Chapter 9

Something jumped onto Brody’s chest. Not too heavy. About ten or eleven pounds, but unexpected and uncomfortable. Like this couch. His lower back ached.

Disoriented and sleepy, Brody opened his eyes and blinked.

Sunlight filled the living room. Black pupils wide against green irises, Loki stared down at him. Two teeth that resembled tiny vampire fangs stuck out from each side of his mouth. One of the cat’s long whiskers was white. The rest were black.

“Good morning, Loki.”

The cat bumped his head against Brody’s chin, pawing at his chest.

“Where’s Cara?”

Loki lay down. His gaze locked on Brody’s.

He didn’t hear anyone walking around. The kitchen was empty. Then he heard the shower.

“Bet you want to go into the bathroom, but she closed the door because I’m here.” She’d done the same thing with her bedroom door last night. “I’d want in if I were you, too.”

Who was he kidding? He wouldn’t mind a peek.

Streams of water would be running off her shoulders, down her smooth skin, and dripping off her…

Stop.

Now.

Thinking about Cara taking a shower was not the image a friend should have on his mind. And that was all he was. Her friend. They were planning a fake wedding. There wouldn’t be make-believe foreplay or a pretend honeymoon.

He kept telling himself that nothing—including more kisses—could happen between them. She was off-limits, and he knew that. But logic didn’t stop his temperature from rising or lessen his desire. Yeah, as soon as this was over, he needed to find a real girlfriend. Someone he could do all the things he was thinking about doing with Cara—his friend. A friend who happened to be female, smart, and beautiful.

Reminding himself of those things didn’t help him cool off. He needed to do something else.

“Time to move, buddy.” Placing Loki on the floor, he went to the kitchen and filled a glass with ice cubes and water. He downed the cold liquid.

Loki rubbed against his legs.

“What?” The cat’s food bowl was half-full, but the water one was empty. “Okay, I’ll refill it for you, buddy.”

As soon as he placed the full bowl on the floor, Loki drank as if he’d spent a week in the desert. Brody could relate. He didn’t need water, just more kisses. It had been a long, dry spell for him, yesterday aside.

Brody powered up his phone. Beeps sounded, and the device vibrated. Missed calls and texts scrolled by. Not a couple. Several.

That was weird. Less than ten people had his number.

Before he could read any of the messages, his phone rang. Ainsley’s name flashed on the screen.

He answered. “What’s up, Ains?”

“Caitlin’s lost it. She’s gone total banshee, shrieking and calling me nonstop to ask if I’ve heard from you. I told her you either forgot to charge your phone or turned it off.”

“I didn’t want to be bothered.”

“Figured.” Ainsley sounded like she was smiling. “Congrats on your engagement. I always thought you and Cara made a cute couple. Did you see the photos of you guys kissing? Oh-so-hot.”

Not surprising. The kiss had been hot. Probably why he kept thinking of more kisses when he shouldn’t. “When did the photos come out?”

“About an hour ago.”

“What time is it?”

“Eight thirty.”

He’d slept later than he’d thought. “Any fallout?”

“Well, between Caitlin’s interview yesterday and the pictures this morning, Twitter has been blazing with battles between your fans and Caitlin’s. Lots of name-calling. Accusations. Fifteen-minutes-of-fame seekers saying you cheated on Caitlin long before Cara.”

“I expected that.”

“Yes, but…”

Ainsley’s concerned tone made the hair on his arms stand straight. “What?”

“Threats are being made against Cara.”

His muscles knotted. Cara had been dragged into this. She didn’t need crazies coming after her on the internet or in real life. If something happened to her…

A vise tightened around his heart. He paced across the living room floor. “What kind of threats?”

“Physical ones,” Ainsley admitted. “I don’t know how seriously to take them. Maybe it’s trolls or, more likely, Caitlin’s rabid fangirls are overreacting.”

They called themselves the Braits and wanted nothing less than an engagement announcement from him and Caitlin.

“I’m not taking any chances. I’ll cancel the appointments we have today.” Brody wished people wouldn’t take what celebrities did so personally. “I’m not risking Cara’s safety. Call the security team we used last year with that stalker. They’ll know the steps to take. Get them to San Francisco today. I don’t care what it costs.”

“I left a message before I called you. I’ll try again when we hang up.”

“Give them this number.”

“But—”

“It’s the only way I can be reached while I’m here.” Only his close friends, family, and management team had this number. No one else. Others called a second phone, which he didn’t always carry with him or answer right away.

“I’m on it, boss.” Ainsley sounded like she was juggling her phone and typing on her tablet at the same time. “Just so you know, Matthias is perturbed you haven’t returned his calls.”

