Loving Vivienne: The Publicist, Book Six Read online

  But this, this was different. He couldn’t compartmentalize his love for Vivienne.

  “I’m sorry, Danny. I don’t know what I can do to make this right,” Mac sighed.

  Daniel shook his head. “I don’t think there is anything you can do. She is bound and determined to hate you, for reasons I don’t fully understand.”

  “I’ve given her and many other people plenty of reasons to dislike me. You know that better than anyone.”

  Daniel looked up. “I get that, but it’s in the past. We can’t change it, and everyone’s happy now, right? All’s well and all that? I just wish I could have figured out a way to help her move past it.” He shrugged, and Mac put a hand on his shoulder.

  “The girl has lost a lot in her life. After she did, she clung to Nick for dear life. Frankly, I don’t blame her for feeling the way she does. I think if I were in her shoes I might feel the same way.”

  Daniel was quiet for a moment and then said, “The dinner was a mistake. I shouldn’t have pushed her so hard to do it.”

  Mac shook his head. “No, it would have happened sooner or later, I think.” He nodded to the suitcase. “Are you sure you want to leave now?”

  “They need me,” Daniel said.

  “Of course. But maybe you should talk to Vivienne first. I mean, look, if she loves you half as much as you love her, she’ll find a way to work through this.”

  Daniel thought about it seriously for a minute, but then said, “If she does, I need her to reach that decision on her own.”

  Mac nodded, “I can see that, but it would be easier for her to do it if you were here.”

  “I’m only going for a week until another doctor can get there.”

  “Listen,” Mac hesitated, “thank you for what you said, I mean about me. You didn’t need to defend me, son.”

  “I know,” Daniel said, his heart lifting just a bit, “but I wanted to. I love you, Dad.”

  “You have a beautiful, forgiving heart. You get that from your mother.” Mac pulled him in for a hug. “I love you, too, and I’m so sorry.”

  “I am, too, Dad. I am, too.”

  29

  Viv had been in her office all morning, mostly staring out the window. The edits Kate sent over sat in a stack of paper beside her laptop, and the cursor flickered impatiently on the screen.

  It had been nearly a week since the dinner party, and Vivienne had left her apartment only a few times. When Sam and Evie called, she insisted that her deadline was looming, which was only partially true. Yes, she’d spent the past several days revising her book (which wasn’t going very well), but her deadline was three weeks out.

  Her eyes fell to a picture of her and Daniel sitting on her desk. They’d gone to Central Park, and he asked someone to take a photograph of them using the actual camera he’d had for years (she hated selfies). It was a great picture. They were both smiling about nothing in particular, but they were always laughing and happy when they were together. She recalled that day with clarity. They’d gone to see a movie because the weather seemed iffy, but when they walked out of the theatre, the sun was bright in a cloudless sky. So they went for a quick walk through the park and afterward spent the night together, as they had most nights during the time they were together.

  Now it was gone, and he was gone. And she’d been cruel to him in front of everyone. She realized that now. Whenever she remembered what she said to Daniel—how she’d behaved and how she refused to listen to him or discuss anything—she felt ashamed. And whenever she tried to come up with reasons why she’d done it, she came up blank. Her feelings toward Mac weren’t unjustified—maybe just dated or obsolete, or desperate. Or maybe they were an excuse.

  Her brother was right. It was a long time ago. And speaking of her Nick, he’d dropped by to apologize for jumping down Mac’s throat for his thoughtless comment. He’d dumped fuel on an already smoldering fire. Yes, everyone felt his or her own share of responsibility, but it was really all hers. Her inability to forgive Mac’s actions when everyone else had moved on had been her undoing, and now she’d hurt—no, scratch that, devastated—the only man she ever truly loved.

  The doorbell rang, startling her, and she tensed. The doorman hadn’t announced anyone. And if he had, she would have told him she wasn’t accepting visitors. Not yet, at least. Getting up from her chair, she walked through her living room, barely noticing the stacks of mail and magazines on the kitchen counter or the dishes piled up in the sink.

