Kissed Blind (A Hot Pursuit Novel Book 2) (11 page)

Thirteen

“What’re you doing?” My voice was raspy. I glanced at the clock on my nightstand, it was just after two.

“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Gabe said, tucking his shirt into his waistband.

“Are you leaving?” I sat up and brought the covers to my bare chest.

“I have to. I have a meeting in the morning and everything I need is at the house.”

I pouted. “This makes me feel super special. Were you going to leave a note or just disappear?”

“It’s not that way and you know it. I should have mentioned I couldn’t stay before, but I fell asleep. I cancelled my plans to be with you last night. Now there’s business to catch up on. Please understand. You know I’d rather be here and wake up next to you, but I can’t.”

I wanted to state the obvious, that he owned the company, and if he was at liberty to cancel his meeting the day before then he should have been able to stay with me. He didn’t have to ditch me in the middle of the night, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. Any words I thought of would have come out wrong, and I didn’t want to start a fight in the middle of the night.

“Sure, I understand.” I sank down into my covers and lifted them to my shoulders. I rolled over and put my back to him. “Lock the door on your way out.”

“Come on.”

“It’s fine. Go. I’m not going to pretend I like you disappearing in the middle of the night, but I understand. It’s late and I have an early day too. I hope your meetings, or whatever it is you have going on, go well.”

I felt him staring at me in the darkness, and he kissed my cheek. “I love you.”

I buried my head into my pillow and grumbled, “Love you too.”

“I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.”

Moments later the door to my apartment opened and clicked shut. The sound ricocheted off the walls and my empty bed.

.              .              .

I awoke the next morning with a proverbial bug up my ass two minutes before my alarm was set to go off, which in and of itself was enough to tick me off. I didn’t have time to go for a run so I hoped a shower would assuage my feelings of ill will.

It didn’t work.

After fifteen minutes, I emerged from my steamy chamber with pink, shiny skin just as pissed as I was before I closed the shower curtain. I slicked my hair back into a tight bun—Oliver Pierce or not, I didn’t feel like doing my hair either. After I got dressed, I sat down with a mug of coffee and a bagel smeared with a thick layer of herb cream cheese. I was about to take a bite when I remembered I had the tail end of a bag of Cheetos in my pantry. It was a little more than fine crumbs and cheesy pellets—the best part of a bag of Cheetos if you asked me—and I’d saved them for a moment like this.

I dumped the remains on my plate and crumpled up the bag, tossing it on the table next to me. I tore off a chunk of the bagel and smashed it down in the cheesy, overly salty pile so they’d stick in my cream cheese in tight clusters. I threw it in my mouth, and the mélange of cheese, real and artificial, was everything right with the world. And just like that, as I chewed, my mood began to slowly improve. I call that the power of junk food, and it can’t be underestimated.

I rationed the tasty morsels to have enough for each bite and shoved the second to last bite in my mouth as Vance arrived. I glanced at the clock; he was running a few minutes ahead of schedule.

He stood in the hallway, in all his masculine glory, wearing his old black leather jacket. It made him seem tougher and edgier. The woodsy smell of him mixed with leather would always remind me of the wet night he carried me to the car many months ago outside of the hospital. I welcomed him in.

“Morning,” I said, swallowing my bagel down. “You’re early.”

“Really?” He checked his watch. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” He glanced into my apartment.

“If you’re talking about Gabe, no, he’s not here. He left early this morning.”

“Earlier than this? He’s not… uh oh, is there trouble in paradise again?”

“No. Everything is fine.”

“Don’t look at me in that tone of voice.” He chuckled at his own joke. “It’s a valid question.”

I sighed. “Want some coffee?”

“Sure. We have a few minutes to kill.”

I grabbed a mug from the clean ones that had been sitting in my dishwasher for a week and poured him a cup. When I turned around, Vance stood next to my chair and assessed my breakfast.

“Oh my God, what are you doing to yourself?”

“What?” I shrugged.

“Is that a…” He leaned in closer. “A bagel with cream cheese and Cheetos smashed into it?”

“It sure is. And don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”

He held up his hands. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Suit yourself.” I tossed the last bite into my mouth and threw my trash into the can. I sat back down and hugged my warm mug with my hands. Vance sat across from me.

“Oh hey, I checked in with Brooks and Greyson. They’re taking over the detail for the weekend. We need to make sure Oliver knows. It was in his contract, so he should, but Cavanaugh asked us to confirm it.”

