Authors: Jean Joachim
Gracie smiled and stepped to the
side so she wouldn’t block him from his fans. Jake waved at the girls and then laced
his fingers with hers. When they were inside, he stopped to mop the sweat off
his forehead.
“You’re afraid of those
teenyboppers?”
“The movie. My first major role.
Damn, I hope it’s good.”
I
almost feel sorry for him.
“I’m sure you’re fine.” She refused
to let him get under her skin.
Don’t
start falling for this creep.
“Thanks a lot. Very comforting. It’s
no wonder you don’t have a job as a nurse.”
Her mouth hung open. “He’s alive. He
can shoot back. How do you know I’m not a nurse?” She narrowed her eyes.
“Your sister told me. Said you were
a talented screenwriter. She said you’d done a great film. Can I read it
sometime?” The reference to her script made her chest hurt.
“No. It’s crap.” Before he could
respond, the ushers were showing them to their seats and offering to get
popcorn and soda for them.
“I’m too nervous to eat, but if
you’d like some?” Jake asked. She shook her head. “Can I hold your hand?”
“Like in the doctor’s office?”
“Never mind. I shouldn’t have asked.
Sorry,” he mumbled.
Lighten
up, Gracie.
She put her hand on top of his and gave him a little smile. He
wrapped his fingers around hers and rested them on his thigh. She snuggled down
into a comfortable position. It wasn’t long before the lights dimmed and the
movie came on.
* * * *
Damn!
That was bad. Jake was awful! Crap, how am I going to pretend?
She glanced
over at him, and he wasn’t smiling.
“Well done. Good job,” she said,
patting his arm, trying to appear sincere.
“I was terrible.” He cast his gaze
to his lap.
“I wouldn’t say that…” She softened
her tone.
“Oh, wouldn’t you? Why not? Your
perfect chance to gloat,” he shot back.
Grace bit her lip to hold back the
snotty reply itching to escape. As he stood up, she tried to paste a wan grin on
her face. “Let’s get out of here before the producers have my hide.” Grace
pushed to her feet.
“Too late,” Jake muttered under his
breath as three men in perfectly cut business suits strode up the aisle. They
stopped to shake his hand. Murmurs of “nice job” and “great” greeted her ears.
He didn’t introduce her, and she was glad.
As they moved on, she spied a
familiar figure coming their way and her heart stopped.
Gunther Quill!
He nodded to Jake, mumbling something Grace didn’t
hear because her ears weren’t working. Everything in her body had ceased to
move except for her heart, which was beating twice as fast as before. Gunther
glanced to Jake’s right and spotted her.
She felt color rush to her cheeks as
he stared briefly at her with glittering eyes and a sly smile on his lips.
Mesmerized at first, Grace eventually broke the spell and turned away. When she
found the courage to look again, Gunther was gone. She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hey, I’m sorry, that was Gunther
Quill. I should have introduced you. You could give him your script.”
“No, really…it’s okay. Tonight is
about you.”
Let’s get out of here before
he comes back.
“Come on. There’s a private party in
Westchester.”
Bobby was there to pick them up, and
before they could blink, he had maneuvered the car onto the West Side Highway, heading
north. Grace’s mind was reeling.
So that
awful picture was Gunther’s. Huh. Thought he was so smart.
“The producers didn’t think it was so
bad.”
“You were fine, really,” she said,
her mind elsewhere.
“Thanks. Damning with faint praise…”
“You don’t want me to gush, do you?
That’s really not me.”
“I gathered,” he said, dryly. “The
producers seemed to like it. They said I was good. I guess as long as they like
me, I’ll get more work.”
“That’s right. As long as the
producers like it,” she repeated, thankful not to have to invent any more lies.
Sympathy crept into her heart, and she inched closer to him. A bump in the road
jostled them so that their fingers came in contact. He looked over at her and
moved his hand to cover hers.
“You are even more beautiful in the
light from the street lamps.”
“That’s me. Dim lighting’s always
best.”
“Don’t put yourself down. That was a
compliment.”
His words sobered her. Her heart
hurt. After being used and discarded by Gunther, her ego was in pieces. She
considered herself to be the lowest type of woman, to do what she did. Trying
to rid the images of their tryst on his sofa from her brain hadn’t worked.
