‘Better that, than staring into the maniacal eyes of a knife-wielding psycho, and wishing you’d told someone.’
The blood drained from his face. ‘An eloquently made point.’ He paused, clearly trying to find his balance. ‘In answer to your question, I’m due on set at midday. But I have lines to go through.’
‘You’ve not learnt them already?’ It didn’t seem to fit with the man who’d turned up freakishly early to his appointment with Jerry.
‘Of course, I have.’ He glanced away, and she thought he looked embarrassed. ‘But a person can never be overprepared.’
She had to fight a smile. God, he was definitely on the obsessive side of the spectrum. ‘Is that the same way a person can’t be overly early for an appointment? Or overdressed?’
‘Exactly.’
If he knew she was taking the mickey, it didn’t show. ‘How about, just this once, you stick to being simply prepared, and we head over to yours now. That way, I can check out alternative places for you to stay while you’re filming.’
His right brow shot up. ‘What happened to deciding once you’d taken a look?’
Busted. ‘It’s still the plan.’ Oh, stuff it. He’d asked her to be herself. And that person said things how they were. ‘Look, don’t get your hopes up. Now this stalker knows where you live, your place would have to have more security than Fort Knox for me to agree to you staying there. Better that we move you to a hotel.’
His shoulders slumped. ‘Great.’
‘It could be kind of great. Just think, room service 24/7, laundry done for you. All those tempting miniatures with the studio picking up the minibar tab.’ When his expression remained bleak, she added, ‘Fresh towels every day. Bed turned down for you every night. Chocolate on your pillow?’
‘Please tell me you’re not always this … upbeat?’
‘You wanted to say irritating, didn’t you?’
He blinked, eyes darting away from hers, though his mouth twitched. ‘I wouldn’t be so rude.’
No, she thought. Yet all those manners, those careful words, weren’t going to help the situation. ‘Look, you asked for the real me, but that works both ways. We’re going to be pretty much glued to eachother for a while, so I need to know what you’re thinking, too. If I’m being annoying, tell me. Ditto if you’re worried about something. My job is to keep you safe but if we don’t get on, or if you keep things from me, it’ll make life difficult.’
He nodded, though she noticed his eyes avoided hers. ‘Understood.’
‘Okay then. We’ll take the Jeep to your place.’
She started towards the door, but stopped when she realised he wasn’t following her. Instead he remained where he was, hand loosely in his trouser pocket. Whoever had made that suit, the image of him now would make one hell of an advert for it. ‘Is this one of those occasions I can say you’re being annoying?’
‘Because?’
He glanced out of the door and towards the car park. ‘I have a perfectly good car. A beauty, I believe you called it.’
‘So I did. And because it’s a beauty, it’s also highly recognisable.’
‘But you’ll be following me.’
‘No, I’ll be driving you.’ She watched as his expression turned pained. ‘Not a fan of female drivers?’
‘It’s not that.’ His chest heaved with a sigh. ‘I bought the car because I like to drive it. You know, one of life’s luxuries?’ He shook his head. ‘Sorry, that sounded crass.’
Her respect for him went up a notch. They were clearly polar opposites; personality, background, earnings. You name it, she had a hunch sometime soon they were going to clash because of it. Yet so far he seemed quieter, more thoughtful, and less arrogant than she’d expected. ‘Hey, for me luxury is a plate of nachos, heavy on the cheese, and a bottle of beer while watching the Grand Prix on the TV, but I can relate.’
He regarded her soberly for a moment before the edge of his mouth curved, ever so slightly, upwards. ‘So, you’re a motorsport fan. Why doesn’t that surprise me.’ With that he started towards the door, leaving Kat to hurry after him so she could ensure she walked out ahead.
This assignment looked like it was going to test her in more ways than she’d bargained for when she’d first pleaded with Mark to let her take it.
Chapter 4
He hadn’t planned on anyone seeing inside his place today. Script open on his knee – yes, he caught her smirking at him, no it wasn’t going to stop him – Zac tried to focus on his lines while she drove. And not on how intrusive it felt to have a stranger come and inspect his home. At least it would be tidy. Unlike the inside of Kat’s Jeep. He glanced again at the centre console. There was a half-eaten bag of Starburst, surrounded by a rainbow of discarded wrappers, an open pack of Polo mints, an empty take-out coffee cup and a pen with a chewed end.
It made him wonder again about her professionalism. Turning up late, untidy … call him old school, but they hinted at a sloppiness that wasn’t a trait he wanted in someone responsible for his safety. Especially now she’d convinced him even a crazy female fan could be more dangerous than he’d bargained for.
To take his mind off things, he started to pick up the discarded wrappers.
‘I thought you were overpreparing.’
He dragged his eyes back to the script. ‘I am.’
‘Really? It looks like you’re tidying up for me.’
‘No,’ he corrected. ‘I’m doing it for me.’
‘I bet your car is immaculate. Not a speck of dust, or a greasy finger mark.’
‘I believe in being tidy, yes. Just like I believe in being punctual. Standards are important.’
He noticed her body stiffen. ‘If you have something you want to say, just say it. Like I said, we need to be honest with each other.’
How could he voice his fear, that she might not be professional enough, or experienced enough, to deal with the danger he was most terrified of, when he couldn’t articulate that specific threat? ‘I don’t understand the fascination with confectionery,’ he said instead.
Her sidelong glance told him she wasn’t convinced of his reply. ‘Why, were your parents dentists?’
‘No.’ He turned his head, looking out of the passenger window, and held his breath while he waited for her follow-up question.
‘Of course, they weren’t. Sorry, for a moment I forgot you were posh.’
She’d read his biography, then. At least he’d be spared the family questions. ‘How about your parents? I suspect they weren’t dentists, either.’
‘No.’
It was the same single-syllable answer he’d given, yet from someone so loquacious up to now, it was a clear signal she didn’t want to talk about them. ‘Whatever they did, I feel sorry for them. I bet you were a handful when you were younger.’ His eyes zeroed in on another stray wrapper and he missed the way her expression shuttered.
‘Why would you say that?’
‘You have to ask, after what happened in the car park?’ He screwed the wrapper up and placed it in the empty cup with the rest of his catch. ‘There’s a hint of mischief, of a troublemaker, about you.’