Escorting the Actress by Leigh James
Kyle
Trust me.Of all the bright ideas I'd had, maybe that had been the worst one yet.
I read the latest text message on my phone and groaned inwardly, then I looked over at Lowell. I loved watching her sleep. I loved it as much as I loved watching the 49ers, and that was saying something.
I turned back to the message. Lowell was gonna freak, and it was all my fault.
I shouldn't have come out here. It was selfish.But I shoved that idea from my head. It was probably true, but it was also true that Lowell and I loved each other. We'd agreed that our relationship was more important than everything else.
I really hoped she still felt that way once she'd had a chance to think about it some more. And once I told her what was coming. I sighed and gently nudged her awake.
She opened one eye and squinted at me adorably, a huge smile spreading over her face. "Well, hello, fiancé."
My heart leapt. Then I remembered the text, and my stomach dropped.
"Hello fiancée, yourself." I swallowed hard. "There've been some… uh, developments while you slept."
She sat up and opened both eyes. "What?"
I held up my phone. "Katie from XYZtexted me. She said she had some new information and wanted to verify it before she went to press."
"Since when does she ever verify anything?" Lowell asked skeptically.
"Exactly. Never. So this has gotta be a big deal."
"It can't be good."
"Nope, it definitely can't be good." I rolled out of bed and threw on some clothes.
Just then, Lowell's phone rang. She looked at it suspiciously before picking up. "Hello, Tor." She held the phone away from her ear as Tori screamed a few things. When she'd subsided, a grinning Lowell brought the phone back to her face. "I know, right? He totally surprised me! And yes, it's a real engagement. To be followed by a real wedding. When we're ready." She listened to Tori babble. "No, you can't start planning. No, we're not ready to book a venue. We just got engaged two hours ago!" Her brow wrinkled as she listened to her friend. "Listen, if you want to live to be my maid of honor, you'd better relax."
I heard more squealing through the phone, and I decided it was a good time to grab a snack. I was searching through the refrigerator for the organic peanut butter, when I heard a knock at the door. Uh oh. Lowell was still in the bedroom, so I went to the door and looked through the side glass panel. It was Katie from XYZ, looking smugger than usual, and who I assumed was her assistant.
I cracked the door open and peered through. "I got your text about two seconds ago. Do you mind giving my fiancée and me a minute to talk it through?"
She looked at her watch. "You have about one minute." She was antsy, tapping her foot and fidgeting. "I need to publish this before anyone else does."
"Stay right there," I said, not trusting her enough to leave her alone for more than a second.
I ran back to Lo and stuck my head through the bedroom door. Lowell was on her back, chatting and smiling like a normal newly engaged person. Which she was not.
"Hey," I said, interrupting her, "Barracuda Lady's at the front door. She doesn't seem like she has a lot of patience."
Lowell rolled her eyes and hung up with Tori, promising to call her later for more dissection of the happy news. "She didn't give us much time."
"She's antsy, tapping her foot on your front step."
"Great," Lo said, getting up. She looked down at herself in a rumpled T-shirt. Then she peered in the mirror at her hair, which was mussed and wild. "I totally look like I've been having sex all afternoon."
"That's because you have." I grinned, ridiculously proud.
She sighed and grabbed some clothes. "Let her in while I take a quick shower. But don't let her past the living room! I don't trust her!"
"What do you want me to tell her?" I asked.
"Nothing. Not yet."
"You can come in," I told Katie the Barracuda. "But give your cell phone and any other electronic devices to your assistant. Nothing's coming in here."
"Picky, picky." She tsked, but she did as I asked.
"I have to be," I said, letting her in. "You can't trust anybody nowadays."
"You can say that again." She looked greedily around Lowell's house, her eyes drinking in every square inch. "This is lovely and perfect. Much like Lowell Barton herself."
"I agree," I said, although I didn't care for Katie's snide tone. She's just jealous. I was sure that was true, but it didn't make her any less dangerous. "Have a seat. I'd offer you something to drink, but I'm not leaving you unattended."
She raised an eyebrow at me. "You were a lot friendlier when you first showed up."
"I had to learn the hard way."
We looked at each other for a beat, with fake smiles, until she broke the silence. "I have information about you, Kyle. I wanted to give you the courtesy of telling you first."
"That's so thoughtful of you," Lowell said, sailing in from the kitchen, wearing clean clothes, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She carried three lemonades on a tray.
"Lemonade." Katie rolled her eyes at the tray. "You really are something, you know that?"
Lowell handed her a drink and sat across from her. "Yes, I know that." Lowell flashed her a megawatt smile. "Now, what can we do for you? I'm assuming you're not here just to offer your congratulations—thank you anyway. I did, however, overhear you telling Kyle that you have information about him. How fascinating. I just can't imagine what that might be." Lowell linked her hands through mine and squeezed, the only indication that she was on edge.
Katie set down her drink without taking a sip. "I'm pretty sure that you know, but I appreciate the little flourishes of your performance. Tell me, how's it going to be to kiss all of that good-bye? Because I happen to know for a fact that Lucas Dresden won't appreciate the story that's going to break about you two later this afternoon." She motioned toward the ring on Lowell's finger. "That was a nice try, though."
Lowell held up the ring. "It's not a try, Katie. It's an engagement ring. Because we're engaged."
The reporter raised her eyebrows. "I don't believe you."
"Why's that?" I asked, but the pit in my stomach told me I already knew.
"I knew there was something off between you two. It was too cute and too convenient. So I did a little digging," she said, licking her lips. "And I found out that you're related. So that's why I don't believe you're engaged—the last time I checked, in the state of California at least, siblings can't get married."
"We're not siblings." I waited to see what she'd say next.
"According to my source, your parents were married. You lived in the same house during your adolescence, raised as siblings."
"That's bullshit." I'd been able to tolerate her thus far, but she was making my blood boil. So this was going to turn into a shit show, after all. I started to say something more, but Lowell clutched my hand.
"What you're saying isn't true," Lo said. "I would say that if you care about your credentials as a journalist, you won't go forward with that story. But since I know you couldn't give a flying fuck about journalistic integrity, I'll just save my breath." Lowell stood. "You can go now. Do what you like."
Lowell marched her to the door. Katie looked a little flustered, as if this wasn't what she was expecting.
"We can cut a deal," she offered Lowell at the threshold. "I'm the only one who knows. For now."
Lowell leaned toward Katie's ear. "Go fuck yourself. Deal?" Lowell slammed the door behind her then pressed herself against it, her chest heaving. She was quiet for a minute. Then she said, "We're so fucked."
I nodded, feeling guilty as hell. She seemed to pull herself together a little. She stood, a faraway look on her face as if she was lost in her thoughts.
"What's the name of your favorite reporter out there?" she asked.
"Jose."
Lowell opened the door. "Go get him. And tell him he's gonna need a camera crew."
