Infamous (19 page)

“Our agreement was monogamy while you’re living here. If you were going to break that,” he practically spat the words, “you could at least show a little discretion instead of dragging Kinsey around with you.”

Jessica gaped. Monogamy? This was about her being seen with Mason?

“You think I’m having an affair with Mason? You think I ran off to spend a week in New York with Mason and took Kinsey with me?”

Morgan didn’t answer, but the truth was in his face. He didn’t even trust her that much. Her heart sank. And then the old Jessica Sinclair elbowed her way into the conversation.

“Well, I tell you, I won’t make that mistake again. Having a teenager along on your affair is a real drag.” She couldn’t believe what she was saying, but that cynical, bored voice just kept flowing out of her mouth. “I mean, we snuck Mason in after she went to bed a couple of nights, but neither of us are really
quiet
, you know? The quickie in the bathroom at the theatre was hot though … . The chance of getting caught always adds a little edge.”

Morgan looked like he might hit her. She wouldn’t blame him. Where had all that come from anyway? She had played down to people’s expectations for so long to protect herself. Was she incapable of telling the truth?

“Jessica — ”

This was it. He was going to tell her to leave. If she didn’t do something now it would be as much her fault as his.

“Morgan,” she interrupted, “wait. I don’t know why I said that. None if it was true and I didn’t mean it. I was,” she searched for the words, “I was hurt that you thought I would do something like that to Kinsey.”
Or you,
she added silently.

Morgan didn’t say anything. At least he hadn’t asked her to leave yet.

“I didn’t even know Mason was in New York. He just happened to be visiting Kit backstage at the same time we were. The stuff in the papers was all just innuendo. I’ve tried and tried to tell you, Mason and I don’t have that kind of relationship, we never have.”

That finally elicited a response.

“You expect me to believe that?”

“It’s the truth. He’s my best friend, nothing more.”

“Right. All these years you were just friends. Sure.”

The truth was on the tip of her tongue, but she bit it back. It wasn’t her secret to tell. Anyway, just once she would like someone to take her at her word, no proof, just trust. She knew, with gut-twisting certainty, that this was not the time to ask for it, but what kind of relationship could they have if they couldn’t get that far?

“At least believe I didn’t go to New York to meet him, that I wouldn’t involve Kinsey in that.”

He was silent. This was why she never tried to explain herself. No one ever believed her side of the story anyway. Why had she expected Morgan to be any different?

She tried again. “Morgan, you know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt Kinsey.”

He heaved out a breath and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t know what to believe, Jessica. Everything’s always a game with you. I never know what you’re thinking or why you behave the way you do.”

He looked tired, stressed. It was her fault. All she wanted to do was make him happy. Instead, there were lines etched into his forehead and his shoulders slumped. For the first time it occurred to her that he had flown cross country twice today. She reached up to cup his cheek, smoothing her thumb across the rough stubble of his beard.

“I know. I’m sorry, Morgan, truly sorry there will be talk about you and Kinsey.”

What good was “sorry”? None at all. In the long run, she couldn’t even promise it wouldn’t happen again. She blinked back tears. “Don’t send me away, Morgan.” Then she said the only thing that might sway him. “I promised Kinsey I wouldn’t leave again.”

“And you would do anything for Kinsey, wouldn’t you?” He closed his eyes. When he opened them, the weariness had vanished to be replaced by a cool detachment. “I wonder,” he mused, “how much
will
you do for Kinsey? How long will you stay closeted away from your parties and your
very best
friends? A year? Two years? Three … .? How long will
Kinsey
need you?”

She didn’t know how to answer that. Was he setting a time limit on their marriage? She was searching for a response when Kinsey screamed … .

• • •

Jessica sprinted right behind Morgan as he raced for Kinsey’s room on the other side of the house. They found her in the hallway outside her room. She was clutching Sandy, who stood in front of her and growled low in her throat. Kinsey threw herself into Morgan’s arms, sobbing. “There’s a man outside my window, in the bushes.”

