by Jillian Dodd
"He was trying to find you."
"Yeah. And it almost worked. Both my drama teacher and a friend offered to nominate me. But that's not the worst of it. The guy who did my tattoo was murdered after Vincent got a matching one. I went to the club where he always goes looking for me and danced in a cage to piss him off. The next week, a girl from the club was murdered, her body stabbed with scissors. After the New York incident, he sent a photo of me to my mom. The photo was stabbed with scissors. Going back to the club in L.A. was the start of me fighting back. I'm also trying to do a hostile takeover of his company. If that works out, I'll own the rights to the movie he so desperately wants us to make. And when that happens . . ."
"He'll really be pissed?"
"Yes. And anyone close to me will be in danger. That's why I needed to talk to you in private. I want to make sure you understand the risks of being photographed with me."
"You want to be photographed, though?"
"Yeah. It's part of my plan. I'm hoping to take his attention off the people I care about by allowing him to focus on me. Up until now, he's been meticulous in his planning. I want him desperate, so he'll start making mistakes. Then maybe we can get the proof to have him arrested."
"Do you want him to find you?"
"For now, I just want him to see photos of me from the night before."
"So a different club every night?"
"Different club. Different cities. Different guys, even."
"Basically, my plan, only with higher stakes."
"Yeah."
Knox grins at me and cuts a piece of his steak. "Eat up. Our food is getting cold."
I take a bite of the lemon chicken pasta he ordered me. "This is really good. What are you thinking?"
"I'm letting it all soak in first."
"Okay."
We eat in silence for a few minutes. Then he asks, "So, what about Aiden?"
"I don't want him to find out about Aiden."
"So you won't be photographed with him?"
"No."
"So you need me?"
"Not exactly. You would just up the stakes a little."
"How so?"
"I'm shooting a music video with Twisted Dreams this week."
"That's Matt Moran's son, right?"
"Yes. Damian is my best friend. The video will premiere on New Year's Eve. I'll be Keatyn Douglas again."
"Do you act slutty in the video?"
"I'm in a bikini for most of it because it's set at the beach. There are a lot of similarities between the video, my real life, and A Day at the Lake."
"Nice. I'm in, by the way. We'll be careful. Make some noise. See what happens."
"Are you sure?"
"Hell yeah. You're practically Hollywood royalty, sugar. I'd be stupid not to have a fake affair with you. Besides, the more press we get together, the more people will want to see our movie."
"Unless you end up dead."
"I have a bodyguard. You have a bodyguard. Surely, they can keep us safe."
"The paparazzi know where you live."
"It will be fine. Finish your food. Drink up. Then we're gonna party Knox-style."
I drink the rest of my champagne then laugh. "You have your own style?"
"Yep. Be prepared."
"You better like to dance."
"I love to dance. By the way, what does Aiden think of this? Is he going to be pissed at me?"
"He understands what I have to do to get my life back. But he really doesn't like it."
"I'm surprised he didn't want to come with. Even just to watch out for you."
"Oh, he did."
"But you're stubborn, aren't you?"
"Yeah. He knows if he pushes me, I'll be gone and he won't see me until this is over."
"Do you like the champagne?" he asks, filling up my glass.
"It's good champagne," I reply.
"If you had your choice, would you drink it at the club?"
"I don't usually sip champagne in the VIP section, if that's what you're asking."
He looks at his watch. "Thank god. I'll only deal with girls like that if I'm gonna get laid."
While he grabs his wallet, I text Aiden, who I know will relay the information to Cooper.
Me: He's in. Headed to a club. ifly.
Hottie God: Be careful. ifly2.
"I just realized something," I tell Knox as we're being driven to the club.
"You've fallen madly in love with me?" he says with a mischievous grin.
"Afraid not. It just hit me that all my life I've been taught to avoid the cameras and the places paparazzi hang out. How do you know where to go? What if we go and they aren't there? This will be a waste of time."
"You will never again say time spent with Knox Daniels is a waste. You will ruin my well-honed reputation." He pats my hand. "You have a lot to learn. It's cute. Tonight you will watch and learn from the master."
"But how do you know they'll be there?"
"My assistant tips them off. They all think I'm a horrible boss and she's on the take."
"So, she tells them where you're going to be?"
"When I want them to know, yes. The first club we're going to allows them inside. Photos will be taken of us when we arrive and when we're on the dance floor. They usually don't allow them in the VIP section, but the staff talks to them. So, if you want people to think we're together, you'll need to act like it the whole time."
"Sources at the club say the couple were dancing closely and seen canoodling in the VIP lounge. They barely looked at me when I took their order, a waitress says. They only had eyes for each other."
"Exactly," Knox says with a laugh. "After we are seen canoodling, we'll go to another club. We'll let it slip that we're headed there next, but it's much more private. We can just have fun. It's when we leave there that will matter."
"What do you mean?"
"Are we drunk? Are we kissing? Do we look high? Are we in a fight? Am I taking you home? Are we going back to my place?"
"I clearly didn't think far enough ahead."
