CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER TWO
Cara’s openmouthed,
you’re-certifiably-insane
expression hit Brody like a microphone boom to the head. He scooted away from her until his thigh bumped into the armrest of the love seat.
Stupid
. He needed to slow down—to explain. “That didn’t come out right.”
“Which part?”
Her pretty features hardened on her heart-shaped face, a stark contrast from her usual cheery disposition. Brown hair, full and wavy, fell past her shoulders. Strands stuck out, reminding him of a lion’s mane. Forget her adorable tiger pajamas. Her green eyes blazed, wild and angry, as if she might attack. This was so not the Cara he knew.
“The diamond ring or the proposal?” she asked.
“Both.” He took a deep breath and then another. His rapid pulse didn’t slow. His chest squeezed tighter. “Cara—”
“Are you drunk?” She pinned him with a sharp gaze. More jade than the emerald of Caitlin’s. “Because otherwise—”
“I’m sober.” A conscious decision he’d made on the flight to San Francisco. “Although I wouldn’t say no to a beer if you’re offering.”
Annoyed didn’t begin to describe her expression.
Not good
. He couldn’t remember the last time Cara had gotten this upset with him.
Her mouth slanted. “This isn’t funny. If Caitlin knew…”
“She knows.” The words tumbled out. So much for slowing down. “She’s why I’m here.”
Cara’s eyebrows pulled together in a sympathetic gesture, but annoyance returned in a flash. Her mouth pinched as if she’d eaten something sour. “Not even my sister could get herself into
this
much trouble.”
More wanted to fly out of his mouth, but he kept his lips pressed together. Cara was the only woman who made him feel unsure of himself, like he was in sixth grade again. He hadn’t always felt this way around her.
Not when they lived next door to each other. Not when they sat next to each other on the school bus. Not when they called each other best friends through high school and when she was in college.
But after she’d graduated, something changed. Maybe because she seemed smarter than she had been when she was in school. Or maybe because she’d gone from the clichéd ugly duckling—too thin and tall with features that didn’t quite fit her face—to a beautiful swan. Caitlin still joked about giving her twin sister a gift certificate to a plastic surgeon when they turned thirty in two years, even though Cara didn’t need it.
“Caitlin did get herself into trouble,” he finally said. “Not on purpose, but she needs our help.”
“You mean she’s dragging us into one of her problems again.”
As he nodded, Cara stared down her nose. The gesture reminded him of her twin, a rare similarity between two vastly different women. Next to his mother and late grandmother, Caitlin and Cara were the most important females in his life.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “What did my sister do this time?”
“Screwed up big-time on camera.”
“
That’s
why you showed up with a ring and proposed?” Disbelief filled Cara’s voice.
He didn’t blame her. “This wasn’t my idea, but Caitlin didn’t leave me much choice.”
Cara’s lips narrowed into a thin line. The one person who’d always taken his side didn’t believe him. The realization slashed through him like a blade.
She gave a slight shake of her head. “There’s always a choice.”
Maybe in Cara’s world. Not so much in his. Since his acting career took off, he’d felt like a trained dog performing tricks on command for Caitlin and his management team. He hated it.
Tonight, however, was different. Brody would do whatever he could to keep Caitlin’s reputation from being ruined. No way could she keep her anxiety under control if the truth got out and her carefully crafted façade was exposed. The consequence might be too much for her to bear.
He pulled his phone from his pocket. “I should have had you watch this video before I said anything. You can see for yourself what’s going on.”
Cara’s lips pursed. Her doubt was as clear as her makeup-free face.
Brody hit
play
. He’d seen this clip so many times he’d memorized what had been said, but it hadn’t made the situation any better. He felt worse. Awful about what Caitlin had done. Regret for having to drag sweet Cara into her sister’s PR mess.
An image of beautiful, sexy, pain-in-the-butt Cait Neal—she’d dropped the “lin” and the “O” for her stage name—appeared on the screen with her flawless makeup and flowing blond hair.
“I hardly recognize her with lighter hair,” Cara said. “But no matter what color or style, Caitlin always looks amazing.”
