Boxed Set: Intercepted by Love (The Complete Collection): Books One - Book Six

by Rachelle Ayala

  Who was controlling this account?

  Cade rubbed his eyes and shut his laptop. Who could he trust?

  He’d already run into a brick wall with Rob and Dick. They were too strong to shake. His mother and sister also held firm. The only other weak link was Roxanne.

  He texted her, Rox, can we meet up somewhere?

  A few minutes later, she replied, I’m at Ronaldo’s party. What’s up?

  Really? How was she involved with Ronaldo?

  He texted, Didn’t know you were invited.

  I’m not, but my date’s one of the stars. She added an excited smiley face emoticon with hearts popping out of her eyes.

  Will he mind if I have a few minutes? This is important.

  Sure, not a problem. He has to appear on stage with the rest of the cast.

  The rest of the cast? That meant Andie was there, as well as Declan.

  Cade’s pulse spiked, and he sucked in a deep breath. Ronaldo had gone too far, and he was mired too deep in this conspiracy, whatever it was.

  Chapter 23

  “It’s stuffy in here.” Andie squirmed and dabbed at her nose with a piece of tissue. “How much longer?”

  “Shhh …” Sylvia whispered. “No one’s supposed to know we’re jumping out of this cake.”

  “So, why are we doing it?”

  “Because it’s fun. Imagine the shock and surprise.” She suppressed a giggle.

  “What’s everyone doing right now? Where’s Ronaldo?”

  Dance music streamed from the speakers scattered around the property, and people splashed in the pool or chattered in clumps.

  “He’s probably waiting for the stars to gather around.”

  “I’m glad we have chairs to sit on.” Andie adjusted her weight because her butt was falling asleep. “Where’d they get these miniature things?”

  “Some preschool, probably. Shhh … I hear someone.”

  Footsteps approached the corner of the makeshift stage.

  “Where the hell is Andie?” Cade’s voice growled. “I looked all over for her.”

  “I thought he wasn’t coming,” Andie whispered.

  “Be quiet. Boss won’t like it if you ruin the cake ahead of time.”

  “She’s in good hands,” Ronaldo replied with a chuckle.

  “Is she with Declan?”

  “Is that all you think about?” Ronaldo sounded amused. “Relax, she and Declan won’t be sharing any scenes. Thanks to you, his jaw’s wired shut.”

  “So, what’s the purpose of this party?”

  “What’s the purpose of any party? To have fun. Make a big splash. Gain publicity and buzz. Get viral video moments.” Ronaldo’s voice sounded smug and superior, laced with amusement at Cade’s grouchiness.

  “Andie’s had enough viral video moments,” Cade grumbled. “She doesn’t need any more.”

  What was he talking about? Andie searched her Swiss cheese memory. Had she been at a wild party before?

  “Look, she’s going to be a star,” Ronaldo said. “We need to spice up her image and make her a sex goddess. You’re just going to have to step aside and let her pursue her dreams.”

  “Except those aren’t her dreams,” Cade said. “You or Declan put it in her mind. The Andie I knew didn’t want to be a movie star. She was scared to take even the research job because she didn’t want to be involved with celebrities.”

  “Who told you that nonsense?” Ronaldo’s voice was disbelieving. “Andie jumped at the opportunity. She told Leroy that she’d always imagined herself as Michal, that she and Declan used to go to the historical reenactment guilds as David and Michal. She’s perfect for this job.”

  “For this charade,” Cade said, his voice growly and deep. “You and I both know she’s not an actress. She has no experience whatsoever and no talent. She can’t act her way out of a hole.”

  What the hell? Andie fanned herself as her blood boiled and her stomach turned. He thinks so lowly of me.

  “You mean out of a cake. Keep your voice down,” Ronaldo said. “Let’s go meet my mother. She’s always wanted an autograph.”

  “No, you’re not going to distract me that easily,” Cade said. “This entire show is a scam. There’s not going to be a Love Lives of King David series. It’s absolutely the most stupid concept I’ve ever heard, and you’re not going to cast a redheaded David and a redheaded Michal, not after all the complaints about the not historically accurate casting on that last Biblical movie.”

  “I’ll cast who I want to cast, and for your information, redheads existed in the ancient Near East. There’s Ramses—”

  “Stop changing the subject.” Cade’s voice boomed so loud that Andie jumped. He must be right outside of the cake at this point.