“No problem.”

“Great.” His voice was high and full of energy.

“You seem awfully chipper this morning. Everything going well with your dad?”

“Yep, he keeps getting stronger.”

“Did you end up just going home last night, or did you check up on him?”

“I went home and made a phone call. A friend came over, and we ended up having a lovely evening.”

The way he emphasized the word “friend” said it wasn’t one of his bar buddies, and he wouldn’t have described an evening with one of them as lovely anyway. I shrank back and a prickly feeling nipped at my flesh. “You called some random chick to come over?”

“Not really a random chick, but someone I keep on standby.”

“You have a girl that’ll just drop everything to come be with you.” I snapped my fingers. “Just like that?”

“Yep, pretty much.”

“You had a booty call?” For some reason I couldn’t close my gaping mouth.

Vance looked at me over the rim of his mug, and his smile beamed through his eyes. “I’m a man. I have needs.” He paused to savor a memory. “That Sherry.” He set his mug down and moaned. “That girl was put on this earth to please. Her mouth—”

“Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Talk about what you do with other women to me.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s tacky and gross.”

He looked down his nose at me. “You talk about Gabe.”

“I do not talk about Gabe like that with you.”

He shrugged. “What do you care what I do anyway?”

I squinted. “Because I do. You’re better than schlepping around with these women.”

“It was one girl, not women. And, you don’t know her like I do.” The mocking tone in his voice worked its way under my skin.

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop acting like a jerk.”

“Maybe I am a jerk. You ever think of that?”

“Don’t give me that.” I clenched my teeth down tight and had a strong suspicion from where his attitude stemmed. “I know this is all an act. You’re just mad.”

He sat back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his head. “Mad about what exactly?”

“Mad that Gabe was here last night and you and I couldn’t hang out like we planned.”

He grunted. “Like we planned? So you noticed we had plans. Huh. You know, now that you mention it maybe that did bother me a little. You seem to cast me aside rather easily without so much as a second thought.”

“I said I was sorry, but you offered to leave anyway, I didn’t cast you aside. I didn’t know he’d be here. And geez, I take back what I said about you being chipper when you walked in.” I left my chair and dumped the rest of my coffee in the sink, turning my back to him. My Cheetos high slipped away, and that alone was enough to fuel my growing anger. “Maybe that Sherry didn’t do such a good job servicing your loins last night and you still have all this pent up… whatever it is.” My words were sharper than I’d expected, and they pierced my ears the instant they left my mouth.

Vance pushed his chair back and stomped over next to me. “Don’t talk to me like that.”

“Talk like what?” I spun around and faced him, gripping the edge of the sink. “You mean tell the truth?”

He tossed his head back and laughed. “Princess, you wouldn’t know the truth if it came up and bit you in the ass.”

“I… I…” So much raw fury surged through my veins I had a hard time stringing together logical thought. In all the years Vance and I had known each other, we’d never had a real fight. I dropped my hands at my sides and balled them into tight fists to stop myself from punching him.

Why were we arguing anyway? Gabe came over and Vance left. He called another girl and had… oh God… sex with her. I cringed internally.

But so what? Why did I care?

I didn’t.

I shouldn’t. I’d be a hypocrite to be bothered by what he did knowing I did the same.

But, I cared. Any way I sliced it up, I did. I’d have to think about it later. I was too pissed to begin to figure it out. My breath left my mouth in quick, hot bursts.

“I can’t wait for you to tell me what the truth is, O Wise One,” I managed.

He took one big step toward me, pinning my body against the sink and resting his hands on either side of me. The rate of his breathing matched mine, and our heartbeats synced.

“I don’t like being second best. It’s not a role I play well.”

His words hurt my heart, and my anger eased into pain. “You’re not second best. You’re my best friend.”

He snorted and leaned in closer to my face. “I’m not your best friend otherwise you wouldn’t do this over and over and over.”

I stuttered to choose the right words. I understood what he was saying, I did, but saying what I felt out loud didn’t make sense to me either. He was my best friend, but so was Gabe. They were almost complete opposites, and I loved them both, just differently.

“You are… one of them,” was what I settled on.

He shook his head. “I don’t like it when you choose him over me. Always, constantly.”

