Chance Encounter (18 page)

“We both seem to know about the worst times in each other’s lives, but tell me about your best day.”

The instant she said it, she wanted to take it back because she already knew what his answer would be, and she knew it would make him sad again.

“The day Cody was born.”

“Yes.”

“Can you talk about him? Tell me what he was like? Did he look like you?”

“He was a miniature of me. Green eyes, black hair, stubborn little jaw. Had a sweet disposition though…was easy going. Had the cutest little laugh.” His voice went husky. “When I was home, he was like my shadow…would follow me everywhere.”

She reached across the table and briefly touched his hand. “I’m sorry, Brennan. I didn’t mean to bring up something painful.”

“Memories of my son don’t make me sad. I only get sad when I remember what kind of parents he had.” His face went granite-like. “He deserved a helluva lot better.”

He leaned back in his chair, and though his eyes remained solemn, he smiled and said, “What’s Kacie Dane’s best day?”

She’d be revealing too much if she said that this was one of them. Instead, she remembered the day she got her first modeling gig. “I got the call when I was still working at Macy’s. I didn’t get to return the call until I was on my lunch break. When I was told I got the spot, I swear the whole store heard me scream.”

“Who was the first person you called to tell?”

“Skylar. Hands down, she’s been my biggest supporter. My mentor. My best friend.”

“And did you call your mother?”

“Not for a couple of days. I knew she would have something sarcastic and demeaning to say, so I waited.”

“And did she?”

“Of course. By then it didn’t matter.”

“She’s jealous of you, you know.”

“That’s what Skylar says, too. Hard to understand a mother being jealous of her own daughter.”

“You have youth and beauty on your side. She’s losing both. And you’ve got a bright future ahead of you.”

“Still no reason for her to be jealous.” She shook her head. Talking about her mother was a sure prescription for putting her in a bad mood. “Let’s talk about more-pleasant stuff.”

“Like what?”

There were so many things she wanted to know about him. If she started bombarding him with questions, though, she figured he’d clam up like he had before.

“What do you do in your spare time when you’re not protecting damsels in distress?”

He looked so completely blank for a moment that she knew she had caught him off-guard.
 

“Would you believe scrapbooking and knitting?”

She tilted her head, as if considering his question. “Scrapbooking? No. But I could definitely see you with some knitting needles.”

He grinned. “That’s because they can be lethal weapons.”

“Exactly.”

He shrugged. “I don’t have a lot of downtime, but when I wasn’t on an op, I taught a weekly self-defense course at the local Y. Sometimes even the smallest amount of knowledge can save a life.”

She nodded, completing agreeing. After her recovery, she’d taken self-defense courses and classes on how to spot a predator. She would never be unprepared again.

Brennan didn’t like that look on her face. She’d been relaxed, carefree, until he’d caused bad memories to return. He wanted her to be aware and ready when trouble struck, but today he wanted to see her relaxed.

“You ever been to the Empire State Building?”

Her brow furrowed. Yeah, it’d been a one-eighty turn in the conversation, but it worked.

“Of course I have. Haven’t you?”

“Yeah, but a lot of New Yorkers haven’t. Thought you might want to play tourist today.”

Her nose scrunched in a cute way. “Too many people. You’d be recognized by every other person. We’d never make it to the top.”

He still couldn’t believe he was still so recognizable to New Yorkers. Whenever he looked in the mirror, he saw a completely different person than he’d once been. Even harder to believe that no one had yelled obscenities at him today. That’d been refreshing.

“How about a walk in the park? We can work off the meal we just consumed.”

“Sounds perfect.”

After paying the check, they walked out the door. As if they were just like any other couple, he took her hand in his and began to stroll down the sidewalk.
 

Kacie gave him a quick, smiling glance and then started talking. She told him silly, nonsensical things that made him laugh. Made him wish that today wasn’t an anomaly, that it could be this easy every day.

But he had the darkest feeling in his gut that this day was the calm before the storm.

Chapter Nineteen

Kacie went through the main door of her apartment building feeling as though she could conquer the world. Brennan still held her hand—as he had almost the entire day. They’d talked and laughed like nothing scary or unusual was going on in her life. And for a few hours, she managed to forget that they’d both seen horror and sadness. Or that a new horror might well be around the corner.

The instant they entered, Vincent stood to welcome them, his smile good-humored and kind. “Good evening, Ms. Dane, Mr. Sinclair.”

“Hey, Vincent. How’s your day been?” Kacie asked.

“Perfect. My youngest grandson walked for the first time today. My wife said there’s video on my phone, but I’m going to have to wait to get home to watch it.”

“Why?”

His big shoulders lifted. “I can’t get it to play.”

Before she could offer, Brennan said, “Want me to try?”

“That’d be great.”

He handed his phone over and watched while Brennan clicked a couple of buttons. Seconds later, the video of a wobbling toddler appeared on the screen.

Vincent’s eyes lit up, and then he beamed like a proud grandfather. “Thanks, Mr. Sinclair.”

“You’re welcome. He’s a good-looking boy.”

“Takes after his mother.”

Brennan took Kacie’s hand again and headed toward the elevator. Just as the elevator dinged, Vincent called out, “Oh, Ms. Dane, I forgot to tell you that Ms. Greenfield came by earlier. Said she left something for you to take a look at.”

“Okay, thanks,” Kacie said as she walked into the elevator.

A thoughtful frown appeared on Brennan’s face. “How many people have a key to your apartment?”

“Other than me, just two. Tara Greenfield, my personal assistant, and you.”

