by Jami Alden
“How hard is it to maintain one woman’s schedule? Your sister pays me a lot of money to help set these things up.”
“I keep up with her schedule, Tyler. That one event just slipped my mind.”
Ah, so this was Tyler, the PR agent. Gabe had done background checks on both him and Max over the weekend, neither of which had uncovered anything of note.
Tyler wasn’t exactly what he’d expected. He hadn’t worked with too many publicists—Marly Chase’s toady had been his first up-close encounter—but he generally thought them to be a pretty smarmy bunch.
Tyler looked okay. Gabe supposed he could charm the pants off anyone with his Ken-doll looks and sharp suit. But instead of gracing Gabe with the expected slick smile, Tyler’s expression was serious as he looked him in the eye and shook his hand.
“You’re watching out for Reggie. Glad to hear it.”
Tyler’s handshake was firmer than necessary. Gabe knew when he was being sized up. But why? Did Tyler have a more than professional interest in his client? Not that Gabe could blame him if he did since he was doing his damnedest to deny the very same thing. But was Tyler’s interest just a normal red-blooded response to an attractive woman, or was it something more sinister?
“Quiet on the set.”
“Don’t make a sound or Max will rip you a new one,” Natalie whispered. “They do these shows live to tape, and it’s a huge pain if they have to stop.”
His eyes were drawn to Reggie, standing behind the counter of her kitchen set. She wore a bright green sweater that made her eyes sparkle. Or maybe it was the extra mascara she wore. He’d never seen her with that much makeup on—more than he generally liked on women, not that they ever asked. But he had to admit she looked sexy, even a little glamorous with that sinful mouth of hers glossed to a juicy shine.
Tactical error, looking at her mouth. It reminded him of how lush and soft it had felt on various parts of his body, especially the hot, aching tip of his cock—
“And rolling!”
Jesus, he hadn’t had an unexpected hard-on since high school. Fortunately, no one noticed that he’d popped a woody, as everyone was focused on Reggie as she sprang into action.
Her smile was bright and animated as she walked out from behind the camera. “Hey there everyone. Welcome to Simply Delicious. I’m Reggie Caldwell. Today I’m going to show you a steak dinner so easy even the most kitchen-phobic person can put it together. And as always, it will be simply delicious.”
And she was off. Gabe was astounded at her ability to keep up a nonstop stream of chatter. She spoke as though she had a couple of friends in the kitchen, seamlessly integrating all the necessary instructions and food facts as she worked. Gabe was struck anew by her enthusiasm and energy, the same vibrancy that had attracted him to her in the first place. And he was endlessly tormented by the memory of how she focused all that energy and enthusiasm during sex.
Nothing seemed to throw her off her game. At one point she dropped a mushroom she was chopping. Without missing a beat, she giggled and said, “Oops, I guess that’s for the dog. I don’t have a dog now, unfortunately, but when I was growing up we had a golden retriever who was like a living vacuum…” And so it went for another twenty minutes or so.
Once she had the meal plated up and gave wine suggestions, she sat down at the little kitchen table on the set. She took a sip of red wine and said, “As you know, this is the time during the week when we like to take a call from a viewer. Today we have a call from…” She squinted at the teleprompter. “I can’t tell who we have a call from because I can’t seem to read the screen. Go ahead, caller.”
“Hello, Reggie.” The hairs on the back of Gabe’s neck stood on end. There was something about that voice, like it was disguised to sound deeper and raspier than it really was. Gabe wasn’t the only one who noticed. Reggie had stiffened almost imperceptibly, her smile now tight around the corners, a hint of worry in her big brown eyes.
Nevertheless, she kept her composure. “Hello, caller. What’s your question?”
“I want to know, Reggie, what you’ll have as an accompaniment when you suck my cock.”
Her eyes went wide, and for a moment everyone froze as she simply stared at the camera. “Well, caller, I personally prefer my cock unadorned, so I’m afraid I can’t help you. Do we have another call perhaps?”
