Bound by Light (6 page)

“I’m here with my family, though. It would
be rude.”

“How about you introduce me and I’ll ask
them directly?”

Sydney narrowed her eyes. “Do you ever take
‘no’ for an answer?”

“Not when I’m in the strange position of
having to convince a beautiful woman to sit with me in a movie
theater.”

Sydney shivered. Lordy, he was sexy. “Aren’t
they waiting on you to start?”

“Aye, lass they are, but we can stand here
all night if you’d like to.”

He gave her another sexy little grin that
caused her to blush. “Oh, for the love and glory be. Come on, I’ll
introduce you to my family.”

“Excellent idea.” Thane held his arm out and
she slid her hand around it.

They walked into the large theater. All eyes
were suddenly on them and Sydney instantly wanted to run away.
Thane laid his free hand over hers and gave it a squeeze as he led
her to a very official looking woman, headphone and microphone on.
As they got closer, Sydney recognized her from the hotel, complete
with impressive glare aimed at Thane.

Before the woman could say anything, he
raised a hand. “I know, Pam. Just give me one more minute and I’ll
be ready.”

She sighed and nodded as Sydney found her
family in the crowd.

“Ready, love?” he whispered.

Sydney nodded and led him up the stairs. Her
aunt was aflutter as Thane introduced himself, and Sydney felt a
little embarrassed by all the attention.

“I do hope you won’t mind if I steal Sydney
for the rest of the evening,” Thane said, still holding her aunt’s
hand.

“Of course not,” she said. “She’s all
yours.”

Sydney noticed he waited to release Aunt
Clara’s hand until Uncle Cary nodded his approval.

“Thank you.” Thane faced Sydney and smiled.
“Shall we?”

“Um, sure.”

He linked his fingers with hers, guiding her
to his seats in the front. Sydney thought she might die of
nervousness right then and there. Next to Thane sat Niall
MacMillan, then Niall’s wife and Thane’s costar, Charlotte, then
Max MacMillan’s wife, Grace, then Max. Oliver Bardsley, the bass
player from Fallen Crown was next to him. Henry Keys, the
keyboardist, and his wife and older children sat in the row in
front.

She noticed the men stood as she sidled to
her seat and was surprised to be pulled into a warm hug by
Charlotte. “Hi Sydney. Thane hasn’t been able to shut up about
you.”

“You’re American.”

Stupid, stupid, stupid thing to say!

Sydney felt heat creep up her neck. “Sorry,
that was dumb.”

“Not at all.” Charlotte giggled. “Portland,
Oregon. Until this one swept me off my feet.” She pointed to Niall,
who shook Sydney’s hand.

“Lovely to meet you lass,” Niall said.

“You too,” Sydney said, and smiled at
Charlotte. “I love Portland.”

“It’s a gorgeous city, for sure,” Charlotte
agreed, and after she’d introduced Sydney to Max and Grace, took
her seat.

Sydney did the same and once everyone was
seated, the lights dimmed and the movie began. She was surprised to
find that she liked... no,
loved
... the way Thane held her
hand throughout the film. And what a film it was. She had to admit,
it was very surreal watching intense love scenes while sitting in
between the two who were acting out said love scenes. If she didn’t
know better, she’d swear these two would give their lives for each
other. Their chemistry was off the charts.

Thane’s character, Jamie Ford, knelt at the
empty bed of his missing wife and whispered,
“Where is she?
Where is my wife?”
and thus began the emotional roller coaster
that Sydney was strapped into for the next two hours and four
minutes.

She was completely swept up in the story of
the couple sent back to the Civil War as they miraculously find
their way back to each other. She found herself gripping the
armrest or gasping aloud, especially when Richard Madden tried to
take advantage of his friendship with Sophie. Then when Sophie saw
Jamie and he didn’t recognize her, Sydney was devastated. She was a
little embarrassed when Thane offered her his handkerchief. “Thank
you,” she sniffed.

He gave her hand a squeeze, lifting it to
his lips after she dabbed at her eyes, trying to avoid smearing her
makeup.

Throughout the rest of the movie, she barely
managed to keep her emotions at bay. Luckily, she kept her sobbing
to a very quiet internal struggle; the copious amount of tears
pouring down her face were the only indication she was moved. As
the credits rolled, she took advantage of the dark and pulled
herself together.

