The Love Laws (32 page)

“Oh
Clay. I’m an idiot. I can’t believe I ever doubted you. You’re stuck with me
too, by the way.” She squeezed him one more time and then shifted far enough
away from him to grab her coffee. “Now, what should we do about Mr. Kevin Hall?
I don’t know how it happened, but I think I really do care about him. A lot.
And even if he is with Kerry, I still need to apologize and clear the air with
him. Maybe even warn him about her.”

Clay
shook his head in disbelief. “The infamous man-eater, Cinnamon Spice, has
finally fallen for a guy. I never thought I’d see this sad day. I’m actually a
little jealous.”

His
tone was mocking but Jamie detected a disturbing note of something else mixed
in with his usual humor. He almost sounded hurt. Was it possible that Clay was
actually jealous? No, that was impossible. He was gay.

Then
she thought about the weird way Clay had clung to her when Kevin had come into
the store to flirt with Cathy. Had he felt threatened by Kevin, even then? But
then why had he sent Kevin to White Rock? It didn’t make any sense. She was
tempted to ask him about it but didn’t quite have the guts. She needed him too
much to risk embarrassing her friend. Besides what good would it do? She adored
Clay and he was totally gorgeous but she wasn’t attracted to him in that way.
Now that she knew what it felt like to fall in love she didn’t want to settle
for anything less. She just hoped she would find it again. Somehow she doubted
she’d get that lucky but she would try. And next time she wouldn’t let it pass
her by.

She
reached over and squeezed Clay’s hand. “Don’t be jealous. He’s with someone,
remember? I’m about to humiliate myself.”

Clay
rubbed his hands together. “Yeah. I can’t wait for that part. You’re long
overdue for a little humble pie, you know.”

“So
much for Supportive Clay. I’ll miss him.” She said with a long-suffering sigh.

Clay
grinned cheekily. “I’ll bring him back for a guest spot when the next guy
breaks your heart, okay?”

“Deal.
Just don’t offer to mount me again.”

“Sorry,
but that’s going to be my go to move from now on. It certainly cheered you up
in a hurry.”

Jamie
smiled and felt her body relax for what seemed like the first time in months.
She had Clay in her corner and that meant so much to her. Maybe together they
could come up with a plan to save the store. And if not, she would find a new
dream. Something less stressful and hopefully more fun. She just wasn’t cut out
for this conservative corporate world. She needed to stop denying the wild and
creative side of her personality and learn to embrace it again.

Right
now, however, tracking Kevin down was her number one priority. Love Law #2 be
damned. She was going to do what she should have done weeks ago – be totally
honest with him. Even if he was in love with Kerry and she made an utter fool
of herself he needed to know that she regretted the way she’d treated him.  

She
just hoped Kerry wouldn’t be around to witness her humiliation. That would be
too much to bear.

Kevin
banged his fist against the heavy door to Kerry’s hotel suite. When she didn’t
answer immediately he stood impatiently, shifting from one large foot to the
other as he waited. Thirty long seconds passed and he thought seriously about breaking
the door down.

His
hands were actually shaking he was so pissed off. Coming here was a huge
mistake. He didn’t trust himself right now but Kerry had finally pushed him too
far.

Ten
minutes earlier he’d been sitting at his hotel desk down the hall, working on
his new project when he’d decided to check
The Vancouver Star
website
for any new Comments on Jamie’s Love Law #7. He’d read that particular entry
last night when it had just been posted and he was curious about the public’s
reaction. So far the response wasn’t good. Jamie had managed to offend just
about everyone. Including him.

It
was obvious to him who that particular entry was directed at. What he couldn’t
figure out was why Jamie was so worked up now, eleven days since they’d last
seen each other? It didn’t make sense. Until he saw the horribly long and
critical Comment about Jamie’s store with Kerry’s profile picture attached.
With growing dread he’d clicked on the link embedded in the Comment and watched
as Jamie’s beautiful face appeared on his screen.

