It was nothing she hadn’t said to herself time after time after time. But the words remained stuck in her head and shining in Seth’s eyes. She couldn’t act on them, no matter how convincing the argument. “I appreciate this, Seth, I do. But you can let him go.”
With a heavy sigh, Seth released his grip on her father.
“See?” Dean smirked with his victory.
“Daddy, you need to leave.” She wished she had more conviction. She so wanted to be in control of the situation.
And Dean fed off that. Fed off her doubts and inferiority complex. “I’m not going anywhere ’til we get what we discussed.” He said it with honey in his voice, but there was no mistaking the threat.
Seth shifted as though he wanted to take Dean down, his hands flexing at his sides. Through gritted teeth he said, “Heather, I’m calling security.”
“No!” She did not want security there. “No, just…let me take care of it my way. I have it under control.” As if saying it could make it true.
“Yeah, it certainly looks that way.”
“Who is this asshole anyway?” Dean’s be sweet tactic was gone, replaced with be a dickhead. “Your bodyguard? Why doesn’t it surprise me that you’re fuckin’ around at work? You sure did live up to be the trashy slut you promised to be.”
Seth took a step toward Dean. “What the fuck did you say to her?”
“She heard me.”
Dean had to be coked up. Or stupid. Or both. Because he showed not an ounce of anxiety about the fighting gleam in Seth’s eyes and Seth could take the scrawny Dean out in one blow.
There was no denying that part of her would love to see that. Would love to see Dean lying on the floor in misery, a payback for all the misery he’d put her through.
But violence would bring an even bigger scandal. The scene was already embarrassing—her drugged out father, she and Seth still wet from a shower. Gossip columns would go crazy.
She stepped between Seth and Dean, Seth’s warm rage radiating on her back. “Daddy, I’m not a slut. And I’m not trash. I moved out of the parks and got where I am by myself.”
Dean rolled his eyes. “Real hard work, wasn’t it? You’re paid to let men all over the world fuck you with their eyes. What an accomplishment.”
Seth stepped around her. “It’s time you left.”
“You gonna make me?”
“I’m sure as hell happy to—”
Heather slammed her hand down on the counter. “Shut up! Both of you!” She bent down and opened a low cupboard that hid the small safe where she stowed her purse. After entering the code, she fished around for her checkbook and a pen. She filled in the blanks, adding another hundred thousand to the amount Dean had requested, and scribbled her name before standing again.
“Here,” she said, handing the check to her father who snatched it away with a greedy swipe. “Take this. Leave. Forever. I don’t want to see you again.” Another tear rolled down her cheek. “I mean it this time, Daddy. Next time I’ll press charges.”
“Heather.” From behind her, Seth’s hands settled on her arms, his breath tickling at her neck. “You don’t have to give him anything.”
“Stay out of this, pretty boy.” Dean folded the check and stuffed it in his back pocket. “Thank you, baby doll. Your mama will be right proud.”
Dean leaned down to kiss her cheek, but Heather ducked away. “Just leave.”
“I’m going, I’m going.”
Just like when Heather left the trailer all those years ago, Dean didn’t look back. The trailer door bounced behind him, not latching. If only he could stay as gone as he was right at that moment.
“Heather…” Seth rubbed his hands up and down her arms. He was strength, a pillar she longed to cling to, a warmth she wanted to bury herself in until the chill was gone from her bones.
But before she could fall into him, she’d have to explain. And she wouldn’t do that. She couldn’t.
She wiped the moisture from her cheeks and shrugged out of his hands. Seth’s presence was like a too hot electric blanket. She wanted it, wanted him, but he was too warm to endure. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
“I know, princess.” He reached for her hand and massaged her palm with his thumb. The pressure and heat of it felt so good, so inviting that she almost abandoned her shield.
Seth prodded on, his tone gentle. “Why did you let him bully you like that? He’s not bigger than you, you know.”
Dean was bigger than her. Black hole size big. How could she expect Seth to understand? She didn’t. That was why she wasn’t going into it with him. Not now. Not ever.
