Page 13 of Rescued by the Single Dad

“Honestly, I tried to end things about three months ago. But the movie executives begged us to stay together until after the premier of his film because it was so high-budget they didn’t want people to boycott it because of Flynn. So I agreed. But when that teenager went public with his DMs and I caught him with his extra, I couldn’t stay any longer. And Flynn was so mad. Said I betrayed him and went against our agreement.”

She blew out a big breath and closed her eyes.

“As soon as you have even the tiniest shred of fame, you don’t go to just any restaurant anymore. You go to places to be seen. Or not seen depending on the circumstances. And in our line of work people talk. It was a public tailspin. Sometimes, I felt like I was on the plane, and other times on the ground running for cover, bracing for a movie-sized explosion. I had to end it early. Being with him was killing me. And it wasn’t good for my career.”

“But he wasn’t on the boat?” Clint asked.

She made a thin line with her mouth and shook her head. “Nope. He was supposed to be—managed to swing himself an invitation somehow. But he just didn’t show. His little extra side-piece was there, though.”

Clint’s brows nearly met his hairline. “She was?”

Brooke nodded as fear ratcheted up her spine. “Yeah. Kendall Blakely is her name. She was there last night. I don’t know why, since she wasn’t in my film. But she was there. Hanging off the arm of some mid-level executive, too. But as far as I know, she’s still with Flynn. Though, they’re keeping it a secret, or at least they were.”

She massaged the bridge of her nose. Her head throbbed.

Clint seemed to get the gist of it, though. “Do you think she’s the one who pushed you?”

Brooke shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Do you want to call the police? File a report?”

No.

Maybe.

She had a difficult relationship with the police. Or rather, a long-standing mistrust for law enforcement—stemming from her childhood and having dirty cops in her family—which made her very reluctant to take her problems to them because she never really knew which ones were the real deal and which ones made their own rules.

Even though it made the most amount of sense that it was Kendall who pushed her off the yacht, something at the back of her brain told her it wasn’t.

Kendall knew that Brooke and Flynn’s relationship was over, so why was she mad? Was she angry on Flynn’s behalf? That Brooke dumped Flynn before they agreed to end the relationship? That was good news for Kendall. It meant they could go public sooner.

Kendall pushing Brooke just didn’t make sense.

If it wasn’t Kendall, who else could it be?

She went through the Rolodex of people that she knew that could have a vendetta against her. Thankfully, the list was pretty short. The only two names on that list were Kendall and Flynn. And Flynn wasn’t there.

Unless he went in disguise. But that seemed like too much effort for someone like him.

Honestly, based on Flynn’s erratic behavior lately, she wouldn’t put something like that past him. But imagining Flynn pulling off that level of an acting job, calmly pretending to be someone else around all those people and near her, seemed to be beyond him.

They met at a casting call when they were both models who were trying to break into show business. They both got the parts they auditioned for—a couple in love.

Things didn’t turn romantic between them right away. She was attracted to him, but she was also nervous about dating a fellow actor. Mixing business with personal had the potential to get really messy.

However, they just seemed to keep ending up in each other’s orbits. They did a few photoshoots together, modeling beachwear for Abercrombie and Fitch, Hollister, and American Eagle Outfitters, and he helped her land a five-line part on a movie he was cast in. And after about eighteen months of him pursuing her and her gently denying him—and her feelings—they finally gave it a shot.

Their first few years together were wonderful.

He was charming and handsome, helpful and considerate.

The name Flynn Howard was certainly recognizable, but Brooke’s career took off at a much steeper trajectory than Flynn’s. She was just a bigger name. She commanded more money for films, and was a more sought-after actor. And Flynn resented her for it.

He’d also been labeled difficult to work with over the last year. Erratic on set. Demanding and moody. She helped him get a few roles on some of her films, but if they weren’t big enough, he would turn up his nose. If they were big enough, he’d become a diva, hated by the directors and producers.

She no longer recognized the blond, blue-eyed farm boy she fell in love with.

He was jealous of her and in the last six months, he took his jealousy and resentment to a whole other level. He deleted messages on her phone from her agent about possible script and movie deals. He hid her phone charger, or unplugged her phone while she slept so that it wouldn’t charge and her alarm wouldn’t go off. Once, he went so far as to throw her phone into the pool.

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