At
first he’d paused the video, content to just drink in the sight of her. The
lingerie pictures were gorgeous and sexy but they didn’t compare to her in the
flesh. The light in her eyes and the animation in her movements were missing
from the pin-ups. God, he missed her. How had he managed to stay away so long?
Then he thought about the way she’d ran from his car in White Rock. She’d fled
like he was diseased and it became obvious why he hadn’t approached her again.
It was simple. She didn’t want him. The article demonstrated that quite
vividly.

Disgusted
with himself he played the rest of the video. It was obviously shot on a cell
phone aimed at Jamie without her knowledge. He stared until his eyes felt
strained but it was difficult to discern what was going on since most of
Kerry’s dialogue was cut out. All he could really tell with absolute certainty
was that Jamie was being goaded somehow.

He
played it again. And again. Trying to catch the nuances, but it was impossible.
The video was just too awful to make out what was going on between the two
women. He turned up the volume to nearly deafening and played it again. There
was Jamie, gorgeous but clearly irritated. It was a look he was familiar with.
On the video she said, ‘
Sorry to hear about your marriage not working out
.’
Her voice was snide and not professional in the least.

Before
the perspective shifted he was just able to make out Kerry’s faint voice in the
background. ‘
Kevin hasn’t told him yet.’

He
played it again, thinking he’d heard it wrong. But no. That was Kerry’s voice
and she was talking about him. Why the hell would she be talking about him with
Jamie? And why was Kerry even bothering to sabotage Jamie like this? It made no
sense. The women didn’t even know each other as far as he knew. He needed to
get to the bottom of this and that meant talking to Kerry. No good had ever
coming from talking to her but there was a first time for everything.

He
was out of his chair before he knew it and rushing down the hall like a
rampaging bull. He skidded to a stop in front of her door and rapped his closed
fist against the wood several times. No response.

Just
as he was about to give the door a good kick it cracked open a few inches and
Kerry’s smug face appeared.

“Kevin,”
she said coolly, not moving to invite him in. “What are you doing here? I
thought you were done ‘playing games’ with me. Did you change your mind?
Because I have a few games in mind if you’re interested.” Her words were flirtatious
but her tone was emotionless, almost hollow.

“Kerry.
Quit fucking around,” he said through gritted teeth. “And let me in.” The last
place he wanted to be was in Kerry’s room with her but he didn’t have much
choice. He needed to confront her and the hallway would only draw more unwanted
attention to this conversation.

“Hmmm.
I don’t think I like your tone. Maybe another time. When you’re feeling more
polite,” she said playfully as she began to push the door closed in his face.

“Let
me in or I swear to God I am going to find out who’s financing your stay here
and tell him what you’ve been up to.” He was bluffing. He had no idea if she
had a sugar daddy or not. But he did know exactly how expensive the executive
suites at this particular hotel were and the odds of Kerry footing the bill
herself were slim. So it only made sense that she must have a patron with more
money than sense covering her expenses.

“Fine,”
she said tersely, throwing the door open. “But I have a meeting in an hour so
don’t expect much foreplay.” She began unzipping her white skirt slowly as she
walked backward towards the massive bed, flashing her toned midriff and more
than a little thong as she went.

“Jeez,
Kerry. That’s not why I’m here,” Kevin growled. A month ago he would have been
turned on by her display. Today, however, her attempt at seduction just seemed
cold and more than a little pathetic. Did she actually think she could distract
him so easily? Apparently so.

She
stopped and put her hands on her exposed hips. “Then why are you here exactly? If
it’s to apologize for kicking me out of your room last week, then please spare
me. I can’t stomach it when you get all noble. It’s so tiresome.” She sighed,
sat down on the end of the bed and began brushing out her long, silky hair
while staring at her own reflection in the mirror attached to the bureau.

“Hardly.
I’m here about your little online attack on Jamie. Why would you do that? You
don’t even know her. If this is a jealousy thing, don’t bother. She’s told me
in no uncertain terms that she’s not interested in me. So no need to get
territorial.”