“I said I don’t want to talk about this.” She pulled her hand out of his, immediately missing the sliver of comfort it had given her. Hiding behind her wall of shame wasn’t her first choice. It was her only choice.
She wrapped her arms tightly around herself, wondering if she’d ever be able to let anyone in, fearing the answer was no.
Just like that, she’d closed him off.
Less than twenty minutes before, Seth had been in the shower with Heather, had been inside her. She’d conceded to a date. They’d made progress—she finally seemed to have placed some faith in him.
Then, in an instant, it was gone.
Seth shook his head, not sure what his next move should be. As it was, they were at a standoff, eyes fixed on each other, miles of distance between them. He wavered between leaving and crushing her to him. But what did she want? He decided to ask. “Do you want me to go?”
She opened her mouth, her chest shaking as she took a ragged breath to speak.
Before she could say anything, the trailer door banged open. A young woman with short curly brunette hair, blood red nails, and a nose ring appeared with fire in her eyes. “Heather, what the fuck? You’re late for wardrobe.”
The woman—not much more than a girl, really—scanned the trailer. Seth felt her assess the situation, saw her features mold in concern when she spotted the actress with tear-stained cheeks. “What’s wrong?” She glanced at Seth, then back at Heather.
Sensing the accusation in the quick flit of her eyes, he put his hands up. “Hey, it wasn’t me.”
Heather took a breath. “My father…”
The girl’s eyes doubled in size. “Dean? He’s here?” She peered past Seth into the bedroom, her spine straight, ready to fight.
“You just missed him,” Seth volunteered when Heather seemed unable to answer.
“Oh, shit. Hold on.” The girl pulled out her phone from her pocket and dialed. After a few seconds she said, “Hey, it’s Lexie. Heather’s got a migraine.”
“I just need a few minutes,” Heather whispered.
The girl—Lexie—nodded as she continued her conversation. “No, she’s taken something for it, but we need a few more minutes for it to get working. I’ll get her there as soon as I can.”
Seth watched Heather as Lexie finished her call. He was intrigued by how the young girl came in and took care of business without waiting for permission. Even more intriguing was how Heather let her. He suspected there were few people Heather let take charge, how hard it must have been for her to trust him. His chest swelled with the sudden clarity.
As well as Lexie seemed to handle the situation, there was still something else that needed to be done. “We should call security.”
“No,” both women said at same time.
“But, Lexie,” Heather went on, “the guard does need to get canned. He let Dean on the lot. Can you contact whoever it is in charge of that?”
“I’ll take care of it.”
Seth flexed and relaxed his hands, needing something to occupy himself, needing something to do. She hadn’t asked him to leave. Yet. She hadn’t asked him to stay either. Well, he might be signing his walking papers, but he had to know. “How can I help, Heather?”
To her credit, she paused before she answered. “Nothing. You can’t help this.”
Like hell there was nothing he coul
d do to help. He could help her in so many ways if she let him. He got this. He understood drug addicts and desperation and being ashamed of his parent.
But it would take a fight to try and convince Heather. This wasn’t the time for that. “Okay. I better get back to work, then.”
He wanted her to ask him to stay. She didn’t.
“You must be the carpenter.” Lexie held out her hand to him. Strangely, it felt like she was postponing his departure.
“You must be the assistant.” He shook her hand.
“Very nice, Heather.” She clicked her tongue appreciatively. “Very nice.”
“Not now. Please.” Heather rubbed her temples. “I need to freshen up.” She turned toward the bedroom then stopped, remembering something. “Lexie…”
Her assistant could read her mind. “I’ll get your valium.”
“Perfect. Thanks.” Heather disappeared into the bedroom, shutting the partition behind her.
Since Lexie hadn’t moved, Seth took the opportunity to get some answers. “Hey, what’s the deal with all that?”
“Look, she can hear me so I can’t talk to you.”
Right. Of course not.
