Rendezvous (Renegades 5)

Brooke had told her sister about Keaton months after her move during one of those late nights, long after Justin had fallen asleep and the two of them had polished off a bottle of wine.

“Yeah, him. He’s here. The project idea for Justin was actually his. So if Justin runs into problems, Keaton’s happy to talk him through as much as he can. And if Justin gets stuck with any programming problems, we’ve got Rubi on call.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Tammy said. “We’ll get to Rubi in a minute. Let’s go back to Keaton. What’s going on there?”

Brooke exhaled, nervous to talk about it, almost as if it would jinx their possibility at happiness. She also didn’t like having to put everything into concrete words, because then it all became so unrealistic again. “I’m not sure. We’re both interested, but there are a lot of roadblocks. The biggest of those right now being Jillian.”

“Jillian? How is that bitch a roadblock?”

Brooke winced and closed her eyes. “She slept with Keaton once upon a time.”

“Ew.”

“It was a long time ago.”

“Okay. I’ll give him a pass on one ding. How is that creating a problem now?”

“She still wants him.”

“God, that woman…” Tammy took an audible breath and let it out slowly. “Well, on the upside, that means he’s über hot, or she would pretend he doesn’t exist like she does with everyone she has no use for. But, yes, that could be a real problem.”

Brooke heard the underlying guilt in her sister’s voice and purposely forced herself to be positive. “But not your problem, because we’re handling it. Keaton and I are on the same page. He doesn’t want to do anything that could hurt Justin, so we’re keeping things between us quiet. And to be honest, Tammy, I don’t even really know what’s between us. He’s not a serious kind of guy, if you know what I mean. He’s always been a typical breed in this industry.”

“So were Jax and Wes and Troy—until they found the right woman. And not so typical if he’s willing to hide in the shadows to protect a kid he’s never met.”

That was a good point. “One day at a time,” Brooke told her sister. “Hug Justin for me, and keep me posted.”

“If you’ll give Keaton your all.”

Brooke grinned. “I’ll take that deal.”

Before she’d said good-bye, the door to the trailer swung open, and Jillian stepped in, startling Brooke. She turned her back on the flowers, coffee, and pastry with a streak of fear shooting up her spine.

“Oh my God, Jillian.” She pressed her phone to her heart, frowning at her boss’s sudden appearance. “What are you doing here? You should be in a meeting with Phil Shriver.”

“Phil canceled,” Jillian said, her distracted gaze roaming the space. “Something about a sick brat at home. And Copalli wants to add in a shoot this afternoon.”

Shit. Anxious to get her out of the trailer, Brooke turned her attention to her phone. “Let me call Jeannette and see when she and Percy can get you into hair and makeup—”

“The security guard said Keaton brought something in here earlier today

Fire filled Brooke’s belly. Her mouth fell open to lie, but Jillian took the last step into the trailer and Brooke knew she’d never be able to hide the gifts from her boss.

While Brooke was still trying to figure out how she was going to spin this, Jillian pointed at the table behind Brooke. “What’s that?”

Fuck.

Brooke pushed her mouth into a smile, stepped aside, and did her best Vanna White impression. “Your surprise.”

Jillian ’s eyes sparked to life. But as she approached the table her expression slowly soured. She propped a hand on her hip. “Is that it?”

“What do you mean?”

Jillian made an air circle around the gift. “That. Is that all he left?”

All? Brooke wasn’t sure if she wanted to laugh or slap Jillian. She shrugged. “I just got here.”

“Was there a card?”