Page 22 of Catch Me (Townsend Legacy #4)

I vy

“It’s the middle of the night,” a deep, whispering voice says from somewhere in the distance.

My heavy eyelids take their time separating from one another as I come awake. At first, I’m resistant to move an inch since I’m sleeping in the most comfortable bed I’ve ever been in. Yet, the whispers from across the room pique my curiosity.

“You can call at any time.”

Even as confusion reigns supreme, I fight to orient myself, the sound of Andreas’ voice brings an instant smile to my lips. That is, until I realize what’s happening.

I’m naked in his bed, in the middle of the night, yet he’s across the room whispering into the phone. Like he’s talking to someone he doesn’t want me to know about.

The pit in my stomach starts to open up.

You knew this was a terrible idea.

Of course he has other women he’s talking to. He’s a damn Hollywood star.

What did you expect?

The ugly, negative thoughts fill my mind, not giving me time to process them all, or what Andreas continues to say. He’s still on the phone, his back to me, dressed in only a pair of black boxer briefs.

The blackout curtains aren’t entirely closed, which allows some light to stream through the floor-to-ceiling windows. I watch the outline of his perfectly sculpted back up from his tapered waist until my gaze reaches the back of his shoulders.

A slight gasp releases from me as I take in the scratches there, slightly red and angry. My eyes widen as I realize I’m the one who put them there.

“Damn.”

I don’t mean to say the curse out loud, but that doesn’t stop Andreas from hearing it. He spins around to face the bed, those beautifully sharp, hazel eyes landing on me. In spite of the confusion and doubt rummaging my body, I shiver from having his attention on me.

I have to force myself to remember that he’s the one on the phone with a woman in the middle of the night while I haven’t even left his bed yet.

He doesn’t have the decency to look guilty or ashamed. Instead, he continues to hold the phone to his ear as he begins to take long strides toward the bed. While my eyes want to continue to ogle his body in all of its glory, I refuse to allow them that pleasure.

I sit up in the bed, making sure my body is covered while I narrow my eyes at him.

“I’m still here,” he says in a low voice, to whoever’s on the phone. But when he gets to the bed, he reaches out as if attempting to push a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

I immediately pull away.

Andreas’ face falls before it darkens. Though his hand remains suspended in the air, he doesn’t try to touch me again.

“If you’re going to talk to one of your other women, the least you could do is leave the room while I’m still sleeping,” I say.

His forehead wrinkles in what I take for confusion before he pulls the phone away from his ear, staring at it for a beat, and then looks back at me.

A slow grin creeps across his too-handsome face.

“That’s awesome, twin, but I have to go,” he says into the phone.

Did he just call the other person twin?

I shake my head because maybe that’s some odd pet name he has for the other woman he’s sleeping with.

My stomach twists with regret.

“Love you,” he says before pausing for a beat. Was he waiting for the woman to say it back before hanging up?

I push out a huff of air and rip the covers off of my body.

“What are you doing?” he asks while taking a seat on the side of the bed and resting his hand across my body, making it more difficult for me to get up.

“Going home.” I don’t look at him. “Excuse me?” I ask tersely.

“It’s after two in the morning.”

“So?”

“And your car’s still at the studio.”

I’d forgotten about that.

“I’ll call an Uber.”

“Like hell you will.” His voice takes on a slightly menacing tone.

My eyes widen, and I’m not sure if my surprise is from the renewed bass in his voice or the way my nipples hardened from it.

“You’re not going anywhere, Ivy,” he says with the type of authority bestowed to CEOs or presidents of nations.

“What?”

“It’s the middle of the night and I’m not letting you get into a stranger’s car. All because you thought I was talking to a woman in the middle of the night. Especially, since I wasn’t speaking to a woman.”

I fold my arms across my chest. “Then who were you talking to?”

“My brother,” he answers, looking me directly in the eye.

It pisses me off at how quickly my anger starts to deflate. But I can’t let him off that easily.

“What brother calls in the middle of the night?”

“The kind who has the type of job that takes him all over the world in secrecy,” he replies. “I don’t know exactly where he is right now, but it’s daytime in that part of the world. That’s what he told me, anyway.”

Andreas’ eyes meet mine. There’s an emotion there that I can’t readily identify. Sadness, maybe? Loneliness?

“He’s not always truthful about where he is.” He shrugs. “Safety precautions.”