He turned to leave, but Lexie put a hand on him to stop him. Loudly, she said, “I’d love to help, but, you know. My job and all.” Seth watched as Lexie dug in a drawer and found a notepad and pen. She continued talking while she scrawled something. “My loyalty is with Heather,” she said as she ripped off the paper and handed it to Seth. “Clearly.”
“Yeah, yeah. I understand.”
Though he didn’t understand. Not until he read the paper. It had Lexie’s number and a message, Call me and I’ll clear things up.
“So you better leave now.”
Seth looked up at Lexie and found her smiling. “Thank you.”
Her reply was a whisper. “Anytime.”
Chapter Fourteen
Heather glanced at the dashboard clock before leaning forward to look in the passenger mirror as she applied makeup to her right eye. Out and about at nine o’clock in the morning on her one day off from set was not what she called a good time. Why Lexie thought she’d be cool with it made her seriously question her assistant’s judgment.
Though Heather had already spent the morning bitching about it, she wasn’t done. “Day off doesn’t mean day to do PR shit. It means day off.”
“We’ve been over this,” Lexie said, glancing over her shoulder as she flipped on the turn signal. “It’s for Urban Arts. You never tell them no.”
“I rarely turn them down. Not never. There’s a difference.” She certainly wouldn’t have booked herself for an Urban Arts gig during a film run. Days on set were long. Twelve to fifteen hours long. Days away were treasured. She needed them to catch up on her sleep, to get in a good workout. To schedule a much needed waxing.
Though there hadn’t been any need to keep trimmed in the lower regions since Dean had shown up five days before. She’d had zero intimate time, only seeing Seth in passing on set and acknowledging his texts with brief responses. It wasn’t like she’d been avoiding him exactly. Just kinda sorta.
“At least I didn’t book you for the Jenna Markham interview.”
Heather rolled her eyes. She heard Jenna Markham’s name so much from Lexie, she was beginning to wonder if her assistant was trying to keep her riled up. “Whatever. You bring her up every time you’re mad at me.”
“Her people call every day, Heather. I turn them down constantly. What if I accidentally said yes one of those times?”
“Is that your lame attempt at a threat?”
The car lurched as Lexie slammed on the brakes causing Heather to smear her mascara. “Dammit, Lex, what the fuck?”
Lexie threw up her middle finger toward the car in front of them then fixed a glare on her boss. “Heather, you’ve been a crab-ass for days. Stop. Now. I mean it, I can’t take any more.”
Heather bit back the nasty comments she wanted to return and licked her finger before rubbing at the smudged black makeup under her eye. She didn’t want to piss off her only friend, and Lexie’s patience seemed to be wearing thin.
Way thin, since Lexie’s lecture wasn’t over. “Now, I’m sorry you had to get up on your one day off, but it will do you good to do something for someone else for a change instead of wallowing in that pity party you’ve got going on. It’s getting old, Heather. And it’s unattractive.”
Heather flipped the mirror shut and tossed her makeup into her purse. She didn’t have it in her to argue. She’d been wallowing a whole lot since Dean. Truthfully, she didn’t know how to get herself out of her funk. Maybe Lexie was right about doing something for others. It wouldn’t hurt to try.
The blinker sounded again, and this time Lexie turned into a school parking lot. Heather took a deep breath and tried to ignore the surroundings. The elementary school looked freakishly similar to the one she’d gone to—the building old and worn down, the blacktop lot crumbling, the playground appearing on the verge of collapse. The neighborhood that bordered the school was obviously low-income. The houses were falling apart and in need of new paint. The yards were dead and cluttered with junk. The scene hit home. Hard.
The car pulled up to the front of the building and headed toward the guest parking. As they got near, Heather could see an empty spot next to a brick red pick-up truck. A man stood at the back of the vehicle, leaning against the tailgate. She squinted. She knew that man. Knew him quite intimately, in fact.
Seth.
Lexie parked the car and turned to Heather. “Besides, this isn’t really a PR gig.”
