Page 45 of A Little Bit Engaged
A knife twisted and cut him to the core.
She deserved better.
What have you done, Caitlin?
She’d put him and Cara in this situation, but he’d been the one to ask her to act as his fiancée. Her my-world-has-collapsed expression was because of him. A weight pressed against his chest. He had to help her. Fix things.
Leaning closer, he put his arm around Cara and kissed her cheek. “I’ll take care of this. Now.”
Cara shook her head. “Later.”
Later? He didn’t understand. All he had to do was call Caitlin and tell her to stop. She might not, but he could hold a press conference. Tell the truth. Anything would be better than…this.
Cara’s eyes gleamed as if she might cry. He cradled her close. “I’ll wait.”
She nodded.
He hadn’t seen Cara like this since their senior year of high school, when she found out she hadn’t earned one of the full-ride scholarships to her first-choice college, a private university on the East Coast, and realized she would have to attend a much cheaper state school instead.
“Take Cara home. We’ll reschedule once she’s feeling better.” Sariah’s voice was full of kindness and compassion. “Tessa Alberto, our chef, has packed up the food from the tasting so you can have it for lunch.”
“Thank you,” Brody said.
“I’m so sorry.” Cara sounded quiet, almost weak. She went to stand, but Rizzo stopped her.
“Move slowly,” he cautioned. “If you stand too quickly, you might feel lightheaded again. We wouldn’t want you to fall.”
Brody wouldn’t let her fall. He would take care of her and this mess he’d dragged her into. Cara had always been so much stronger than Caitlin. Unfortunately, the fake pregnancy had taken this to another level. One that had nothing to do with saving her reputation or controlling her anxiety. What Caitlin was doing made stereotypical mean girls seem nice.
“I’ve got you.” Brody stood and then lifted Cara into his arms. She fit perfectly against him. He would use his Maxwell accent. He would do whatever he could to make her feel better. “Door-to-door service, milady.”
He thought he heard a sigh.
She rested her head against his chest. As the tension seeped out of her body, his tight muscles relaxed.
She stared up at him. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do.” He brushed his lips across her forehead. An image of a pregnant Cara, her beautiful face glowing and her belly round with their child growing inside her, appeared.
Whoa. Where had that come from?
“I’ve got your purse.” Rizzo placed the strap over his forearm with a serious expression on his face. “Not bad, but I prefer a cross-body style.”
That brought a soft smile to Cara’s pretty face.
Relief flowed through Brody. He mouthed thanks to Rizzo for getting their minds off a nonexistent baby and back to reality.
“I hate that everyone is fussing over me,” Cara said on the way out the door.
“Let them fuss.” Brody carried her to one of the SUVs. “I’ll spoil you more when we’re home.”
“You can’t return to the condo.” Jackson tucked away his cell phone. “Caitlin used Cara’s full name in her interview. The building is surrounded by more paparazzi than we can control.”
“Loki is at the condo alone.” Panic filled her voice.
“That’s Cara’s cat,” Brody added.
“I remember him. Black cat. Lots of fur and attitude,” Jackson said. “I’ll head over there to pack bags for you and get Loki.”