The heaviness in his voice pulls on my heartstrings. He could be acting, but there’s a sincerity in his voice that renders me speechless. A vulnerability that I recognize from having shared with him earlier about having panic disorder.

My anger has completely dissolved. The emotion in his voice isn’t fake.

“You miss him,” I say, stroking his arm.

He gives me a half smile, but it lacks his typical humor.

“I do.” Andreas snorts. “The irony. I was the one who left home first. I came to California at fifteen and premiered in my first major role at sixteen. It’s been more than a decade since we’ve lived under the same roof, but he’s farther away than ever now.”

“I didn’t realize you had a brother.”

I think back to what I’ve read about Andreas online. A few blog posts mentioned he had siblings, but it was never clear how many or whether or not he had brothers or sisters.

“My management and public relations team work with my security to keep my family details as private as possible.”

That reminds me of what he revealed earlier tonight.

“Townsend,” I say. “That’s your real name.”

This time his smile is genuine as he reaches a hand out to push a wayward curl behind my ear. I allow it, even leaning into his hand as he runs the tip of his thumb along my jawline.

“Knight is what Hollywood calls me. But the people closest to me know my real name. Who I really am.”

His tone indicates that there’s a deeper meaning to his words. Now that I know his last name, am I included among the people who really know him?

I start to shake my head because it’s ridiculous to think that way. It’s way too soon.

“Yes, Ivy,” Andreas counters. “You are among one of them. I told you my real name because I want you to know it. So when you meet my family, you’ll know who we are.”

He leans in brushing, his lips against mine. But when he begins to deepen the kiss, I pull back.

“I’m sorry for assuming the worst about you.”

“I’m adding that to the list.”

I wrinkle my brows. “What list?”

“My list of turn-ons about you. This one is going under ‘how fucking sexy you look apologizing to me’.”

I swat his shoulder, both of us laughing.

“Wait,” I say when he tries to kiss me again. “Did I hear you call your brother twin?”

He nods. “But I’m older by fifteen minutes.”

“Identical?”

Andreas nods.

“No way.”

“What?” Andreas asks, looking concerned.

“I can’t believe there are two of you.” Is this world even capable of having more than one man who looks exactly like Andreas Knight … I mean Townsend?

“You’d know the difference when you met him,” he tells me before silencing my reply with a kiss.

I fall into the feel of his lips moving over mine, my body igniting for our second round tonight.

The next morning, I wake up earlier than usual, but I’m the only person in the bed. Andreas left a note on the pillow.

Do you know how beautiful you look when you’re sleeping?

Probably not.

I took a picture so I can always have you with me.

The car is picking me up at six this morning for today’s early start time. I made sure the alarm was set to your usual wake up time. But you have some extra time since my place is closer to the studio.

Your car and Spencer will be here at 8 to take you in this morning. Breakfast will be arriving at 7:45. Make sure to eat!

I read the note at least three different times. And just to make sure I didn’t accidentally wake up in the middle of a dream, I pinch myself.

“Ouch!”

Nope, it’s not a dream.

But the reality is, I can’t dwell in this dream. Andreas may have arranged for his driver to pick me up, but I need to head back to my apartment. There are some things I need to pick up for work today.

And I should take Ms. Shelby back home.

Thankfully, Spencer gave me his number yesterday and told me to contact him at any time. While I hate to bother him so early, he responds immediately and is able to pick me up in less than fifteen minutes.

I gather Ms. Shelby’s belongings and my stuff, but don’t need to lock up Andreas’ place since his doors are fingerprint encoded and lock immediately. Less than twenty minutes after waking up, I’m in the back of the town car, on my way back to my apartment.

“I’ll wait here, Ms. Sterling,” Spencer calls out as I head toward the main entrance.

“That’s okay, I can …” I trail off since it’s at this instant I remember my car is still parked at the set.

“Don’t worry about rushing. We should have plenty of time to make it on time,” Spencer says. He waves at Ms. Shelby with a smile.

“Thank you,” I tell him before going into my building.

As I head up to my apartment, I mentally plan the outfit I want to wear today. I place Ms. Shelby down just inside of the door and then head to my bedroom to my closet. The other week while I was out, I bought a cute, flower-patterned dress that I didn’t think I would wear anytime soon.

But, suddenly, I’m in the mood to wear the dress along with a light pink silk scarf I picked up as well. It’s my first time wearing something this flashy to work, but I can’t get the idea of the dress out of my mind.

“Clothes reflect your mood.”