“I don’t give a fuck about the goddamned campaign,” Reed roared. “And for the last time, I’m not with Krissy. I never was. She knows that. You know that. And so does her opportunistic father over there. What do I have to do to get the three of you to stop pushing this insane narrative that we’re going to marry for the good of the families. This isn’t the Victorian era for Christ’s sake.”

  Remington Sinhawk’s expression turned from mildly irritated to full-on angry in two seconds flat. He kept his gaze locked on his son’s, and in a low, barely control tone, he asked, “Are you telling me you don’t care about the next election?”

  Reed knew that look. He’d been on the receiving end of his father’s wrath more than a handful of times after defying his father’s wishes. But he was done. Over it. His father was a US Senator who never spoke to Reed unless he needed him to charm a donor or soften his public image. Not anymore. He was done and willing to risk the fallout, if not for himself, then certainly for Zinnia. “If it means pretending to love someone I can barely stand talking to, then yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying, Father.”

  A small gasp came from behind him followed by the barest whisper. “Reed, I can’t believe you just said that.”

  He rolled his eyes and turned around to glare at his costar. “Yes, you can, Krissy. How dare you sue Zinnia and accuse her of outing you. The entire production crew has been gossiping all day about how they all knew about you and Holly. And don’t think they won’t testify on Zinnia’s behalf if you drag her to court. Half of them can’t stand you. And the other half, the local half, are very protective of her. This isn’t going to go well for you, especially if you want those rumors to blow over.”

  “Wha…what?” she stammered as she glanced at her father.

  He had been glaring at Reed since their altercation, but now he was looking at his daughter with a furrowed brow and a confused expression on his face.

  “It’s not true, Daddy.” She rushed over to him. “He’s just trying to turn everyone against me because he’s mad that I’m suing that girl he’s been in love with forever.”

  “He’s not lying,” another woman said from the doorway. Holly leaned against the doorframe, a pained expression on her face. “Krissy is terrified to go public with our relationship, but I can’t stand by and let her ruin another woman’s life because she is too scared of what the public thinks. Mr. Kimble, your daughter and I have been a couple for over two years. But that’s all about to change. I won’t do this to myself anymore.” She turned her gaze on her girlfriend. “I’m done. You’ve crossed a line I’m not willing to accept.”

  “Holly! I—” Krissy started, but then she glanced at her father and promptly closed her mouth.

  “Is this true, Kris?” her father asked, his expression blank.

  She opened her mouth, closed it, and then just stared at her feet.

  Holly let out a long sigh. “Goodbye, Kat” She spun around, her sleek black hair flying out behind her as she took off down the hall.

  “Holly, wait!” Krissy ran after her, grabbed the other woman’s hand, and hauled her back into the room. “I’m so sorry, my love. Don’t go. I’ll just die if you go. You have to give me another chance.”

  Holly glanced at Krissy’s father. “Are you telling me you’re finally going to be honest with him?”

  Tears rolled down Krissy’s cheeks as she nodded. “I think the cat is definitely out of the bag.”

  Reed watched in silence as Mr. Kimble moved toward his daughter. But instead of being angry or lashing out at his daughter’s revelation, he held his hand out to her and pulled her into his arms.

  She sobbed and buried her head into his chest. “I’m so sorry, Daddy. I just didn’t want to disappoint you.”

  “Shh,” the man said quietly. “You could never disappoint me, Buttercup. There’s no need to cry. It’s okay. Everything is going to be just fine.” He glanced over his daughter’s head and eyed Holly. “Do you love my daughter?”

  “Yes, sir,” Holly said as she inched closer to Reed.

  He could sense the fear coming off her and tried to smile reassuringly at her. But who could blame her? He knew all too well how both his father and Krissy’s could make someone’s life hell when they didn’t approve of something.

  “Tell me something about yourself and your family,” Mr. Kimble said, patting his daughter’s back in a reassuring gesture.

  Holly glanced at Reed, panic in her expressive eyes. They both knew what Philip was after. He wanted to know if Holly had family connections he could exploit. Reed shrugged one shoulder and said, “You might as well tell him. He’ll likely do a background check anyway.”