  She got up on her tiptoes to check the peephole and was surprised to see Kate on the other side. She opened the door slowly.

  “Kate, hi,” she tried to sound nonchalant.

  “May I come in?” Kate didn’t actually wait for a response but swept past her carrying bags of something that smelled pretty good, reminding her with a growl of her stomach that she couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten.

  Viv shoved a strand of hair behind her ear and watched Kate march into her kitchen and look around. Then her sister-in-law’s eyes rested on her.

  “This looks awfully familiar,” she said, her eyes warm with the affection Viv knew she felt for her.

  “What do you mean?”

  . . . .

  Kate set the bags on the counter. “I brought food, even though I’m sure you don’t feel like eating right now. You can watch me eat.” She winked at Vivienne. “I brought Thai, from your favorite place.” Kate picked the cartons out of the bags, opened the cupboard, and pulled a couple of plates down. She handed one to Viv, who scooted onto a barstool.

  Kate grabbed utensils and opened the cartons, the scent of Green Curry chicken, Tom Ka Gai soup, and Pad Thai filling the room.

  “You don’t have to do this, Kate,” Viv said, scooting onto one of her barstools.

  “Can I fix you a plate?” Kate asked, ignoring Viv’s comment, and then proceeded to scoop food onto one of the plates and pour some of the soup into a cup. She handed both to Viv, and the scent of it was mouthwateringly irresistible.

  When she saw Viv dig in, Kate smiled to herself. She’d been right to come over and barge in, despite the fact that her sister-in-law had insisted several times she didn’t need anyone right now because she was busy “working.”

  “What did you mean, this looks familiar?”

  Kate brought her plate and a cup with soup over to the counter and sat down beside Viv.

  “When I was at Morris & Dean, we had this author who was… Oh, you know the story. You have heard it a hundred times, I bet.”

  “He was charged with human trafficking.”

  Kate nodded. A shiver ran up her spine. “Yes, mostly children. It was hideous. Anyway,” she waved a hand as if trying to sweep the thought away, “when we learned about the trafficking, the book was already out. I had scads of interviews scheduled for the author and things were a mess.”

  Kate paused to take a bite. “Edward, who was the head of Morris & Dean at the time, attacked me physically, or tried to, but Mac showed up and stopped him before anything could happen.”

  Kate took a deep breath and continued. “I had a fight with Mac just an hour before that. Edward had known for a long time what this guy was doing. The FBI had brought him into the investigation until they were certain they had enough evidence to charge him. I thought at the time that Mac had known all along, but he hadn’t. I didn’t find that out until later, and I didn’t give him a chance to explain. I just left. Between that and the Edward thing and the author, I became an industry punch line: I was the publicist who tried to sleep her way to the top—and very unsuccessfully, I might add.”

  Vivienne’s hand flew to her mouth. “Kate, I had no idea. I mean, Nick told me about it, but only some vague details.” Now she understood why. “Did Edward hurt you?” Her hand went to Kate’s arm, and Kate shook her head.

  “No, thankfully Mac got there in time.” The memory, though now years old, still burned through her.

  It had been the worst night of her life.

  Then sh
e turned to Vivienne. “But this isn’t about extolling the virtues of Mac Ellis. I’m just telling you this because for a week, maybe more, I locked myself in my apartment and didn’t come out. Thank God for Grace, who never gave up on me.” She smiled when she thought of her friend and made a mental note to call her soon.

  “But locking yourself away won’t fix this, Viv. And it won’t make you feel any better, though I do completely understand the allure of yoga pants and T-shirts.”

  “That’s how you wound up in California,” Viv said, still caught up in Kate’s story.

  Kate nodded and picked at her noodles. “Yes and how I wound up breaking your brother’s heart.” She had never told Vivienne about that aspect before. She thought it didn’t matter since everyone had moved on. Except it did matter, because every once in a while old mistakes come back to bite you. Long after you thought they were buried and gone.