  Sylvia pressed her down and hugged her.

  “Someone’s paying you big money to put on this production,” Cade continued. “It has something to do with me and the baby. What I want to know is why?”

  “You’re delusional,” Ronaldo retorted. “I’ve assembled the best cast, and this is going to be an Academy Award winner.”

  “Yeah, right. In your delusions. You’re doing this to get back at me. I don’t know what I ever did to you, and I wish I’d never asked your help in bringing Andie to California.”

  What does he mean asking Ronaldo to help bring me to California? Why, that scheming … Andie clenched her fists to control herself from bursting from the cake and tackling Cade.

  “You’re digging your own grave, buddy.” Ronaldo tapped on the cake.

  “Cut the threats. I’m not your buddy anymore, and I’m going to wring your neck if Andie gets hurt by all of this.”

  “You won’t have to,” Ronaldo said. “Because you’re going to wring your own neck first.” He tapped a mic on the stage and the squeal of the microphone feedback made Andie’s ears shudder.

  “Time for the unveiling of the cast for the Love Lives of King David,” Ronaldo announced as the dance music segued into a cinematic soundtrack reminiscent of gladiators.

  Floodlights shone over the cake, and fingers of light crept through the crevices and breathing holes. Orchestral music, the type that prefaced all epic Biblical movies, resounded throughout the estate.

  “He thinks I have no talent, that this is all a fake.” Andie tried to swallow her sobs, while Sylvia rubbed her back.

  “If you want to be an actress, you have to prove him wrong. You have to suck it up and go out there with your head held high. Ronaldo believes in us, and he’s born and raised in a family of Hollywood moguls.”

  # # #

  Cade stalked away from his traitorous friend and headed for the bar. Wherever Andie was, she was likely holed away with the rest of the cast. He spotted Roxanne standing next to the stage, holding a gin and tonic. People were starting to gather around, and Ronaldo was showing a video introducing the movie concept.

  After ordering a whiskey sour, Cade stalked toward Roxanne and pasted on a smile. “How’s the party so far?”

  “Oh, hi Cade.” She stroked his forearm and leaned into him. A swash of alcoholic breath assaulted his nostrils. Roxanne was two sheets to the wind already.

  “Where’s your date?” He jiggled his drink and took a swallow.

  “He’s the star of the show. Probably lurking behind the stage.”

  “Oh, really? I didn’t know there were any other stars but King David, at least of the male persuasion.”

  “Hee, hee, of course not, but I traded places with Andie.” She wobbled against him. “She offered Declan to me in exchange for Bret.”

  “Whoa, Rox, you’re not making any sense.” Cade steadied her as she spilled her drink on his shoes. “What exchange is this?”

  “Simple. Declan wanted Andie to take care of his broken jaw and live with her so he wouldn’t press charges against you. Me and Andie traded places. I’m going to live at Declan’s and in exchange, Andie will take care of Bret. He’s going to sign the divorce, and Andie will sign the adoption papers.”


  Cade’s head spun and he put a finger to Rox’s lips. “Adoption papers? What are you talking about?”

  “Andie’s adopting Bret.”

  “Really? And what does Dick have to say about that?”

  Rox twirled her blond hair and rolled her eyes as if she had a hard math problem. “Dick doesn’t have to agree. Bret’s your son, remember?”

  “Uh, yes, that’s the plan, but I don’t want any trouble down the line where he comes and claims paternity. Is he going to sign away his rights too?”

  “What rights? Why?” Roxanne slurred.

  “So he doesn’t cause trouble later.” Cade heaved a sigh. It was useless to talk to a drunk. “Make sure Dick is in on this adoption.”

  “Sure, why wouldn’t he be? He’s your father, after all. I’m sure he trusts you. He’s too old to play ball with Bret anyway.”

  A million scorpion tails pinched every one of Cade’s nerves. He squeezed Roxanne’s arm, a little too hard. “What did you just say?”

  “Ow, stop hurting me.” She sloshed her drink, wetting his shirt.

  At that moment, multiple colorful lights flashed on stage, and a large cannon exploded. The top of a giant cake blew off, including the fake paper mâché frosted flowers, and the top tier with the gilded Oscar trophy rendition toppled to the stage with a loud crash.