Looking amazing was a Cait Neal trademark, no matter if she was grabbing a cappuccino from a corner coffee shop or being interviewed on the red carpet. Brody could get away with wearing board shorts and a ratty T-shirt. When Caitlin dressed casually in shorts and a tank top, she put the same thought into her clothing choice as if she were attending a formal event. This morning for the interview shoot, her well-paid stylist had mixed designer label clothing with off-the-rack finds to create an outfit that would generate
oohs
and
aahs
from fans and fashionistas.
Cara angled the screen toward her face. “The video quality’s not the best.”
“Caitlin’s assistant filmed this on the sly. Evidence in case Auntie Shark got creative with the editing.”
“Shouldn’t that nickname and the need for evidence have been red flags the interview wasn’t a good idea?” Cara asked.
“Caitlin’s publicist set it up.”
The Auntie Shark nickname was well earned. The woman came across like a doting relative until the opportunity arose to chomp off an appendage with a biting comment or innuendo.
“The buzz on Caitlin’s new film is bad. It’s a romantic comedy, but focus audiences didn’t laugh during the screenings.” She wanted the same blockbuster box office results on her first movie without him as he’d had with his first film without her. “Your sister needs as much press as possible to fill theaters this weekend.”
“Don’t you mean
positive press
?”
“That was the plan.” Emphasis on
was
. Sweat dampened the back of his neck.
On the screen, Caitlin sat on her living room couch next to a forty-something female news show host who acted more like a gossip columnist than a highly regarded journalist.
“So what’s going on with you and Brody Simmons?” Auntie Shark’s voice sounded nonchalant.
“Everything’s great between us.” Caitlin didn’t miss a beat replying. Practice made the answer automatic. “We’ve been together for over three years.”
“That’s a long time in the movie
business
.” The way Auntie Shark emphasized the last word made Brody cringe. In hindsight, the speech pattern had been a warning of incoming fire. “Is that why you were at a bridal salon looking at wedding dresses?”
“I—I…” Caitlin’s stuttering matched her deer-in-the-headlights expression.
Brody’s heart ached for her. Years of dealing with the media and knowing what to say with a camera rolling had disappeared in a nanosecond. If only he’d been there, but Caitlin said she had everything under control and not to change his plans.
He’d let her down. And for what? To shoot hoops with a few guys from the gym.
“Why was Caitlin at a bridal salon?” Cara asked in that logical tone of hers.
Brody motioned to the screen. “Just watch.”
“Tell us the truth, Cait.” Auntie Shark sounded mean, almost hateful. “Have you and Brody been lying to your fans? Are you secretly planning a wedding?”
Cara leaned closer to the screen, blocking his view. “Caitlin’s face is so pale. I haven’t seen her this stressed since high school. She looks like she might pass out.”
“Fainting would have been good. Saying we were getting married would have been the best solution.”
Friends, fans, and foes would have understood them not wanting to make a spectacle out of a wedding. A lie, maybe, but what was one more?
“Pause the video,” Cara said.
Brody did.
“I don’t get it.” Lines creased Cara’s forehead, matching the confusion in her gaze. Brody knew she hated not understanding something. “If you’re marrying Caitlin, why are you here with an engagement ring asking me to marry you?”
“Watch.” He hit
play
. “Three, two, one…”
Tears shot from Caitlin’s eyes like water exploding from a broken fire hydrant.
Brody felt a pang. He should have been there.
“We’re not getting married,” Caitlin hiccupped between sobs. Streams of mascara-stained tears flowed down her cheeks. “Brody and I… We aren’t engaged. We broke up.”
Cara’s lips parted, her eyes widened, and then she blinked several times. Her face tightened into a pained expression that made him feel like a jerk. “Why did you break up? Is Caitlin okay? Did you hurt her?”
“Keep watching.”
Auntie Shark patted Caitlin’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”
Caitlin swiped her hand across her face. The move made a bigger mess of her makeup. She appeared oh-so-human, not the perfectly put together actress that girls and teens idolized.
