Kate stood against the cold brick wall of an apartment building on Stanton Street, her face streaked with dirt and tears. Her fingernails dug into the mortar for support. The black leather miniskirt and hot pink jacket she wore offered little protection from the bitter wind, and she trembled in her boots. She kept her gaze on the sidewalk, studying the pair of size-thirteen brown leather motorcycle boots only inches from her black stilettos.

His fingers gripped her shoulders. “Dammit, Janet, look at me when I’m talkin’ to you.”

She sucked in a shaky breath as she raised her eyes to his chest, then his face. “I told you, Pen, I got nothing to say to the police.”

“That’s not what I heard, and believe me, if I find out otherwise, you’ll be damn sorry.”

She nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

With a scowl, he shoved her away.

She staggered against the building, pulling her jacket closer around her. “You never gave me anything I didn’t ask for.” More tears broke free. The salt stung her mouth.

“Damn right, and don’t you forget it.” He turned and stalked down the street.

“Cut,” a deep, masculine voice boomed.

Jenn materialized at Kate’s side with a heavy coat to drape over her shoulders and a steaming cup from Olive’s.

“That’s a wrap for today, folks.”

Kate heaved a sigh of relief. She wiped the tears from her face and took a revitalizing sip of cappuccino. They’d filmed the same scene twelve times this afternoon. She was chilled to the bone, exhausted, and emotionally drained. She’d missed physical therapy twice this week due to early call times, and combined with the high-heeled boots she shouldn’t have been wearing, her knee was screaming in insult.

Jenn pulled out her phone. “I’ll have Anton pull around.”

“Thanks. I’ll be in my trailer.”

“Kate!” Keith Leddin strode toward her, his six-foot-four frame only slightly less intimidating now than it had been while the cameras were rolling. “You were phenomenal today. Awesome stuff.”

“Thank you.”

“Feel like grabbing some dinner?” With black hair, olive skin, and a toned physique filling out his leather bomber jacket and jeans, Keith could have pretty much any woman he wanted.

Except Kate. “Thanks, but I have plans.”

“Rain check?”

She shook her head. “No. Thank you.”

He stepped back, a frown tugging at his lips. “Well, have a good night, then. See you bright and early tomorrow.”

She waved over her shoulder as she walked away. Keith Leddin had become the face of her nightmares, however irrational. As Pen Bracket, he represented everything evil in her life. Just as she was having an increasingly difficult time separating herself from Janet Turney, the world-weary prostitute who agrees, along with five others, to testify against her pimp on a rape charge.

She made it to her trailer without limping, but barely. These boots had probably just undone several weeks of physical therapy. She slammed the door behind her and headed straight for the bathroom to wash the dirt and tears from her face. Ten minutes later, she was dressed in a cashmere sweater, jeans, and ballet flats when Jenn knocked.

The sky was dark by the time she trudged into the lobby of her building. Her knee throbbed, and her head pounded. This job was taking its toll. Harry hadn’t been wrong about that. But she was a professional. She’d already filmed the worst of it on an LA soundstage. These scenes in New York were easy by comparison. She’d get through it and come out stronger on the other end.

She always did.

A steaming-hot thermos of soup and fresh bread waited on her kitchen table, courtesy of Jenn. She stared at it for several seconds. Exhausted as she was, the thought of another lonely evening in her condo made her want to pound her fists against the wall.

As if summoned by her thoughts, her phone buzzed with a text from Josh.

How was filming? You must be frozen. Call if you want company.

A smile covered her face. She was in fact frozen, and she very much wanted company. He answered on the second ring and promised to pick her up in thirty minutes.

While she waited, she fed Ben and Jerry, then limped into the kitchen for a couple of ibuprofen, because, dammit, those boots had really done a number on her knee. She was standing in front of the fireplace trying to restore feeling in her pinky toes when Josh knocked.

“Hey.” He stood in her doorway in well-worn jeans and an emerald blazer that highlighted the green flecks in his eyes. He smelled of aftershave and man, and she wanted to fling her arms around him and drown in it. “How was your day?”

“Long, cold, and about to get much better.” She turned to grab her purse from the end table, bumping into Josh in the process. His arms shot out to steady her. She spun and found herself pressed against his chest. “Oops.”

She put her hands up to push out of his arms, but paused when she felt his heart pounding beneath her palm. She glanced up and saw the glint of desire in his eyes. His arms tightened around her.

Interesting. She stepped back and led the way toward the elevator. So Josh still wanted her. Then why was he playing so hard to get?