Heather’s mouth suddenly felt dry, and her skin tingled. Seth was there. And Lexie was saying something about the PR gig not really being a PR gig. “What do you mean?”
“It’s a date in disguise.”
Heather froze, her hand still on the seatbelt release. “What do you mean a date?”
“Well, he called me. And you did tell him you’d go out with him. And I arrange your calendar.” Lexie put the car in park, her entire demeanor one of nonchalance. As if what she was saying wasn’t absolutely huge. Arranging a date with Seth behind her back? Yes, absolutely huge.
Lexie looked over and noticed Heather’s stunned expression. “Don’t look at me like that. I saw the way you lit up just now. You want to be with him, and don’t you dare deny it.”
Heather wanted to deny it but she couldn’t. She did want to be with him. More than anything.
Apparently, Heather’s face confirmed Lexie’s accusation.
“Yeah, I knew it,” she said. “For some reason he wants to be with you too. Even though you’ve been nothing but a major bitch.”
“Because I am a major bitch.”
“That’s not a badge of honor.”
“I know.” It was her shield, her safety net. It kept her hidden. But it was useless to try to hide things from Lexie. Utterly useless. “Fine, I do want to see him.”
“Then why have you been avoiding him? Does it still bother you that he’s a carpenter?”
“No. I don’t know. I’m not sure.” Heather peered over her shoulder to look at the man in question. Seth was still standing at the tailgate, waiting for her to get out of the car.
He was waiting. For her. Why?
Her doubts were overwhelming, keeping her from understanding the way she would have liked. “Why does he want to be with me? After what he saw. It’s humiliating.” Her coked up dad, her past on display. So humiliating.
“What the fuck ever. Get over yourself.” Lexie had her How-Can-You-Be-So-Stupid look on her face mixed with a dose of annoyance. “Do you really think he cares? He cares about who you are now. And if it took where you came from to make you this person, then don’t you think he respects that?”
“If he does, he’s a better person than me.” Afraid Lexie would agree if she gave her the chance, Heather changed the subject. “So is there even a PR gig?”
“Yes. You guys are talking to the kids in the Arts Prog
ram here. Seth set it up. He set it up so he could spend some time with you. You hear me?”
Heather nodded as guilt washed through her like an ice shower.
But outside her door stood warmth. All she had to do was get out of the car. She tugged her fingers through her hair. “Do I look okay?”
“You look goddamn gorgeous. As always.”
“Are you sticking around?”
“Nope. I’m turning you over to the carpenter for the day. You’ll have to do a paparazzi dump so they don’t notice you leaving together, but I’m pretty sure Seth has something worked out.”
Heather fought the urge to panic. There was so much about her life he didn’t get, that he couldn’t possibly understand. Like how invasive cameras could be. Could she be certain that he took the correct precautions? That no one would catch them together on film?
She wasn’t sure. But she wanted to trust him, so she let herself do just that. “Okay then. Here goes nothing.” Heather took another deep breath before opening the door and stepping out onto the blacktop. She crossed to Seth in three short strides.
Damn, he looked good. Better than the last time she thought he looked damn good. Was that possible? He wore jeans again, light blue this time with a dark-blue button down opened to reveal a maroon T-shirt. Memories of the sculpted body he hid under his clothes flooded her in a rush, igniting a fire in her lower belly. God, he turned her on. Turned her on and upside down and man, was it wonderful.
She gave him a weak smile, not sure how he’d receive her. “Hey.”
He returned it with a sexy grin. “Hey, princess.”
Her chest prickled with a mixture of warmth and guilt. She’d barely said two words to him in several days, and yet Seth looked at her with as much desire and faith as he had when they’d showered together. She didn’t deserve it.
But if he was offering to continue where they left off, she wasn’t willing to dissuade him. Not in the least. “Thank you.” For being here, for giving me another chance. For wanting me. “For arranging all this.”
He winked as if he understood her unspoken words. “I had help. Speaking of Lexie…” He put his hand out protectively, ushering Heather closer as Lexie pulled the car out from the parking space.