Matthias was his agent. A high-strung businessman who liked designer suits, fast cars, and busty blondes. He was a killer negotiator and for good reason. The more his clients made, the more he did. “I’ll call him.”

“Have you and Cara set a date?”

“We’re discussing one.” Brody didn’t want too much news of their wedding released yet, even though he trusted Ainsley. “We’ll have more time to think about our plans today, but I want you to leak something about a wedding being held in a tropical locale.”

“Will do. I’ll contact the PR firm after I call the security team again. Anything else?”

He needed to tell Ainsley the truth about what was going on so she could help plan for the fallout a breakup would bring, but he wasn’t ready to do that. He stared at the closed bathroom door where Loki sat. “Cara and I make a cute couple, don’t we?”

“Yeah, but you want to know the best thing about you two?”

“What?”

“She makes you happy. Caitlin is so high-maintenance, and you seem on edge around her. You smile brighter whenever you talk about Cara or are with her.”

He did? But to be honest, Brody wasn’t that surprised. Cara was a special woman who made him want to be a better man.

“Though I get why there’s a ton of media coverage over this. I was just as shocked as everyone else to hear the news, but you and Cara make sense when I think about it,” Ainsley continued. “Ignore what’s being said. You deserve a happy ending. People will come around to you falling in love and getting married soon enough.”

Except people wouldn’t have to come around. In less than three weeks, this engagement would be over. He’d fly home, and Cara would stay here.

Thinking of being apart from her was a real bummer.

Unless he could convince her to go to Los Angeles with him. She might not be able to work with rare books, but there were other library jobs she could do. Maybe she could find a job in the children’s section of a library somewhere. He could fund whatever programs she wanted to develop.

Yeah, having her in L.A. made the most sense. She’d be closer to her sister and parents, too.

Sure, she would be his ex-fiancée by then, but his PR people were the best. They could release a well-crafted statement saying the breakup was mutual, and they were still friends.

Cara was and always had been his friend.

He’d just forgotten that, but he wouldn’t again.

Brody enjoyed spending time with her. She did make him happy.

He only hoped Cara felt the same way about him.

♥ ♥ ♥

In the bathroom, Cara dried off after her shower. Music played from her cell phone. K-Pop. She thought the dance beat would keep her awake.

Her eyelids felt heavy and her brain foggy. She’d barely slept last night.

One person was to blame—Brody.

Thoughts of him kissing her in that dressing room had kept her up, most, if not all, night. Loki had given up getting a restful sleep and deserted the bed around four in the morning.

She wanted to think of Brody as her friend. Fake fiancé or former crush would do, too. But she couldn’t stop the thoughts of his lips against hers and his arms around her.

Warmth grew near her core and flushed outward. Flutters filled her stomach. One butterfly, two butterflies, a hundred.

Not good.

Yes, he was gorgeous, sexy, and near perfect, but he wasn’t and wouldn’t be hers.

Not ever.

She glanced at her reflection in the steamed-up mirror.

You’re not Caitlin. Don’t think you can have what she had.

Cara slipped on her green polka-dotted robe. Terrycloth brushed over her skin the way Brody’s hands had. Only the soft fabric didn’t give her the same chills.

Stop.

Getting over him the first time hadn’t been easy, and he hadn’t kissed her then. Cara needed to keep her emotions in check. She wasn’t against lusting after someone, but in this case, it was a bad idea. Letting the line blur between reality and fantasy would only court disaster.

Even if her lips and body wanted him to kiss and touch her more.

She tied the robe’s belt too tight and then loosened it.

Squaring her shoulders, she opened the bathroom door.

Loki meowed. She kneeled to rub behind his ears. He purred as loud as a jet engine on a wide-body plane taking off from SFO.

At the window, Brody peeked out the blinds.

“Rehearsing for a remake of Rear Window?” she asked.

He glanced over his shoulder. His messy hair and sleep-rumpled clothes were sexy. Too bad he couldn’t look adorable, like a puppy or a miniature horse. Only…

His ever-present smile was gone. His eyes resembled the night sky.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“We’ve got a problem.” His voice sounded strangled as if someone had taken hold of his throat. “I’m so sorry.”

Cara couldn’t imagine things getting worse. Pushing aside the bedding on the couch, she sat. “That bad, huh?”

“That depends.” He stepped away from the window. His height and wide shoulders made her living room feel smaller, but then again, he’d always seemed larger than life to her, even when they were kids. “Have you been online?”

“Not yet. My phone’s on airplane mode so I could listen to music.”

“I went online to see the response to the interview. Threats have been made.”

Her mouth gaped. “Why would someone threaten you?”

“Not me.” He sat next to her. “You.”

Her mouth dropped open even more. “Why? I’m nobody.”

