VALOROUS (A Quantum Novel)(65)

“I suppose I’ll eventually get used to my change in circumstances, but it’s not going to happen overnight. I appreciate that you want to take care of me, but you have to understand that taking care of me doesn’t mean buying me diamonds for every occasion. Put that money toward the foundation. That would make me much happier.”

“I hear what you’re saying. I really do, but you have to let me spoil you a little bit.”

“I have a feeling your idea of a little bit and mine are vastly different.”

I nuzzle her neck, focusing on all the spots that make her sigh. “We’ll find common ground. Eventually.”

“Until then, no more diamonds.”

“No more diamonds. Now, about your student loans…”

“Flynn!”

Laughing, I squeeze her tight and kiss the indignation off her lips.

“You messed up my lipstick.”

“I’ll buy you more.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“I love my wife.”

“She loves you, too, even when you’re incorrigible.”

“I have more fun with you than I’ve ever had with anyone, Nat. Even when we’re bickering. Especially then.”

“I keep waiting to discover something about you that I don’t like.”

Her words are like an arrow to my heart. God… she can’t ever know about the one part of me that she’d definitely not like or understand.

“But so far, there’s nothing not to like.”

“Same here, sweetheart, although I’m not waiting to find something bad. I know there’s nothing to find.”

When we arrive a short time later at the Shrine Auditorium, my anxiety kicks up a few notches. Our security detail has been in close touch with the event security to ensure there won’t be any issues with getting us into the building. But after I was stabbed in a rope line at an event last year in London, public appearances aren’t what they used to be. People are f*cking crazy, and I expect the crazy to be a thousand times worse than usual since this is our first public appearance since we tied the knot. The thought of exposing Natalie to that level of crazy makes me extremely uneasy.

We’ve been told to wait in the car until the security detail comes for us.

Natalie holds my hand between both of hers. “You’re vibrating.”

“This shit makes me nuts after what happened in London. Especially now that we’ve given them the story of the year by getting married.”

“Tonight will be nuts, and after that, they’ll get used to us, and we’ll be just another old married couple.”

“Right,” I say with a laugh. “Somehow I don’t think that’ll happen for a while. This is going to be insane, so just hold on to me, smile and wave if you want to, but don’t let go of me. Okay?”

“I won’t let go. Ever.”

“Promise?”

She lays her head on my shoulder. “I believe I already made that promise in Vegas.”

She soothes and calms me with her sweetness. Knowing that I get to go home with her—tonight and every night—eases my anxiety.

The door opens, and it’s show time. I get out first, generating a roar from the crowd that has gathered to watch the red carpet festivities. As I extend my hand to Natalie to help her out, the decibel level increases exponentially. The crowd literally goes wild over my gorgeous wife.

She glances at me nervously, but then seems to recover, smiling widely as she takes hold of my arm and holds on—tight.

People scream our names, and flashes nearly blind us. The red carpet unfolds before us, and we move forward with the security guys keeping a slight distance so as not to hide us from the crowd. I don’t want that. It’s a fine line between being safe and being standoffish. I’ve always been hands-on with my fans, and I never forget that they’re the ones who made me a star.

But a knife slashing across your ribs in a rope line tends to change your outlook on crowds and fans and celebrity. I keep a bit of distance now that wasn’t there before, and while it saddens me to have to do that, I won’t risk my safety, and I certainly won’t expose Natalie to any danger.

Taking her cues from me, she waves and smiles like an old pro. People are calling out her name and telling her they love her. I’m amazed and humbled by the show of support for my wife. We pause for a huge group of photographers who leave me half-blind from the blast of flashes.

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice a disturbance that draws my attention. One of the reporters for the show Hollywood Starz, a woman who has interviewed me many times in the past, is crying—on the air—as one celebrity after another walks by her without so much as a glance in her direction.

The boycott is on. I lean closer to Natalie. “Check it out—to the right. They’re the ones that broke your story. Everyone’s blowing them off.”

She takes a subtle look. “Wow. Is she crying on the air?”

“Looks that way.” I keep my arm around her. “Congratulations, sweetheart. You’ve got all of Hollywood on Team Natalie.”

A Hollywood Starz producer tries to get our attention as we go past their setup on the red carpet. Like the rest of my peers, I keep walking when I’d normally stop for a quick chat with them. Instead, I head for their competitors across the way and introduce my wife to the reporters.