I gathered enough courage to look him in the eye. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t think. Seeing Gabe caught me off guard, and when you two are around each other it makes me tense. It’s hard to think sometimes.”

He didn’t back off, and the heat of his Arabica bean scented breath touched my lips. My heart pounded faster still. “Don’t do it again.” The anger in his voice had dissipated slightly.

“I won’t. I promise.”

My pocket buzzed. Vance pushed off the counter and snatched his mug off the table while I retrieved my phone. Gabe texted and was checking to see if I was still mad. I typed a quick reply saying everything was fine and shoved the phone back in my pocket.

“We should head out so we’re not late,” Vance said.

“Yeah, okay.” I walked over to the door and zipped into my boots. Vance didn’t wait for me. I met him out on the street.

We drove to Oliver’s apartment in silence, neither of us bothering with the radio. The tension could have been cut with a knife. I sat with my hands crossed in my lap and stared out the window.

When we pulled into our spot, Vance put the Rover in park and grabbed my wrist. “We cool?”

“Yeah,” I said in more of a whisper than a firm declaration. I pulled on the handle and tried to get out of the car, but he pulled me back in.

“You sure you don’t have anything left to say?”

“Nope,” was all I could muster, because suddenly I had a lump in my throat.

He leaned over to look at my face. “Then why are you about to cry?”

“Please. The day you make me cry…” I cleared my throat. “I have something in my eye.”

“Both of them?” He grinned.

“I know.” I blinked back my tears. “It’s the damnedest thing. Spring weather you know. Pollen.” We looked at each other for a few beats. “I don’t like fighting with you.”

“I don’t like it either.”

“Let’s not do it again.”

“That sounds good.” He nodded and pulled the keys out of the ignition. “Now, let’s go see what this day has in store for us.”

I placed both of my index fingers under my eyes and blotted any moisture that threatened to fall. We got out of the car and walked toward Oliver’s building. Halfway through the lot, he gave me a playful shove with his elbow and caught me as I stumbled, pulling me under his arm. 

Fourteen

“Hi,” Cici said, greeting us at the door. She had an extra flutter to her eyelashes looking at Vance, and then she turned her syrupy, dimpled smile on me. I was in no mood to watch her flirt. “Come in. Oliver’s on his way down. He’s moving a little slow this morning. He and Camille had… kind of a long night.” She shut the door, and Vance and I waited in the foyer.

Oliver descended the twisted staircase with a bright smile, shuffling to gather his things. If he’d had a long night, he’d hidden it well. “The set director has been buzzing me all morning. She needs me on set as soon as possible so we don’t lose the morning light.”

“We’re ready when you are.” I stepped out of his way as he moved past me to grab his jacket.

“Is Camille joining us?” Cici asked.

Oliver shrugged the thin, loose leather over his shoulders. “At this hour? You’d have more luck waking a hibernating bear. She might show up later. She can figure it out for herself how she’s going to get down there, if she decides to come at all. I left her the address on her nightstand.”

“Okay, let me just grab my bag.” Cici sauntered off into the kitchen to grab a to-go cup of something. In the dining area, she collected some papers off the table and shoved them into her satchel. As Oliver slipped into his shoes, she handed him the cup she’d prepared. “Here, I made this for you. I figured you’d need it.”

He grabbed the cup. “Thanks. That’s perfect.” He stopped just short of sipping. “Is this the same thing you made me earlier?”

“No, it’s different.”

“Does this have caffeine in it?”

Cici smiled from ear to ear. “Nope, I know one caffeinated drink is your limit. It’s a citrus lavender sage herb tea. It should help you feel revitalized without the jitters.”

“It’s like you read my mind sometimes. I have to relax a little. My stomach is still bothering me from last night.”

“Do you need me to grab your medicine?”

“Already took some. Shall we?” Oliver motioned to the door with his hand.

Vance called the elevator, and after we stepped in, he reminded Oliver about the weekend team taking over his service. “So, I’ve given Brooks and Greyson a copy of the schedule you’ve given us,” Vance said. “If there are any changes, just call the office and they’ll take care of the rest.”

He grunted. “I’d forgotten about that. Thanks for reminding me.” He looked to Cici. “Could you make sure the shooting schedule for the weekend is still accurate? You know how things change on a dime.”

“I’ll talk to Cadence when we get there today,” Cici said, taking a small notebook out of her bag and jotting down the note.