Morgan pushed Kinsey at Jessica and strode across the room to the window. He yanked up the windowpane and peered into the night. Outside, they could all hear the bushes rustling followed by the pounding of feet across the yard. Morgan whirled toward the door, but she clutched at his arm as he passed. “You can’t go out there! What if he has a gun?”

“He doesn’t have a gun. The bastard has a camera.”

She did not let go. “Just call the police. He’s trespassing on private property. Let them deal with him.”

“What good are they going to do?”

Even across the long expanse of lawn, they could hear a car starting on the road. Morgan cursed graphically, then stopped when he realized Kinsey was staring, wide-eyed, at him.

“Are you okay?”

Kinsey clutched Jessica, but nodded.

Jessica pulled her closer. Dealing with the paparazzi was routine for her, but having them stalk Kinsey like this was completely different. She noticed with relief that Kinsey had not changed into her pajamas. Okay, no pictures of a half-naked Kinsey appearing on the Internet. That was a good thing — she would concentrate on that. She had to be calm for Kinsey.

“Well, that was way more excitement than any of us needed. Let’s all go into the kitchen and I’ll make some hot chocolate to calm us down.” She steered Kinsey down the hall.

In the kitchen, she poured milk into a pan and rummaged through the pantry for cookies. Comfort food was called for.

Morgan ignored her. When she came out of the pantry, he was on the phone.

“I don’t care what time it is. I want someone out here tonight.” His voice was uncompromising. “If you can’t manage it, you can forget any future contracts and I’ll call for an immediate review of the ones we have in place.” There was a short silence. “Want to bet I can’t? … I thought not. When should I expect him?”

Jessica poured hot chocolate into three mugs and handed Morgan one as he ended the call.

“Security?”

He nodded, face grim, “They’ll have someone out here tonight to make sure there aren’t any more prowlers on the premises. I’ll meet with them tomorrow to come up with a more comprehensive plan.”

“Comprehensive plan?”

“I want someone here 24/7 and I don’t want Kinsey leaving without an escort.”

“Is that really necessary?” Keeping the house secure was one thing, but even J.T. had rarely insisted on round-the-clock bodyguards.

“As you recently reminded me, Kinsey is a wealthy young lady. I’m not taking any chances.” His eyes challenged hers over the rim of his mug and she backed down. She was the last person he was going to take advice from. She realized they hadn’t finished their earlier argument. She might be gone before bodyguard number one got here tonight.

Her heart sank; there was no way he was going to let her stay. Between the lack of privacy and the threat to Kinsey, she was way more trouble than she was worth. In a way, she couldn’t blame him. Fame had its advantages, but she wouldn’t wish this side of it on anyone. She
should
just take herself out of the picture. It would at least save her the ignominy of having Morgan throw her out.

She would leave as soon as Kinsey was in bed. It was the right thing to do. Without her to pique their interest, the paparazzi would lose interest in Morgan and Kinsey soon enough. Seeing a terrified Kinsey, she had finally realized why Morgan was so angry about the publicity she received. For once in her life, she was going to think about the people around her instead of what she wanted.

Kinsey had finished her cocoa and cookies. No putting it off, she lectured herself. “Ready for bed,
chica
?”

“What if he comes back?”

“He won’t, your Dad’s making sure of it.”

“I don’t think I can go to sleep.”

“Don’t be silly,” Morgan chimed in. “All the security lights are on outside. I doubt anyone else will be stupid enough to try the same stunt. If they do, I’ll be ready for them this time and we should have a security guard here in no time.”

Kinsey turned a pleading gaze on Jessica. “Will you sleep in my room with me tonight?”

She hesitated. It would be better to make a clean break, to leave tonight before her resolve wavered.

Morgan stepped into the silence, “Of course she will, but just for tonight. We’re all a little rattled now, but this isn’t going to happen again.” His tone was absolutely confident. No more photographers outside windows. She almost believed it herself, but she knew first-hand how hard it was to totally evade them, no matter how much security you hired. It was way easier to just give them what they wanted. It was up to her to make sure Kinsey never discovered that.