The car pulls to a stop. "You ready for this? I'll get out of the car, put my hand inside to help you out, being the gentleman that I am. Come out slowly. Let them get a glimpse of those luscious, long legs first. Then gracefully get out of the car."
The photographers are there, just like Knox said, and we do exactly as we planned.
Sort of.
Once I'm out of the car, the reporters yell, "Who's your date tonight, Knox?"
Knox slides his hand down the side of my face and under my chin, gently raising it upward as the cameras flash.
"All I'll say is she looks a whole lot like her mother."
I decide to give Knox and the cameras the works, moving the corners of my mouth upward, curling my lips into a little smirk, and then giving them the full smile that people say is just like my mom's.
He shakes his head at me, leans in, and whispers loudly, "Beautiful."
I toss my head back just a little and laugh, like he said something funny, as he grabs my hand and pulls me into the club, his bodyguard leading the way.
Even though I know Vincent is in California, I still find myself on edge, searching faces for one that looks like his. Looking for someone who might be watching me a little too closely.
A guy in a suit leads us to the VIP area that rings the dance floor and is very visible from the rest of the club. Our section will seat a party of twenty, even though it's only the two of us. There's a chilled bottle of Don Julio waiting for us along with a full bottle service set up.
We haven't even sat down before a group of girls bounce over, calling out Knox's name. The VIP bouncer stops them by putting up his thick hand. "I'm sorry, ladies. You'll have to leave."
"But we partied with him last week," a pretty brunette pouts. "Knox!" she says again. "It's Marcy, remember?"
Knox surprises me when he leaves my side and joins her.
"Marcy," he says, giving her air kisses. "Of course I remember.
Have you ever met Keatyn?"
The girls don't look thrilled, but are polite as he grabs me, kisses me square on the lips, and then drags me over to meet them.
"Ladies, this is Keatyn Douglas. Bet you can't guess who her mom is."
It's then when I realize why he talked to Marcy.
And that I should play along.
I lay my hand on his chest, pushing away from him just like my mom does to Tommy. It's adorable because she never leaves his arms. Then I use her voice. Older, more mature, with a slight southern twang to it. "These girls don't care who my momma is."
Marcy's smile fades. "Oh. My. God. You sound just like Abby Johnston."
I roll my eyes at Knox like I'm irritated he spilled the beans then give him my pout. "Knox, baby, I thought it was going to be just us tonight."
He hugs me tighter, kisses my neck, and says sexily, "Oh, it most definitely is," as his bodyguard stands shoulder to shoulder with the VIP bouncer and says, "Sorry, ladies."
Knox sits down and pulls me onto his lap, snuggling with me. "Am I good or what?"
"You're devious, that's what you are."
"Shots, then dancing?"
"Absolutely."
He raises a finger and a waiter rushes into our section. "We'll have some tequila shooters."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Daniels," the waiter replies, pouring shots and lining them up in front of us.
Knox clinks my glass with his and we down the first shot, then the second.
"Let's dance."
He leads me out to the dance floor and pulls me into his arms.
It's at this point I realize that sometimes I'm not very good at pretending.
Because sometimes my real life gets in the way.
And it's because I'm not dancing with Aiden.
As much as I want to pretend that I'm into dancing with Knox, I'm just not.
This is going to be harder than I thought.
I close my eyes and try to pretend I'm dancing with Aiden. But Knox doesn't move the way Aiden does. His leg doesn't fit between mine like it should. His hands don't grip my hips like he owns them.
"Uh, I need to pee," I say, suddenly coming up with a way to get off the dance floor and quickly fleeing.
I don't even think about my safety or Vincent until I'm rushing out of the bathroom and a brick wall of a man is standing in front of me, blocking my way.
"Where's a pretty little thing like you going in such a big hurry?" he says, taking a step toward me.
I back up as warning bells go off in my brain, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end, and my stomach feels sick. This man is dangerous, and I'm not sure even with all of Cooper's training that I'd stand a chance against him.
I look behind him, hoping someone else will need to use the bathroom, but there's no one coming. He takes another step toward me, but this time I don't step back. Instead, I move toward him, letting my shoulder bump into his and say, "Excuse me."
He doesn't move, so I speak louder. "I said, excuse me!"
He grips my shoulder tightly and pushes me against the wall, setting off visions of being raped in the bathroom.
"I'm going to say it one more time. Excuse me."
The guy laughs at me, so I do what I've practiced over and over. I curl my fist, punch him in the throat, sweep kick his kneecap with my heel, and then stand back up quickly, using my leg strength for leverage as I thrust my elbow up under his chin.
He groans and falls to the floor, clutching his knee. I step over him and run back to the VIP section in tears.
Knox is out dancing, surrounded by women, but his bodyguard rushes toward me. "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong is you suck as a bodyguard. I was attacked by a huge man coming out of the bathroom and you were nowhere to be found. Tell Knox I said goodnight."
I pick my handbag off the couch and storm out the door, completely forgetting about the cameras until they start flashing.
"Keatyn! Where's Knox?"
"Why are you crying?"
"He's a cad, isn't he?" a girl without a camera says. She has a wild look on her face, and I'm sure she's the stalker he spoke of.
