Identity Crisis(17)

‘What if someone follows us?’

‘They won’t. Trust me, I’ll make sure they don’t. Tess is not the first celeb I’ve had to keep away from the press, Garrett. It’ll be all right.’

He didn’t look like he believed her, but she’d seen that look before too.

He made a weak attempt to laugh, then he stood and moved to look out the window with his broad back to her. ‘Who’d have thought this would happen? Who’d have thought I’d end up depending on you?’

She bristled but calmed herself. ‘Who’d have thought Garrett Thorne was Tess Delaney?’

He turned so quickly that he nearly knocked over one of the potted ferns in his effort. ‘Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that out loud.’

‘All right.’ She sat with her hands folded around a half empty Diet Pepsi can and watched as he paced again. ‘Mind if I ask why not?’

‘You’ll laugh,’ he said, dropping back onto the sofa next to her.

‘Try me.’

‘It’s just that saying I’m her, or she’s me … Well, it feels like it’ll jinx it all somehow. I know that sounds stupid, but it just feels that way.’

‘Doesn’t sound stupid at all,’ she said. ‘I’m astounded you’ve been able to keep her a secret all this time, that you’ve been able to keep the world thinking you’re living the life of luxury off your brother’s money. How have you managed to get Ellis to agree with this arrangement? I can’t imagine he’s pleased with it.’

‘He didn’t know for a long time. Then he found out.’

‘How?’

A light blush crawled up Garrett’s throat, and she had to admit he was sexy when he was wrong-footed. ‘Rumors got out that he was supporting me.’

‘Oh?’

He shrugged. ‘I might have started them. Possibly. And it really wasn’t that hard for people to believe. No one knew who Tess Delaney was, and I had no visible means of support. I mean, I couldn’t really do a part-time job and write like I needed to to keep up with the demand for Tess’s books.’

‘It couldn’t have been that easy,’ she said.

‘It wasn’t as hard as you think.’ She thought she saw pain cross his face, but wasn’t certain. He straightened his jacket and was suddenly all business. ‘We’ve only got a week. I’m willing to do what we have to. I don’t want Tess outed. Are we clear?’

‘Very clear,’ she said. She pulled out her iPhone and began to make notes. ‘I’ll get Don Bachman to send me all the information about the event along with any other relevant details. Then you send me anything else you think I need to know, I don’t care how minute. If you think it’s important, then it probably is.’

‘What if there are questions about Tess’s work?’ he asked.

‘Trust me, Tess Delaney making her first public appearance on the arm of the enigmatic Garrett Thorne will be such a sensation that no one will be thinking about Tess’s work. Besides, I have a great memory. I promise no one will stump me if they do ask.’

She looked down at her watch. ‘I’ve got to go, Garrett. There’s a lot to be done, and I’m a perfectionist. If you need to get in touch with K. Ryde, I’ve just emailed an address to Gary Rose. Otherwise you already have Kay Lake’s email.’ She stood, and he walked her to the door. ‘I’ll email you as soon as I have everything sorted.’

‘What if I want to get in touch with plain old Kendra Davis?’ he said.

‘Now, why would Garrett Thorne want to get in touch with Kendra Davis?’ She offered him a smile that was probably a little more of a smirk than she intended. ‘After all, they hate each other, remember?’

Once she was out of the office, she made a mad dash for the restroom in the main reception area. She managed to lock herself in a cubicle before the shakes began. She collapsed against the wall, sliding down it until she was seated on the floor breathing in and out, in and out, trying to slow the mad hammering rage of her heart. Was she crazy? Was she out of her mind? She should go right back in there and tell Garrett no. No way could she do this thing. No way should she even think about doing this thing. Not now, not ever! Not ever again. Hadn’t she learned her lesson? Hadn’t she paid in spades for her quiet life, and here she was about to go public in the biggest possible way. She couldn’t. She just couldn’t. She was sorry for Garrett, but she couldn’t run the risk. She couldn’t put herself through it all again.

For a long time she sat on the floor of the cubicle looking up at the ceiling through a mist of tears that was brought on by the first panic attack she’d had in a long time now. But, as her mind cleared, logic once again took over. What had happened in Santa Monica was the past. It couldn’t hurt her now. She could live her life in the open again. She could do whatever she wanted. And until she did step outside the little cozy comfort zone she had created for herself here in Portland with Dee and Harris, how could she ever expect to truly get over the past? She’d stopped seeing the psychologist three months ago, but she knew that getting back on the horse was a big part of the healing process. And really there was no denying that playing Tess Delaney for Garrett Thorne was by far the most intriguing prospect she’d had in a very long time, even when she was head of the Ryde Agency, working with the stars.