Chapter Four
The set erupted in pandemonium as the director screamed at the cameraman to stop rolling while Natalie and Tyler ran up to Reggie all talking at once and asking if she was all right.
“Everyone, calm down!” Gabe’s booming voice quieted the chaos to a low din, and he pushed through the crowd surrounding her. “No one leave.”
Gabe’s wrapped his hand around her upper arm, the heat of his fingertips burning through the thin knit of her cobalt blue sweater.
He tugged gently as he spoke to Max, Natalie, and Tyler. “Will you excuse us please? I need to talk to Reggie in private.”
Natalie opened her mouth to protest and Reggie quickly shook her head. Though his iron grip wasn’t painful, she was guessing by the vein subtly pulsing at his jaw that he wasn’t in the mood to hear arguments.
The man was furious, though he was visibly trying to hide it. But Reggie could feel the rage vibrating in that powerful body and sensed that he was nanoseconds away from blowing like a land mine.
He calmly steered her through the studio, out the door, and into the hall.
“Do you know that your nostrils flare when you’re angry?” She hadn’t meant to say that, and wished she hadn’t when the fires of hell ignited in his eyes.
But just for a split second. Gabe ran a big hand down his face, pausing to pinch his nose, as though to remind his nostrils to behave, and the cool, impassive mask was back in place. But a mean vein stood out in stark relief on the right side of his forehead.
He spoke in a cool, calm voice that was almost scarier for the simmering rage she heard underneath. “Reggie, I don’t think you’re taking this seriously.” He positioned her against the wall, blocking her in with the solid mass of his chest. Somehow she knew he was barely restraining himself from lifting her off the ground and shaking her. But he kept it so well hidden that to any passersby they would look like two people having a quiet, if intense, conversation.
She tried to concentrate on what he was saying, something about how the stalker’s threats were escalating, but when he stood this close she could smell the faint soap and clean laundry scent that clung to him, and under that, his own personal aroma, one that made her want to bury her nose in the open collar of his shirt. Which reminded her she probably smelled of cooked meat and garlicky mushroom sauce.
Finally, his words sank in and irritation replaced the feeling of surrealism that had overtaken her when she’d first heard the call. “What was I supposed to do? Gasp and faint and let him know he bothered me?”
“How about tell him not to call you anymore? Or tell him you’ve filed a police report and they’re on his tail? When you respond with a smart remark like you did, when you engage with him, in any way, he may take that as encouragement.” His fists clenched and unclenched several times as though he were contemplating wrapping them around her throat. Finally, he took a deep, cleansing breath. “You have to protect yourself, Reggie.”
“Isn’t that what I hired you for?”
The corners of his lips pulled tight and he frowned down at her. He raised a finger and pressed it into her chest with just enough pressure to push her flat against the wall. As he pulled his hand away, his knuckles barely brushed the inside curve of her breast. She grimaced, trying to convince herself that her suddenly tight nipples were due to the air-conditioning.
“Yeah, that is what you hired me for.” His Southern accent emerged from hiding with each syllable. “Your safety is my job, and I take my job very seriously. When you pull shit like this, you make my work a whole lot harder.”
God, if she hadn’t been paying an arm and a leg for his
services, this fierce protector thing would have been a total turn-on. She nodded, though she wasn’t sure what her response was supposed to be.
She got a little queasy as the reality of what had happened hit her. She’d been so shocked at first, then irritated at Gabe, that it was just now hitting her that someone, someone close to her, was making these phone calls, sending her these notes.
Mentally, she shook herself. It was ridiculous to panic at this point. After all, the sum total of her stalker’s activities was a close-up shot of his balls, an e-mail describing what she wore, and a phone call. Sure, they were creepy. But he hadn’t threatened violence of any kind, and he didn’t seem inclined to introduce himself in person. Overreacting at this point would gain her nothing. “It was a harmless phone call, and no one was hurt. I really don’t see what the big deal is.” Just saying the words calmed her.
