“Sounds to me like he’s getting a little possessive!”

“Maybe he feels that I’m worth possessing!” I fired back.

Kyle fidgeted in his seat. “Yeah, he’s right. I can’t fault him for that one.”

He drove down the alley, stopping by the back doors of my building. For the first time in a long time there were no paparazzi, no fans, no one near my doors. The relief I felt was refreshing. Kyle carried my suitcase into the hallway; there was no way I’d allow him in the apartment.

“Thanks, but I can carry it. Please just set it down.” I rubbed my cheek again. My face was starting to hurt for some reason. “Thank you for the ride home.”

“Yeah, sure - no problem. Ahh, so, are you going to be open tonight?” Kyle asked.

“Yes. That’s why I came home. I still have a business to run.” I looked at my watch, noting that I had three hours to rest before starting another long night behind the bar.

I walked him out into the alley, hoping to send him on his way quicker. Kyle pushed the trunk of his car closed and smiled.

He held his arms open, silently asking for a hug goodbye. My body responded without me even thinking about it, dragging me unconsciously into the danger zone.

“It was nice seeing you again.” He grinned, locking his eyes on mine. “I’ll see you soon.”

I towed my suitcase into the bedroom and dropped everything, including my coat, on the floor. Our bed looked so soft and inviting and the desire to lay down for a few minutes was overwhelming. I snuggled up on my pillow and pulled Ryan’s pillow to my chest, catching his familiar scent and wishing he was lying next to me. I’ll just close my eyes for a minute… My head sprang off the pillow when I heard my cell phone.

“Taryn! What’s going on?” Ryan shouted. “Where are you?”

“Shit! What time is it?” I looked over at my clock. It was quarter of four. I sat up quickly; my head felt like it weighed forty pounds and my throat burned. “I fell asleep on our bed,” I murmured. “I’m sorry I didn’t call.”

He was irritated. “You couldn’t call me quick before you laid down?”

“I said I’m sorry,” I repeated forcefully through my sore throat. “I think I’m getting a cold. My nose is all blocked up. I feel awful.”

“You sound sick, Honey. I’m sorry. I was just worried.”

“I have fifteen minutes to pull myself together before I have to open,” I groaned. That’s when my sneezing fit started.

Marie was already behind the bar when I went downstairs. Cory came in a few moments later. Both of them would be working Friday night; I had a band scheduled to play. Marie’s grin twisted to a concerned stare when she spotted the wad of tissues in my hand. I wasn’t in the bar for more than a few minutes before she turned me by the shoulders and sent me packing for my apartment.

“I’ll wait to hear about your trip when you’re not contagious. We got this,” she insisted. “Cory and I will be all right. Go, and take your germs with you!”

I curled up on my couch with a box of tissues and my quilt and drifted back to sleep.

I woke up when the band started playing down in the pub. The reverb from the sound system made my pictures vibrate on the wall.

“How are things going?” I asked Marie. It hurt to swallow. I looked around at the crowd in the pub. Pete waved to me from his stool by the front door.

Her eyes stealthily slid back and forth. “Kyle is in the poolroom shooting pool,” she informed. “What the heck is he doing here? He already asked for you once!”

I rubbed my face with both of my hands. “He drove me home from the airport.”

“What?” she yelled. “How the hell did that happen?”

“He saw the pick-up assignment and volunteered. I’m in so much trouble.”

She looked at me, trying to ascertain why I thought I was in trouble.

“I didn’t tell Ryan… yet. He’s going to be so pissed.”

“Did something happen between you two? I mean, you and Kyle?” she corrected.

“No, there’s nothing going on.” I looked over my shoulder to see if I could spot him in the poolroom. Our eyes accidentally made contact and I watched him set his pool stick up against the wall and head in my direction.

“Hey Taryn! What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Kyle asked.

I shook my head. “No, I have a cold.”

Other thoughts ran through my head, like how much I wished Ryan was here so I didn’t have to try and explain all of this over a cell phone. The crowd in the bar was definitely manageable but I started washing dirty drink glasses anyway. Cory looked at me like I was crazy – little did he know I was using it as an excuse to get away from gorgeous Kyle.

“Boss, what are you doing?” Cory grumbled, dropping the bottle of house whiskey back in the tray.

Marie grabbed my arm and hauled me away from the sink. “Go back upstairs. This is all under control. You’re sick. You need to go rest!” she ordered, loud enough for Kyle to hear.

Kyle waved his fingers in the air to say goodbye but I ignored him and kept on walking. The way I felt was odd. Kyle was a professional bodyguard; his presence should have made me feel safe and secure but instead I felt the complete opposite of that. His presence around me was surprisingly dangerous.

It was almost noon on Saturday when my doorbell rang, rousing me from my comfortable resting spot on the couch. I pulled my hair back in a hair tie and grabbed a few tissues along my way.

Kyle was standing in my alley with a large, brown paper bag in his arms. “Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked.

Oh, God, why are you torturing me?

“Worse, actually,” I squeaked.

He held out the grocery bag. “I got you some supplies,” he said happily. “Thought you might need some of this stuff.”

He followed me up to my apartment and set the bag on my coffee table.

“Tissues, nighttime cold medicine, daytime cold medicine, cough drops, and a whole container of chicken noodle soup from my favorite corner deli.” He pulled each item out of the bag. “Oh, and some crackers.”

“Thanks, but you shouldn’t have,” I muttered. Little did he know how many facets that one statement had. I knew for a fact that he had to drive over an hour to get here. It wasn’t like Kyle lived right up the street or anything. He was definitely going out of his way to see me.