  Philip visibly stiffened and started eyeing her with suspicion. “Do you have a troubled past, young lady?”

  “No, Daddy,” Krissy said, tilting her head up to look at him. “Holly lost both of her parents when she was eighteen and only has a great aunt who lives out in Montana. She’s a retired nurse. Holly put herself through design school and everything she has, she’s worked for herself. It’s really admirable.”

  The actress’s face had lit up while she was talking about Holly, and the love there was unmistakable to Reed. It was a side he hadn’t seen of her except when they’d been in front of the camera. “She loves you,” he whispered to Holly.

  The costume designer nodded. “That was never the issue.”

  “Design school?” Mr. Kimble asked. “Impressive.” He walked over to Holly and reached out to shake her hand. “I’ve always admired hard workers. Tell me, young lady, have you ever thought of designing your own clothing line?”

  “Thank you.” Holly shook his hand and then started talking about how she’d always wanted to work on a collection but didn’t have time in her schedule.

  Mr. Kimble nodded and then wrapped his free arm around Holly’s shoulders. With both girls in his arms, he started making plans for how to help Holly with her career goals.

  Krissy and Holly beamed at each other, both clearly just as surprised as Reed about how easily Mr. Kimble had accepted his daughter’s news.

  “Daddy?” Krissy asked.

  “Yes, Buttercup?”

  “Does this mean you accept my relationship with Holly?”

  He seemed startled by her question. “Of course, Krissy. Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because…” She swallowed. “Mama is going to freak.”

  His light eyes darkened, and it was clear that Mrs. Kimble wasn’t nearly as open-minded as Philip. “You just let me handle your mother. No one is going to make my girl feel like she’s doing something wrong. Not even your mother.”

  Another tear rolled down Krissy’s cheek.

  Philip wiped it away. “Shh now. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy, and if Holly makes you happy, then I’m on board. There’s only one thing we have to take care of first, though.”

  Krissy stiffened. “What’s that?”

  “We need to go over to Ms. Franklyn’s house. You’re going to let her know you’re dropping the lawsuit, and then you’re going to apologize.”

  “Apologize!” Krissy said, returning to her normally selfish demeanor.

  Reed rolled his eyes. “That’s not necessary. I can relay a message.”

  “No, I think Mr. Kimble is right,” Holly said. “Zinnia deserves to hear this from Krissy.”

  “She’s right, Buttercup,” Philip said, unyielding to his daughter’s selfishness. “You’ll apologize, or you’re on your own.”

  While Reed was glad to see Philip setting boundaries for his daughter, he couldn’t get over the blatant hypocrisy. Less than ten minutes ago, he’d been talking shit about Zinnia and was ready to go along with Remington’s plan as long as it benefited his daughter. And now he was enforcing some sort of moral high road? It was enough to make one’s head spin. Even so, he needed Krissy to drop the lawsuit, and he was going to make sure it happened, with zero chance of resurfacing.

  “She should be home. We can go now,” Reed said and turned to his father. “All of us. Dad get your lawyer on the phone. I want this to be finished today.”

  “I don’t think you need me. This is your mess, Reed,” his father said.

  Reed growled, actually growled, at his father.

  The other man blinked. “Are you challenging me?”

  “No, but I will. I wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for you butting in where you didn’t belong,” Reed said. “Call the lawyer. Have him meet us at Zinnia’s place, or the shit is really going to hit the fan when I start granting interviews to all the gossip rags. And when they ask about you, I won’t hesitate to mention that affair you had just after Reese died.”

  His father’s face turned an unpleasant shade of red. “If you do that, it’ll kill your mother.”

  Reed let out a huff of humorless laughter. If anyone had been able to break his mother, it would’ve been Remington Sinhawk, the man who basically ignored her for the last fifteen years while he pretended Reese had never existed. He always changed the subject when Brooke Sinhawk talked about her oldest son and shut down any reporters who asked about him. “Nice try, Dad. But she’s stronger than you give her credit for.”