Kerry
laughed and flicked her glaze at him. “Oh Kevin. You really are so full of
yourself. Why would I care if you have a little crush on that cow? Those
articles in your room just gave me a little inspiration is all.”

Kevin
gritted his teeth and ignored the insult to Jamie. Defending her would only
draw Kerry’s ire. If she suspected how much he truly cared about Jamie then
there was no telling how she would react. It was best for her to believe there
was nothing between them. “Inspiration? For what?”

She
dropped the brush and turned towards him, suddenly animated with excitement. “Well,
remember that reality show I mentioned?”

He
nodded, vaguely recalling that she’d had some kind of audition.

“My
agent suggested that I needed to show the producers exactly what I’m capable
of. So I staged the whole thing to gain some notoriety and increase my public image.
He said it was brilliant,” she said proudly.

Kevin
blinked several times and then spoke very slowly. “Let me get this straight. Your
agent encouraged you to sabotage an innocent woman on the off chance that some Hollywood
dickheads might be interested in casting you in a stupid reality show? Sounds
like a really worthwhile project.”

She
gave him a dark look. “It’s not stupid. It’s called ‘Celebrity Exes’ and if I
get cast on it then there’s the possibility that I could get my own spinoff. If
I’m ruthless and controversial enough. Don’t you see? This is my big chance. I
was born to do this.”

He
shook his head in disbelief. “Wow. Ker. You’re unbelievable. Why not just get a
real job?”

She
stood up and pointed at him with one long, manicured finger. “Are you kidding?
What do you imagine me doing exactly? Working at Starbucks? I don’t think so.
Besides, I don’t have time for a job. This…” She gestured down at her body. “…Requires
most of my time to maintain. Facials, personal trainers, hair treatments,
massages, manicures and pedicures – all these things require time and money. In
a few years I’ll need plastic surgery too. So who has time for work? Not me.”

Kevin
rolled his eyes. “I hate to point this out but Dunc is hardly a celebrity.
Don’t you have to actually be, I don’t know, the ex of a celebrity to be on
this ridiculous show?”

“Duncan
may not be famous but he is the heir to his grandmother’s condom empire. And I
was married to a European Count for a few months last year. And then there’s
you.”

“Me?”
He nearly shouted. “I’m hardly a celebrity. And we never technically dated.”

“Maybe
not,” she purred. “But we do have some history. And you are a fairly famous
writer. That’s not as good as an actor or a singer, but it should be enough to
qualify you as a celebrity.”

“Kerry.
Seriously. Do you think I’m going to let you go on television and talk about
our nonexistent relationship? You need your head examined.”

“I’m
afraid you don’t have much choice. Everyone saw you come to my defense in that
bar last week. And I do have some other evidence,” she said with an exaggerated
wink and a small smile.

He
just stared at her. “What evidence?”

She
picked up her phone from the nearby bureau and began flipping through screens.
“Now don’t bother trying to erase these pictures because they’ve already been
uploaded to my cloud drive.” Proudly, she held out the phone and displayed a
very suggestive picture of them on his hotel bed. She was naked, sitting
astride his hips as she smiled sensually at the camera. She must have taken it while
he was unconscious. The camera angle cut off the top half of his face but his
broken nose, open mouth and bare chest were easily recognizable.

He
pushed the camera back at her. “What the fuck? Kerry. You have officially lost
your mind. What does that prove exactly? That we may or may not have slept
together? You can’t even see my face.”

“Maybe
not, but I’ll bet it’s enough to convince your little red-headed slut that
we’ve been together recently. The broken nose and the time stamp are pretty
convincing, don’t you think?”

Kevin
went cold. He didn’t owe Jamie his fidelity. They had parted ways with the
understanding that there was nothing between them. But he still had hope she
would change her mind if he gave her some time to realize she had feelings for
him. And if he could somehow prove he wasn’t the rutting man-whore she believed
him to be. If Jamie suspected he’d slept with Kerry the night they’d gone to
the movies together there was no way she would forgive him. Any chance he’d had
to change her mind would be dashed in the flash of a camera phone.