Chance Encounter (17 page)

The best thing to happen to her in years, and she’d ruined it.

Chapter Seventeen

Edy arrived the next day, promptly at ten—a rarity for her. She’d heard the seriousness in Kacie’s voice and knew something had happened. Most times when they met to discuss business, Kacie would either go to Edy’s office or they’d have lunch together. With Kacie’s invitation to her home, Edy had apparently realized this was a meeting like none other.

Yesterday had been the most awkward day in Kacie’s memory. After that mind-blowing, life-altering kiss, then her incredibly stupid, inept response to his apology, Brennan had avoided her as if she had a contagious disease.
 

She’d been in the kitchen, grabbing a yogurt, when he’d walked in, gotten a bottle of water without so much as looking at her. At the door, he’d turned and coolly informed her that if she needed to go out, she should knock on his bedroom door and tell him so he could accompany her. Then, he’d shut himself up in his room and hadn’t come out once.

Kacie had roamed around her apartment. Working was out, as concentrating on anything significant would have been impossible. Not only was her life unraveling once again, she was dealing with a boatload of tumultuous emotions about Brennan.

She was all over the board on how she felt. One moment she was telling herself that getting involved with someone when she clearly still had intimacy issues was insane. The next moment it was all she could do not to knock on his bedroom door, apologize for her asinine remark yesterday, and ask him to kiss her again, longer, deeper.
 

Ugh. Insanity, plus one!

Thankfully, Edy’s arrival put her in a different frame of mind. Not a happy one, but at least she was concentrating on something besides her adolescent-like crush.

She should have guessed that even though Brennan wasn’t visible, he was more than aware of what was going on in the apartment. The instant Edy walked in, he’d come downstairs and nodded a greeting. He didn’t speak, didn’t stay. It was more of a
Kacie is not alone in the apartment
kind of warning.
 

Before he could disappear up the stairway again, Edy said, “I’m sorry about the other night, Brennan. I had no idea that would happen.”

His expression never changing, he gave her another nod, acknowledging her apology, and then left them alone.

Settling herself on the sofa across from Kacie, Edy nodded toward the steps where Brennan had been. “He’s both terrifying and exhilarating, isn’t he?”

That was an excellent description of Brennan Sinclair.

“Before we get started,” Edy said, “let me apologize to you, too. I’d totally forgotten that Carlton Lorrance used to be one of the paparazzi. His shenanigans at the party didn’t set well with Eleanor. Now he’ll be scrambling to repair his own reputation. I’m just sorry I was the one who brought him inside.”

“I know it wasn’t purposeful, Edy. Carlton is a sleazebag who has apparently been hiding his dark side. I doubt that we’ll be hearing from him again.”

“I hope not.” Edy took a sip of her coffee and then pinned her client with a narrow-eyed, calculated gaze. “So, tell me what’s wrong.”

Thankful she had an agent who wasn’t one for chitchat or inane conversation, Kacie went for the heart of the matter. “I have to tell you something, but before I do, I need your promise that, other than the people I authorize you to tell, this will remain strictly confidential.”

Irritation flashed in Edy’s eyes. “Everything my clients tell me is confidential. I take my responsibilities very seriously.”

“I know that—I just feel the need to reiterate since this is a very sensitive topic.”

“Okay. You have my promise. Shoot.”

She took a breath and expelled it on a giant rush of air. “I wasn’t born Kacie Dane, nor did I grow up in Maine. My real name is Kendra Carson.”

Kacie waited a moment to see if the name would trigger Edy’s memory. She was sure most people had forgotten her name, and many had forgotten the incident that had brought her name to the public’s attention.

Instead of looking surprised, Edy’s face held both puzzlement and concern. “Why does that name sound so familiar?”

“Because a little over five years ago, I, along with several other women, were kidnapped. William Harrington III held us captive. He drugged and raped me repeatedly.”

Recognition clicked. “Holy. Shit.”

“After we were rescued, I was in the hospital a long time. Almost a year. When I emerged, I wanted nothing to do with my name. Wanted to forget what happened. I knew if I didn’t change my name but pursued a career, I’d always be that girl who got kidnapped and raped by the wealthy William Harrington.
 

“I asked some well-connected friends for help. They assisted me in changing my name and creating a new background for me.

“As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Kendra Carson remains in the hospital, comatose and unresponsive.”

Edy had been around the block too many times to be completely surprised about anything for long. She nodded, as if in approval. “Why are you telling me now? What’s going on?”

“Several weird things have happened lately that lead me to believe someone has found out my real identity and plans to either blackmail me or try to ruin my career.”

Comprehension clicked quickly. “You’re concerned about Montague.”

“Yes. If this comes out while I’m his spokesmodel, it could damage his sales. Not only would it be unethical not to let him know beforehand, I want to give him a chance to choose someone else if that’s what he wants.”

“I want to say it won’t matter, but I really don’t have a clue how Julian will react.”

Kacie appreciated Edy’s honesty. Instead of giving platitudes and telling her she was sure everything would be okay, her agent gave her the bald-faced truth.
 

“I know that, but in all good conscience, telling him is my only choice.”

“I agree. Much better to lose the contract now than to have him pull out publicly if the worst happens.”

Next, Kacie approached what might be an even more delicate situation. “I also wanted you to give consideration about our partnership, Edy. You’re a well-established agent, but this could have negative impact on your career. I totally understand if you’d rather part ways.”

Temper sparked in Edy’s eyes. “I won’t even dignify that insulting remark with an answer. You’re my client, and I care about you, and now that I know the truth, I admire you even more. And no self-serving, asshole blackmailer or perverted fiend is going to scare me away from you. Got that?”