He slipped his hand into hers. “I made reservations at Tosca. Hope that’s okay.”

Tosca, cozy little Italian restaurant, scene of their first kiss. Oh yes, tonight should be interesting indeed.

---

“So.” Josh looked across the table at Kate. She wore a pale pink sweater and jeans, her hair tucked into one of those inside-out ponytails. Halfway through her second glass of wine, the color had finally returned to her cheeks. “Tell me more about the movie.”

She’d been relatively tight-lipped about it so far, which wasn’t like her. Usually, she gushed about her work, bursting with pride and ambition. This role seemed to be taking a toll on her, or maybe it was just everything else going on in her life.

“It’s a legal drama,” she told him. “I only have a supporting role, but it’s gritty. Van Moorse is the director. You know, he’s done Yesterday’s Tomorrow and Promised Land.”

Josh nodded. “There’s a name I do know.” Van Moorse was one of the top directors in Hollywood, producing blockbuster after blockbuster, many of them Oscar winners. It had to be a huge honor for Kate to work with him.

“Right? He’s the gold standard. This movie could make me a serious actress, not just a singer who acts.”

The gleam he’d been missing was there in her eyes now. This role meant a lot to her. But there was something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on. “Is that what you want? To be an actress?”

She shrugged, taking another sip of wine. “Sure, why not? Music will always come first, but would I mind becoming a bona fide leading lady? Not a bit.”

“Do you play a lawyer? I bet you’d kick ass in the courtroom.”

She shook her head. “Far from it. I’m a prostitute who rallies together some of the girls to press rape charges against our pimp.”

“Rape. Wow. That must be tough to play.”

She stared into her wineglass. “It’s no Harrington Grove, that’s for sure. I get my day in court, and then I wind up in a dumpster.”

“In a dumpster?” he asked, although he assumed he knew what she meant.

“Dead.” She looked up, and he saw something on her face he’d never seen before. Vulnerability. For just a moment, she looked like someone who’d been speaking of her own life, not a role in a movie.

A chill went down his spine as he remembered that afternoon so long ago when she’d reacted as if he meant to hurt her while he was using acupressure to help with her migraine. “Well, no wonder you look so drained after filming.”

“Yes, but it was perfect timing after the tour was canceled. I thrive on being busy, as you know.”

“I hear you. Why do you think I fly off to Spain every summer? I can’t stand being idle. I go crazy.”

She nodded in agreement.

“Especially since Noelia died. I find it harder now… Too much free time to think about all the what-ifs.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

She looked away. “The whole point is to not talk about it. Sometimes I imagine what it would be like if my darkest secrets went public, because these things happen in my world, you know? If the whole world knew…”

He rested a hand over hers. “Knew what, Kate?”

“Just…hypothetical.” She shrugged, her expression shuttered.

There was nothing hypothetical about it. He’d touched on something real, something raw, here tonight. “Fair enough,” he said, dropping the topic. “I hear you’re quite the hot ticket at the Grammys this year.”

“You been keeping tabs on me?”

He shrugged. “Eh, sometimes you’re hard to avoid.”

She smiled, and her eyes brightened. “So yeah. Six Grammy nominations. It’s amazing. I can’t believe it.”

“You must have some already, though, right?” He felt as though he should already know the answer to that question, but she laughed with obvious enjoyment at his naïveté.

“Yeah, I’ve got five, but it never really gets any less exciting.”

“I bet. Grammys are a big deal. Will you be there?”

“Of course.” Her shoulders squared, and her smile broadened. “I’m opening the show.”

“Naturally.” Josh tipped an imaginary hat in her direction.

“Well, well, look who’s here.”

Josh turned at the sound of Sal’s voice. His friend stood by their table, pointing an accusatory finger at Kate, even as his eyes twinkled.

She turned on her most charming smile. “Sal, isn’t it?”

“That’s right.” He beamed, obviously impressed she’d remembered his name.

She extended her hand. “Katherine Hayes.”

“Oh, I know who you are now,” he said as he took her hand. “I knew you looked familiar when we met the first time.”

She grinned. “Forgive me. Josh and I had a bet going on whether I could make it through dinner without being recognized.”

Sal glanced between them. “And who won?”

“I did.” She winked.

Sal chuckled. “Good girl.” As he turned to leave, he clapped a hand on Josh’s shoulder and muttered, “I’d hang on to this one if I were you.”

Josh drained his glass of wine. He was treading dangerous waters here tonight, in this restaurant. He was so smitten with Kate, he couldn’t think straight, or else he never would have suggested it. They finished dinner and walked outside. Anton waited at the curb in the silver Mercedes.

