Never Say Never (The Price of Fame Series) (3 page)

The inside of the restaurant was dark red, making the place feel sensual. Sander thought candlelight at lunchtime was a bit over the top, but it contributed to the atmosphere. Most of the tables sat two and Sander knew this was the place the high rollers took their dates. He hadn’t brought Chloe to show off. He didn’t need to impress her. It was all about media coverage.

They were shown to their table and handed menus covered in red leather.

Chloe’s eyes were too wide again. “Erm, Sander?”

He frowned. “Is everything okay?”

She leaned across the table and whispered, “There aren’t any prices on this menu.”

Chloe looked so genuinely worried he couldn’t help his laugh from bursting free. Her face fell and he tried to pull it together.

“Lunch is on me,” he assured her.

“I want to at least pay for myself.” Her eyes glinted gold in the candlelight.

“That’s not necessary. Order whatever you like.” Sander used his no-nonsense voice, the one he’d learned from his father—one of the few things the man had taught him. Chloe’s lips pursed, but she didn’t argue. He grinned.

A waiter dressed impeccably in a dark shirt and trousers arrived at their table. “What would you like to drink?”

“Chloe?” Sander asked.

“Mineral water, please.”

Sander raised a brow. “I’ll have a beer.”

The man bowed slightly and left to get their drinks. “Mineral water?” he asked. Chloe’s plain choice startled him. Every woman he’d ever dated always had ordered the most expensive drink on the menu.

Chloe shrugged. “It’s too early for me. It’s only just past one.” She looked around the room, then down to her jacket and fiddled with the zipper. “I wish I’d had a chance to change.”

He reached over, giving into his impulse, and snared her hand in his. “You look lovely. Don’t be self-conscious.”

And he wasn’t trying to make her feel better. She truly was lovely. Her shiny hair was pulled back into an elegant twist showing off her flawless skin. Her creamy complexion contrasted brilliantly with her red coat. Heat buzzed into him from the contact with her skin. He quickly released her hand before he had any other impulses.

“Thank you.”

“Tell me about yourself, Chloe.”

* * * *

Chloe blinked a few times too many for the short time that had passed. He hadn’t bothered to get dressed up for lunch and she felt a bit better. Still, his navy pullover was no doubt designer, as were his faded jeans. She shook away the last vestige of unease. It didn’t matter what she looked like, they weren’t really dating.

“There isn’t much to tell. I worked in America for five years and came home for good before Christmas.”

She didn’t want to think too much about her time in the States. Sure, she’d loved her job and friends, but Dane tainted her memories.

Sander leaned forward, but didn’t rest his elbows on the table. Pushy but well-mannered. A smile pulled up the corner of her lips. There were many sides to Sander Chase. Her curiosity came alive as she realized she’d soon get to see them all.

“Ah, so that’s why you sounded American.” He flashed her a smile worthy of a tooth-whitening advert and it sent her heart galloping. “Where did you stay?”

“LA mostly. What about you? Aren’t you from the States?”

Sander leaned back, away from her. The sizzle in the air when he’d been so close evaporated. His gaze closed off and the laid-back, teasing Sander was gone. Chloe frowned at him and wondered again whether it was a fake date he needed, or a psychiatrist.

“LA. My mother’s an actress, my father a director. They moved around a lot.”

Chloe couldn’t help noticing he said
they
not
we
. “Didn’t you go with them?”

“No.” The word was devoid of emotion, as was his expression.

Shooting movies took months, sometimes a year. How could anyone leave their child for that length of time?

“Who took care of you?” she asked, utterly appalled on his behalf.

Sander sighed. “I didn’t need taken care of, Chloe.” He ran a hand through his golden, surfer-boy hair. “If my parents taught me anything, it was how to get by without them. There were staff in the house, and I had a nanny until I was twelve. After that I was too busy with singing lessons and home schooling to notice their absence.”

Chloe’s heart twisted. Every child needed to be cared for. How could he sit there straight-faced and tell her otherwise? No one could be that unfeeling. Or did he simply push back the memories of his lonely childhood because that was easier to deal with? Wasn’t that what she was doing with the Dane fiasco?

