If I Can't Have You (37 page)

The place was lovely, but Adriana had no idea why Trevor had brought her here straight from her shop. He insisted it had nothing to do with the role he’d won, starring as himself in
Shattered Dreams.
As they’d lain together on the carpet in the back room of her shop, he’d told her all about his trip to the studio, how he’d impressed the producer. He’d told her about the agent he’d hired, about his excitement at acting again. And he’d told her how much he’d missed her while they were apart.

But he hadn’t told her why they had to make a detour on their way home to Santa Barbara. “It’s a surprise,” was all he’d say. “A special treat.”

He was back in her life. That was the most wonderful treat she could ever want.

When they reached the door, he rapped on the screen and waited.

“I hate secrets, Trevor. Please, tell me.”

He shook his head and knocked again.

Behind the door she heard the sickeningly familiar voice of a man calling to someone else in the house. The door creaked open, and
Jim
Paxton’s face peered through the screen.

Adriana’s fingers tightened around Trevor’s hand. She attempted to pull away, not wanting to be anywhere near the vile photographer, but Trevor held her close, refusing to let her run.

“Well, what a surprise,” Paxton said in his normal, cocky tone. “I didn’t expect to see you here, Ms. Howard.” He took a quick drag on his cigarette and blew out a puff of smoke. “I didn’t expect you, either,” he said, his brow furrowing as he looked at Trevor.

“Just checking out a little rumor I heard,” Trevor said casually.

“And what might that rumor be?” Mr. Paxton asked, beginning to look a touch uncomfortable with their presence.

From deep inside the house Adriana heard another man’s voice, unfamiliar this time, call out, “Is that the production company people?”

Paxton’s face reddened, and Adriana noticed the quick rise and fall of his Adam’s apple. He was terribly nervous now, but Trevor stood tall and calm, his eyes twinkling with some hidden merriment as he stared down at Paxton.

The photographer twisted around and answered the man hidden in another room. “It’s someone else. No need for you to come to the door.”

His words were too late, though. Adriana heard footsteps and saw a near mirror image of Trevor peer around Paxton’s shoulder.

“Well, I’ll be,” the man drawled in a thick Southern accent. “What did you do,
Jim
, find someone to take my place?”

Paxton shook his head and leaned against the doorjamb. “Just shut up,” he muttered, before inhaling deeply on his cigarette.

“I see the rumor’s true. I do have a double,” Trevor said, his gaze sweeping over his twin, who was dressed in gray sweat shorts and nothing else. “You must be Paul
Dorn
.”

“Yeah. The one and only,” the model quipped.

Adriana studied him quickly. The cleft in his chin wasn’t as deep, and he didn’t have a dimple. His ebony hair didn’t shine as brightly, and his skin was paler—it didn’t have the sheen of Trevor’s sun-bronzed body. He wasn’t nearly as tall, and his physique was much too slight. His hands weren’t strong, and he was much too pretty. There was nothing rugged in his face, nothing masculine or heroic.

She’d been right that first time she’d seen Paul
Dorn
at Sparta. She’d been so very wrong to have ever questioned Trevor’s identity.

“I’ve seen enough,” she said, tugging on Trevor’s arm. “Can we go now?”

“Not until I get a few things straightened out with Mr. Paxton.”

“Like what?” Paxton asked, regaining a hint of composure. “You can’t keep me from taking photos. I’ve checked you out, and I know who you are. Don’t think that just because you claim to be Trevor Montgomery’s son you can intimidate me.”

“I don’t make empty threats, Mr. Paxton.”

Paxton laughed, but Adriana saw the iciness in Trevor’s eyes.

“My attorney’s in the process of filing a restraining order against you. Trust me, if you come within half a mile of Adriana, we’ll make sure you’re thrown in jail. There’s a lot of power in money, Mr. Paxton, and we’re going to back up this threat with every penny we’ve got.”

“We’ve done nothing illegal. No judge is going to give you a restraining order.”

Trevor shrugged. “If that doesn’t work, I’ll use my backup plan.”

“Which is?” Paxton asked.

“I took some very interesting photographs of my own this afternoon.”

Adriana watched Paul
Dorn
’s brow furrow as he listened to Trevor’s words.

“Pictures?” Paxton questioned. “Of what?”

“Nothing of much concern, I’m sure. A kiss or two while you and Mr.
Dorn
were working in the yard. An affectionate hug.”

Perspiration beaded on Paxton’s brow, and Paul
Dorn
gripped the edge of the door.

Trevor tucked a hand into his pants pocket, and continued casually. “I was thinking about selling
them to the tabloids. I know you’re
tr
ying to get a start in the movies, Mr.
Dorn
, and I thought a little exposure might be good for you. Your friend Mr. Paxton seems to think that the public is intrigued by pictures of this sort.”

“Don’t listen to him, Paul. He’s bluffing.”

“I don’t like the sound of this,”
Dorn
stated.

‘There’s nothing to worry about,” Trevor said with a grin. ‘Just give me the pictures you’ve taken recently, and the problem’s solved.”

“That’s enough, Montgomery,” Paxton bellowed. “You can’t intimidate me.”

Paul
Dorn
put a hand on Paxton’s shoulder. “Look,
Jim
. I’m not coming out over this. My folks don’t even know.”