Josh slid into the back seat next to her.

Kate turned to him. “You want to come over?”

“I probably shouldn’t.”

Taking her out for a romantic dinner had been a mistake. He didn’t want to further entangle himself with her, physically or emotionally, until he had a more solid idea of their relationship, a topic he had no idea how to broach.

“Okay.” She turned to stare out the window with a look a few months ago he might have mistaken for indifference. Tonight, he saw the insecurity on her face.

“We need to talk about things…us. But not tonight.”

“Okay,” she repeated, but she’d pulled back, closed herself off.

Josh clenched his fists. He hated this uncertainty between them. Tonight had reminded him so much of what they’d shared before, and dammit, he really wasn’t ready to say good night. “You want to go ice skating?” he asked on impulse.

“What?”

“You know, in Rockefeller Center. Something tells me we might be able to cut the line.”

Her eyes brightened. “Probably, but only if you promise not to be mad when I get recognized.”

Tabloid chatter about her “mystery man” had died down since September. He could manage one more public outing without being recognized, right? “Deal. Wait, I’m an idiot. I completely forgot about your knee.”

She shook her head. “It’ll be fine. We’ll go slow.”

“You sure it’s okay?”

“I’ll be careful, I promise.”

Twenty minutes later, they stepped onto the ice.

“I should warn you,” she laughed, falling deadweight against him. “I’m not very good.”

“Now you tell me.” He wrapped an arm around her waist, steadying her as they moved with the crowd. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. People everywhere were taking pictures of them, and he truly didn’t care. He just tuned it out and enjoyed the moment.

They rounded a corner, and Kate’s feet flew out from underneath her. She pitched backward and landed on her ass. Josh tumbled after her. He landed on top of her, knocking her flat onto the ice.

All around, he heard the clicking of cell phone cameras.

“You okay?” he asked, his face only inches from hers.

She nodded, watching him intently, then leaned forward to brush her lips against his. Click click click. The cover shot for next week’s celebrity gossip magazines.

He helped her to her feet and brushed the ice shavings from her clothes. She shoved off across the ice ahead of him, but he noticed she was bearing most of her weight on her left skate. Dammit. He should never have suggested ice skating, especially after she’d already spent a long day on her feet filming. Kate was too stoic to admit she was in pain, so he’d have to get her off the ice another way. He caught up to her and pulled her against him, offering himself as a crutch. She rested her head on his shoulder, a peaceful smile on her face.

“Thanks,” she whispered. “This was the perfect ending to my day.”

“You’re welcome. Ready to call it a night? I’m freezing.”

She nodded. They glided to the exit and climbed back into their shoes. She glanced over her shoulder at the flock of admirers following in their wake, then pulled out her phone and punched in a quick message. While they waited for Anton, she greeted the excited fans crowding around them. It only took three minutes for the silver Mercedes to pull up to the curb, but Kate spent an extra ten making sure she met and took photos with everyone there waiting on the corner.

Finally, she pulled Josh into the car behind her. Her fingers were ice-cold since she’d removed her gloves to sign autographs. “Didn’t miss it, did you?”

“You know, it doesn’t bother me anymore.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really. How’s your knee?” He’d seen her wince when she bent to enter the car, and though her fingers stilled at his question, she’d been rubbing at it since they pulled away from the curb.

“A little sore.” She shrugged. “I was thinking. I still owe your sister lunch. I have tomorrow and the weekend off from filming. Why don’t you see if she’s around, and we’ll set something up?”

It took him a minute to remember what she was talking about, that night at Madison Square Garden when he and Lily had gone to her dressing room. “I’m sure she’d love that.”

They reached her building, and he walked her inside. They paused in the lobby. Kate reached for him, then stopped. Her eyes fell. Yeah, this was killing him too. He had to figure out the right words to say, and soon.

He wanted her, needed her with an intensity that terrified him. And yet, for all he knew, she was planning to go home to California once she finished filming this movie and never see him again. Hell, he didn’t even know if she’d slept with Ted Wilhelm while she was in LA. One thing he did know: his heart couldn’t handle being broken a second time.

He took her hands in his and pulled her closer for a quick kiss. “Good night.”

She melted against him, warm and soft and delicate. He was overwhelmed by the need to be with her, to hold her and care for her. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

She nodded, her eyes heavy with emotion. Disappointment or relief, he couldn’t be sure. He touched his lips to hers one last time, then pulled away before he lost control.

He turned around and walked out into the cold night, alone.