The waiter returned with their drinks. Sander didn’t even wait until the man left. He picked up his bottle of beer and took a long pull.

She didn’t know him at all, not really, but he came to the coffee house early every afternoon, though she’d tried to avoid him by taking the earlier shift today. Still, she’d never smelled alcohol on his breath, so the fact he drained half the bottle now was a sure sign the conversation was heading down an uncomfortable path. She decided to take mercy and not probe further. After all, he wasn’t the only one who wanted to keep things in his past private.

“Are you ready to order?” the waiter asked.

Chloe searched for a nametag on his impeccably pressed shirt, but there was none. Being a waitress herself, she liked people to see her as a person and aimed to treat others in the profession with the same respect.

“I’ll have the steak, medium, with boiled potatoes,” Sander said, and she was pleased to note he made eye contact with the man. “Thank you.”

“I’ll have the same.” She smiled at the waiter. He bowed, then turned and walked away.

When her gaze flitted back to Sander, he was staring at her intently. The same determined expression as yesterday etched his face and she fought the urge to swallow. What was he going to talk her into doing now?

“All we need to know about each other are the basics, Chloe. We’re not entering a competition to prove we’re a couple.”

He had a point. She ignored the trickle of disappointment that she wouldn’t get to know the real him and nodded.

“I’m twenty-seven, and I worked on
Crime Busters
as lead makeup artist for a couple of years as well as a few low-budget movies before I came back to London. My dad died when I was four, and I stay with my mum.”

She stopped before she told about her mum. That wasn’t covered in the basics. That was personal, and if he wasn’t giving away personal, neither was she.

Sander took another sip of his beer, not a huge gulp this time. He smiled his laid-back, sexy smile. Chloe’s shoulders sagged as relief crept through her. She had him back.

“Thirty-two, work as a DJ for Studio Four’s digital radio station and I’m a judge on
Do You Have What It Takes?
for a few months out of the year. If we pull this off, I’ll be back in the band and probably on tour in January.”

His jaw tightened and his eyes blazed with anger when he mentioned the band, and Chloe couldn’t blame him. She wouldn’t be able to work with the woman she’d caught Dane in bed with and he wasn’t her fiancé at the time. From what she understood, Sander had planned to spend the rest of his life with this woman and she’d run off with his friend.

Anger burned hot through her veins—something she hadn’t felt for so long. Sander really was bringing her back to life.

“Sounds like you have a full plate,” she muttered, more disappointed by the realization than she let show.

Not that she should be disappointed. Sander wasn’t looking to date her for real, so why the hurt when she found out there was no time in his schedule for a woman? Chloe shook off the discomfort.

“I do. And reforming the band is a headache I don’t need.”

Chloe’s hands twitched to reach for him, to offer him comfort like he’d done with her earlier, but she pulled them under the table. She doubted he wanted her sympathy. In fact, he looked annoyed, rather than hurt. Annoyed he was being forced back into the company of two people who had betrayed him.

Maybe he really didn’t care. She looked down at her glass. No. Nobody could be as unaffected as he pretended to be. Not when a loved one betrayed him.

“One date won’t convince people.” His not-to-be-argued-with tone brought her attention back to his face. His eyes were flinty blue. She frowned. “We’ll need to be seen together more than this one time, especially since there’s a surprising lack of paparazzi today.”

Deep down, she knew this was coming. But time was something she didn’t have much of either. Her mum couldn’t be left alone for long and Mrs. Young had her own life and troubles. If something happened and she wasn’t there, Chloe would never forgive herself. There had already been an incident when her mum had left the fryer on and forgotten about it. There had only been a small fire, but it could have been much, much worse. Her throat tightened with remembered panic.

“Chloe?” Worry creased faint lines in Sander’s forehead.

She pulled herself back to the present. “I don’t have any free time, Sander. You should find someone else to be your date. I don’t…I can’t…”

The waiter arrived with their lunch and gave her an opportunity to regroup. The chance of a job at Studio Four had long-term benefits, but how was she going to manage short-term? Maybe if she explained to Mrs. Young that she would need more help just now until she was able to pay for a part-time caretaker they’d find a way to manage.

