And Playing the Role of Herself... (23 page)

"Well, lately your choices in men could have been better…" She stopped herself and there was heavy silence. "Ah. Damn. I'm sorry Caid, I shouldn't have said anything, it's none of my business."
The beginnings of an improved mood dissipated instantly, and I rubbed my forehead vigorously with my palm. I'd assumed, when Connie didn't ask questions about Josh and immediately put out a press release that we were just friends, that she actually
believed
we were just friends. Apparently not.
"No, I don't suppose it is your business, Con, but you could have asked, and then you wouldn't have had to think you've been lying about it for the last four days." I was disappointed but not surprised. I had implied recently that I had a big secret that I wasn't ready to tell her; I couldn't really blame her for jumping to conclusions. "Josh and I are friends. That's it. There is nothing romantic between us. Nothing."
"And Robyn…"
"Robyn and I are friends, too. She's aware that Josh and I are friends and do things together - she introduced us for god's sake. And she knows I would never do something like make a play for Josh."
For more reasons than you realize, Con,
I thought, and frowned.
Robyn
did
know that, didn't she? Could that be the reason for her desperation last night? I shook my head. If she entertained that thought for even a second, I was going to have to smack her upside the head.
Right after I kicked her in the ass for leaving me this morning without a word.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I should have asked if I had doubts."
"I'd rather you didn't have doubts, but I guess I don't blame you."
"Caid…"
"Don't worry about it, Con. It's alright. Now…can you find out about the entrance for me? Maybe there's a back way or something?"
"Yes, I'll find out and let you know. Where are you now?"
"Oh, hell, I don't know this city…" I squinted at a passing street sign. "Uh…Ninth and…Thirty-second, I think."
"Okay…you've got a fair bit to go yet. I'll call you back."
"Yep." I hung up and leaned my forehead against the glass. Watching the people and cars around us as we crawled through traffic, I thought back on the morning.
A knock on the door and a muffled words, "Room service!" had pulled me from sleep just before eight, and after a surprised glance at the clock, I'd sleepily reached behind me, expecting a long, warm body but finding a cold, empty space. I wondered, briefly, if I'd dreamed the entire thing, but the smell of her lingered on the pillow, and my body…it remembered.
I'd called out for her, thinking she was in the bathroom or the shower, not even considering the possibility that she was just…gone. The room service waiter had received the brunt of my disbelief and anger when I'd realized Robyn was indeed gone, and after stammering a confused apology for something he certainly had nothing to do with, he scurried off with his cart, taking the silver serving tray of pastries and coffee with him.
I'd called her cell phone - my resolve to honor her request of no contact flew out the window the minute she showed up at my hotel room in New York - but I'd been immediately sent to voicemail. I left a sarcastic, scathing message that made me feel a little better for about two seconds, but didn't change the fact that she'd left.
She hadn't even left a note. No note, no message, nothing.
Once again, she'd managed to astonish me with her passion and her touch, and then make me feel like just another lover in a long line of lovers.
If this was what loving Robyn Ward was going to be like, maybe I could live without it.
I rapped my forehead against the glass a few times, and shook my head.
No, I can't.
##
"You assaulted me, detective. I could have you thrown in jail for that."
The voice was low and smoky, doing its normal number on me even though it wasn't live and at the moment, I was thoroughly pissed off at the woman generating it.
"Why didn't you?"
I winced at the breathiness of my reply.
Some big, tough cop I was.
I watched from behind the stage curtain as the clip of our now infamous finale lip-lock rolled to its conclusion on the screen behind the host's desk. The audience erupted in whistles and loud applause and I took a deep, calming breath and tilted my head from side to side to relieve the tension.
Unlike other talk shows I'd been on, the rotating hosts of
NightTalk
didn't meet their guest beforehand, and that sense of unfamiliarity was making me more nervous than usual, especially with all the press I'd drawn lately. I was hoping he was as amiable as he appeared to be, since my mood had yet to improve today, and I wasn't particularly confident I'd be able to hold my temper if he started picking at me about all the things the press had accused me of. What great headlines
that
would make.
Slutty Man-Stealing Seductress Brains Talk Show Host With Coffee Mug and then Steals Stage Manager's Husband. Film at 5, 5:12, 5:20, 5:25…
"From the hit series
9th Precinct
, please welcome Caidence Harris!"