I deserve to be put down, way down.
He drew her to him. Gazing up at his
eyes that had been staring at her mouth, she knew he’d try to kiss her soon.
Her hand on his shoulder felt his muscles work as he eased himself into her
space. His touch on her waist almost burned her skin.
No, no, no! I’m not attracted to this idiot. Back off.
She glanced
at his lips, noting how perfect they were.
She tried pushing away, but his
chest was like a wall of iron. His mouth descended on hers and sparks flew.
Panic set in, and she shoved harder. Obviously, he picked up on her signal because
he backed off.
“Sorry. Never was good at reading
girls. I thought you wanted me to kiss you. Wrong, again.” He sat back on his
side of the car.
She blew out a breath and retreated
to her corner.
You weren’t wrong, I was
stupid.
They remained still, the only sound the hum of the tires on the
road, until arriving at their destination. Bobby opened the door, letting in
cold air. Grace shivered, drawing her cape closer around her .
“We’ll probably be here for two
hours, Bobby,” Jake said.
“Brought my
ereader
.
No worries.”
The house was huge. The ultra-modern
design had several stories of glass and weathered wood. The front lawn was
terraced into three levels leading up to a large black door. Grace looked
around with appreciation.
Wish our
gardener was this good.
The grounds were immaculate, including a perfect
stone wall hugging the long, circular driveway. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows
showed a crush of people inside. Strains of rock music met their ears.
“Wow! This is some place,” Jake
said, his eyes wide.
“You’re new to all this, aren’t
you?”
“Pretty much. I come from a small
town—Willow Falls? It’s upstate.”
“Don’t know it.”
“Didn’t think so.” He smiled.
“Stick close to me. I’ve been to
these things before.”
“Good. Clueless here.”
Don’t
get excited. He’s a bumpkin. Not for you. And he thought you were the maid!
They entered, and Grace led him to
the bar. “Helps to be holding a drink when you’re trying to talk to people,”
she advised.
A bartender was pouring
Cosmopolitans. Jake picked up two and handed one to Grace. She took a sip.
Wow, this is strong!
Jake took a hefty
sip and smiled. An attractive woman about thirty-five years old, wearing a low-cut
dress tight enough to be a second skin, sauntered over. Grace noticed her give
Jake the once-over.
“You’re the second guy in the movie,
aren’t you? Jason, I think his name was?”
Jake nodded. “And this is…” He gestured
toward Grace, but the woman simply raised an eyebrow and turned her back. She
linked her arm through his. Jake threw Grace an apologetic glance as she
followed along behind them. The woman chattered away while Jake nodded in
reply. Grace could hardly keep from laughing.
She’s coming on to him, and he doesn’t even know.
Another rail-thin woman with short
blonde hair joined them. “Mitzi’s going to research costumes at the Met for
that period piece Gunther’s doing.”
“The Met?” Jake asked.
“Not the Metropolitan Opera,
darling. The Metropolitan Museum. Of Art. You know.”
“Oh, oh, of course!” Jake put on a
good performance, but Grace wasn’t fooled. She could tell right away that he
had no idea what they were talking about. He excused himself to get another
drink. Grace was still nursing the first one and watched him return to the
sophisticated women and pretend to know what they were discussing. Grace looked
around the room to see if she spied any of her acting or camera friends, but no
one looked familiar.
She turned and almost ran into
Gunther Quill holding hands with a stunning blonde wearing a sexy red dress and
a big, diamond ring. She gulped, searching frantically for an escape, but Jake
was still deep in conversation.
“Don’t run, my little bunny,”
Gunther oozed, taking her elbow. “Let me introduce you.”
The blonde narrowed her eyes and
stared at Grace.
“This is my fiancée, Elsa Marquette.
Elsa will be starring in my newest movie. Elsa, this is Grace Brewster…Cara
Brewster’s little sister.”
Fiancée!
Elsa extended her hand and left Grace no choice. She couldn’t breathe as her
eyes sought the engagement rock Elsa was wearing. Sweat broke out on Grace’s upper
lip.
Elsa shot a phony smile at her before
she spoke. “Gunther loves brunettes,” she said. “Let’s see…screenwriter or bit
player?”