He shook his head, scowling. She made one last attempt to diffuse his visibly building temper. “Okay, okay.” She held up both palms. “I promise, next time a pervert calls, I will not engage in conversation about his genitalia, all right?” She glanced at the clock over his shoulder. “Now, if you don’t mind, Max is probably frothing at the mouth to finish that last shot.”
Gabe opened his mouth as though to say something, but was interrupted as Natalie and Tyler came trotting down the hall, both talking a mile a minute.
Gabe let out a frustrated sigh and started back toward the studio. “I’m going back in to talk to everyone, see if they saw anything. Then we’ll go file a police report.”
Reggie groaned as she remembered what a great success that had been last time. Tyler put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “He seems to know what he’s doing,” he murmured.
Natalie nodded in agreement.
Reggie shook her head. “I don’t know. I think he’s making me paranoid. Maybe we’re making a bigger deal out of this than it really is.” And on top of that, she’d barely slept the past two nights, unable to escape sexy, sweaty, lust-filled dreams starring Gabe in all his naked splendor. It had been a miracle that she’d been able to get through today’s shooting without any major tape-stopping errors. “Thank God he’s leaving in a couple of days.”
Natalie and Tyler exchanged concerned looks. “Reggie, you really need to be careful,” Natalie started.
But Reggie had made up her mind. “This is all just a joke, some guy’s idea of a juvenile prank. Today’s call is probably going to end up on Howard Stern or Crank Yankers sometime soon.”
Natalie didn’t look convinced. “As a single woman you still need to be careful,” she said stubbornly. “And don’t be so selfish. What would I do if anything happened to you?”
“Yeah, Natalie might lose her meal ticket,” Tyler said, earning him a punch in the arm from Natalie.
Reggie gave Tyler an admonishing look and led the way back to the studio. Inevitably, her gaze was drawn to Gabe, in intense conversation with one of the cameramen. His shoulders strained the seams of his sport coat, and his coffee-colored hair looked like he’d run frustrated fingers through it a few hundred times.
A fluttery heat settled somewhere around her middle. Damned traitorous hormones.
Max flitted up, long, slender hands waving in the air. “Reggie, sweetie, I hate to do this to you, but if you’re not too distraught, we really need to do that last shot. We’ll just skip the phone call this week.”
“No problem.” They quickly strategized on a quick tip segment to fill three minutes of tape, and the crew quickly moved to set up the shot. They’d been here since eight in the morning, and the crew was no doubt restless to get home. Reggie sat still while Natalie touched up her makeup and hair and did her best to compose herself. She was a professional, and it would take more than a prank call and a hot bodyguard to distract her.
Or so she thought, until she looked up and caught Gabe’s stare, just as she was explaining to viewers how they could test the doneness of steak by using their hands.
His heavy-lidded gaze was hot, hungry, and not the least bit indifferent.
Reggie’s brain turned off midsentence, and she gaped like a grouper for several seconds before the director yelled, “Cut!”
Max shook his head in exasperation as they reset. But when she fumbled a second time he let his annoyance show. “Reggie, do you need a little time to pull yourself together?”
Reggie shook her head. “I’m really sorry, guys,” she said to the crew. “It’s just been so long since I’ve been propositioned, I got a little flustered.” Tension broke as everyone laughed. Even Gabe couldn’t hide the little half smile that quirked his lips up and to the right.
Reggie finally got it on the third try. Gabe came over, his manner aloof, and Reggie was convinced she’d hallucinated the earlier flare of heat she’d seen in his eyes. Her Gabe-inflamed libido obviously was making her see things.
“I’ll take you home. I don’t think it’s good for you to go alone.”
“Did you find out anything?”
He shook his head, his mouth tight with frustration. “No one came in or out during the taping, the switchboard operator didn’t receive an incoming call.”
“Then how—”
“Don’t know yet. But I have a buddy who can help us figure it out.”
