Caught on Camera (36 page)

His jaw twitched before he shifted to face her. One thigh hitched up on the seat between them, and his body visibly relaxed, almost as if he’d been waiting to talk about this very subject. The warmer hue in his eyes suddenly sent her into retreat mode once again.

Maybe she needed to rethink this before bringing it up. Or not bring it up at all.

But she had to say something now that she’d started. She reached for the only other thing that came to mind. “What was the call from Governor Chandler about?”

The glow in his gaze shut down. “That’s what you want to talk about?”

She nodded, swallowing the fib. “Was he upset?”

“You are a master at avoidance, aren’t you, woman?” JP laughed, a short, harsh sound. “Okay, fine. We’ll talk about the governor, for now. Yes.” He gave a single decisive nod. “He was upset.”

Her chest deflated. “I was afraid so. Was it because of the pictures of Greta, or…”

He leaned the side of his head against the headrest and watched her, his blue eyes steady. “Or?”

She shrugged. What was she supposed to say? She was worried the governor had read too much into the picture of him and her. “Was he upset over the other one? The one of you and me talking.”

“The other one.”

She held her breath. “How upset?”

He picked up her hand and held it in his. “He ranted for a minute or two. Pointed out how inappropriate it was to be seen having a moment with one woman when I was already out with another one, no matter that the first one was obviously not a real date.”

“Surely you told him it wasn’t a moment. We were just talk—”

He leaned forward and seared her with a fast, hot kiss. When he pulled back, his voice was deeper. “It
was
a moment. And everyone who sees it will know that.”

She licked her lips, tasting him. She really had to quit letting him kiss her like that. “We’ve got to go into repair mode. We’ve damaged your reputation enough. What can I do to help?”

Without warning, he leaned over and laid another fevered kiss on her, exploring her mouth until she could no longer pull in breath.

“Just keep giving me reasons to have moments and I’ll be fine.” His voice was gravelly.

“You’ve got to be serious, JP. Governor Chandler might pull his support if we get caught again.” She motioned toward the opening of the parking garage. “They follow us everywhere.”

He nodded. “Chandler and I are okay. He’ll still be there tonight to make it official on camera. But yeah, he’s getting frustrated. We’ll be more careful.”

“So we’re in agreement. We have to stop…” She waved her hand back and forth between them. At his quirked brow, she sighed and let her hand drop. Who was she kidding? They couldn’t just
stop
whatever this was. Not when they had to be around each other every day anyway. “We just have to be more careful in public. I won’t be the cause of your downfall.”

“That sounds fair.” He reached up to caress a finger over one cheek. “All I have to do is figure out a way to keep my hands to myself.”

“You’re already failing,” she whispered. The soft laugh that followed changed the mood inside the car, and suddenly all she could think about was the fact that they weren’t exactly in public at the moment. And she wanted one more kiss.

Without giving herself time to think, she shifted on the seat and went to him. She closed her mouth over his and kissed him with everything she could muster. A strange power came to life inside her when he didn’t take over, instead letting her lead the way.

Bringing her hands up to cradle his face, she rose up on her knees and poured her soul into the kiss. She may not be able to be with him fully, the way she wanted, but she hoped this showed, in some small way, how much she cared.

When the kiss ended, she moved back to her side and suggested they should go inside the building. She was terrified he’d want to dissect that kiss if they didn’t get out of there.

Without words, JP stepped from the car.

She followed, but when she reached for the back door, it was locked. “I need my camera.”

“You can’t record in here.” He spoke low, his steady gaze burning a hole in her.

“Why not?” She tugged on the locked door. “Everyone knows you make occasional appearances here.”

“Have you ever seen those appearances on the news? Anywhere?”

“As a matter of fact,” she said, ready to prove him wrong, but then realized that no, as a matter of fact, she had not. “Then why show up if not for publicity?”

They crossed the garage to the elevator, and once inside, he jabbed a button to take them to the first floor. “It’s not for publicity. Additionally, you can’t use anything you see or learn here in your segment.”

“Then why let me come in the first place?”

He cut his eyes to her, and she couldn’t tell whether it was annoyance or disgust peering back at her. A ding announced their arrival, and JP motioned for her to exit before him.

“Mr. Davenport.” An older woman rushed from behind the desk when they entered the front office. “Thank you so much for rearranging your schedule. The kids would have been terribly disappointed had our mix-up caused you to be unable to make it.”

“Ms. Halloway, you know I’ll do everything I can to be here each week.” JP turned on the charm and had every woman in the office giggling within minutes.

He came here weekly? Interesting that no one had ever caught on to that fact. That was why he parked underground, to hide from view.

“Ms. Halloway.” JP lost a bit of the charm as he turned toward Vega. “This is my friend Vega. She’s doing a special report on me, so she’s following me around with a video camera this week.”

The principal’s eyes widened.

“However, she will not be filming anywhere in the school.”

Gray-blue eyes shifted from Vega to JP, then suddenly twinkled from behind small wire-rimmed glasses. “Your friend, you say?”

JP looked properly caught. “My friend. Will you please make her welcome?”

She gushed. “Absolutely.”

Vega was beyond confused. What was going on here that was so secretive? She followed him to a classroom in which sat a group of kids, all probably under the age of ten, who were twittering with excitement. When she entered behind him, it was clear they wanted to bombard her with questions, but their respect for the man who made it a point to come see them weekly won out, keeping them on their best behavior. Vega settled into a child-size seat in the back of the room, her knees up to her neck, to watch. Good thing she’d worn slacks instead of a skirt.