Auntie Shark extended a tissue. “Take your time, dear.”
“Thank you.” Caitlin dabbed her face slowly as if trying to think of what to say next. If only she hadn’t rushed… “I didn’t want our fans to find out this way, but I suppose there isn’t a good time to tell them.”
“Tell them what?” Auntie Shark sounded giddy.
Caitlin stared straight at the camera. Her vulnerability clawed at him. “About Brody.”
“What about him?”
“He’s… He’s getting married.”
“Huh?” Cara muttered.
“What?” Auntie Shark’s mouth gaped. “Who is he marrying?”
Caitlin’s slight pause told Brody she was making this up as she went. “My twin sister.”
“
No
!” Auntie Shark and Cara shouted at the same time.
The horror in that one word twisted his heart. He’d experienced the same shock, disbelief, and…hurt. He knew the question—
Why, Caitlin?
—was echoing in Cara’s head the way it had resounded in his. He patted her hand. Not much support, but this was all he could give her. They were in this together, or they would be if she agreed to be his temporary fiancée.
“You can’t be serious.” Auntie Shark appeared shocked.
“I’m afraid so.” Caitlin sniffled. “They’ve been secretly dating. I don’t know how long this has been going on, but they attended the Academy Awards together last year when I was sick. Maybe it started then. I’m trying to be happy for them. I was at the bridal salon to try on bridesmaid dresses, but it’s…hard. The two people I love most in this world betrayed me in the worst possible way.” She wiped her eyes with a tissue before she straightened. “And you know, it’s so bizarre how life is imitating art.”
“What do you mean?” Auntie Shark’s tone was sympathetic, but her eyes gleamed with dollar signs. No doubt this exclusive, juicy morsel had thrilled her.
“My new film
Trouble in Tulle
is about a jilted bride whose groom runs off with her best friend. Everyone should see the movie when it opens this weekend.” Caitlin perked up for a moment, but then, as if on cue, more tears flooded her cheeks. “My sister is…
was
…my best friend.”
“Oh, no. No. No. No.” Cara’s voice trembled. Her lower lip quivered. “Please tell me this is a sick joke. An early April Fool’s prank. Payback for me making fun of your movie franchise.”
Brody wanted to wipe away her worry. Instead, he shut off the video. “I wish I could.”
Cara stared at his phone. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I know the feeling. It’s like I’m on a roller coaster that won’t stop—only, this ride hasn’t been any fun.” He placed his phone on the old, beat-up trunk that doubled as a coffee table. “I just want it to end.”
“Why would Caitlin do this to me? To us?” The pain in Cara’s voice hurt Brody. “I’ve stayed out of the public eye on purpose. Now she’s pushing me into the spotlight. Can you stop this?”
The hope in Cara’s gaze made him want to say
yes
, but he couldn’t tell her another lie. “I thought about going to my lawyer, but Caitlin talked me out of it. She said the real-life parallel with the movie is too perfect not to exploit. The show was taped this morning. It’s set to air on Thursday. That gives us time.”
“Time for what?” The lines on Cara’s forehead deepened. “My sister has lost it.”
“Caitlin panicked.” She needed people to think well of her, and she’d been stressed over her film’s release. He wished she hadn’t dragged him and Cara into this, but he wouldn’t desert Caitlin. Without her, he would have never been cast as her costar in a role that turned both of them into megastars. He not only owed Caitlin, but he also cared about her. They could have lost her when she was seventeen and mentally hit rock bottom. He didn’t want that to happen again. “She’s worried about her reputation. We need to play along. Pretend to be engaged.”
“Other actors have survived bad reviews and box office flops. Why is this any different?”
The upcoming premiere was only one reason Caitlin had reacted this way. Brody dragged his hand through his hair.
“And let’s not play dumb.” Cara squared her shoulders. “My sister didn’t come up with the life-imitating-art speech on the fly. This was premeditated.”
“No, it wasn’t,” he countered. “Caitlin was caught off guard. Her anxiety ramped up. She did what she could to salvage the situation.”