He didn’t say more as Tyler and Natalie approached. “Here.” Natalie fished around in her oversize bag. She frowned, then dug deeper. “That’s weird. I know I printed out two copies of your schedule. Anyway, Tyler has your schedule starting next week”—Tyler waved the aforementioned packet—“and your copy is on your computer at home.”
Reggie murmured her thanks and glanced at her watch. “Yikes. We need to get going if we’re going to make it on time.”
“On time for what?” Gabe asked.
“Just a demo and a book signing. My publisher wants me to do one last push on my current book before the new one comes out in six months. Of course, I still have to finish it…” She broke off at Gabe’s frown.
“How many people will be there?”
Tyler shrugged. “A hundred. Hundred fifty. Not too big.”
“And no security, am I right?” Gabe looked at Reggie reproachfully, as though she had purposely neglected to tell him.
“This isn’t a crowd that gets out of control. Reggie’s fans aren’t exactly a rowdy lot.”
“Yeah, and I bet you never pegged her fans as sexual deviants before,” Gabe said, “but she’s managed to attract one, one who can easily get to her at an event like this.”
Tyler conceded Gabe’s point with a nod.
“He’s right,” Natalie said, turning to address Gabe. “You should come with us.”
“Hello, since it’s my money we’re using, do I not get a say in this?” Reggie couldn’t believe them—planning her life like she had nothing to say about it. “Gabe already put in my security system, and now his work is done.” She smiled up at Gabe to find him frowning down at her. Big surprise. “Not that our little reunion hasn’t been enjoyable, but I don’t think a phone call merits my own personal bodyguard.” Simply having Gabe in the same city with her was driving her to distraction. The sooner she got away from him, the sooner she could regain her sanity.
Natalie continued as though Reggie hadn’t spoken. “Reggie has to be at Whole Foods on California Street at six. Can you give her a ride?”
“Didn’t anyone hear what I said?” Reggie snapped.
Natalie rolled her eyes. “Reggie, don’t blow this off just because…” Her gaze darted to Gabe.
Reggie stared hard at Natalie. For once in her life, Natalie got the clue and didn’t elaborate. “Besides,” Natalie continued, “maybe we can spin this to your advantage. Stalkers always generate publicity.”
Reggie fully expected Tyler to tell Natalie she didn’t know what she was talking about. Instead, he looked impressed. “Natalie’s right. If we let the word get out that you’re having enough trouble to hire a bodyguard, it could generate additional buzz.”
Gabe shook his head, his face showing mild disgust as he looked at the three of them. “Any publicity is good publicity?” he asked snidely.
Fine. Let him be judgmental. “Okay, I give in—for now. Tyler, you do whatever you think is best. Nat, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She headed for the corner where she’d left her coat, Gabe hot on her heels.
When they got to her car he took her keys out of her hand without a word, his disapproval palpable as he drove in complete silence.
“I don’t see what’s wrong with trying to see the good in this situation,” Reggie said, compelled beyond reason to defend herself to this man who obviously didn’t care about her personal motivations.
“It just seems a little sick, using a guy who’s threatening you to try to get your name out there.”
“He hasn’t exactly threatened me yet. And you make it sound so sleazy. It’s just business.”
“But the way you’re acting, it’s almost like you think it’s a good thing this pervert is bugging you.” Even in the dim light of the car, Reggie could tell he was white knuckling the steering wheel.
“Of course it’s not a good thing. But if some creep is going to bother me, why not make the best of it?”
“As long as it gets your name out there, right?” There was no mistaking the snide tone now.
Reggie sniffed and looked out the window. “I prefer to think of it as making lemons into lemonade.”
On the way to Whole Foods, Gabe called the police, who said they would send someone to question the crew first thing in the morning. As expected, though, the chances of identifying her stalker from a brief phone call weren’t good.
As they navigated rush hour traffic, Reggie made a valiant attempt at civil conversation.
“Have you seen your sister since you’ve been here?” Reggie knew from Natalie that Gabe’s sister Adrienne and her husband had a place not too far from hers in Pacific Heights.
“Yeah, I’ve been staying at her place.”