Read Taming the Country Star: A Hometown Heroes Novella (Entangled Bliss) for Free Online Page B

around. I might even be forced to wear a costume. It’ll probably be really, really stupid.”
    She huffed a laugh.
    He could work with that. “Can I pick you up tonight?”
    “No. Seriously, why bother? It’s not going to work.”
    “I’m not asking for forever, Kylie. Just dinner.” He squeezed her hand and let go. She rubbed her thumb over it, apparently without noticing, and Cole bit his cheek to keep from grinning.
    “Fine,” Kylie said, drawing the word out. “But I get to pick the place. Somewhere the tabloids won’t think to look.”
    …
    What just happened?
    When she saw Cole walk into the store in that ridiculous getup, Kylie fully intended to kick him right back out.
    But now she was going to dinner with him.
    This was a really bad idea.
    And at this point, the coffee he brought her was cold. She took a drink anyway, waving as Cole darted out the door, glancing both ways and jogging off, the stupid serape fluttering out behind him.
    The serape and her stomach had a lot in common at the moment.
    She spent the rest of the day alternately ignoring the odd mix of anxiety and excitement trembling through her at the prospect of going out with Cole, and giving in to the desire to daydream about their time together on her honeymoon. Had their connection been a fluke? A rebound, as he had suggested? Or would they be able to re-create it here, in the midst of their normal (or in Cole’s case, not-so-normal) lives?
    How stupid was it to even try?
    Dinner. Not forever. Right. Get a grip, Kylie.
    And she’d thought waiting for the concert had been agonizing.

Chapter Six
    “You can’t wear that.”
    “Why not?” Cole ran a finger around the neckline of the mask that covered his entire head. It was even hotter than the serape had been, but sweating through the black, red, and silver Lycra might be worth it for the look of sheer horror on Kylie’s face.
    “We’re going to a Mexican restaurant,” she said.
    “Then it’s perfect.”
    “You cannot wear a Mexican wrestling mask to a Mexican restaurant. It’s…it’s…” Kylie spluttered, clearly trying to find a word bad enough to cover his actions. “It’s disrespectful.”
    “It’s a lucha libre mask,” Cole said in a haughty tone. “And it’s not disrespectful at all. I love lucha libre. This mask was given to me by El Diablo Demoníaco. He’s a fan. And a hell of a wrestler.”
    “Seriously? The Demonic Devil? What kind of name is that?”
    “A famous one in certain circles,” he said, dropping back into his normal voice. He reached up and pulled the mask off one-handed. “And apparently a sweltering one, if this mask is anything to go by.” Cool air from the vent brushed across his head and he turned his face up toward it.
    “Really? You traded being a famous guy for being a famous guy in a mask?”
    He laughed. “Different fan groups. Anyway, I didn’t put on the mask until right before I walked in the door. I’m pretty sure I’ve ducked the paparazzi for the moment. I’m staying at the Worthington, but my tour bus is parked outside a Hyatt.”
    “Does that actually work?”
    “For a while.” He shrugged. “My manager, Billie, is staying there, and says there are photographers hanging around. They’ll catch on eventually, but in the meantime, I think I could probably go without the mask. And anyway, maybe you could be the one in disguise,” he suggested. Kylie laughed and shook her head, but he persisted.
    “I get it,” he said. “Wrestling’s not really your style. How about”—he glanced around and plucked a hot-pink cowboy hat with “I heart Texas” across it in rhinestones—“this,” he said triumphantly, dropping it on her head.
    “No, no, no.” Kylie removed the hat and put it back on the stand, but she was smiling, too.
    “You’ll need something to cover your face, too, of course,” he said, holding out the wrestling mask.
    “Not that,” she protested, still laughing. “I’ve got some old Mardi Gras