“Screenwriter,” Grace mumbled, her
eyes wide.
“Ah, of course,” Else nodded. “You
know what they say…gentlemen prefer blondes.” Her eyes were so cold they’d
freeze hell.
“Nice to meet you,” Grace muttered,
trying to remember what she’d been taught growing up.
She knows. She knows he slept with me!
Gunther stood staring at
her. Lust glittered in his eyes.
He’s
laughing at me. Engaged! Oh my God. What have I done?
Emotion caught in her chest. Bile
rose in her throat and tears stung the backs of her eyes.
Fool, stupid fool. Of course he’s engaged. I should be surprised he
isn’t married. Run!
She gulped down the rest of her Cosmo.
“Excuse me,” she said, pointing to
her empty glass as she moved toward the bar.
“Of course.” Gunther bowed slightly,
grinning as she slipped away to refill her glass and find a corner to hide in.
She was sick to her stomach. Leaning against the wall, she took a healthy swig.
The alcohol loosened her control and angry tears spilled over onto her cheeks.
“You okay?” The deep voice at her
ear was Jake’s.
“Nice of you to stay with your date.
I see you have other women on your mind.” She brushed her fingers across her face.
“You weren’t exactly into me in the
car. I figured you’d like it better if I left you alone.”
“Whatever,” she waved her hand,
gazing at the drink in her hand.
“You’re upset. What happened?” Jake tipped
her chin up before he downed the rest of his Cosmo.
“Nothing.” She avoided his gaze.
“I need another drink.”
“I think you need some food. Where
is it?”
He shrugged his shoulders. Grace
hesitated to explore the house for fear of running into Gunther, or worse, Elsa,
again. But Jake was getting plastered, and she needed to get something into his
stomach. “There, there,” Jake said, pointing.
Grace took his hand and pulled him
to the
hors d’oeuvres table
. She
picked up a plate.
“What do you like?” He mumbled
something unintelligible. His glazed look told her the alcohol was taking
effect. “Some of everything then.” She picked up a pair of tongs and piled up
cheese puffs, cold jumbo shrimp, stuffed mushrooms, mini quiche, and
crudités
on the plate.
Then she had to find a place to sit.
“Come over here.” She grabbed his lapel and pulled him over to a table. He took
a healthy swig of his drink. “These are amazing,” he said, licking his lips.
Her gazed rested on his tongue for a
moment.
Stop looking at him like that.
Gracie
shoved a cheese puff in his mouth.
He chewed quickly and swallowed. “What
was that?”
“Cheese puff. Like it?”
“Yeah but not as much as the
Cosmos,” he wandered toward the bar with Gracie right behind. She stuffed a
baby carrot in her mouth while Jake got a refill.
“You shouldn’t have another one of
those.” She reached for the glass.
Jake snatched his drink away from
her grasp and raised it high above her head. “I’m a grown man. I’ll drink what
I want. Why do you care, anyway? You don’t even like me.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Didn’t have to.” He took a sip.
“Here, eat something.”
He scowled at her. “Are you my
mother?”
“The food is good.”
“Then why don’t you eat it?” he
challenged her.
Her stomach was in a knot. Seeing
Gunther made her appetite go south. She was barely able to choke down that raw
veggie.
I can’t tell him.
“I’m not
hungry.”
“That makes two of us.”
Grace put the plate down on the
table and sank into a chair that backed up to a wall. The loud music, the crowd…everything
grated on her nerves. She’d been humiliated again by this man and his fiancée,
too. Gathering what little dignity she had left, she pushed to her feet. “I’m
leaving.”
Jake raised his eyebrows. “The night
is young.” He made a sweeping gesture, almost knocking a drink out of the grasp
of one of the women who had been talking to him before.
“I think you should, too,” she said,
taking his arm.
“Now you want me, eh?” He snickered
then chugged the rest of his Cosmo. “Guess we’re leaving.”
When the cold air hit Grace in the
face, the effect of the alcohol she’d consumed wore off. But not for Jake. He
stumbled along, hanging on to her to keep from falling. They found Bobby’s limo.
He opened the door, and Jake fell in with Grace sliding in behind him.
“Why did you come with me if you
hate me so much?”
“I don’t hate you…I…just…you were
pretty harsh, nasty…”