The waiter bowed and left them to their meal. The steak smelled heavenly and distracted her for a second.

“Why not, Chloe?” Sander was giving her his no-nonsense look again. On anyone else, it would have been intimidating and annoying. On him it was kind of sexy. “What other commitments do you have? Tell me and I might be able to help. After all, you’re the one doing me a favor. Do you have a child?”

Chloe’s mouth dropped open again. Was there any subject he wouldn’t broach? She could add
rude
to the list. “No! I don’t have a child.”

Sander relaxed, and he grinned. “Then unless you lied yesterday and do have a husband or boyfriend, I don’t see why you can’t spare a few hours a day with me.”

His grin turned cocky and his expectant look riled her agitation. Clearly he thought she’d bend to his will. She was probably the first woman who had turned him down.

“Given your schedule, I’m sure you understand people have commitments. I can’t drop everything to flounce about London on your arm. I have to work, and…have other things which take up my time.” She glared at him, unflinching and had to fight a smile as his grin faded.

He ran a hand through his wavy hair. “That’s what I’m saying. If you tell me what the other things are, I might be able to help.”

No way would she ask for help with her mum. And what could Sander do anyway? She doubted he’d invite Joyce out with them. No, there wasn’t anything he could help with on that score. Chloe sighed.

“I’ll see what arrangements I can make.” After all, it would benefit her to do this for him if she managed to get the job.

Thinking about asking Mrs. Young snapped her attention to her phone. She pulled it out of her pocket. Ice trickled through her veins when she realized she’d forgotten to turn it back on. With fumbling fingers, she managed to power it up. As soon as the voicemail symbol flashed at the top of the screen, panic tightened her throat. Ignoring Sander’s searching gaze, she retrieved the messages and put the phone to her ear.

With a sinking heart, she listened to the digital voice announce she had six new messages.
Please let everything be all right.
But it wasn’t.

Chapter 3

Sander watched the blood drain from Chloe’s face and fear widen her eyes. She still held the phone pressed to her ear and her free hand shook on the table. He reckoned it had been almost a minute since her last breath.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have to go,” she whispered.

Tears welled in her eyes and he silently cursed. What the hell was he supposed to do? Sure, he’d seen women cry. There’d been tears every week on
Do You Have What It Takes?
, but there were always people there to deal with it. His heart pounded against his ribs.

“Come on.” Sander rose, pulled out his wallet, and threw a few bills on the table.

Chloe didn’t move so he took her by the arm and urged her from the seat.
Please, don’t cry.

“Chloe, listen.”

She looked up at him, those big, golden eyes shining with moisture.

“What happened? Talk to me.” He wanted to shake her so she’d respond. Maybe even get her angry. Anything was better than tears.

“I have to go. My mum…” Her voice trailed off on a sob and his heart crashed to his stomach. Damn. What the hell he was he supposed to do with that?

He put an arm around her waist, nodded an apology to the waiter, then strode toward the front door, pulling Chloe along with him. The valet assured Sander his car was on its way. When they reached the curb, he didn’t release her. He chanced a look down at her face. No tears yet, but they didn’t look far away.

“Chloe, what happened to your mother?”

She stared down at her phone, her fingers white at the knuckles where she gripped it.

“Mrs. Young, my neighbor, left a message. My mum has dementia. Sometimes she forgets her life now and thinks she’s in the past. Mrs. Young stays with her while I’m at work. But she left the house for a minute, and my mum went out. She’s missing, Sander, and I don’t know how to find her.”

Her hands trembled. He felt like someone had sucker punched him in the gut.
Commitments.
Yeah, she had plenty of those, and there he was demanding more of her time. Time she really didn’t have.

He released her and paced across the pavement. “Where do you think she might be?”

She didn’t answer, so he stopped in front of her. Chloe’s head bent down to her phone. Shoulders slumped, she looked defeated. Sander reached out and placed his hands on her upper arms.

“Chloe.”

Her head jerked up. Eyes still shiny, she let out a soft, ragged breath, like she’d lost before she’d even began trying. To hell with that.