  Two women jumped out of the cake as streams of confetti blew over their heads.

  Cade and Roxanne were close enough to be thrown back by the puff of air, and Roxanne almost fell on her behind, had Cade not caught ahold of her.

  She wrapped her arms around him and dropped her drink to slobber a kiss over his mouth.

  “Welcome, welcome,” Ronaldo’s voice rose above the noise. “Presenting Silver Studios’s newest actresses, the Princess Michal, Antoinette Marie Wales, and the Queen of the Nile, Sylvia Clare Miyamoto.”

  Cade dropped his whiskey glass. It shattered with a loud clink, as Andie’s gaze pierced through him, her smile wide and glittering. She and Sylvia waved to the screaming audience before Ronaldo bent Sylvia back for a theatrical kiss, and another man, dressed in an identical tux as Ronaldo, gave Andie the same treatment—one she seemed to enjoy, by the way she moved, all squirmy and fluttery, kissing the man like there was no tomorrow.

  Chapter 24

  “This is absolutely insane.” Andie’s mother shook her awake the next morning. “Did you see the news? Dick Davis is Bret and Cade’s father. We better get away from all the fallout.”

  Andie groaned and cracked her eyes open. She’d finally fallen asleep in the wee hours after crying her eyes out while sitting up with Bret who also had a bad night. Unable to calm him, she had given up and brought him to bed between her and her mother. The baby was still fast asleep.

  “I know, but who’s going to take care of Bret? Did Cade come home last night?” Andie’s shoulders shook from a lingering sob, and her mind was in a dull and painful fog.

  The party last night had been hell, but she’d pulled it off like the actress she was becoming. No one had suspected how wounded she was under her skin—well, no one except Sylvia who practically held her hand through the rest of the evening, including meeting all of the famous stars of Hollywood and the big directors and producers.

  “He hasn’t come home,” her mother said. “I checked the garage. Look, we can’t keep the baby. Why don’t you call Roxanne?”

  “She’s living at Declan’s.”

  Her plan seemed to be working. Roxanne was hanging over Cade before the cake explosion, but soon after, when Declan was brought in on a chariot, Rox had stumbled drunkenly onto the stage and thrown herself into the chariot, landing on her knees with her arms around Declan’s legs—ready to play the role of concubine and suck up to the king.

  “Oh? Really?” Her mother shook her. “You kids are something else. Playing musical partners. I thought swinging was a thing my parents did in the nineteen-seventies.”

  “She’s helping me get that divorce from Declan.” Andie hadn’t yet told her mother or anyone else about Cade’s damning remarks, how he thought so little of her. Maybe her mother was right. Cade only wanted her to take care of little Bret. As cute as he was, he wasn’t her son, and sooner or later, his real parents would take him back.

  “Hopefully it works.” Her mother flipped through the news site on a tablet Cade lent her. “If we can’t find Roxanne, we have to look up Mr. Davis. He shouldn’t be hard to find.”

  “I don’t know. This is so weird. Mr. Davis is Cade’s father. Let me see the news.” Andie peered at the tablet her mother was reading.

  Todd Irvin had been standing behind Roxanne when she’d spilled the news to Cade, right before the giant explosion of confetti. In the article, Todd blamed Mr. Davis for playing favorites and letting Cade get away with as much bad behavior as Devon Davis, his known son.

  “This explains why Mr. Davis insisted on keeping Cade Prescott on the squad after he threw away the Super Bowl. I’m calling on all fans everywhere to stand up against this reprehensible behavior. Thankfully, I won the starting quarterback job, fair and square. I will be working with my teammates at reforming the tarnished image of the Los Angeles Flash.” Todd was quoted as saying in a press conference he gave shortly after the party at Ronaldo’s.

  Andie shook her head. Poor Cade. Scattered thoughts sprinkled her fuzzy mind. Thoughts about Cade feeling abandoned by his parents, not adoptable, growing up fatherless. Something about Cade driving around looking for a dog—her dog. And snow. Lots of snow.

  “Andie, why are you crying?” Her mother sat beside her on the bed and put her arm around her. “I know this is tough for Cade. Do you care about him that much?”

  “Yes, I do. It breaks my heart. His father treated him like a dirty secret, exactly the same way he’s treating Bret—a problem to be palmed off.”

