None of the shops looked promising for his preferred type of clothing. And he refused to dress in uncomfortable or trendy clothes to impress people he didn’t know. Leaning against a shady section of the brick building, he punched up a Google search and skimmed the results. The closest store was twenty-seven blocks away, according to Google Maps. He hailed a cab.
The familiar scent of leather and denim greeted Chase as he stepped into Western Spirit. The store itself relied more on kitschy country chic than plain country. Racks of high-end leather coats filled the aisle. Along the wall were vintage boots enclosed in glass cases. Vintage, another word for discarded and out of fashion. He peered at a beat-up pair of Tony Lamas, nothing fancy except the stitching on the snip toe, and the asking price was seven hundred bucks. A new pair didn’t cost that much. Shaking his head, he crossed over to the men’s clothing section.
He expected to be left to his own devices. His experience with sales staff in New York hadn’t ever been good. So he was surprised when the salesgirl immediately wandered over.
“You have an idea of what you’re looking for that I can help you find?”
Chase glanced up from the rack of long-sleeved western shirts and smiled. The Italian girl, who looked to be late teens, gasped, “Omigod. You’re Chase McKay!”
Holy crap. He wasn’t expecting that. “Good eye…?”
“Angelina. I can’t believe bull rider Chase McKay is in our store. I saw you ride at Madison Square Garden for the last two years. That was the most exciting part of the event when you rode Tick Tock for ninety points. My girlfriend Sarah and I still talk about it.”
“Well, I’m happy to hear it made such an impact on you, Angelina.”
“So has your injury healed enough to get you back on tour?”
This was one of his favorite parts of being part of the PBR, connecting with fans. “I hope so.”
She seemed to remember she was supposed to be selling him something. “These shirts are pretty basic. The ones with the custom embroidery are over there. Are those more your style?”
“Actually, I’m wanting something simple. And without sounding boring, I’m looking for white or black.”
“Classic choices.” She eyed the breadth of his shoulders. The length of his arms and torso. Then pulled out four shirts. Two white, two black. “These are the same brand but the fabric weight is different. Try them on. The dressing rooms are back by the boots.”
Chase bit back a groan. Why couldn’t he just buy the damn things and be done with it? He hated to try shit on. But he did.
Angelina scrutinized him after he exited the dressing room. “Definitely the heavier weight.”
“Sold. Now I need a coupla pairs of Wranglers.” He rattled off the size, cut, color and style.
“We have those. I’ll take them to the counter.”
As Chase dug out his wallet, he noticed Angelina’s focus kept drifting to the door. And when she caught him watching her, she blushed. “I don’t mean to be rude or nosy, but do you always have photographers following you around?”
“Almost never. Why?”
“One followed you here. He’s been waiting in the shadow of that grocery store awning since about five minutes after you walked in.”
“No shit?” Chase craned his neck and squinted at the man. “He’s pretty well hidden. How’d you see him?”
Again she blushed. “My boyfriend is a journalism major at NYU, so I tend to notice stuff like that because he does.”
“I wonder what he’s doin’?”
“Probably following up on the picture of you and Ava Cooper in this morning’s edition of Talk of the Town.”
Chase froze. “Excuse me?”
“You haven’t seen it?”
How come Ava hadn’t mentioned it? “No, ma’am.”
“They don’t name you, just mention the mysterious man in the cowboy hat. And without sounding all freakish fan girl, when I saw the picture, I thought that might be you.”
“Do you have a copy of the paper?”
She shook her head. “My boyfriend uses them for class so it’s at our apartment.”
Pissed him off that someone had tipped the press Ava was in town. They couldn’t even have a dinner out alone like a normal couple without it being news?
The snoopy bastard had probably been lying in wait today. Had he followed him to the gym? Obviously the ass**le had followed him from the hotel. Wait. Chase had taken a cab. Had this guy jumped in a cab too? Why? How had he tracked him down in a city this size?
Face it, you haven’t seen another man wearing a cowboy hat so you ain’t that hard to find.
Didn’t matter. By now probably all the media outlets had figured out who he was. They’d already linked him to Ava, so he’d just add another link and hope like hell this would play well with the PBR. “Angelina, is your apartment close by?”
“Within a few blocks.”
“And your boyfriend? Is he home now?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“He’s got a lot of media contacts?”
“As far as I know.”
Chase grinned at her. “Good. How would he like an exclusive with Ava Cooper’s New York City companion, Chase McKay? With pictures?”
“Are you serious?”
“Completely.”
“But…why?”
“I hate that these bastards have invaded my privacy. Someone is gonna get the story. For once I’d like to control who that someone is and what information they get.”
Immediately Angelina had her phone to her ear. “Ryan? Get your camera and come to the store. Now. I’ve got your first story. The man with Ava Cooper last night.” She didn’t notice Chase’s frozen smile.
Ryan.
Goddamn just the mention of the name made his gut clench with sorrow. He closed his eyes, reminding himself it was a common name. Reminding himself he was here to have fun.
He had his clothes delivered to the hotel. To be ornery, Chase killed a few hours buying gifts and checking out a museum. While his paparazzi shadow thought he was getting a scoop, Ryan had already sold his story to Talk of the Town’s competitor. He wandered into an Irish pub for a beer and a plate of corned beef before he returned to the room.
Ava texted she was running late. After being with her practically twenty-four/seven the last month, he missed her. Hopefully she hadn’t filled all her upcoming days in New York with shopping trips and salon appointments. Hopefully she wanted to spend time with him before they returned to the real world.