“What situation? She threw us under the bus. No, in front of a runaway semi. Or train.”
“Caitlin’s built her career on being a sweet, honest person. A role model for young women. She did what she had to do, and we have to help her.”
“Help, yes, but not enable.” Cara rubbed her face. “Caitlin must be having a mental breakdown. Or maybe she’s taking a new anxiety medication, and this is a side effect. Those are the only reasons for her to have lied so badly.”
Guilt coated Brody’s mouth. He rubbed his sweaty palms over his thighs. The last two and a half years replayed in his mind. Each memory made his throat hurt more, but he had to tell the truth. “Not everything Caitlin said was a lie.”
Cara’s lips curved into a condescending smile that hit like a kick from an undefeated MMA fighter. “Don’t let love blind you.”
The tightness in his chest quadrupled. Lying to her had been difficult, but he never expected to feel as if his own heart was going to explode. “There’s stuff you don’t know.”
The color of Cara’s eyes deepened to a forest green. “What stuff?”
He wanted to skip this part, make something up the way Caitlin had during her interview, but Cara deserved to hear the truth, even though she wouldn’t like what he had to say. “Caitlin and I broke up two and a half years ago. Since then, we’ve been pretending to date.”
Cara blinked. “Pretending?”
She sounded breathless as if she couldn’t believe what he was saying. Brody understood. If he could change the past, he would. He would tell Cara the truth. No, he wouldn’t have pretended he and Caitlin were still dating.
“Yes.” Saying that brought no relief. Only regret.
“But you and Caitlin are in love.”
“I love Caitlin, just not romantically. She feels the same way about me. But there are benefits to us remaining a couple until the final movie in the franchise releases in December, so we—”
“Lied.”
The lump in his throat grew to the size of a baseball. He nodded and then swallowed. “No one else knew.”
“If that’s supposed to make me feel better—”
“It’s not. But I didn’t want you to think we kept the truth only from you. In January, we were planning to release a statement about breaking up and then go on with our lives and careers separately. But now…”
Cara’s face flushed. “I see.”
She bowed her head, causing her hair to fall forward and hide her face, but her voice told him all he needed to know. She was disappointed in him.
Brody had hurt her, even though she wouldn’t tell him that. He wished she would. He wanted Cara to scream or shout, to do something emotional like her sister would. Instead, she sat calmly, twirling a strand of hair with her index finger. She did that whenever she was thinking about something. But thinking and analyzing—two of Cara’s strengths—wouldn’t change anything. He felt like the worst friend ever.
Her eyebrows drew together. “Why didn’t Caitlin say you were together and secretly planning a wedding? She could have said a friend or a member of her entourage was getting married. No one would have known the truth.”
“That would have been better.”
“Yes, except…” Cara sighed. “None of those mirror the plot of Caitlin’s movie as well as her lie about us.”
“We’re trapped.”
“Only if we agree.”
He’d agreed to help Caitlin before he caught his flight, but he needed Cara to pull this off. “We can’t leave Caitlin to handle this mess on her own. I’m not about to watch her spiral until she decides fixing things isn’t worth it.”
Cara’s face paled. “My sister wouldn’t do that again. She promised…”
“I don’t want to take that chance, and I know you don’t either.”
Seeing Caitlin hospitalized ten years ago for a psych evaluation had been bad enough. Maybe they’d given into her demands too much since then. Coddled her. Let her get away with stuff others wouldn’t. But the alternative…
He blew out a breath. “That means we’re stuck. For now.”
A beat passed. And another. “I love Caitlin, but this could just be another one of her elaborate schemes.”
“Maybe.” But Caitlin’s fear had been real.
“Her anxiety has seemed better.”
“There’s no guarantee that will continue.”
“But what she’s claiming could hurt you. It could also cause problems with my job search and call into question my character since I volunteer with children.” Cara’s tone was thoughtful, not upset.
Brody understood why she felt that way, except… “True, but Caitlin’s always been fragile emotionally. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help her out of this mess. Are you?”