Conflicting emotions raged within Carter. Part of him wanted to scream at her for bringing that arrogant- every expletive he could think of ran across Carter’s mind. How could she be with him? How could she bring him here?
Then, there was the other part, the part that wanted to pull her against his chest and offer her comfort because of her obvious distress.
In the end, he couldn’t deny her his compassion.
With a sigh, Carter enveloped Harley in his arms, pulling her close to his chest allowing her tears to soak his t-shirt.
As much as he wanted to dislike her for sending confusing signals and so many other things, Carter knew he felt anything but. He wouldn’t go so far as to say he was in love with her, but the connection he felt couldn’t be denied.
Twice in the last week he’d been in the same space as her. Any lingering doubts he’d fueled with anger and humiliation were dashed. Something about this woman wrecked him, the way she made him feel, it was more real than anything he’d felt before.
But she wasn’t his.
Carter’s body stiffened as he remembered the truth. Harley denied him. Harley was with someone else.
Even if that someone else didn’t deserve her, Carter wasn’t sure he did, either.
“Harley.” Chris walked out of the evening shadows. Alone. “Your car is waiting out front.” He hesitated when he saw her folded in Carter’s embrace, but other than a brief tightening around his eyes, Chris acted as though seeing them together was a normal occurrence. “Unless you’d rather find another way back to your hotel?”
Harley dabbed under her eyes with the backs of her fingers. “No. No. I’ll go with Brent.” She stepped out of Carter’s embrace. “I’m so sorry. Please tell Oakley. And kiss Kaden for me. I never- I didn’t-”
Chris took hold of her elbow as so many different emotions passed over his face. Anger. Rage at the hurt Brent had caused Kaden. But also compassion, he knew Harley would never intentionally hurt Kaden. And resolve. Intentional or not, Kaden had been hurt. He didn’t deserve the cruel words Brent so thoughtlessly flung at him and Chris would do whatever it took to protect his son from ever hurting like that again. At least at the hands of Brent James.
“I know, Harley. This isn’t your fault. Come on. We’ll talk more later.” Chris led her on the same path he’d just taken Brent.
Before they turned the corner out of sight, Harley looked over her shoulder, her eyes finding Carter’s.
And once again, he found himself aching to go after her.
Would it ever be his place?
Probably not.
Unable to help himself, Carter followed her. Arms folded over his chest, he watched until she was out of sight.
And Carter could have sworn she took a piece of his heart with her.
Chapter Nine
Carter’s wealth and status came with many privileges. One of them being escorted straight to the director when he arrived on set Monday morning.
The two men shook hands as members of the cast and crew stood by. Harley and Brent among them. Carter tried to keep his gaze from straying to Harley, but he didn’t think he’d been successful.
“Carter, glad you could make it.” Stephen appeared harried with a steaming cup of coffee clutched in his hand. It was late summer and still warm, but Stephen wore a pair of faded Army green slacks and a button down shirt buttoned incorrectly. An old knit sweater that looked as though he’d just dug it out of a dumpster hung from his thin shoulders while house slippers covered his bare feet.
Obviously, Stephen wasn’t a morning person.
“We’re glad to have you here, Carter.” He turned to whoever was listening. “It’s all because of this guy our project didn’t get shelved for the next six months while we waited for permits in LA.”
Carter shook his head, not wanting the director to make a big deal out of the fact that Carter owned the property where they’d brought production. “You don’t have to keep thanking me, Stephen. I made a killing on this deal.”
The property, this building and several others, had been vacant for years. Carter acquired it several months ago as part of a larger deal. He’d already liquidated the more valuable sections of land and buildings and hadn’t decided what to do with these yet. They had once been owned by the railroad and used as storage for train cars and equipment, but more recently it housed a company that sold large sheets of steel. The warehouses were mostly empty except for some infrastructure left behind by the various businesses who’d used them
They were perfect for Brave and Bold.
“Well, make yourself at home. I’ll have someone show you the ropes. Let’s get to work!” Stephen clapped his hands once and started a flurry of activity.
“Mr. Bragg?” A petite woman holding a clipboard appeared at his elbow. She had jet black hair and heavy purple eyeshadow Carter found distracting. “I’m Emma. Mr. Berg asked me to show you where you can sit and watch.”
“Hi, Emma. Nice to meet you.” Carter held out his hand. Emma blushed under all her makeup before accepting it.
“It’s, uh, nice to meet you, too.” She stumbled over her words a little. Carter had to keep himself from smirking. Under other circumstances he might have flirted with her a little, but not here.
Emma bit her lip, but couldn’t stop her smile. “Come this way, Mr. Bragg.”
Emma stopped in front of a small cluster of director’s chairs. A high table sat nearby. “You can sit here. Right now it’s just rehearsal, but once they start shooting, you’ll need to stay behind this line.” She pointed to a row of chairs occupied by makeup artists and hair stylists. “Take your cue from them. If they’re moving around, it’s probably safe you can, too.”
Carter had no plans to move from his spot, but he nodded anyway. “Thanks, Emma.” And since he couldn’t resist, Carter winked.