I brought my mind back to business and shook the tension out of my body one last time before plastering a smile on my face and walking out onto the set to meet Brandon Marcus. I smiled and gave the audience a quick wave, then stepped up onto the stage and shook the host's hand. He was about my height; just shy of heavy with a neatly trimmed goatee and a mop of dark curly hair that looked about to spring free, at any minute, of whatever hair product was keeping in place. Up close he reminded me even more of my ex Toby - aside from his green eyes and a suit that Toby wouldn't have been caught dead in - and I flashed him a genuine smile that he returned along with a gentle handshake.
I sat down in the overstuffed armchair he indicated, and he sat behind a curved wooden desk. "It's great to meet you, Caidence. Really a pleasure." He sat back in his chair. "So, how ya doing? How's our fair city treating you?"
In an effort to look non-temptressy, I'd gone casual with low-rise denims, a stretchy, dark green and white zip-up mock T and black, thick-heeled oxfords. I was comfortable, and glad for it now as I crossed my legs and rested my elbows on the arms of the chair, swinging my foot a little.
"Well, let's just say it's been an interesting stay…"
He was funny and charming and we talked easily for a few minutes, eluding to my current status with the press and moving into how I'd gotten started in acting - my days as a 'beer bitch' I'd called it, and got a good chuckle from the audience - and my work on
9th Precinct
and
In Their Defense
.
"So I have to tell ya, I watched that finale last night, and I think it took a lot of people by surprise. Is that something that had been in the works for a while, or was it kind of a last minute thing?"
"The finale script never changed," I answered, "from the first time we saw it, but I guess you could say it was a relatively recent storyline."
"Was it hard for you at all, or strange to do that scene? Do you get, like, performance anxiety during a scene like that? I mean, you were kissing Robyn Ward!" He waggled his eyebrows, and the crowd laughed. "I guess I shouldn't assume my male fantasies apply to you, right?"
Oh, you'd be surprised…
I smiled. "I was nervous, for sure…god, it seemed like a million people showed up for the taping. The crew can tell you that I was maybe a little…ah…touchy on the set. But I was incredibly lucky to be working with Robyn - she's such a professional, you know, as well as being just a damn nice person…she really kept me sane."
Okay, just a
teeny-
weenie lie…sane was something I rarely felt in the company of Robyn Ward.
"Well, I'm glad to hear you say that…" he grinned at me and winked, "because I've got a little surprise for you."
I forced a smile.
Crap
. Surprises on late-night TV talk shows were rarely good. At least not for the surprise-ee.
He stood up and gestured toward the curtain I'd recently stood behind. "Ladies and gentlemen, as an extra special treat tonight, another
9th Precinct
regular, and also star of the popular series
In Their Defense
, give it up for my good friend Robyn Ward!"
A quick blink was my only reaction.
Oh, goody. What a great surprise.
I'd had quite a bit of practice over the last few days at keeping my emotions hidden, and I needed every bit of that practice to keep my expression pleasant and smiling while I was flooded with the contradictory emotions of fresh anger and the elation that seeing Robyn always produced. I pushed up from my chair, clapping with the rest of the crowd as Robyn appeared from behind the curtain and crossed the set towards us.
She wore a long suede skirt in deep burgundy that had tiny black buttons down each side, more than half of them undone to show plenty of thigh and calf as she walked; black, knee-high lace-up boots, and a black silk camisole…
The whistles and cheers from the crowd were raucous. I smiled to myself. And people thought little 'ol me could seduce Josh Riley away from this woman.
How completely and utterly ridiculous.
Brandon moved from behind his desk and greeted Robyn with a one-armed hug and a light kiss on the cheek. She smiled as he said something into her ear, but her eyes were on me; hesitant and shy, full of guarded pleasure.
I couldn't help myself - I smiled.
Yes, she'd left me alone without a word that morning.
Yes, I was angry.
Yes, every damn thing she did seemed to confuse me more.
But I couldn't help myself.
I smiled, and admitted that despite everything, it was very good to see her.
She stepped around Brandon and grasped my hands in hers, brushing cool lips across my cheek. "Surprise," she said softly as the audience continued to noisily voice their approval.
