“Sorry.”
“I did not raise you to be so impolite to a guest, or to a woman for that matter,” she said, and stomped a foot on the floor for emphasis.
“You’re right, Mama.”
Seeing his relationship with his mom only made him hotter in my eyes. Who didn’t swoon over a man who respected his mom?
“It’s okay, Mrs. Montgomery, clearly he can’t help himself. I’m sure you did the best you could.” I felt awful for Tatum’s mom getting caught in our crossfire, but I headed into my room and closed the door before I could take it all back.
The screen door slammed shut, followed by a light knock on my bedroom door. A woman’s voice called out, “Paige, can I come in?”
“Of course,” I said from my bed. When Mrs. Montgomery walked in, I apologized immediately. “I didn’t mean to say that to you. I was just trying to get to him.”
She smiled warmly. “I know, but I still wanted to apologize for my son.”
I waved her off. “Don’t. I’m getting used to it.”
“You absolutely are not. And you shouldn’t have to.” Her Southern accent grew more pronounced the more upset she got. “No gentleman treats a lady that way. Not in my home,” she said hotly.
“I don’t think he means it. And I don’t think he can help it when it comes to me,” I admitted to her.
“You might be right.” She laid a warm hand on top of mine and squeezed it gently.
Longing to change the subject, I asked, “So, what do girls wear to these field parties anyway?”
Her face lit up. “Ooh! The girls either wear shorts or dresses. It’s so warm in the evenings that you can wear what you wore that day. But they usually cute it up some.”
I smiled back. “I think I have some things that will work.”
“What size shoe do you wear?”
I looked down at my feet, as if they would give me the answer. “Seven.”
“I think I might have a pair of boots that will fit you if you want to wear them.”
“Cowboy boots?” My mood perked up.
“Yep.”
“That would be amazing. Thank you.”
When I beamed at her, she hopped off the bed. “Be right back.”
A moment later I heard the sound of boxes falling and crashing. Before I could shout to ask if she needed my help, she was back in my room holding the most beautiful pair of brown leather boots I’d ever seen. Granted, I’d never really looked at boots before, but these were amazing.
“These have never been worn,” she said. “They were a gift, but unfortunately they didn’t fit. Too small.”
I reached out and brought the boots to my nose, inhaling while closing my eyes. “These smell so good.” Then I froze, wondering if I looked like a total creeper sniffing someone else’s footwear. My cheeks burned as I tried to cover for myself. “Uh, was that weird? I’m sorry. It’s the leather.”
Mrs. Montgomery laughed. “I do it all the time. There’s nothing like the smell of new leather. Aren’t they gorgeous? I love the detail.”
Gold rivets adorned the boots, and a tan stitched design weaved from the top to the bottom. No less than four varying shades of brown were visible and I had no idea why, but Mrs. Montgomery told me it was because each pair was handmade and the leather was worked throughout the process in a way that created the numerous shades.
“I love everything about them.”
“Try them on,” she insisted.
“Do I wear them with socks?” I asked, feeling once again like a complete idiot. “I’m sorry I ask such stupid questions all the time.”
“They’re not stupid, Paige. How would you know? And yes, you wear them with socks.”
Grabbing a pair of white cotton socks, I pulled them on and slipped my feet into the waiting boots. They seemed snug at first until I stood. I walked around the room, the heels of the boots clicking against the hardwood floors. “They are so comfortable. Who knew?”
“Do they fit? They look great!”
“I think they fit. They feel good.” I wasn’t entirely sure how boots like this were supposed to feel. Obviously my toes didn’t go into the pointy part, which I assumed would be as uncomfortable as all get-out.
“Great! Then you’ll wear them tonight to the party,” she said before pushing herself off my bed.
I widened my eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. They sit in a box in my closet. They deserve to see a night out.”
“Thank you so much,” I said, then enveloped her in a warm hug.
• • •
A little later, I walked around the back of the main house toward the barn. When I knocked on the door, memories of last night flooded my mind. Tatum had taken over my brain and turned me into some horny teenager. I’d been around good-looking guys my whole life, but this…this was different. Tatum was smoking hot, but he was real. And his genuine nature, no matter how brutally honest, pulled me to him even more.
“Hi,” he said as he opened the door.
I looked into his deep blue eyes and said, “I’m sorry about earlier.” Why was I apologizing again?
“Me too.”
With that out of the way, I asked, “Do you think I could use the computer again?”
“Of course,” he said, holding open the screen door. I brushed past him as I entered and forced myself to keep walking when all I wanted to do was turn around and run my hands all over his well-formed chest.
Sitting down at the desk, I noticed the computer was already on, so I logged back in to my personal e-mail. My mom had e-mailed, wanting all the information for where I was staying, including full names and addresses. She told me if I didn’t have them, to get them. I wanted to roll my eyes, but she was right to want that stuff, and I quickly typed out an e-mail telling her everything I knew about where I was and who I was spending my time with, including the phone number to Mrs. Montgomery’s house.
And then I sent Quinn the same e-mail with the same information, plus a little extra. I told her all about Brina and about the field party. I told her that I wished she were here, experiencing all of this with me. E-mailing her wasn’t the same as hearing her voice, so I told her to call me soon.
I continued to ignore the other e-mails from my agent, manager, publicist, and everyone else, figuring that they could all wait until I was ready to deal with them. It surprised me how good it felt to claim some of my power back, although a small part of me felt like I was just avoiding everything and that avoidance didn’t really equal power.
While I was relieved to have left town, I also felt cowardly. As if running away was a weak move, even if it had been necessary. And I convinced myself that it had been absolutely necessary to leave. I imagined myself sitting in a corner in my apartment all alone, rocking back and forth, if I hadn’t gotten out of there when I did.
I logged off and turned around, searching for Tatum. He was standing in the kitchen watching me, but his eyes had a faraway look about them.
“So, about tonight…” I started, and watched as his eyes blinked and refocused.
“What about it?”
“I wanna go.”
“Have you thought about this, Paige? I mean, really thought about this?” He crossed the space between us and stood in front of me.
“What is there to think about?”
“The repercussions of your actions, maybe? That going to this party might ruin everything for you?”
I let out an exasperated breath. “Tatum, just stop.”
“Stop what?” he asked as he tucked his hands inside his jeans pockets.
“You’re trying to control me, and that’s exactly why I left LA in the first place. I don’t need more people in my life telling me what I can and can’t do.”
“I don’t want to control you. I just want to protect you,” he said, and the sincerity of his words took the edge off my anger.
“Protect me? I don’t need you to protect me. I just want to do something normal. But I don’t want to do it without you. Please come with me tonight.”
He looked conflicted as he pondered my request. I didn’t want to fight with him, but I would in order to get what I wanted. And right now, I craved normalcy. I longed for something typical. And a Southern field party was something I wanted to experience.