The lights came up and the crowd gave a
rousing round of applause. Thane leaned close and asked, “Will you
stay here?”

Sydney nodded and he rose to his feet,
helped Charlotte to her feet, and guided her down to the front.

Thane raised his hands and waited for the
din to quiet down. “Thank you so much for joining Charlotte and me
for the premiere. We are grateful you came and would love to hear
your thoughts... unless they’re negative, of course.”

The group responded with laughter and more
clapping.

“My assistant is probably going to kill me
because we have a reception to get to, but does anyone have any
questions?” he continued.

An older gentleman stood. “Thane, what did
you like the most about your character, Jamie Ford?”

“I liked his absolute devotion to Sophie.
Even when he didn’t remember her, he still felt committed to her in
his heart. He was sensitive, but didn’t lose his sense of being a
man.”

“So you liked that he wasn’t whipped,” the
man said.

Thane chuckled. “Exactly.”

A young woman stood and smiled. “This
question is for both of you. Do you feel a connection with the
character you played? And was there anything you didn’t like about
your characters?”

“You first, lass,” Thane said.

“Hmmm.” Charlotte hummed in thought. “I
definitely felt a deep connection with Sophie. This is a woman who
was thrown back in time and, although she was passionate about that
period in history, she was without the only man she’d ever loved.
I’ve only been married to my husband for a couple of years and I
couldn’t imagine losing him even after a hundred years together, so
I could feel her pain on a deep level. There wasn’t much I didn’t
like about her, really. Except that at times I felt she forgot
where she was and spoke a little more plainly than might have been
wise.” She smiled at Thane. “Your turn.”

Thane stared at Sydney and a slow smile
spread over his face. “The struggle I had with Jamie was that it
took him a long damn time to find his woman and when he
did
find her, he didn’t remember her. I know that if my wife walked up
to me, I’d know her with every beat of my heart and every breath of
my soul. When you find the one you’re supposed to be with forever,
you don’t forget.”

Sydney’s heart raced as he spoke directly to
her and the crowd let out a collective sigh at his words. Sydney
licked her lips and closed her eyes for a brief moment to compose
herself.

Thane and Charlotte graciously took
questions for almost thirty minutes before Thane’s assistant called
a stop to the Q&A time.

“Alright, folks, please feel free to file
out and help yourselves to food and beverages. It is an open bar
tonight, so we’ll have taxis at the ready to drive you home should
you need it,” Pam announced.

“We’ll wait here until the crowd’s out,”
Niall told Sydney. “Everyone wants a chance to meet the stars.”

“Good plan.” Sydney shifted to face him.
“How do you handle watching your wife kissing another man?”

“I close my eyes,” he admitted. “And then I
kiss her over and over again so she never forgets who her real man
is.”

Sydney smiled. “I’m pretty sure she couldn’t
forget if she tried.”

He chuckled and Sydney watched the guests
walk by Thane and Charlotte as they filed out to the reception. Her
family waved to her as they passed her seat, but didn’t stop to
chat, and then the room was empty and Thane came to collect
her.

“Sorry, love,” he said, and held his hand
out to her.

“Don’t be sorry.” Sydney smiled as she took
his hand and stood. “It was fascinating watching everything.”

“Do you want to get out of here?”

“Don’t you need to stay?”

“Not if I don’t want to.”

Sydney raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

He chuckled. “Okay, I should stay, but I’d
rather go somewhere with you.”

“That’s sweet.”

“It’s not bloody sweet, love.” He sighed.
“It’s the truth.”

Sydney giggled. “Still sweet.”

“Cheeky.” He kissed her palm and smiled.
“I’ll have to take you out tomorrow night to make up for it.”

“Don’t do anything on my account.”

“You don’t want me to take you out?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.” Sydney shook
her head and took a deep breath. “It’s just that you unhinge me in
a way.”

He chuckled. “Good.”

“Good?”

“Aye. Because you slay me, love, so if I can
have a fighting chance with you, I’m on the right path.”

Sydney folded her lips between her teeth and
then smiled. “You can have a fighting chance.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Bloody
hell, love, you’re adorable.”

