Careless (20 page)

He crossed his arms and glared at Mike. “No
can do. Luc and Avery need you up there for pictures. Avery said she brought
some songwriter…” He snapped his fingers. “What the hell’s his name… Tom… Todd…
ah hell, I don’t know.” He glanced at Mike. “Apparently he’s your date
tonight.”

Mike spun around to face Tori. “He’s your
what
?”
he shouted.

Tori covered her hand with her mouth. “Oh
God, I’m so sorry. I must’ve forgotten to tell Avery to cancel—”

“You’re not seriously thinkin’ I’m gonna
let you be here as some other guy’s date, are you?”

“It’ll just be a few drinks, photo ops;
he’s supposed to be the next big thing. He wrote songs for Keith, Carrie, Kelly…”

She reached for him when he pushed past Joe
and made his way across the lawn. “Mike, wait. Please. This is just business.”

He wasn’t even going to dignify that with a
response. She pretended to be into him, yet she was still dating other guys,
letting the world think she was still looking for her Mr. Right. She’s made one
thing painfully obvious: he wasn’t it. 

Tori was trying so hard to plaster a smile
on her face, mingle with the crowd, entertain her date, but her heart was
breaking. She’d done it again, driven him away. He’d said everything she’d been
waiting to hear, but instead of saying it back, she froze.

She knew he’d been waiting for her to
publicly acknowledge her feelings for him tonight in front of their family and
friends, but instead of giving him what he deserved, she’d put her career
first.

Victoria stood silently beside Tori for a
moment before reaching for a glass of champagne on a passing waiter’s tray. She
handed it to her with a smile. “You look like you could use this.”

Tori reached for the glass, grateful she
didn’t have to worry about driving tonight. “What I could use is a double shot
of Jack Daniels, but since the press is crawlin’ all over the place, Avery said
I need to be on my best behavior.” She took a healthy swig of the champagne as she
glared at her publicist over the top of her glass.

She hated to being told what to wear,
drink, eat… No, she could live with that. What she couldn’t live with was being
told who to date. “I made a stupid mistake tonight, Victoria.”

“Is that why my brother-in-law stormed out
of here looking like he was ready to take out anyone who was stupid enough to
get in his way?”

“Mike told me he was in love with me, and I
basically told him I was in love with my career.”

Victoria winced. “Ouch.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

“So, what’re you gonna do about it?”

She threw back the contents of her glass.
“Get drunk for starters.”

“We both know that’s not gonna solve your
problems.”

“If you’ve got any bright ideas, I’m
listenin’.”

Victoria reached for her hand and led her
into a small, private sitting room that was blessedly free of guests. “Sit
down, and tell me exactly what happened.”

Tori was exhausted. She was tired of
looking over her shoulder, tired of guarding her heart, and tired of pretending
to be the public persona everyone expected her to be twenty-four seven. She
just wanted to share some of her burden with someone, and since she’d alienated
Mike again, his sister-in-law would have to share her suffering in his place.
“Remember the night we met at the birthday party?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Mike and I slept together that night.”

Victoria laughed. “I can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Yeah, well, I sure as hell was when he
kicked me out as soon as the deed was done. I’ve barely spoke to him again,
until—”

“He was assigned to this case?”

“Right.”

“Since you guys were kind of thrown
together, you had no choice but to talk about what happened, huh?”

“Yeah.” Tori sank back in the chair and
closed her eyes. “I didn’t want to let myself feel anything for him. I was
convinced he’d hurt me again, but I couldn’t help myself. I fell for him, hard,
fast…” She sighed. “And I’m afraid this time there’s no turnin’ back.”

“He obviously feels the same way, so what’s
the problem?”

“I was gonna tell him how I felt about him
tonight, but I couldn’t. He started talkin’ and all these things kept runnin’
through my head, like—does he know what he’s getting’ himself into, fallin’ in
love with a woman who spends half her life livin’ out of a suitcase?”

“Why don’t you ask him?”

“He’s not talkin’ to me. Not that I blame
him.” She rubbed her temples when the ache in the back of her head migrated.
“Joe came in and announced my date was here.”

Victoria’s mouth fell open. “No!”

“Yup, and instead of telling this guy,
Todd, Tom, whatever the hell his name is, I already have a date, I tried to tell
Mike it was just business.” She groaned as she remembered the look on his face
when she tried to sell him that bill of goods. “What I should’ve done is told
Avery to mind her own damn business and given those tabloid rags somethin’ to
write about tomorrow.”

“It’s not too late. You can go and have a
little chat with your publicist right now.”

“You’re right, I should.” Tori stood up and
straightened her dress. “Thanks, Vic.”

“Oh, and just so you know, we’re headin’
home soon. You know, in case there’s anywhere you’d like us to drop you.” She
winked. “In that dress, you look too good to resist.”

“You really think he’d wanna see me right
now?”

“I think the more important question is, do
you wanna see him?”

“Yes! Hell, yes!”

Victoria laughed. “Then it’s settled.
You’ve got five minutes to set your publicist straight. We’ll meet you
outside.”

Tori quickly maneuvered her way through the
throngs of guests trying to get her attention. Nothing was more important than seeing
Mike. As soon as she spotted Avery talking to Lexi and Sierra, she grabbed her
elbow. “Excuse me, you and me need to get a few things straight.” She didn’t
care that her friends were looking on. It was time for her to let the world
know how she felt.    

“Tori,” Avery hissed, “have you been
drinking?”

“Not nearly enough.” She pointed a finger
at Avery. “I put up with a lot because I assumed y’all knew what was best for
my career. But we’re not talkin’ about my career anymore, we’re talkin’ about
my life, and nobody runs that but me.”

Avery took a step back. “Are you crazy? I’m
not trying to run your life.”

