Page 13 of Lexi Lets Go

"Why don't we hold off on the airlift or whatever. We can wait here. This might be a nice little change of pace for us. The paparazzi aren’t here, and this might be a good place to shoot the Home video."

She scrutinized him for a long moment. "This wouldn't have anything to do with whatever I interrupted on the porch?"

He narrowed his gaze. "No, it doesn't. And quite frankly, that is none of your business."

"Liam," she cocked her head to the side and looked at him with her own version of loving eyes. "Everything you do is my business. I am just trying to avoid another scandal."

"Still, why don't we stay and do some location scouting? This place could be perfect."

"Fine, we’ll deal with the rest of this in the morning," she said, irritation dripping with every word.

"You are a charmer, Jacinda." He smiled at her. His prickly manager had taken some getting used to. She ran a tight ship, but he was kind of a pushover, so he guessed it was for the best.

"Good night, Liam," she said as she left, closing the door behind her.

He laid back on his bed and pulled his guitar over him. It was his own version of a security blanket. This guitar had gotten him through some tough times. He absent-mindedly strummed some chords, thinking about Lexi. He wondered what that was short for. Alexis? Alexandra? Maybe it was just Lexi. He would find out. His mind replayed that moment on the swing, the softness of her face as he caressed it. The way her lips parted with a sharp inhale of breath. She felt it too. But if she wasn't a fan, then maybe it was just him, and not what his stardom had to offer. The thought settled deep inside of him. He needed to know more.

Chapter6

Lexi

By the time Lexi had gotten to her car last night she was soaked to the bone. She managed to get home, but she was still trying to recover from her tumultuous day. Part of her wished they had left. She wasn’t sure if she could handle another day like that, but a part of her couldn’t stop thinking about that man. How was it when she was with him, she almost forgot about that list and who he was?

When she got home, she decided to google Liam James. There were so many hits and articles and pictures of his beautiful face. There were some pictures of him on stage performing for a big outdoor festival that stuck out to her. He was wearing a dress shirt with a pink sequined vest with black tattoos peeking out of the open buttons. She saw another of his smiling face on a magazine cover with those dimples you could damn near swim in. Then, one of him sitting in a field somewhere with his guitar, looking rugged and masculine, except for the pearl necklace and painted fingernails. Lexi couldn’t stop looking at him.

But some scandals seemed to be following him. At that, Lexi closed her computer. She didn't want to know. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like an invasion of privacy. He was a real person, not some item for tabloid fodder. She had never really been one to pay too much attention to that kind of stuff.

As she walked into the inn the following morning, she stopped and looked over at the porch swing. It was there just as it always was. It showed no sign of the conversation that had happened there last night, of the almost kiss that danced between her and Liam. It was unbelievable. Lexi couldn’t believe she had almost kissed a pop star on the inn's front porch last night. It was unbelievable for many reasons. For one, she definitely shouldn’t be kissing guests at work, but in what world does she kiss people like Liam James? Those types of things didn't happen to her. She had almost convinced herself that it all would have been a dream when she opened the door and walked in. That made more sense than it being a reality.

Opening the door, the inn was crowded. It would appear the entire staff had shown up. This was ridiculous. She would need to check to see who actually was supposed to be here and send the rest of them home.

"Hey Lexi, Liam's manager was looking for you," said Nancy as she was organizing today's check-ins.

"Did she happen to say what she needed?" Lexi was not looking forward to talking to that insufferable woman.

"Nope. I'm sure she’ll find you though," Nancy said with a smirk.

"I'm sure she will. And can you find out who is actually on the schedule? It would seem our whole staff decided to come in to work today."

"Are you surprised? Nothing this exciting has ever happened in Mystic Falls before," said Nancy with an amused look on her face.

"Yes, but people who aren’t on the schedule need to go home."

"I'll figure it out," Nancy said with a sigh.

"Thank you." Lexi went into her office and shut the door. She had a feeling it was going to be another long day. One that required more coffee than she’d had. Instead of getting more coffee, she opened her laptop and searched his name again, just to look at him.

Once Nancy found out who needed to be there today, Lexi made the rounds sending everyone home. People didn't seem very happy with her, but she was the boss; it wasn't her job to make people happy.

Stopping for her third cup of coffee, she talked to Mark.

"I haven't found out when they are all leaving, but would you be able to do a lunch, or should I talk to Josh again to get them an order ready."

"I think I should be able to put something together, but the diet restrictions are tough. I mean, I think there has to be a gluten-free option, a vegan option, a paleo option. When did people stop just eating food?"

"I know. Hopefully they will be out of here today. Let's hope their bus is fixed."

With that she made her way back to her office. Her emotions were so jumbled up. She was still trying to piece together the guy she had sat on the swing with and the guy who needed an NDA to talk to. It was almost like he was two completely different people. Her life had been the same every day for so long. This was not the kind of disruption she was used to, and she was ready for it to be over.

---