That was the last chance they got to speak
for the next hour. When Sydney’s family was ready to leave, she
wasn’t sure if she should say something to Thane or just walk out.
She chose to walk out, but was stopped by Niall. “I’m going to grab
him.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Sydney
said.

“He’d want me to. Believe me.” Niall smiled
at Sydney’s uncle. “Would you please give us a moment? I won’t keep
her long.”

“I can do that,” Uncle Cary said.

“Thanks.” Niall cupped Sydney’s elbow and
guided her to the crowd surrounding Thane. “Sorry folks, I just
need to steal Thane for a moment.”

Thane smiled and shook a few hands before
stepping from the group and taking Sydney’s hand. “You’re not
leaving, are you?”

“I am. My family’s waiting, so I should
go.”

“I’m sorry I’ve neglected you, love.”

“You haven’t,” she argued. “This was your
night; I’m the one who crashed it.”

“So...” He smiled and stroked her cheek.
“Can I take you out tomorrow?”

“I think that will work.”

“Excellent.” He pulled out his phone and
handed it to her. “Put your contact information in here and I’ll
give you a ring.”

Sydney glanced over at her uncle, who was
watching intently. He gave her a nod, so she entered her cell phone
number and handed the phone back to Thane. He moved his fingers
over the screen. “I just sent you a text. You now have my
information. I’ll trust you not to share.”

She widened her eyes. “Oh, I wouldn’t.”

“I know, love. I’m joking.” He smiled. “Are
you a night owl or an early riser?”

She shrugged. “I don’t sleep, so I’m both, I
guess. Why?”

“Just seeing what my odds are if I text you
later, whether or not you’ll respond.”

She giggled. “I guess you’ll have to take a
chance and find out.”

Thane leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I
will definitely do that.”

“I should go.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

“You don’t need to do that, Thane,” she
said. “You have a crowd of people wanting your attention.”

“And they can wait.”

She sighed, her heart racing as he laid his
hand on her lower back and guided her to her family. Thane shook
her uncle’s hand. “Thank you for letting me steal her this
evening.”

Uncle Cary chuckled. “It was all up to
her.”

Sydney stared at her uncle. He’d just told
her it wasn’t up to her and that she was being protected whether
she wanted to be or not. Now, this man waltzes in, and he’s ready
to hand her off to him without any information? Not that she
minded, but she still found it strange.

Thane kissed Lucy and Aunt Clara’s cheeks
and then shook Anson’s hand before pulling Sydney in for a gentle
hug and kissing her cheek again. “I’ll text you later.”

“Maybe I’ll respond,” she retorted.

He released her with a chuckle and Sydney
walked with her family to the waiting limo.

CHAPTER FIVE

O
NCE INSIDE THE car,
the barrage of questions began.

“How did you meet Thane Allen?” her aunt
asked, her tone excited and fluttery again. “Goodness, he’s just as
gorgeous in person as he is on screen.”

Sydney secured her seat belt. “I
accidentally got sent to the interview room when I was waiting for
Lucy at the Ritz.”

“They were doing press there for the movie,”
Lucy added.

“How did you
accidentally
get sent
there?” Uncle Cary asked.

“
Dad
,” Lucy whined.

“Yeah, Dad,” Anson piped in. “I highly doubt
anyone was trying to kidnap her.”

“Does that happen?” Sydney gasped. “I mean,
I know kidnapping happens, but do people generally grab someone
randomly from a hotel lobby like that? It’s the Ritz, not some
seedy motel.”

“Tell me everything,” her uncle said.

Sydney broke down the events of the day,
easy to do since they were burned into her brain, and her uncle
seemed to relax.

“Well, please don’t do that again,” he said.
“We have to keep security tight, love.”

“So, is there a problem if I go out with
Thane tomorrow?” she asked.

“I’ll coordinate with him on security and go
from there.”

Sydney slumped in her seat, once again
confused by her uncle’s flip-flop. “Why do I feel like I’m suddenly
five years old all over again?”

“It’s not forever, Sydney,” her aunt assured
her. “Just until the police finalize your mum’s accident
report.”

She sighed. “The guy was drunk and drove
head-on into her car. I don’t understand why it’s taking so
long.”