“You tell me where to go…” She started
ticking the items off on her fingers one by one. “What to wear, eat, drink, who
to date…” She glared at her. “And that’s the one I have a problem with. I’m in
love with Mike, and I may have lost him thanks to you.”

“Me? What did I do?”

“You told me I had to meet some up-and-coming
songwriter. Why, for the love of God? I write my own goddamn music!”

“Lower your voice,” Avery whispered.
“People are starting to stare.”

“I don’t care. Let ’em stare.”

“Look, I know you’re upset,” Avery said,
stroking her shoulder. “You just go home, get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll
talk about this in the morning.”

“Avery, you know I love you and Ty, and I
respect you, but I can’t go on livin’ this way. I know I signed on for this,
but I didn’t know it was gonna cost me everything that meant anything to me. I
love Mike. I want to be with him. He’s the only thing that matters to me right
now, not this tour or the goddamn stalker or makin’ more money than I’ll ever
be able to spend.”

Tori was so caught up in her tirade that
she didn’t even see the crowd of reporters moving in on her. Questions were
soon coming at her from all directions.

“How long has someone been stalking you,
Tori?”

“Do the police have any suspects?”

“The man you’re in love with, is that the
police lieutenant you were with earlier?”

“Are you engaged, Tori?”

“Will this affect the upcoming tour?”

“Will you have to cancel any dates?”

“Have you set a wedding date?”

“Will there be heightened security at the
venues?”

“Will your fiancé be with you on the tour?”

Avery rolled her eyes and muttered, “You
see what you started.”

“I’m sorry, I—”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle this.” Avery
beckoned her husband over. “Can you walk her out and make sure she has a safe
ride home?”

“You got it, darlin’.”

Avery bared her teeth when she looked at
Tori. “And remember, whatever they ask… no-freakin’-comment. Think you can
handle that?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Tori lowered her head, embarrassed
she’d turned Luc’s elegant party into a three-ring circus. “I’m sorry about
this,” she whispered to Ty when he put his arm around her and pushed aside the
microphones and cameras being thrust in her face. 

“You’ve got nothin’ to apologize for, Tori.
You’ve been to hell and back these past few months. To tell ya the truth, I’m
surprised it took this long for you to snap. You need a lift home?”

“No, Jay’s gonna take me to—”

Ty pressed his finger to her lip to silence
you. “You’re gonna have the hounds of hell on your trail if you’re not
careful.”

Jay made his way toward him. “What the hell’s
goin’ on?”

“Are you the fiancé’s brother?” one
reporter asked Jay before thrusting a microphone in his face.

He pushed it aside. “No comment.”

Tori had never been so humiliated in her life.
Now she would have to release a statement admitting there had never been an
engagement. Not only had she embarrassed herself, but she’d dragged Mike into
her mess. If he wasn’t angry before, he would be now.

Mike was sitting up watching a Law &
Order rerun when a soft tap on the door drew his attention. He muted the set
and muttered a curse. He didn’t want to see or talk to anyone right now. He
just wanted to lick his wounds in private. Tori had made it perfectly clear she
didn’t think he was good enough to take the place of the wealthy actors and
athletes who typically decorated her arm. He was just a regular guy… who would
never be enough to satisfy a woman like her.

He opened the door and, as soon as he saw
it was her, tried to close it again. But she stuck a designer stiletto in the
crack, blocking his movement.

“I love you.”

It took a minute for the words to register
before he finally eased the door open. “What did you say?”

“I love you so much,” she whispered. “I
have for a long time. I was just afraid to admit it.”

He took a moment to revel in those words
before reaching for her hand to pull her inside.

“I’m so sorry about tonight,” she said,
reaching up to pull his head down to hers. She kissed him before pulling back
to look him in the eye. “You’re gonna hate me when you find out what I’ve
done.”

His first thought was of her date. “If you
let him touch you—”

“No, it’s nothin’ like that.” She drew back
and held his hands in hers. “I came down pretty hard on Avery at the party. I
told her how I felt about you and from here on in I’d be the one decidin’ how
to live my life.”

Mike held her close as he lifted her off
the ground. She’d been brave enough to declare her feelings for him publicly,
even after he’d walked out on her. “I’m sorry I walked out on you.”

“No,” she said, wrapping her arms around
his neck. “It’s not your fault. This is all on me.” She sighed when he set her
down. “I hope you won’t hate me, but...”

He framed her face with his hands.
“Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is you and me
and what we have.”

Tori winced. “The press thinks we’re…” She
bit her lip as though she could barely stand to say the word. “Engaged.” 

Mike couldn’t contain his laughter, not
even in the face of her obvious discomfort. “And you thought I’d be mad?”    

“You’re not?”

“Honey, by tomorrow mornin’, everyone’s
gonna think I’m the luckiest bastard on the planet… bein’ engaged to you.”

“I didn’t tell them we were, I swear.” She
flattened her hands against his chest. “I just said I was in love with you, and
of course, they took that and ran with it.” She closed her eyes. “I’ll release
a statement in the mornin’ lettin’ everyone know we’re not engaged. I’ll tell
them we’re just…” She looked up at him, obviously hoping he would fill in the
blanks. When he said nothing, she said, “Dating? Seeing each other?” She
sighed. “You got to help me out here. What the hell am I supposed to tell
people?”

“Tell them that I love you.” He brushed a
kiss against her cheek as he whispered in her ear. “Tell them that I want to
spend the rest of my life with you, as your husband, your best friend, your lover,
the father of your children…” He’d never been so sure of anything in his life,
and for the first time, the thought of a lifetime commitment didn’t scare him.
It reassured him. It gave him hope there would be someone by his side through
the rough times, someone to share his triumphs and grieve the tragedies with
him. Someone who would have his back. Always.