“No one has to know a thing,” Trevor interrupted, directing his words to Paxton. “I want the negatives, and I want you to stay away from Adriana.”

“I want your negatives, too,” Paxton said. ‘Turnabout’s fair play.”

“I don’t think so. They’re my insurance policy against any future encounters Adriana might accidentally have with you.”

Paxton laughed. “No photos from you. None from us.”

“Give them to him,”
Dorn
stated through clenched teeth, “or I’m history.”

“Don’t be an idiot, he’s just bluffing.”

“Well, I’m not willing to take that chance.”

Paxton looked at
Dorn
, and, shaking his head, he stormed into the house.

“Sorry this little problem came up,”
Dorn
said to Trevor and Adriana. “Money’s not always easy to come by.”

Paxton pushed around
Dorn
and shoved a large envelope in Trevor’s hands. “That’s everything. Now get out of here.”

Trevor smiled. “Thanks for being so accommodating.”

“Get out,” Paxton bellowed.

“Right,” Trevor stated, tossing Paxton a two
-
fingered salute before grabbing Adriana’s hand and sauntering down the stairs.

Adriana looked back when she heard the slammi
ng door and raised but garbled
voices coming from inside the house.

“Do you really have pictures?” she asked Trevor as they neared the Duesenberg.

“I might stoop to threats, but never to blackmail.”

“Then how did you know about the two of them?”

“I saw them together, just as I said. I honestly didn’t pay much attention to their relationship, but Stewart made a wisecrack, and it made me start thinking.”

“Stewart was with you?” Adriana asked, surprised at this newest revelation.

“Last night, too. He and Maggie, both. We had dinner together, so I could tell him how I want my finances handled.”

“I don’t understand,” Adriana said, when Trevor opened the car door and she slid inside.

Trevor leaned over the passenger door, smiling easily as he stroked a finger over the pencil-thin mustache he’d just started to regrow. “Movie stars make a lot of money—if the negotiations are handled correctly. Fortunately, I found a damn fine agent. I figured I’d need a business manager who’s just as good.”

“But Stewart despises you.”

“We’ll work through that.” Trevor circled the car and climbed behind the wheel. “It took him a while to warm to the idea that I was really Trevor Montgomery—Junior, that is. It didn’t take long for him
to warm up to my money. I’m sure he’ll come around in time.”

Always so positive,
she thought.
Always so sure of himself.

“I missed you,” she said. “I’ve never felt so lonely. So lost.”

He leaned across the seat, wove his fingers through her hair, and pulled her close. “I’m not going anywhere ever again.”

His lips touched hers tentatively, then she felt the pressure of his fingers on her neck as he held her close, as if deep inside he was just as afraid of what the future might hold for them as she was. He’d never show it though. Never. The Trevor Montgomery she’d fallen in love with was determined to laugh and make her happy—for whatever time they had together.

Adriana smoothed her fingers over his cheek, smiling softly as she kissed him, and silently prayed that he’d never again disappear.

“I can’t remember another thing,” Trevor moaned, massaging his temples in the hopes of driving away the pain of too many bad memories. He leaned back in the ornate wrought-iron patio chair and gazed out at the ocean and the cloudless blue sky. He was tired of sitting at the table, tired of looking at stories about his life, tired of rehashing events best left forgotten.

“We’ve been over this three times, Adriana. Why don’t we give it up?”

“You told me you don’t give up,” Adriana threw at him, “and I’m not going to let you run away from this. The only way we can prove your innocence is to document every single thing and make sure we have some evidence when we confront Janet Julian.”

Trevor got up from the chair and walked behind Adriana. He put his hands on her shoulders and gently kneaded the tightening muscles. “I don’t want to confront her. What good’s it going to do?”

“Maybe she’ll confess.”

“You want too much. She’s old. She
’s not in the best of health. Ev
en if she confesses to the crime I still doubt she’s guilty of, no one’s going to prosecute her. Besides, she’s been living in her own kind
of prison for sixty years. Isn’t that enough punishment?”

Adriana twisted around in her chair and looked up at him. “What about the punishment you’ve suffered?”

He laughed, thinking of all that he’d gained by leaving the thirties. “I’m not suffering.”

“You are,” she interrupted. “You thought the nightmares had ended, but they haven’t. Last night and the night before you tossed and turned. They’re not going to go away until you know the truth.”

She turned away from him and flipped over another page in the book she’d been perusing. “You’re innocent, Trevor,” she said softly. “But if we don’t bring out the truth, history will always point to you as the guilty one. You can’t live that way. I don’t want you to have to.”

She was right, of course. If they could prove his innocence, the movie script he’d been reading could be changed. Trevor Montgomery wouldn’t be branded a murderer. His image wouldn’t be tarnished, his dreams shattered. The film could reveal to the world what had really happened that horrid night sixty years ago.

“All right,” he said on a sigh. “Where were we?”

Adriana tapped her pen on the paper filled with scribbled notes. “The shiny thing that slipped off
the bed
.”

Trevor tried to remember what he’d seen when he’d rolled out of Carole’s bed, but all he could remember was a flash of light off something shiny. “It must have been one of Carole’s bracelets. I didn’t stop to look.”

“But nothing was ever found,” Adriana stressed. “It wasn’t mentioned in the police report or in any of the newspaper accounts.”