Emma’s chin dipped almost down to her chest as her cheeks flushed once again. Shoulders hiked up to her ears, she turned away from him but not before saying, “Let me know if you need anything, Mr. Bragg.”
“Oh, I will.” Carter chuckled to himself as the shy girl walked away and wondered how she made it in this business full of good-looking and powerful men if she got so flustered around him? Carter was famous in his own right, but an A-lister he was not.
After Emma left, Carter contented himself to watch everything happening around him. In front of the cameras, Harley and Brent worked with a group of men who looked like some of the guys at the gym, cauliflower ears, compact, muscular bodies and expressions that said don’t mess with me.
Carter assumed they were with the stunt crew.
One of them wore the same clothes as Brent and from a distance appeared to be his twin. Obviously, Brent’s double.
It wasn’t long before someone came and sat down beside him. And not just any someone, Harley’s mother.
“You know, Stephen doesn’t invite just anyone on set.” She pulled off her glasses, touching the tip of the earpiece to the corner of her painted lips.
Carter raised one brow but kept his own lips closed. He’d learned long ago he rarely wanted anything from the women who sought him out while they always wanted something from him.
It took longer than most to break her. She was savvy. Carter made a mental note not to underestimate this woman.
She brought an elbow to rest on the arm of her chair, propping her chin in her hand.
Still, Carter waited.
She smiled as if she knew his game. He doubted it.
She laughed.
“I suppose it helps if you own the set.” Her eyes narrowed.
One side of his lips curled as Carter settled back in his chair while keeping his gaze firmly fixed on the woman at his side. It wouldn’t do to let the serpent catch him unawares.
“You think that gives you some kind of power here?” she asked.
What was she getting at?
“Because you don’t have any power over her. I do.”
Carter was really beginning to not like
this woman. What was her deal?
“I don’t want power over Harley.” He disliked the way Missy spoke about her daughter, as though she were a possession and not a person, a woman with her own thoughts and feelings. And ability to make her own choices.
Missy leaned forward, giving Carter more of a view of Harley’s mother than he ever wanted. “No, but I think you want Harley.”
Carter remained silent. He wouldn’t confirm or deny his feelings for Harley. Not to this person.
Like a game of cat and mouse, Missy waited for Carter to make the next move, but she was impatient, sloppy. Sitting back in her chair again, Missy stared at Carter.
“Harley and Brent are going to rise to the top together, Mr. Bragg, and nobody, not even you, is going to screw that up. Do you understand?”
Carter raised his brow at the woman’s audacity. She must have realized she’d pushed too hard because her expression relaxed into a practiced smile.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Carter spotted Harley. She’d been moving in the opposite direction from where he sat with Missy, but after glancing their way, she changed direction. Harley marched toward him, her eyes shooting fire and Carter braced himself.
He needn’t have worried, she wasn’t coming for him.
“Mom.” Harley hissed between her teeth. “What are you doing here? You know Stephen doesn’t allow agents on set.”
Missy waved aside Harley’s concern. “Darling, relax. I had some urgent business to discuss with you that couldn’t be done over the phone.”
Harley’s eyes darted toward Carter before focusing again on her mother. He didn’t even pretend not to be listening to their conversation. Nor did he attempt to get up and leave so they could talk privately.
Harley’s lips pinched. “Then let’s go talk.” She clamped her hand on Missy’s forearm and pulled.
“Harley!” Missy squawked as she jumped from the chair to avoid being dumped on her behind.
“I have work to do,” Harley said as she marched Missy to the nearest exit.
Carter’s curiosity almost got the better of him. He was so darn tempted to follow the two women and listen in on their private conversation, he had to force himself to remain in his chair.
Chapter Ten
Harley hauled Missy through the exit and then stopped twenty feet from the door. “What are you doing here?”
Missy pried her arm from Harley’s grasp. “I wanted to see how things were going. We have a lot riding on this movie, Harley.”
Harley blinked. “You think I don’t know that? This is my career on the line, not yours.”
Missy crossed her arms over her chest. “Brent called me. He let me know Carter Bragg would be on set today. I just wanted to make sure you remembered what’s at stake.”
Harley started at her with disbelief. “What’s at stake? I know exactly what’s at stake!” Hunger hadn’t been all that long ago. Homelessness. It felt like yesterday. Anxiety threatened to take over. Every day of this farce with Brent made her feel as though she were drowning. Harley fought the panic, the desperation, to never return to the past. Those days may be over, but no one could guarantee it was forever.
Not Harley.
Not Missy.
Missy took a step closer to Harley, her voice low and threatening when she spoke. “If that’s true, then you better stay far, far away from Mr. Bragg.”
Harley bristled. “Carter has nothing to do with this.”
Eyes narrowing, Missy studied Harley’s face, missing nothing in their thoroughness. “You know him. How do you know him? Homes for Warriors? I’ve never heard you talk about him.”
“I met him once. A long time ago. I don’t talk about him because there’s nothing to say.” Lie.
“Nothing to say.” Missy held Harley’s gaze, a game she liked to play to see of Harley would break. Unfortunately, she almost always did.
