A Reclusive Heart (Hollywood Hearts #2)(58)

“Deadly,” Nick said without any hesitation.

“She really means that much to you?” Rick asked, sounding more than just a little curious.

“She means everything to me,” Nick said, closing in on the door. “I’ll be out within the hour and just so you know, I plan on going with her for the rest of the tour. I’ll stay out of whoever’s way that you send to take over for me, but I’m not leaving her.”

Rick’s chuckle brought him up short. He turned around to glare at the man.

“What the hell is so funny?”

“I can’t believe the day when the mighty Nick Quinn got brought to his knees by a woman finally came,” he said, shaking his head ruefully even as the bastard continued to grin.

“She didn’t bring me to my knees,” Nick ground out. “I care about her and want to keep her safe.”

Rick waved his comments of which actually pissed him off more than the man’s laughter. “Relax you’re not fired.”

“I quit,” he pointed out.

“I chose to ignore it,” Rick said with a simple shrug. “But you should know that I’ve decided to send someone with you for the rest of the tour.”

“I don’t need a babysitter, Rick,” he said, shocked at how relieved he was to still have a job.

“I know you don’t. Even though I’m not entirely comfortable with this situation I’m going to trust that you know what you’re doing,” he explained and Nick just barely bit back his wince.

He had no idea in hell what he was doing. For god sake’s he’d just tried to quit his job for a woman he didn’t plan on seeing past next month. What the hell was wrong with him? This wasn’t like him and he couldn’t help but blame his little recluse for it. If she hadn’t made him fall inNo, no, no, he was not in love with her. He liked her a lot, but it sure as hell wasn’t love. It was great sex and he enjoyed her company, nothing more. Maybe he’d been spending too much time with her. It might be best if he stepped back from her, but then he realized that he didn’t much care for the idea.

Maybe this didn’t have to end once the tour was done. They could be friends, good friends and when the need arose they could have no strings attached sex, often. It wouldn’t be anything permanent, just two good friends who had great sex whenever they wanted, wherever. This could work, he realized as he walked back over to the large sitting area and sat down.

The only problem as far as he could see was convincing Jamie that this was a good idea. He really didn’t see a problem with that. She loved spending time with him, had an insatiable appetite for sex and didn’t expect anything from him. Of course there would probably come a time when she started to date and when that time came……

No, that wouldn’t work for him either, because the thought of his little recluse being touched by another man didn’t sit well with him so they were going to have to figure out something else. He liked being with her and actually liked thinking of himself as her boyfriend so maybe they’d continue with that for a year or two until they worked each other out their systems or got bored. That really did make more sense than torturing himself by allowing another man to get near her.

“I’m sending Holy to help. J.L. Lewis’ popularity is skyrocketing. Thanks to her family’s antics more people are curious about her. We’ve already had calls from venders demanding more books as well as interviews. Your already tight schedule is about to become a little tighter to accommodate this demand and to make sure that everything goes smoothly I’m sending you help,” Rick explained as he took the chair across from him and damn if he couldn’t see the logic in what the man was saying.

Of course there was just one thing that he wasn’t sure about.

Who the hell was Holy?

Before he could ask, Rick’s door swung open and his little recluse came storming into the room, holding a cardboard box in front of her. She didn’t look too happy, but when her eyes landed on him she looked decidedly less than pleased.

“Is everything okay, Jamie?” Rick asked, getting to his feet when she approached them.

Instead of answering him she shoved the box onto his lap and glared accusingly at him. “You promised me chocolate, you big jerk,” she snapped and hell if he couldn’t help but grin. The woman was a sexy little thing that entertained him on so many levels.

“I got you chocolate and some Coke, Jamie, but Rick ate it,” he said with a helpless shrug.

“Wait, what?” Rick asked, looking like a deer caught in headlights as Jamie turned her cute little temper on him.

“You ate my chocolate?” Jamie asked as she glared up at the much taller man. It was actually interesting that his little recluse couldn’t stop apologizing to people for screwing her over, but mess with her sugar obsession and she’d rip someone’s throat out.

“I-I-,” Rick stammered helplessly as Jamie’s lower lip began to tremble.

Ah, shit.

His little recluse needed a fix and soon. He knew the signs quite well at this point. As he stood up he wondered if perhaps they should look into a chocolate rehab center for her, but he knew she wouldn’t last twenty-four hours without something sweet.

“I tell you what, Jamie,” he said, shifting the box under his arm as he put his other arm around her shoulders, “why don’t we take you out for a nice big hot fudge sundae and you can tell us what’s in this box,” he said in a soothing voice.