  “I wouldn’t bet on that.” But he pulled out his phone, sent a text, and then added, “The lawyer is on his way. Let’s get this over with so I can get back to work. This little side trip has cost me more than time.”

  Even though Reed’s blood was boiling and he was itching for a fight with his father, he kept his temper in check. Zinnia was more important.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Zin?” Reed’s voice seemed far away, but Zinnia could smell his faint woodsy scent and smiled. “Wake up, love. I have good news.”

  This time his voice was clearer, and she opened her eyes, blinking to clear her blurry vision. “Reed?” Her voice was raspy, and she sounded like she’d been on an all-night bender. Though, she had downed at least an entire bottle of wine all on her own, so technically she had been on a bender.

  “There you are.” He smiled down at her and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. “Looks like you started the party without me,” he said gently.

  She sat up and pressed a hand to her queasy stomach. “Oh, no. That’s not good.”

  Alarm flashed across his features. “Are you going to be sick?”

  She clutched the armrest of her couch and shook her head. “No. But I could use a bottle of my fortifying potion. It’s in the fridge, behind the milk.”

  “I’ll be right back.” He rose from the couch and strode into the next room. It was then she noticed Krissy was there. The moment their eyes met, Krissy scurried after him and disappeared into the kitchen.

  “Bitch,” Zinnia muttered. Someone cleared their throat, and Zinnia nearly jumped right out of her skin. With her heart racing, she scanned the room, finding Holly, Reed’s father, and two other men she didn’t know all congregated near her front door.

  “That’s my daughter you’re talking about,” a round, bald man said in a disapproving tone.

  “You can’t really blame her for being upset,” Holly said to him. “Krissy did try to sue her for five million dollars.”

  The man bristled and pursed his lips. “Even so, she’s still my daughter.”

  Holly patted him on the arm and moved across the room to sit next to Zinnia on the couch. “Are you all right?”

  “I will be as soon as I get my potion and find out why everyone has invaded my house.”

  “Krissy is here to apologize,” she said. “Me, too. I had no idea she would do something like that. It wasn’t right.”

  The tall, polished man standing next to Reed’s father came forward, holding a yellow folder out to Zinnia. “Inside, you’ll find the paperwork indicating the suit will be dropped. There is also a settlement agreement stating the matter has been resolved and that neither party will refile regarding comments involving Ms. Kimble’s personal life to this date. And there’s the standard nondisclosure clause, of course.”

  “Of course.” Zinnia took the paperwork, but her head was still too fuzzy for her to process what was happening. Had they just offered to settle? Were they expecting her to pay some sort of damages? She was about to ask when Reed reappeared with her potion.

  “Here. I also got you some toast, just in case,” he said.

  “Thanks.” She smiled weakly at him, downed a couple of gulps of the potion, and then nibbled on the toast.

  He sat down next to her. “It’s over. She’s dropping the suit.”

  Zinnia nodded to the folder. “Have you read that?”

  “Yes.”

  “How much do they want?” She took another sip of the potion, and her head started to clear.

  “What do you mean?” He snatched the folder and glared at his father. “Did someone tell her she has to pay Krissy even though her suit is total bullshit?”

  The lawyer shook his head. “No. There’s no payment stipulation.”

  “Of course there isn’t,” Krissy said as she bounced back into the room. “Even I wouldn’t try something that crazy.” She put a hand over her mouth as she giggled. “Okay, I probably would, but I’m trying to change. Holly doesn’t like it when I’m a bitch.”

  Holly rolled her eyes. “Krissy, what are you doing?”

  Krissy flopped down on the other side of Zinnia. “I’m so sorry for this lawsuit business. You didn’t deserve that. I was just… well, you know. Scared. My career. My parents. I’ve never really felt like I can just be myself.”

  Zinnia frowned at the woman. Her eyes were too wide, and she was talking too fast, almost as if she were on some sort of drug. “Are you high?”