I let out a short, soft laugh with no humor and kept my voice low and even. "Think you might stick around after this one, and not run off like last night?" I felt her stiffen and start to pull back, but I held on tightly. "Nevermind…it's good to see you." I kissed her cheek and squeezed her hands, leaning in until my mouth almost touched her ear. "You look incredible."
I felt a tremor in her hands and pulled back, releasing her. She gave me a tiny smile that spoke volumes and then turned to the still rowdy audience and waved, her professional smile back in place.
I moved over a seat and Robyn sat down in the chair I'd just vacated. The crowd finally quieted, although there were occasional whistles and yells, and a loud "I love you Robyn!"
"I love you too," she said with a grin and crossed her legs, showing enough thigh to set off another round of shouts and whistles. I willed myself not to stare at the exposed skin that was close enough to touch, and instead focused my attention on Brandon.
He smiled and sat back in his chair, obviously pleased with the reaction his surprise had gotten from the crowd.
"Hiya, Robyn," he said when the crowd quieted again.
"Hiya, Brandon," she replied with obvious fondness. She pushed a strand of long, loose hair behind her ear.
"I've just been chatting with your co-star here…she's got some good things to say about you."
Robyn looked over at me and smiled. "I heard, and I'm completely flattered. I'm the lucky one to get to work with Caidence on this…"
The three of us chatted back and forth for another ten minutes, hitting all sorts of topics that seemed natural but that I quickly realized were carefully chosen to create opportunities for Robyn to mention thinks like "Caid and I did this," or "Josh, Caid and I did that," subtly but determinedly emphasizing the friendship between the three of us, and her obvious trust in Josh and I as friends without coming right out and saying Josh and I weren't sleeping together.
Nothing gets people's curiosity up quicker than a good denial…
Robyn and Liz must have read the same handbook of how to handle the media. I needed to get myself a copy of that book sometime soon. Wonder if they sold it on Amazon.
Just before the second commercial break, Brandon wrapped up the interview, thanking us both and announcing his next guest. As soon as someone yelled, "And…we're clear. Three minutes!" we all stood, and Robyn gave Brandon a warm hug.
"Thanks, pal - I owe ya." She touched him gently on the arm.
He grinned. "No problem, beautiful. Always great to see you, and my boss is loving me right now. Can you stay a bit after the show?"
She shook her head and glanced at her watch. "I'm going to be cutting it close as it is…sorry. I'll see you at the Open, though, right?"
"Wouldn't miss it." He turned to me and shook my hand. "Caidence, it was so nice meeting you. I enjoyed talking with you."
"You too, Brandon," I nodded and smiled.
He looked behind us with a frown, and waved a young woman over. "Sorry to dash, but Mike is waving frantically and I'd better go see what's up. Sherri will show you back to your dressing rooms."
He gave Robyn another quick peck and left, and we followed the fast-moving assistant backstage.
"Miss Harris, this is you," she gestured at a door. "Miss Ward, you're down this way…"
"Thanks, Sherri, I can find it." Robyn interrupted with a courteous smile. After a second of hesitation, Sherri nodded and hurried off down the hall.
I pushed open the door to my dressing room and stood aside to let Robyn in before closing it behind us. She immediately moved towards me, but I held up my hands and backed away.
"No-no-no." I pointed to the other side of the room. "You stay over there - I can't be pissed at you when you touch me, and I need to be pissed at you right now."
A look of hurt confusion passed over her face and her brow furrowed. "Caid, why are you so angry with me? I thought…last night we were so close…"
"And then this morning, after all that closeness," I said sarcastically, "I woke up alone."
She blinked at my tone. "Caid, I'm sorry about this morning...I had a string of interviews, and had to get back to change. I didn't realize it would upset you so much. I was on my way to the airport when I finally got your message this afternoon, and you sounded so angry…That's when I called up Brandon and asked to get on the show - I wanted to talk with you before I left."
"Why couldn't you have just told me that?" I asked in frustration, shaking my head. "You couldn't just tell me that you had interviews, and that you would have to leave in the morning?"
She looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "And when exactly was I supposed to tell you that, Caid? We weren't doing much talking last night, if you remember correctly…"