As she got comfortable, the same redhead Vega had caught hugging JP in his office earlier in the week stepped into the room with a dark-haired boy, and took a direct path to JP. Both she and the child appeared nervous as the woman dragged the boy along behind her.

Vega glanced at JP in time to watch him catch sight of the newcomers. He took a shocked step back, his eyes going wide along with his stance. In the next instant, his entire body tensed, but he stooped down to speak to the boy. A fake smile mapped his lips across his jaw as he held out his hand to shake the youngster’s. Vega studied the pair as they talked. Something was off.

When JP straightened, he snuck a quick glance in Vega’s direction, then looked away just as abruptly. That had been guilt splashed across his face.

And that’s when she saw it. She cocked her head and studied the child standing at the front of the room, fidgeting from one foot to the other. Dark hair. Bone structure indicating a very attractive man would one day be standing in his place. And aqua-blue eyes.

Blood drained from her upper region to pool in the bottom of her feet. Those eyes were identical to two other people Vega had met in the past week. Two other Davenports.

She shook her head slowly back and forth, unable to believe what she was seeing, yet it was right there in front of her. A miniature version of JP.

He had a son.

Was this what was so secretive about this place? She glanced around to see if anyone else was aware of what she was witnessing, but there was only one other adult in the room, and she didn’t seem the least concerned with the two standing at the front of the class.

Her chest burned. She opened her mouth like a fish and sucked in gulps of air, all while trying to focus long enough that she didn’t pass out and topple from the tiny chair. But she couldn’t stop herself from zooming in on each of them, back and forth, from one to the other.

JP’s head tilted down as he listened to another student, but she caught the glint of his pupils as he peeked up at her through his lashes. His jaw clenched when she caught his gaze.

Oh. My. God.

She looked around for an escape route. Was she honestly sitting there looking at an illegitimate son of Jackson Parker Davenport Jr.? Damn, it was a good thing the two of them were over. She did not need to get mixed up in the media frenzy this was bound to be.

And then her eyes widened as she realized what this meant to her. And her interview.

Oh my
. She licked her lips, suddenly feeling more like the wolf about to devour Little Red Riding Hood. Only JP was no Little Red Riding Hood, and she would have sworn she was no wolf.

The redhead—she assumed the child’s mother—finally shuffled to the side of the room and settled in another chair, JP following her every move. He finally glanced Vega’s way and locked onto her. She told herself to look away, she didn’t want to get into this in front of all these people, but his steady, unblinking gaze held her prisoner.

After what seemed a full minute, she broke contact and stared at the tan carpet squares covering the floor at her feet. His clear gaze had repeated one word over and over.
Innocent
. Only, something else was in there too.

Was he saying that
wasn’t
his son?

Then whose?

And why didn’t the world already know about this?

She squeezed her eyelids together, wanting it not to be as it seemed. He had looked so guilty. But then, he’d also pleaded for his innocence.

Whatever it was, she would definitely find out later. They had a long drive back to his office, then an even longer dinner after that. She would simply refuse to leave until he explained the situation.

With conscious thought, she relaxed her shoulders, pretended to ignore the giant pink elephant in the room, and focused on the remainder of the kids. All sat eagerly awaiting JP to do whatever it was they were here for him to do. She was just as eager to see what this was all about as well.

After two hours and another session, this time with older children, Vega had a vague understanding of what was going on. Every single child who had entered the room had either a learning disability or a physical one. She watched JP talk to all the kids, sharing stories and reading to them. He then moved from person to person as they worked on their own, and devoted time to each and every one. Her heart swelled at the passion the man put into this, but she could not figure out why he kept his work here such a secret.

She slipped from the room and headed to the front office.

Ms. Halloway looked up as the door signaled her entrance. “What can I do for you, dear?”

“Can you tell me, how long has he been doing this?”

She gave a motherly smile. “Almost six years this fall.”

Vega shook her head in disbelief. “How in the world has the press not been privy to this information?”

“Because that’s Mr. Davenport’s request.” Her eyes said if Vega dared to do the leaking, she would personally come after her. “It occasionally is noted that he’s visited. The kids like to share, you know. But if asked, we only say he stops by on occasion to read to the children.”

“And what is it he’s actually doing?” Vega couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was far more than reading going on in that room.

“He’s helping, dear. Helping all of them.”

“With whatever disability they have.” She spoke softly, trying to piece it together as she went.

“Yes. The school allows the children to progress at their own personal rate. Mr. Davenport helps more with their emotional well-being than their skills. His encouragement and patience help them understand that being different is perfectly all right.”

“But why? Why does he do this?”

Ms. Halloway patted Vega’s hand, a look in her eye that said she had her suspicions, but it wasn’t for her to share. “That’s something he’ll have to tell you himself.”

“W
HO HAS A
word for me today?” JP stood at the front of the room, his stomach twisting as it always did at the end of his visit. Part of what he did each week to help the kids see it’s okay to do things differently, to do things in their own way, and—for some of them—not to be able to do everything was to let them try to stump him.

He’d spent years learning the tricks to overcome his dyslexia, at least to the public, but he still dealt with a few issues on a daily basis. Spelling was one of his more troublesome areas, so the kids always spent the week coming up with a word to test him.

A quiet, dark-haired boy raised his hand. JP smiled at the youngster, seeing way too much of himself in the boy. The child was the son of an up-and-coming movie star. As JP called on him, the door opened, and Vega and Ms. Halloway slipped in. He fought the urge to call a halt to this part of the day. He wasn’t ready for Vega to see him at his most vulnerable.