  Her mother hugged her. “I guess Cade was telling the truth about Bret. I couldn’t believe that story at first, but now that Dick is his father, it explains why they chose Cade to take the baby. Maybe the original plan was to have Cade and Roxanne marry.”

  “How gross. Marrying your own father’s mistress?” Andie snorted. “Cade’s mother must have known. Well, duh, of course she knew. You think she was in on this from the beginning?”

  “I don’t know about the beginning, but for whatever reason, she kept it a secret from Cade. I feel sorry for the guy.”

  “Speaking of, where is he?” Andie grabbed her phone and scrolled through it. No messages.

  Despite hurting her pride last night, she knew Cade only meant it for good. What if it was true that Dick had put up the money for the movie? It was one more lever he could use against Cade in case he reneged on posing as Bret’s father.

  “Let him go,” her mother said, taking her phone. “He has a lot to deal with right now. You, meanwhile, need to check in with the doctor. How are you feeling?”

  “I have a slight headache, but I’m getting some memories back. Something about Roxanne in a fur coat, and Cade telling me he never had a father, how his mother refused to even talk about him. Now we know. He’s married to some rich woman.”

  “With a pre-nup. This ship’s going to go down fast. I feel sorry for Mrs. Davis.” Andie’s mother tapped on the tablet and googled her. “I know I shouldn’t be so interested, and I hated it when everyone was talking about you.”

  “Me? When was that?” Andie’s blood sizzled in her ears. “Someone mentioned something about me being on the internet. Maybe I should look myself up.”

  “No, don’t.” Her mother palmed her hand. “Remember, the doctor said you should recall your own memories, not try to discover them externally.”

  “Yeah, right, but it’s gotta be bad if you’re trying to stop me from looking.”

  “The media can be very cruel.” Her mother sighed. “Are you sure you want to be an actress? Just imagine being splattered on the tabloids at the grocery checkout line. Nothing you ever do will be private again. They’ll also lie ab
out you and Photoshop you in all sorts of ugly ways.”

  Andie watched the baby sleep, his eyes rolling inside his eyelids and his cheeks and mouth twitching. Being a child of a celebrity was hard too, growing up under the spotlight.

  “Do you think I’ll be any good as an actress?” Andie’s voice barely squeaked through her throat. “Be honest, Mom.”

  “I’m sure you could do it. Aren’t they putting you through acting school?”

  “Yes, but why me? And Sylvia? We’re just these ordinary girls they decided to promote.”

  “Maybe they wanted fresh faces. People who aren’t jaded and worn out.”

  “Seems strange, that’s all. You really think I’ll be good enough?”

  Her mother fluffed her hair the way she always did when Andie was little and sought reassurance. “You’re good at anything you put your mind to.”

  “Except I haven’t gotten my mind back. You said I was a brain injured woman, and you’re probably right. I don’t know much about Cade. Maybe he isn’t who I think he is. Maybe he doesn’t support my dreams and aspirations and only wants me to be a mother to this baby.” Andie picked up Bret and cradled him. “Not that he isn’t sweet and all, but I can’t be solving all the world’s problems. You and Dad need me.”

  “We do, sweetie, but someday you’re going to have a life of your own. I spoke to Dad, and he wants you to try this acting thing. He’s proud of you.”

  “Are you, Mom? Because I get the feeling you disapprove of things I’ve done.”

  Her mother cleared her throat and pursed her lips, blinking hard. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. I think Cade Prescott needs some time to grow up. For one thing, how can he stay out all night and leave his baby with us? We’re practically strangers.”

  A jolt of fear sliced through Andie’s heart, and she gasped. “What if he’s hurt? I should have thought of that earlier.”

  She grabbed her phone and texted him, Cade, are you okay? Where are you?

  # # #

  Cade waited in the lobby of the rehab clinic, nursing his coffee. He couldn’t face going home, especially since Andie’s mother was still there taking care of Bret. Yes, it was a chicken shit thing to do, but he’d hurt Andie badly. She must have heard everything he’d said about her lack of talent and skills. For whatever reason, ever since she woke from the coma, she’d insisted acting was her dream come true. Maybe it had been a secret wish she’d never admitted to, simply because she’d never believed anyone would have wanted her.