  Viv set down her fork. “I was so mean to Daniel,” she said softly. “Everyone’s moved on except me. But here I am, still caught up in the loop of ‘Mac Ellis is the devil, and we should all hate him because he can’t keep it zipped.’ It being his pants and his mouth.”

  Kate had to work hard not to giggle at Viv’s apt description. Not that Mac’s infidelities were funny, but her one-sentence summation of him made him seem more like Don Draper than MacDermott Ellis.

  “Mac’s no boy scout, Vivy, so you know your feelings aren’t without some merit. But Mac has changed over the years. I think the stuff with Carolyn, our breakup, and then marrying Sydney brought out the better side of him. I have to hand it to him. He faced up to his past and is trying to make up for it, which not a lot of men in his situation would do.”

  Kate paused, checking with herself to be sure she wanted to go on to the next phase of her plan.

  “If you want to talk to Daniel, then you should. But I would suggest thinking long and hard it about before doing it. He loves his father, and that will never change. If your goal is to dissuade him of that, you won’t win.”

  Viv shook her head. “I would never do that. I would never come between him and his family, however oddly dysfunctional they may be.” She fumbled with her napkin. “I know I did that initially. I mean, for some strange, screwed up reason I felt like I was justified telling Daniel that his father would be persona non grata if we continued.” She shrugged and a let out a sigh.

  “But I don’t know if there’s any point in debating this. Daniel may never forgive me.”

  Kate plopped a noodle in her mouth and chewed on it thoughtfully. “I think he will,” she said. “He loves you, he truly does. I saw him with a few girlfriends when his father and I were together, and he never looked at them the way he looks at you. He’s a good man, Vivy.”

  Viv pushed her plate away and, shoulders squared, said, “I need to call him. Would you excuse me for a few minutes?”

  “I’ll tell you what: Let me clean up your kitchen, and then I’ll take off. You go make your phone call.”

  When Viv opened her mouth, no doubt to protest, Kate shook her head with a smile and added, “No arguing. I want to help you.” Kate leaned over and kissed Vivienne on the cheek, and she reached an arm around and hugged her.

  “Thank you, Kate.” Her voice was wet as she slid off the barstool, grabbed her phone, and closed herself in her bedroom.

  Speaking of phones, Kate grabbed her purse to check hers before she started on the kitchen. There were three missed calls, all from Mac. That was odd. They had no books or business together. Then she saw a series of text messages, also from Mac.

  Kate, there’s been an emergency and I need to find Vivienne ASAP.

  Kate felt an unease slither down her spine as her heart thudded in her chest. Another message from Mac: I’m coming by your office. Have no way to reach her. Please contact me now.

  Kate hit Dial on his message and Mac’s phone rang.

  “Kate, finally. Thank God. Look, I need to know how to find Vivienne.”

  Kate knew Mac well enough to know something was very wrong. She recognized the tight, brittle voice. “What’s going on, Mac? You sound awfully upset.”

  Mac took a deep breath. “It’s Daniel. He’s in Costa Rica, or at least that’s where he was going. I don’t have a lot of details, but, according to the orphanage, he was on a private plane that went down.”

  “Oh, my God.” Fear squeezed her heart, “And Daniel?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t even know if he was supposed to be on that plane, or whom it belongs to. I was hoping he might have told Vivienne about someone he knew with a plane or some planned trip coming up.” Mac took a breath and said, “Kate, I’m sorry. I’m just grasping at straws, here. Syd’s trying to find out what she can, and I’m going to rent a private jet and get down there as soon as humanly possible. We can’t fly commercially because there’s a hurricane poised to hit there.”

  Kate dropped herself into one of Viv’s dining room chairs. “Mac, I’m so sorry. Look I’m at Vivy’s right now, and—”

  “What’s happened to Daniel?” Vivienne asked, her phone in her hand, “He’s not picking up, and I’ve tried a few times. Is that Mac?”

  “Mac, hold on,” and turning to Viv, she said, “Viv, honey, you need to sit down.”

  “I don’t want to sit down. What’s going on, Kate? You’re starting to worry me!” Viv’s voice rose as she spoke.

