Page 37 of A Little Bit Engaged
Ainsley’s concerned tone made the hair on his arms stand straight. “What?”
“Threats are being made against Cara.”
His muscles knotted. Cara had been dragged into this. She didn’t need crazies coming after her on the internet or in real life. If something happened to her…
A vise tightened around his heart. He paced across the living room floor. “What kind of threats?”
“Physical ones,” Ainsley admitted. “I don’t know how seriously to take them. Maybe it’s trolls or, more likely, Caitlin’s rabid fangirls are overreacting.”
They called themselves the Braits and wanted nothing less than an engagement announcement from him and Caitlin.
“I’m not taking any chances. I’ll cancel the appointments we have today.” Brody wished people wouldn’t take what celebrities did so personally. “I’m not risking Cara’s safety. Call the security team we used last year with that stalker. They’ll know the steps to take. Get them to San Francisco today. I don’t care what it costs.”
“I left a message before I called you. I’ll try again when we hang up.”
“Give them this number.”
“But—”
“It’s the only way I can be reached while I’m here.” Only his close friends, family, and management team had this number. No one else. Others called a second phone, one he didn’t always carry with him or answer right away.
“I’m on it, boss.” Ainsley sounded like she was juggling her phone and typing on her tablet at the same time. “Just so you know, Matthias is perturbed you haven’t returned his calls.”
Matthias was his agent. A high-strung businessman who liked designer suits, fast cars, and busty blondes. He was a killer negotiator and for good reason. The more his clients made, the more he did. “I’ll call him.”
“Have you and Cara set a date?”
“We’re discussing one.” Brody didn’t want too much news of their wedding released yet, even though he trusted Ainsley. “We’ll have more time to think about our plans today, but I want you to leak something about a wedding being held in a tropical locale.”
“Will do. I’ll contact the PR firm after I call the security team again. Anything else?”
He needed to tell Ainsley the truth about what was going on so she could help plan for the fallout a breakup would bring, but he wasn’t ready to do that. He stared at the closed bathroom door where Loki sat. “Cara and I make a cute couple, don’t we?”
“Yeah, but you want to know the best thing about you two?”
“What?”
“She makes you happy. Caitlin is so high-maintenance you seem on edge around her. You smile brighter whenever you talk about Cara or are with her.”
He did? But to be honest, Brody wasn’t that surprised. Cara was a special woman who made him want to be a better man.
“Though I get why there’s a ton of media coverage over this. I was just as shocked as everyone else to hear the news, but you and Cara make sense when I think about it,” Ainsley continued. “Ignore what’s being said. You deserve a happy ending. People will come around to you falling in love and getting married soon enough.”
Except people wouldn’t have to come around. In less than three weeks, this engagement would be over. He’d fly home, and Cara would stay here.
Thinking of being apart from her was a real bummer.
Unless he could convince her to go to Los Angeles with him. She might not be able to work with rare books, but there were other library jobs she could do. Maybe she could find a job in the children’s section of a library somewhere. He could fund whatever programs she wanted to develop.
Yeah, having her in L.A. made the most sense. She’d be closer to her sister and parents, too.
Sure, she would be his ex-fiancée by then, but his PR people were the best. They could release a well-crafted statement saying the breakup was mutual, and they were still friends.
Cara was and always had been his friend.
He’d just forgotten that, but he wouldn’t again.
Brody enjoyed spending time with her. She did make him happy.