“Your secretary doesn’t?”

“No, Molly never comes to my apartment. She works in our offices in Midtown.”

“She works for the Kacie Dane Foundation?”

“Yes, both she and Tara work for the foundation and have offices there, but they also work for me personally. Tara is my right-hand person…I don’t know what I’d do without her. And Molly handles a lot of my personal correspondence.”

“Molly’s the one who sent over that note that sounded like it was from Harrington?”

And the honeymoon was officially over. Even though Kacie had known reality would have to intrude eventually, she hadn’t been ready for it to arrive so soon. She could see where Brennan was going with this line of questioning, but it was unthinkable.

“There’s no way Molly would have anything to do with that. She’s barely old enough to vote.”

“What does voting have to do with any of this?”

“Nothing. It’s just my way of saying she’s a young girl who would have been way too young to know anything about Harrington.”

“They’re teaching kids to read quite early these days.”

Kacie rolled her eyes as she inserted her key into the lock. When the door swung open on its own, she swallowed her sarcastic comeback.

In one effortless move, Brennan pushed her behind him and pulled his gun from his ankle holster. “Stay here.”

Gun at the ready, Brennan stepped into Kacie’s apartment. Reaching behind him, he flipped the switch at the wall and watched carefully as light filled the main floor. Nothing looked out of place.
 

He went from room to room, checking closets, under beds, behind furniture, but found no one and nothing out of place.

Brennan went back to the front door and found Kacie with her back against the wall, pointing her can of pepper spray directly at the door. Though her face was pale, her eyes blazed with resolve. This was one woman who was determined to never be caught off guard again.

“Looks okay. Can’t find anything out of place either, but I want you to go through the rooms with me, just in case I missed something.”

They went from room to room together, and as he had the first time, they found nothing wrong.

“Tara must’ve forgotten to lock the door.”

“Is she irresponsible like that?”

“No…she’s incredibly mature. She’s never let me down.”

“Why don’t you call and ask her?”

She pulled her cellphone from her purse and punched a speed-dial number. When he heard Tara answer, Brennan mouthed, “Put her on speaker.”

Though she frowned slightly, Kacie didn’t argue and punched the speaker key. “Hey, Tara, it’s Kacie. Did you come by my apartment today?”

“Yes. I left you some ideas for the commercial we wanted to run during Domestic Violence Week. They’re on your desk.” She paused a second, then said, “Did you not see them?”

“I haven’t had a chance to look yet. Listen, do you remember locking my apartment door?”

“Yes, I’m sure I did…I…well, I can’t say I remember exactly, but I’m sure I did. Why?”

“The door was open when we got back. We thought someone had broken in.”

“Oh no, Kacie. I would never…I—” She stopped abruptly. “I did have my hands full, though. You asked me to take that gown you wore to the party the other night for cleaning, plus I had my bag and a cola in my hand.” She paused for a second and said, “I’m sorry, Kacie. Now I’m not sure.”

“It’s no problem, Tara, No harm done.”

“I’ll be extra careful next time. I promise.”

“No worries. I just wanted to check and make sure that’s what happened. I’ll see you soon.”

Kacie ended the call and dropped her phone back into her purse with a gusty sigh. “That’s a relief.”

“If that’s what really happened, yeah, it is.”

“What other explanation could there be? No one else seems to have been here, nothing’s missing or out of place. It was a simple mistake on her part.”

Brennan wasn’t so sure, but he’d reserve judgment until he could check for himself. Though Kacie swore her employees had been thoroughly vetted, he was glad that Justin and Riley would do a more thorough search on them.

 
“Now that the excitement has passed, I just realized how tired I am.” She flashed him a shy smile. “Thanks for a lovely day. It’s exactly what I needed.”

“I enjoyed it, too.”

He wanted to say something else, keep her there for a few more minutes. Wanted the right to kiss her, hold her close. But no matter how much both of them had enjoyed their time together, today hadn’t been a date, and he sure as hell wasn’t her boyfriend.

He nodded, backed away. “Good night.”

He came to an abrupt stop when she whispered, “Brennan?”

“Yes?”

“Would it be too out of line if I asked you to kiss me again?”

Hell yeah, it’d be out of line. And totally unprofessional and inappropriate if he complied. So then why was he walking toward her, standing in front of her?

She was easy to read. He saw the anxiety, but more than that, he saw the hope, the need. “I don’t want to frighten you again.”

“You didn’t frighten me…” Her smile was uncertain, almost shy. “You made me really nervous…and—”

“And?”

“You made me feel something I haven’t felt in a very long time. Wasn’t sure I ever would again.”

“Like what?”

A pretty, pink flush washed over her face. “You made me want.”

She left him breathless with her sweetness, her honesty and courage. Even though every masculine instinct told him to take her, hold her, devour that sweetness, Brennan held himself still. Everything, including the smallest of gestures, must be up to her. She’d had too much taken from her already. Damned if he would demand something she wasn’t ready to give.

He could, however, give her this. “I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone more than I want to kiss you.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really? Skylar told me you dated a Miss America contestant and a Miss World in the same week.”

He liked that she could tease him, that she felt comfortable with him.

When he did nothing, she bit her lip slightly, tilted her head. “So, you going to do it or not?”

“No, you are.”

Anxiety again, but it was almost immediately replaced by excitement, curiosity. Stretching up on her toes, she leaned into him, put her mouth on his, and then instantly raised her head, looking somewhat disappointed.

“That the kind of kiss you wanted?” Brennan asked.