  “Honey, Daniel was going to Costa Rica, and we think he may have been on a plane that went down. Mac’s trying to find out details.”

  Viv gripped the top of a chair to steady herself while her eyes filled with tears. “No,” she whispered. “No, it can’t be him. Let me talk to Mac.”

  “Kate!” Mac yelled into the phone, “Ask her about the plane.”

  Kate flipped Mac to speaker phone. “Viv, Mac needs your help. According to what he’s learned, Daniel was on a private plane. Is he friends with anyone who owns a plane?”

  She thought for a moment and then shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.”

  “Mac, did you hear that?”

  Viv held her hand out, and Kate gave her the phone.

  “Mac, tell me what happened,” Viv demanded, and Kate watched her absorb what Mac was telling her.

  “I want to go with you. Please let me go with you,” she begged.

  “I’ve got a plane, and we’re leaving in an hour. I’ll send a car to get you.”

  “I’ll be ready in twenty minutes,” she said and handed the phone back to Kate.

  “I’m going to Costa Rica to help him find Daniel,” she said almost robotically, apparently on autopilot from the shock. And probably guilt. “I have to go pack.” Kate watched her disappear into her bedroom and quickly called Nick to fill him in. He didn’t even bristle about Viv going with Mac. He knew better. They all did. This was serious.

  “Whatever I can do, Kate, please let me know.”

  “I love you for saying that, but he’s got Sydney and her connections all over this. Just let me make sure Vivy gets off okay, and then I’ll be home.”

  “I’ll call Vivy right now to tell her I love her,” Nick said before he clicked off.

  30

  Daniel leaned back in the thick leather seat while the jet slipped quietly through the air. He tried focusing on the task he was about to embark on—helping a village, mostly of women and children, that had been ravaged by the intense tropical storm. But all he could think about was Vivienne.

  He needed to clear his mind and reached into his backpack for his iPad, thinking maybe reading would help. He reached his hand in and felt the leather pouch that protected his device, but his hand touched something else. It was soft and silky. He slowly pulled it out. It was her scarf. Colorful, just like Vivienne. Like a shockwave, arousal punched through him, and he allowed himself to get lost in it for a moment. He brought the scarf up to his nose and smelled it, and her—the soft, sweet scent of her hair that had clung to the scarf.

  He’d told himself it didn’t matter if
he never saw her again. And in his waking moments he believed it, sort of. But every time he closed his eyes he saw her, dreamed about her, fantasized about her. Hot, dark, erotic fantasies where they were back in Costa Rica, on the beach, or in their room.

  Daniel twisted the scarf in his hand, wondering what she was doing right now. He wished things could have been different, that they could have worked it out. He wasn’t the kind of guy to just give up, but he finally had to acknowledge that she’d never find a way through her anger.

  The plane jolted violently and shook him out of his thoughts, almost as though they’d hit something. But that was impossible. Daniel leaned back again into the seat. It was probably just the storm, he thought before returning to the scarf in his hands and the woman it belonged to.

  Vivienne was the last thought Daniel had before his plane fell out of the sky.

  31

  The details were sketchy at best. According to the head of the orphanage, the tropical storm, which had now reached hurricane level, had demolished several villages. They were in desperate need of medical care. Daniel, of course, volunteered for the job immediately. The plane was owned by a wealthy expat who had offered it as soon as he heard.

  Marie, the head of the orphanage, was still trying to find out more about the plane and the other passengers. She was pretty sure Daniel hadn’t been alone. There were possibly four or five other passengers in addition to the pilot. Daniel was the only medical crew.

  Viv looked around the private plane Mac had found somehow. Daniel’s mother Carolyn was on board. She and Mac were sharing a quiet conversation while Sydney had stepped out of earshot to make some calls, no doubt involving whatever resources she could coax into helping from the CIA.

  Viv sat alone, silent and terrified. Tiny spots of anxiety clouded her vision, and she tried her best to shrug off the little voice that said, What if? Though it had been impossible to contemplate at first, there was a real possibility that no one had survived the crash.