Hiding Out in Hollywood (Celebrity Love)

Chapter Seventeen

"Hollywood isn't my world. This is. When things get crazy, or when I need to remind myself what's real and what's smoke and mirrors, this is where I come."

Raine stood behind Emily, his hands resting on her shoulders. She gazed out over the sparkling lake in front of them, relishing the breeze that danced on her skin and lifted her hair away from her face.

"Can we stay here forever?" she asked, watching the waves lap to the shore. She was only partly kidding.

Raine laughed. "I think you'd change your mind about forever once you got a taste of winter. Forty below zero is a real thing here."

"I'll take my chances." She covered his hands with hers.

Emily knew they would only be here tonight and tomorrow night, and then they had to go back to L.A. Raine had his premiere, and she had a freelance assignment due. She also had Zeeked to update when she ran out of her already-written-and-scheduled posts. Raine knew it, too, and he squeezed her hand.

He hadn't told Emily where he planned to take her when he'd left her apartment yesterday. He had called her a few hours later, instructing her to pack a bag for a couple of nights and telling her it would be an early travel day. He'd arrived at her place in his Escalade before the sun had come up this morning, and they'd been on the road before the first hint of dawn had painted the horizon. Emily had thought they would be going to Lake Tahoe or somewhere in Big Sur, so when Raine had driven them to an airfield somewhere close to LAX, it had caught her by surprise.

Raine had spoken to someone who'd been waiting there for them, and then they'd been escorted onto a small private jet. Emily hadn't been able to stop herself from gaping at the plane as she had walked up its steps. She'd never been on a private jet before, and it had seemed a world away from economy class on a commercial airline.

"This is... wow." Emily had been at a loss for words as they'd entered the aircraft and she'd looked around the cabin. There were seats that looked more like upscale living room recliners, along with a sectional sofa. She had also spotted a bar.

"I might have called in a favor," Raine had said as he'd sat down in one of the leather-upholstered seats.

She'd sat next to him, sinking into the soft cushion of her seat, and had been unable to help feeling a twinge of guilt at what it must have taken to arrange their getaway and how much it must have cost, favor or not.

"This won't make it onto Wally's radar," Raine had told her. "The crew has a non-disclosure agreement. They're paid not to talk about who flies with them and where they take them."

That hadn't done much for her guilt. Raine had somehow arranged to fly them somewhere far away from L.A., and he'd thought she was preoccupied by who knew and what they'd say about it. Not that she hadn't given him every reason in the world to think that.

"I'm not worried about the crew saying anything," she had replied. "I'm thinking about what this must have taken to set up. This is a lot more than a road trip somewhere in the Escalade."

"Hey." He'd reached for her hand and laced his fingers with hers. "I'm due for some time where we're going. It's where I go to get away from everything and clear my head. I wanted to share it with you."

Northeastern Minnesota was the location Raine had given her when she asked where they were going. They'd landed in Duluth, where there had been a car waiting that Raine had somehow already had the keys to. He'd expertly navigated through the streets, taking them to a highway that ran along the shore of Lake Superior. It hadn't been long before he'd turned off the highway and onto a side road that was nestled among a thick layer of trees.