“Don’t think for a moment I missed the way you look at him.” She let the sentence hang in the air between them. “Brent told me what happened over the weekend. At Chris and Oakley’s. How you practically drooled over Carter the entire time, took everyone’s side against Brent-”
“He called Chris’s son stupid!” Mortification singed her entire body all over again.
Missy’s hand whipped out, clamping down hard on Harley’s arm. “I don’t care what he did. Your job isn’t to judge Brent, it’s to be in love with him.”
“Pretend,” Harley interrupted, yanking her arm from Missy’s grasp. “Pretend relationship. Not a real one.” Never a real one. She disliked Brent before the barbecue with her friends, but now, she loathed him. Her only hope was that she’d be able to dredge up enough emotion to perform scenes with him for the next foreseeable future.
Harley put her hand to her head. That sounded awful!
Missy’s expression hardened. “It doesn’t matter if it’s pretend or real. As far as the world is concerned, the two of you are madly in love.” Missy reached into the front pocket of her blazer and pulled out her cell phone. She quickly tapped the screen until she found what she was looking for. Holding the phone so Harley could see, Missy pointed to an article on the internet. “You’re trending on all major news outlets and search engines. People are already asking when they can pre-order tickets. You guys have couple names, for heaven’s sake. Look.” Missy paused to click through her phone again. “Barley is the most popular. Don’t you get it? This is media gold! The two of you are the biggest thing since Brangelina!”
Harley was going to be sick. “We are not the biggest thing since Brangelina because we aren’t even a thing!”
Missy dropped her hands to her sides. “This is happening, Harley, whether you like it or not. And we are all going to make millions. Just remember that.” She shoved her phone back into her pocket and Harley knew this was the end of their little chat. At least for today.
“I’ll be in touch. You and Brent are due for a public appearance. I’ll make reservations for dinner this evening.”
With that Missy headed toward her car in the lot across from the building where they were shooting while Harley stared at her back and wondered how it had all gone so wrong.
The day didn’t get any better after that. It didn’t help having Carter on set. He looked different. Instead of gym shorts and a t-shirt he’d been wearing the day before, he looked more the part of a billionaire, perfectly styled in jeans that probably cost more than most house payments and a light sweater the same blue as his eyes. When she should have been concentrating on Mila’s budding attraction for Damon, all she could think about was her own attraction for Carter.
And Brent.
She’d never been more mortified than she’d been when Brent yelled at little Kaden. They’d argued on the way back to the hotel. When they parted, Harley was certain she’d never hated anyone more. Her relationship with Chris and Oakley and Kaden had become precious to her. The thought of losing the connection with them made her sick. She felt physically ill wondering what they thought of her after Sunday. She’d brought Brent into their midst. She’d let them believe she had feelings for him. When she got back to her room, Harley had turned off her phone, glad she’d paid for Missy to have her own room.
And now she had to have dinner with Brent.
She kept playing the conversation with Missy over and over in her head. As always Missy’s plans included Harley, but only benefited Missy.
She’d signed a contract with Brent because Brent was a man? How messed up was that? Sure, male actors had longer careers in leading roles on average, but Harley wasn’t washed up!
The sad part of it was that Harley understood. There were reports all the time of actors, musicians, people with money who’d lost everything because they didn’t know how to manage their money, or they’d been sued for one reason or another, or something else. The fear of that happening to them was real. You could have millions in the bank and lose everything if you weren’t careful. The more you made, the more you spent, the bigger the bil
ls. People didn’t understand that.
Missy was trying to protect them in her own twisted way. Signing Brent was her insurance policy. Harley just wished she’d chosen someone else. All Brent had done was prove to her he wasn’t a good man.
Not like Carter.
Harley had never seen anything as attractive as Carter the day before playing with Kaden. When she meet him a year ago, she never would have believed Carter capable of being the kind of uncle he’d turned out to be with Kaden. She’d seen him display a range of depth and emotion that touched her. He’d been kind, playful, attentive, and sweet. And Kaden clearly loved Carter.
Brent hadn’t reacted to Kaden with anything but disdain. He’d given Kaden reason to doubt himself and hold back the love he so innocently shared, a life lesson the little boy would have to eventually learn, but not like that. And not because Harley had brought Brent into his life. It crushed her whenever she thought about Kaden’s little chin trembling as he held back his tears.
She wanted nothing to do with a man like that. So different from the man she did want, but would never have.
As Harley prepared for dinner, she realized the truth. She was stuck. Missy had created a situation Harley couldn’t get out of, at least not without a scandal of epic proportions, Brent would see to it. Photos and articles about the two of them were all over the internet, and even her own social media sites, thanks to Missy. If she backed out now, it would ruin them all.
And Harley couldn’t let that happen.
Chapter Eleven
“Cut!” Stephen’s hair stood on end. He’d been grabbing it by the fistfuls for the last three hours. His sweater had been shed long ago and his button down shirt hung open over a ratty t-shirt. The director’s idiosyncrasies were nothing new. However, Harley hadn’t ever seen him pull out his hair before.
Everyone watched as Stephen crossed his arms over his chest. One hand lifted to scratch his chin. He paced a few steps, sighed, and paced back.
Humbling the Spoiled Billionaire Page 6