Grateful tears flooded Kacie’s eyes. She had hoped that Edy would feel that way and was heartened by her support. “Thank you, Edy. You’ve been one of my biggest champions from the beginning.”

“Now don’t go getting all sentimental on me.” She leaned forward, determination stamped on her face. “So, listen up. Here’s what we’re going to do.”

Brennan rubbed his tired, grit-filled eyes. There was an endless amount of information related to how to deal with intimacy after a rape. For the last twenty-four hours, on minimal sleep, he’d been doing research. Trying to figure out how to handle a situation like this was tantamount to tiptoeing around landmines.
 

One thing for sure—he sure as hell hadn’t handled yesterday correctly. First, he never should have kissed her. That’d been way out of bounds for a bodyguard. Second, he never should’ve kept kissing her. Just because she’d tasted so damn good might be the truth, but it was a piss-poor reason all the same. And lastly…oh hell, he’d seen the heat and the desire in her eyes, felt it in her body, but when she’d gotten flustered and blurted out what she’d said, he’d responded with all the grace and dignity of a twelve-year-old. She’d been uncertain, scared, excited, and vulnerable. And he’d handled it with the finesse of a lumbering ox.

So he’d done the only thing he could do until he learned how he should have handled things. Then, he’d go from there.

Hell, after the way he’d acted, she might not have any interest in doing anything other than calling McCall to request his immediate removal. Couldn’t blame her. Not that he would listen. Whether Kacie wanted him to stay or not was no longer her decision. He didn’t quit when the going got rough. Someone wanted to hurt her. Someone who was capable of murder. Even if Brennan had to protect her from a distance, he’d make sure she stayed safe until the asshole was caught.

With everything she had on her mind, that ill-timed kiss probably was the least of her worries. Not only did she have some sicko trying to destroy her life, she was being forced to make incredibly difficult decisions about her career.
 

The soft knock on his door was a pleasant and welcome surprise.

Clicking off the link to a rape victims’ advocacy blog, Brennan went to the door. The instant he opened it, his heart shattered. Her eyes were swimming in tears.
 

Ignoring all the curses he’d thrown at himself because of yesterday’s screw-up, Brennan grabbed her arms. “What’s happened? What’s wrong?”

“Edy was insulted that I would even think she would want to drop me.”
 

His opinion of Edy Brown went way up. After the party the other night, he hadn’t been impressed with Kacie’s agent. Now he was quite sure he might like her quite a lot.

“And she called Montague. He doesn’t want to pull me off the campaign. He said that he’ll stand behind me, no matter what.”

“That’s great.”

“Yeah, it is.” And then, as if yesterday’s awkward words had never been exchanged, she threw herself into his arms.
 

Brennan closed his eyes, determined to not mess this up again. Her easy hug… her ability to touch him without fear, was a gift.

“I’ve missed you,” she whispered against his chest.

“I thought you might need some space.”

She pulled back and faced him bravely. How the hell did she do that? “I said something really stupid because I was so nervous. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t owe me an apology, Kacie. I never should have kissed you.”

“You didn’t like it?”

“Oh, hell yeah, I liked it. Too much.”

“Good. I did, too.” And before he could explore that extraordinary confession, she said, “I’m dying to get out of the apartment for a while. Want to go grab some lunch somewhere?”

Her mercurial moods were one of the many things he found so charming. “Sounds good.”

“Let me grab my purse.”

Shaking his head at the odd turn of events, Brennan strapped on his ankle holster and tucked in his gun. This unusually optimistic mood was a dangerous thing. In his experience, it was almost always a precursor to disaster.

Hours later, he learned how much he hated being right.

Chapter Eighteen

She wouldn’t go so far as say it was the best day ever. After all, she still had some major hurdles to overcome, and they loomed in the distance like a faraway thunderstorm. However, Kacie firmly believed that today was in the top three of best days ever.

She wasn’t so sure that Brennan felt the same.

Contrary to what her employees liked to believe, Kacie wasn’t yet a totally recognizable public figure. Sure, some people recognized her, but many on the street going about their daily lives didn’t know her face from Adam’s housecat. On the other hand, Brennan Sinclair’s ruggedly handsome face was once splashed all over televisions and newspapers. That might have been years ago, but New Yorkers liked their football. Plus, Brennan had the kind of face that was impossible to forget.

They’d walked only two blocks before he was recognized. Knowing how he felt about his former fame, Kacie didn’t know what to expect when a street vendor selling NYC memorabilia called out, “Hey, Brennan Sinclair! You were the greatest. Can I have your autograph?” He held out a Jets cap and a black pen.

Brennan stopped at his booth, gave him a quizzical smile. “You going to sell it if I do?”

“No way, man. It’s going up on my shelf at home.”

Brennan took the cap and pen, scrawled his name across the top of it, and gave it back.

“Gee, thanks, man.” The vendor held it to his chest as if it meant a lot to him.

Brennan nodded, took Kacie’s arm and started walking. Three more times, before they could make it to the Chinese restaurant seven blocks away, they were stopped for autograph requests. Once for Kacie, twice for Brennan.

The instant they entered the restaurant, she could feel Brennan’s shoulders relax, and it occurred to her that even though he’d been gracious and kind to everyone who had stopped him, he had definitely not enjoyed the attention. But instead of acting like a horse’s ass, which some celebrities seemed to have no problem doing, Brennan had taken it in stride.
 

It was early afternoon, so the restaurant was filled with the lunch crowd. They managed to get a small table in a secluded corner, and Kacie couldn’t think of a better place to be. Here they could sit in relative anonymity and pretend they were just a guy and a girl getting to know each other better.

While they dined on dim sum, kung pao chicken, and Mongolian beef, she settled down to learn all she could about the real Brennan Sinclair.