She looked at Kinsey, and she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t send her to bed alone and disappear. Kinsey needed her tonight. She was too old to want her dad to sleep in her room. She needed another girl. She needed someone who had been through the same thing to tell her it was going to be all right, to laugh and call the guy a perv and make sure the curtains were drawn tight. Maybe you wanted June Cleaver to deal with monsters under the bed. When the monster was outside your window with a flash you needed Jessica Sinclair.

• • •

Despite the excitement, Kinsey fell asleep within minutes. Worn out, Jessica thought. After the emotional rollercoaster of her day, she wished she could find the same oblivion. Instead, she lay awake, listening to Kinsey’s soft breathing and trying not to think about life without Kinsey and Morgan. She had done it before, she reminded herself.

She dropped into a fitful sleep. She dreamed she was wearing her sexy Louboutins and a vintage fifties shirtwaist. She was inside a trendy club. All around her the hottest names in Hollywood were dancing, drinking, and drugging. They crowded around her, eager to dance, gossip and flirt. She smiled and nodded, but something was missing. Across the room, she spotted Morgan, heading out the door with June Cleaver. Desperately, she fought her way through the crowded club. When she got to the door, the bouncer stepped in front of her and pulled the velvet rope across the door, blocking her exit. Behind him, Morgan and June stepped into a black town car and sped away. Kinsey waved goodbye from the back window, then the strobe of dozens of camera flashes exploded in her face.

Jessica jerked awake. Kinsey was up and gone. Apparently she had decided to check the bushes first thing, because the curtains were open and sunlight streamed into the room. She shook her head and remembered the dream. Great, star-studded nightmares. She was never watching another rerun of
Leave It to Beaver
.

She stared at the ceiling. No need to call Freud to analyze that. No telling herself it was just a dream either. It was time to get out of bed and face the fun-filled reality.

The day seemed to conspire against her good intentions. By mid-afternoon, she regretted not sneaking out while Kinsey slept the night before. By now she could be back in her condo, trying to decide which mix of Ben and Jerry’s and Grey Goose would leave her least sick the next morning. Instead, she was stuck here trying to figure out how to extract herself from Kinsey’s life with as little collateral damage as possible.

“Hey, kid, it’s been fun but I’m outta here,” probably wasn’t going to go over well. Her under-used conscience hadn’t thought through the impact on Kinsey last night. Then, she had been mad enough at Morgan to relish the thought of him having to explain why she was gone. A mean little part of her knew that Kinsey was going to blame him. Yes, she was petty enough to want him to suffer just a little for rejecting her, for not loving her enough to believe in her or risk a few photographers for her.

Today, the flaws in that logic were apparent. No matter how she found out, Kinsey was still going to be hurt. She was not going to understand. The last thing Kinsey needed was a rift with her father at the same time.

Kinsey wasn’t helping. So far, she had stuck to Jessica like glue today, almost like she knew she was thinking about sneaking out. In the bright light of day, the night’s excitement had become one big adventure. Having a security guard at the gate was so cool. He had let Kinsey see his weapon. Kinsey followed Jessica around asking a million questions about her past experience with the paparazzi, bodyguards, and stalkers. Whenever Jessica opened her mouth to bring up the possibility of leaving, Kinsey interrupted, usually with some new thing she wanted them to do together, next week, next month. Next, next, next. She made her answers as evasive as possible, but they still felt like lies.

The afternoon was drifting toward evening. She should have left by now, but she couldn’t seem to open her mouth and force the words out, couldn’t contemplate seeing the betrayal in Kinsey’s eyes.

Morgan had been closeted with a representative from the security company most of the day. He had introduced her briefly, then they had been off on a tour of the house and grounds followed by a long, closed-door conference in his office. By the time they emerged, a searing tension headache had lodged itself behind her eyes.

After seeing the man off, he strolled back into the den where Jessica and Kinsey were watching T.V.

“What have you got planned for supper tonight?”

She stared at him.

“I’m sorry?”

“I’ve been busy all day. I assumed you made some plans for supper.” He looked at the T.V., then down at her, where she slumped in an overstuffed leather chair. “Of course, if you’ve been too busy … .”