“Great.” He sipped from his cup again, and the scent of lavender and sage infused the air. “Oh, hey, when Camille and I were talking last night, she reminded me about an event next weekend in California. They’re throwing a twenty year anniversary party for
Acts of Desperation
.”

“Has it been that long already?” I asked. I’d been about eight or nine when the movie came out, but it seemed like yesterday. I watched it every year when the Camille Pierce movie marathon played on one of the local stations.

“Hard to believe, I know. It’s where her career...” He exhaled a quick breath through his nose. “And all of this began.” A shadow of something foreign lingered in his voice—pain, possibly regret—probably the remains of the argument he and Camille had had the night before. In the wake of the disagreement Vance and I had had, I could relate. “But we’ll need a security team with us, and since our regular guy is still out, I was wondering if you two would be able to join us. All expenses paid of course.”

I glanced at Vance, who squinted for a millionth of a second before returning his brows to their normal look. He was already working through the guilt of leaving his parents in the condition they were in, but I, on the other hand, wanted to jump at the chance. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I didn’t want to miss it.

Vance chimed in first. “We’ll have to get approval from our boss, but I think it should be okay.”

“And if it’s not, money usually helps change people’s minds.” Oliver snickered. “I’ll make sure it’s not a problem with him if it’s not a problem with either of you.”

“It’s not a problem with me. I’d love to go,” I said.

“All right then. Cici, after you talk with Cadence, call their office and talk to… Cavanaugh is it?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “He’s the guy you’ll need to talk to.”

“Okay, so talk to Cavanaugh and work out the details with him.” Cici jotted more notes, and the elevator dinged as we arrived on the ground floor. “We’ll probably fly in Friday night,” Oliver said, walking through the lobby. “Be there for the ceremony on Saturday, and hop on a flight either late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. We can work out all the details later.”

We proceeded through the lot and settled into the car. Oliver clicked his seatbelt. “Oh, and it’s going to be black tie. Vance, you’ll need a tux. Will that be a problem?”

“Not at all,” Vance said.

Of course Vance had a tux.

“Great. And Diana, you can wear whatever you’ll be comfortable in. I assume you’ll be able to come up with something suitable?”

I hesitated for a moment while I mentally inventoried my closet. I had plenty of black pant suits but wasn’t sure if any of them would be considered red carpet ready. I’d make something work or head out and do some quick shopping over the weekend.

Oliver noticed my delay. “I can have a stylist pick something out for you if you don’t. I want this to be as easy as possible for you.”

“Um, well, I might need something a little fancier than what I have in my closet.”

“No problem. Cici, call over to
Saks
and have someone pick out a few outfits for Diana and have them taken to her home tomorrow for a proper fitting. I know how you ladies are. It’s a much bigger deal for you to get dressed. We men all look the same.”

This was going to be a first for me, and I could barely contain my excitement. “Thanks so much, that’s very generous of you.”

“It’s nothing. I’ve been married long enough to interpret momentary silence.” He laughed under his breath. “Just give Cici your information and when you’ll be home for the delivery. We’ll get everything taken care of.”

Our commute was quick, and it was too early for many fans to have gathered yet, so entry onto the set was effortless. Once through the guardrails, Cici and Oliver split off in different directions. We followed Oliver to his trailer and stood at the base of the stairs. Just like the previous day, people shuffled about in a flurry getting everything perfect for filming to begin. We waited while Oliver went through his transformation.

After about an hour, Cici returned. “Okay, I just got off the phone with your office and everything is cleared. Your boss said he’ll contact you about the event.”

“Yep,” Vance said. “Not a problem.”

“Great.” She smiled and bit her lip. “And Diana, I just need to get your size, rough measurements, and address so I can have some outfits sent over to you.” I glanced at Vance. It wasn’t that I was shy, but discussing my bra size and hip measurements was awkward in front of him.

He chuckled under his breath. “I’m going to go find a restroom while you two discuss this.”

I tipped my shoulders. “Thanks.” After he walked away, I gave Cici my information.

“Okay, great. I think that almost catches me up.” She laughed but let out an exhausted sigh.

“Cici?” I asked.

She looked up from the pad of paper she’d flipped closed in her hand. “Yes?”

“Can I ask you something?”

She slipped the pad in her bag. “Uh, sure.” And tapped on a chunky silver ring on her middle finger.