  “What?” She blinked, and Zinnia noticed her pupils were slightly dilated. “No. I don’t do drugs. Unless you count caffeine. I’m definitely addicted to coffee. And that mocha concoction you had in your fridge, wow, did it taste awesome. If there’d been enough, I’d have probably bathed in it, it was so good.”

  “Mocha…?” Zinnia frowned. “I didn’t—oh no. You didn’t drink the stuff that was in the pitcher, did you?”

  “Yeah, why? Were you saving it for someone else? I’ll get you more if you like. I didn’t mean to—”

  “It’s a truth potion,” Zinnia said, cutting her off. The one she’d made intending to spike Krissy’s drink in order to trap the woman into confessing the lawsuit was a sham. She must’ve perfected the part that lured Krissy to the drink. She hadn’t been in her house more than a couple of minutes before she’d been drawn to it like a moth to a flame. Damn, I’m good, Zinnia thought. Maybe I should get drunk and brew more often.

  “That explains why I feel so free,” Krissy said and laid her head on Zinnia’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry for causing all this trouble. I never meant to sue you, you know. I hired that photographer to follow you to the hot springs so that when the pictures surfaced, I could get out of that awful engagement to Reed. He’s good looking and all, but we just don’t do it for each other.”

  Zinnia nodded. She’d suspected as much about the photographer, but that didn’t explain the lawsuit. “So why did you try to sue me?”

  She let out a heavy sigh. “My dad lost his mind when the tabloids hit. He called Mr. Sinhawk, and then everything just got away from me. I shouldn’t have gone along with it. I really am sorry.”

  “Jesus,” Reed muttered, shaking his head at the men still standing by the door. “Don’t you two have any shame?”

  “I was just protecting my daughter,” Philip said with a shrug.

  “It’s the way the world works, Reed. You know that,” Remington said. “Don’t be so naïve.”

  Zinnia and Reed shared a mutual look of disgust, but before either could say anything, Krissy started to stroke Zinnia’s leg. Zinnia tried to pull away, but Krissy just inched closer.

  “You’re really sexy, you know that?” the actress said. “I can see why Reed is so infatuated with you.”

  “Okay. That’s enough,” Holly said, holding out a hand to her girlfriend. “Time to go.”

  Krissy looked up at her and beamed. “Do you know how I first knew I was a lesbian?”

  Holly shook her head. “That’s probably a conversation for another time.”

  “It was when Vinny Vanderhoff and I were making out and he asked me to suck his penis. I was so thoroughly creeped out that I vomited on him the moment he whipped it out. Have you seen those things? My god, they are really creepy. It’s like they’re just looking at you, begging for attention like a needy little worm.”

  Reed choked out a laugh and it was all Zinnia could do to not join him. Good goddess, that potion had turned out to be entertaining. And she hadn’t even stooped to giving her enemy a nasty rash. She felt as if she was growing.

  “Krissy. That’s not appropriate conversation,” her dad admonished.

  “Oh, please, Dad. Don’t think I don’t remember that time I walked in on you and mom during your swinger phase. You know all about weird penises, don’t you? I seem to recall you messing with the football player and mom getting down with the cheerleader.” She leaned into Holly and stage-whispered, “I guess the homo tendencies run deep in this family.”

  “I never—” Philip started but then stopped, his face going so red Zinnia thought he might explode right there in her living room.

  “Get over it, Dad,” Krissy said. “No one cares anyway.” She took the file out of Reed’s hands, flipped it open and signed both documents. Then she looked at the lawyer. “Do you need anything else?”

  “Nope. I think that just about covers it.” He nodded to Zinnia. “Once you sign, we’ll be done here.”

  “I need to read it over,” Zinnia said, more than a little uncomfortable. She’d been caught off guard, and not only did she want to read it, she wanted her own lawyer to take a look.

  “No problem.” Krissy patted her leg. “Take your time. I’m going to go so Holly and I can have makeup sex.” She smiled suggestively at Holly, stood, and held her hand out to her girlfriend. “Ready?”

  Holly laughed as she took Krissy’s hand and got to her feet. “You have no idea.”

 

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