I parked beside him, and my eyes widened in surprise at the sight of him. His dark hair was tousled as if he had just run his hands through it, and he was wearing a plain gray T-shirt and jeans.

He held out his arms and smiled. “What do you think? Do I look like I’ll fit in?”

I stepped toward him and returned his smile. “You’ll do fine,” I said as he embraced me and kissed me gently on the lips.

“I’m ready to go in when you are,” he said before stepping back. He noticed me hesitate and furrowed his brows in concern. “Is everything okay?”

I nodded, trying to reassure him even though I could feel my heart hammering nervously against my rib cage. I needed to clarify something but didn’t know how to bring up the topic. What was I supposed to say? Hey, I searched your name online and found you’re more famous than I thought. That sounded ridiculous.

Taking in a deep breath, I let it out slowly. “How popular are you in New York?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

My gaze traveled up and down his figure: the way his emerald eyes sparkled in the dim light of the parking lot, the way his dark hair swayed as he looked away, and the way his jaw muscles tensed as he heard my question.

A few moments passed before Cohen spoke, and his words were heavy with sadness when he did. “What did you see?”

I fidgeted with my fingers nervously. “A million pictures, ones like the paparazzi would usually take.” Cohen nodded and looked away, despair radiating off him. “Do they follow you around everywhere?” I questioned.

He closed his eyes for a long moment before opening them again. “I knew this would come up sooner or later. I should’ve been honest with you from the start. It’s just . . .” He paused as if searching for the right words to say.

“It’s just what?” I said, my voice soft and understanding.

He turned to me and opened his eyes. “The paparazzi do follow me around in New York and pretty much everywhere I go. My whereabouts have never been a secret . . . until now.”

I nodded understandingly. “I figured that. I wouldn’t have known any of this if my friend, Autumn, didn’t look you up on the internet. I read an article before coming here from some tabloid magazine wondering where you’ve disappeared to.”

Cohen tilted his head back and huffed. “Great.”

“Who knows you’re in North Carolina?” I asked.

He shook his head and focused on me again. “Only my parents. They know I came here to get away from it all. I’m tired of that kind of life. All I want is to walk down the street and not have someone following me all the time.”

He laughed and peered around at our surroundings, but there was no humor to it. It was just us in the parking lot; no paparazzi and no one trying to take his picture. He glanced at it all with longing in his eyes.

“This is heaven to me, Nyla.”

The main question I wanted to ask was on the tip of my tongue; I had to know. “What if they find you here, Cohen? What does that mean for us?” If there was an us, I thought to myself.

“Does that mean there is an us?” He gently gripped my hands in his and pulled me closer to his chest, his expression intense. I didn’t know what to say, so I shrugged lightly. It was too soon to put a label on what we were. “I want to get to know you, Nyla,” he continued. “I want you to get to know me, the real me. I would love to take you on dates, and then maybe, when you’re ready, I would love for the world to know you’re mine.” His eyes searched mine. “I regret keeping this from you now. We’ve only known each other a few days, yet I can tell you are not one to shy away from a challenge.” His lips curved up in a soft smile as he brushed his thumbs over my cheeks. “We’re safe for now, but I’m sure the paparazzi will eventually come looking for me. But if it seems too overwhelming for you, I’ll leave and go somewhere else without hesitation.”

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