“Do you like your job?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s great.” She paused and rolled her eyes. “Well, being at someone’s beck and call and being an errand girl isn’t my life’s goal, but it should help get me where I want to be.”

“And that’s acting?”

“Absolutely, but everyone else I know wants the same thing too. Working with Oliver gives me more of an opportunity to be noticed. Sometimes I think I should have thought it through a little more.” She laughed again. “But maybe eventually someone will notice me, you know, when I’m not running around like some crazy Tasmanian devil. I just need that one thing.” She held up her finger.

“Which is?”

“God, I don’t know. The one thing that will make the right person notice me. You know that kid with the high-pitched voice who was in
Terminator 2?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“He was discovered in an arcade. An arcade! Can you believe that? I figure my chances are way better doing this though.” Something about the excitement in her voice made me warm to her a little. Maybe she wasn’t so bad.

“How long have you worked for Oliver?”

She stopped and mentally counted the years. “Three years now? Gosh, that’s hard to believe.”

“That’s a long time.”

“Longer than I would’ve hoped. I thought someone would have seen my potential by now, but nothing yet.” She pressed her lips together and dropped her head.

“Wouldn’t Oliver help you? He seems like he’d go out of his way. I mean, look at what he’s doing for me for the event next weekend.”

“Well, yeah, that’s Oliver with other people. With me—”

“You guys all squared away, or do I need to scare up a drink too?” Vance appeared behind Cici, and her shoulders jerked. He placed his hands on her arms and held her. “Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

She glanced, wide-eyed, up at him. “It’s okay, like totally okay.”

My face fell to a grimace. Just when I was starting to warm up to her a little. She excused herself to a small table set up on the sidewalk to attend to more business while my phone buzzed in my pocket. Gabe texted again, probably to check on my anger level.

When are you supposed to be finished tonight?
he asked.

Not sure, why?

I was thinking of taking you out. I don’t like how we left things this morning.

I smiled.
Me either.

I’ll make reservations.

Where?

No, it’s a surprise. Think you’ll be finished by 8:00?

Absolutely.

Call me when you get home.

.              .              .

About halfway through the day, a limousine arrived on set. Flashes exploded from the cameras of bystanders who’d gathered. Camille waved to the crowds calling her name as she stepped out from behind a shiny black door. Her soft pink, calf length jacket, cream fitted dress, and black sunglasses had her looking like royalty.

In the mass of the people calling her name was the same man I’d noticed the day before. His gaze did not break from Camille for a fraction of a second, and at one point, I thought she noticed him too.

As Camille approached a guard who let her through, I elbowed Vance.

“That the same guy?” Vance asked.

“Yep. See what I was talking about?”

“Sure do.”

A slight way off, Oliver wrapped up his final scene and the director called for lunch. Oliver slapped another actor on the back and walked our way.

“There you two are,” Camille said approaching us. “How’s Oli been doing? Has it been grueling?”

“No,” I added, “seems to be running smoothly.”

Cici approached Camille from behind carrying a cup and a white container. “Oh, hi, Camille. Can I get you something from craft service? I didn’t see you were coming. Did I miss your call?” I was sure if Cici had had a free hand, she would have dug through her bag to check her phone.

“No, I didn’t call. I wanted to surprise Oli with lunch. I’ve come to kiss and makeup.” She reached in her extra-large hand bag and pulled out a clear container. “I brought one of his favorites, Cobb salad with green goddess dressing.”

Cici glanced down at the food in her hand. “Oh, um, okay.”

“Just throw that out. Oli would rather have this anyway.” Camille glanced at Vance and then to me. “Unless one of you two wants it? It’s craft service.” She crinkled her nose.

“We’ll grab something in a bit. Why don’t you eat it Cici? I’m sure you’d like a break. I haven’t seen you rest yet today,” Vance answered.

“You know.” The smallest wispy of onyx hair brushed her cheek. “I think I might.”

“I’ll just take that off your hands,” Camille said, relieving Cici of the Styrofoam cup as Oliver approached.

“Uh, that’s for Oliver,” Cici choked out, but her words lost momentum as she finished the sentence.

“You’re here,” Oliver said, kissing Camille’s cheek.

“I’ve brought my favorite leading man lunch. Cobb salad.” Camille smiled. “I know how you hate to eat the food on set.”

Oliver stared at the container she held out. “Is that green goddess dressing I smell?”

“What else? It’s my peace offering.”