“You’re not nobody.” He held her hand, and she fought the urge to lace her fingers with his. “People are upset I’m not marrying Caitlin.”

If Caitlin had been truthful, none of this would be happening. “It’s probably a teenage fan who doesn’t know how to handle her emotions.”

“That’s what Caitlin said when I called her a little while ago.”

Cara hadn’t realized they’d spoken.

“They call our fans the Braits. They are loyal and rabid. Some are young. But I’m not taking the threats lightly,” he added. “A security team I used last year is arriving later today. Until then, we’re not going anywhere.”

This was stupid. Cara wrapped her arms around her waist. She wanted only to survive this mess with her reputation in one piece, not shattered like broken glass to be crushed into tinier bits. She chewed on the inside of her cheek. “I have two days off from the bookstore, but the Bay View House—”

“Can wait. The threats could be serious.”

Cara trusted him—knew he’d keep her safe if need be—but she hated being in this position. “What else did Caitlin say?”

Brody hesitated.

That wasn’t a good sign. “Tell me.”

“I asked her to reach out to her fans and tell them to stop threatening her twin, but she thought that would send a mixed message.”

“Even if her remaining silent means I could be hurt?”

Brody nodded.

Thanks, Sis. Okay, the threats were most likely from overzealous wannabes who worshiped Caitlin and were all talk. Nothing would happen beyond the internet. But Caitlin’s complete disregard and inaction went beyond her normal self-centeredness. Cara hoped her sister had a good reason for not even attempting to rein in her followers. “I guess we’ll have more time to finish the puzzle.”

Raising her hand to his mouth, he brushed his lips across her knuckles. “That’s the right attitude.”

Maybe, but the tingles she felt wouldn’t do at all. She pulled her hand from his—an act of self-preservation for her sanity and her heart—and stood. “I’m going to get dressed and see if any new job listings have been posted online. I didn’t have time to do that yesterday, though if my interview goes well on Friday…”

“It will. They’d be crazy not to hire you.”

Having Brody around screwed with her emotions and senses, but he was good for her confidence. She appreciated the boost. “I hope you’re right.”

“You’ll see. And when you get the job, I’ll take you out to celebrate.”

“If we’re allowed to leave the condo,” she joked. “But if not, we can order in.”

“We’ll figure something out. By the way, Caitlin told me something else. The feedback about her film after the red-carpet premiere was worse than the screening. This had the director’s recut ending, so the outlook is grim, but she thought the photos of us kissing looked real.”

“Well, we were really kissing.”

His grin widened, and Cara imagined his lips against hers again. Heat built inside her. If she leaned forward…

“That’s what I told her.” He made her sit. “She asked if I liked kissing you.”

Cara’s throat clogged. She swallowed. “What did you say?”

“That I did, and you were a great kisser.”

“That was nice of you.”

“It’s true.”

She wiggled her toes. “Did Caitlin say anything else?”

“Just that we both did a great job acting, especially you.”

Acting was easy when Cara hadn’t needed to pretend. “That’s quite a compliment coming from my sister.”

“The photos of us are hot.”

“Hot?”

“Scorching.”

His gaze met hers. Something passed between them. Something strong. The bond of a lifelong friendship, of a shared past, of deep affection. But something more, too. A glimpse of what could be in the future. That possibility filled her with anticipation.

“You know how to kiss,” he said.

“It’s easy when you’re kissing someone as experienced as you.”

His eyes widened. “Is that a compliment or a slam?”

“What would you like it to be?” Her voice sounded flirty—exactly how she felt.

“A compliment.”

His breath fanned her skin. Heat rose up her neck. “Then that’s what it is.”

He cupped her face with his hand. “What am I going to do with you?”

Sexy images of what they could do together exploded in her brain, but she couldn’t suggest those things. Just kissing him again could end up hurting her, so she shrugged instead.

He touched the tip of her nose. His playful gesture took some of the edge off.

“Go. Do what you need to do.” With his words, the tension in the air vanished. “I’ll make breakfast.”

He’d always liked to cook for her and Caitlin. When she’d lived in L.A., that meant cereal, sandwiches, and pasta. Easy and inexpensive dishes.

“I’m out of instant oatmeal,” Cara teased.

“Oh, ye of little faith.” He shooed her away. “Loki and I will figure out what to make.”

As she headed into her bedroom, she tried to remember the last time a man had cooked for her. Tried and failed. Lance, maybe?

So long ago.

Pathetic.

Gritting her teeth, she saw her life passing by as if being fast-forwarded.

No wonder she was crushing on Brody again. He was all she had. There was no other guy in her life. No one on the horizon. No one to think about except him.

She glanced back. Brody was picking up her cat.

Cara’s heart bumped.

She had to be careful, or she would find herself falling for him—a guy totally out of reach—all over again.