I cover my face with my hand, turn around, and run straight into Knox, who wraps me in a hug.
"I'm sorry," he says as the cameras flash around us.
He pulls me back into the club as the valet waves our driver forward. It's then that Knox's bodyguard finally does something worthwhile, working with the club's bouncers to shield us as we get into the car.
"Tell me what happened," Knox says, still holding me protectively.
I shake my head. "I just want to go home."
"They're following us," his driver says.
"Then take us back to my place."
Once we're safely back in his hotel, I take out my phone and call Cooper. "I need you to come get me, but there's paparazzi everywhere."
"They'll be out there until morning," Knox says. "Waiting to get the morning after photos. So they can say you spent the night. They can see if I walk you to the car. If it's a walk of shame or if we get coffee together."
"What happened?" Cooper says in my ear. "You sound upset."
"We'll talk about it later. It sounds like I'm stuck here."
"Aiden wants to talk to you."
"Boots, are you okay?" Aiden's silky voice comes over the phone, which makes me start crying.
"No."
"I'm coming there."
"You can't."
"Keatyn, no one knows me. I'll look like any other guest checking in." I hear Cooper talking in the background. "Cooper says he'll bring your wig and some clothes."
I take a deep breath. "I need a minute to think about what I want to do. I'll call you back when I figure it out."
"You just told me you weren't okay."
"I wasn't. But now I am."
"What changed?"
"I talked to you."
I swear I can feel him smiling through the phone. "Okay. Call me back."
I end the call and set my phone down.
Knox sits down and hands me a bottle of water. "I'm sorry. I didn't tell Hugo to watch you. He doesn't normally watch out for the girls I'm with."
"It's okay. I handled it."
"The bouncer said you took some big guy down. Wiped out his knee."
"When I came out of the bathroom, he wouldn't let me by. I asked nice twice. Then he grabbed me by the shoulder and tried to force me into the bathroom. I don't even want to think about what he wanted to do to me in there."
"So you punched him?"
"Yeah. Jab to the throat. Heel to the knee. Elbow to the chin. Cooper taught me well."
"What do you want to do? We're in this far. If you really want to play it through, you let me kiss you and put you in a car in the morning."
"I have to finish shooting a music video tomorrow at the studio. Why don't you come with me?"
"Sounds like a plan. Do you want to watch a movie?"
"I'd really just like to go to sleep, Knox."
"Come on then, I'll show you to your room."
I tell Knox goodnight, wash my face, lie in bed, and call Aiden.
"Can you put me on speakerphone for this part, so Cooper can hear?"
"Uh, sure."
"So, I'm going to spend the night here. I was wrong not to bring you with, Cooper. He told me his bodyguard was the best, but he was wrong. I sort of almost got attacked by a huge guy at the club."
"What do you mean, almost attacked?" Riley says.
"I didn't know you were on too, Riley. How's the video coming?"
"It's coming fine," Aiden says. "Tell us what happened."
I tell them what the guy did, what I did, how we left, and how the photographers followed us here. "So, my plan is to just go with it. I mean, I went through all of that to make people think we're together, I might as well let them think I spent the night. I can't come home. I don't want to risk it. We'll both come to the studio tomorrow, as if he's filming. Then, later, he can go home without me,
and I'll go home with you guys."
"It's good to know you can handle yourself under pressure," Cooper says. "But you shouldn't have had to."
"I know. I'm sorry. I'll see you all in the morning."
"I'm taking you off speaker and going in the bedroom," Aiden says sternly. "We aren't done talking."
"Good," I say. "Because I'm not finished talking to you."
"Where are you right now?"
"Lying in bed, wishing I was with you."
"I'm kind of mad at you."
"I know. Aiden?"
"What, baby?"
"I'm not that good of an actress."
"What makes you say that?"
"I was fine pretending to be into him when we got out of the car at the club. He even kissed me on the lips for the cameras. Didn't phase me. I was just playing my role. Inside the club, I pretended some more. Until he took me out to dance."
"And then what?"
"I couldn't pretend anymore. Dancing with him felt so--wrong. So foreign. Not the way it feels with you."
"How does it feel with me?"
"Don't you know?"
"Of course, I know. We fit together perfectly. And not just when we're dancing. In every single way. I told you: BK. Before Keatyn. You've ruined me."
I smile, thinking about all the ways Aiden has ruined me. With his lips. His tongue. And even some other parts. But it's not just physical. It's not just the way we fit together on the dance floor. Or the way our bodies mold to each other when we're in bed. It's the way he talks to me when he's upset. His unwavering faith in us. In me.
"I'm sorry I have to play these games, Aiden. Don't lose faith in me, okay?"
"Am I going to see a picture of you kissing Knox in the papers tomorrow?"
"Hopefully."
"And you think that will help your situation?"
"Hopefully. I'm tired, Aiden," I say. Not just because I'm sleepy, but because this whole ordeal is wearing on me.
"I'm tired too. Night, Boots. I love you."
"I love you too, Aiden."
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29TH
So happy about it.
7am
"Rise and shine," Knox says, bouncing on my bed early in the morning.