Identity Crisis(43)

Dee made no response other than to offer a concerned gaze.

Ignoring her, Kendra took a shaky breath, steadied herself on the back of the chair and began to pace. ‘In the meantime, we still have a major mess to clean up.’

Garrett braced himself for accusations that didn’t come. Instead, she continued as though she was a football coach planning a play. He figured that was a pretty good analogy.

‘I’d imagine the crowd out front is gone for the moment,’ she said. ‘I called in a favor from a friend, who’s just had a sighting of the sneaky Tess Delaney and Garrett Thorne over at the Heathman. Escaped through the back door, you know?’ She smiled, and Garrett could see a little bit of the old Kendra Davis beginning to surface again. He had to admit, it warmed his heart.

‘I’ve called in the troops,’ she said, still pacing. ‘I’ve noticed the cupboards are bare, and since our movement is going to be a bit restricted for a while, I’ve got someone bringing in groceries and supplies. Lots of coffee, lots of wine, lots of Diet Pepsi. I figure we’ll need all the liquid courage we can get. I’m sorry, Garrett, I had to guess at what you like. There wasn’t time for us to put together a gourmet grocery list.’

He smiled. ‘Anything’s fine with me, thanks.’

She smiled back and, to Garrett, it felt like the sun had just come out. She continued, ‘Harris is bringing my clothes. He’s thrilled about that.’

In spite of herself, Dee sniggered.

‘All of that should be happening within the hour, which is about all the time I figure we’ll have before the hordes descend again. Garrett, you’ll have to pretend that I’m holed up here writing. I think that’s our best bet. I’m afraid we’ll be stuck with each other until things blow over. Nothing to worry about. There’s always something sensational to grab the attention of the gossips. I doubt if it’ll be a long siege. And we’ll have to go before the press. We’ll make one quick appearance together to appease the masses.’ She raised a hand as she saw him bristle. ‘Be nice, and tell them something, I don’t know, something that will at least temporarily satisfy them and keep them off our backs. Once the groceries have arrived and I have something besides yoga pants and a well-partied-in evening dress, we’ll draft something, make some kind of plan.

‘That –’ She nodded to Garrett’s laptop on the table. ‘I’m wagering that’s nothing. In fact, I’m wagering whoever keeps track of Tess’s fan mail and website will get a few more nutters weighing in with their opinions before the whole Golden Kiss adventure is laid to rest and Tess can go quietly back to her ivory tower. But the police won’t help. They can’t. Please don’t call them again without consulting me first.’

This time, Garrett happily risked her wrath. He came to stand nose to nose with her and grabbed her by the shoulders. ‘If I think we need the police, we’ll call them, and you can’t stop me. Get used to it.’ He nodded to Ellis. ‘I’ll have a security team here before the afternoon is over, and you’re never to go anyplace without one of them or me, I mean it, Kendra. I’m fine with you doing your job. You’re amazing at doing your job, but there’s no way I’m putting you at unnecessary risk, so just deal with it.’

To his surprise, she didn’t slap him, she didn’t even argue. She simply blew out a sharp breath and, holding him in that incredible bright-eyed gaze of hers, nodded her consent.





Chapter Thirteen

Garrett had dealt with the press before, usually as Ellis’s misbehaving brother, and seldom very gracefully. He hated having the microphones shoved in his face, and he hated being stared at. He usually reacted badly. But the press, they were nothing compared to an angry Kendra Davis, so he would do his very best to smile and behave himself.

‘Are you sure about this?’ he called up the stairs to where she was getting ready in the guest room. He was still hopeful he could get her to change her mind, though why he imagined he’d have that kind of sway over her was beyond him.

‘Positive,’ Kendra called down.

He wasn’t keen that she was settling into the guest room. That wasn’t where he wanted her, but since her return this morning, she’d given no indication that she had anything in mind other than the professional arrangement they had struck when she agreed to be Tess Delaney for him. Damn it! Could she really completely turn it all off that easily? He still couldn’t be in the same room with her without his cock getting tetchy in his jeans. Was she really that cool and indifferent toward him? It certainly hadn’t felt like it last night, or this morning before they discovered the press camped out on his front porch.