The Movie Star's Red Hot Holiday Fling: A novella (Entangled Indulgence) (Sweetbriar Springs) (7 page)

Chapter Eleven

“I don’t know what’s worse, Blake. The fact that you used my life as a template for your screenplay, or that you didn’t even include me in your plans until you knew you had sold the story. You didn’t trust me one bit. And until you are willing to risk your heart, I can’t be with you.” Tears tracked down her cheeks.

“We agreed that this was temporary,” he said. “Our hearts weren’t ever supposed to get involved.”

“Mine did. And you wouldn’t have asked me to come to Hollywood if you didn’t care, but I need to be with someone who is 100 percent honest with me and with himself,” Jessie said, then backed out of the room and left him.

Blake’s pulse roared in his ears. He wanted to stop Jessie, but he’d learned long ago that once a woman decided he wasn’t good enough, it was better to move on. He’d forget he wanted Jessie in his life.

He walked to the door and closed it, pressing his hand on the solid wood until the thundering in his head subsided. By Monday he’d be back in Hollywood, and this time he’d be in the driver’s seat. He’d planned to celebrate the victory with Jessie on New Year’s Eve. Certain she’d say yes to his job offer.

But Jessie refused to believe his motivation for writing the story based on the few paragraphs she’d read today. And she’d cast him aside as if he were trash.

Blake moved to the bar, poured a Scotch, and downed half of the top-shelf brand. Then he carried the rest of the drink over to the desk and opened his laptop. Scrolling through the screenplay, the words on the screen blurred. If only he had told her about what he’d planned, but the time had never been right. At least that was the excuse he kept telling himself whenever the opportunity arrived.

In truth, he’d withheld the facts because he was shit scared of her reaction. The memory of another girl’s mockery when he’d opened up to her about his dreams flashed. She’d called him a pretty boy and said he’d never amount to much. Even his parents couldn’t understand his ambitions.

He’d set out to prove everyone wrong.

And he’d ended up becoming a cardboard action hero with few people he could trust. He was alone in a crowd that cared more about what he could give them than about the man they claimed to adore.

He pushed out of his chair and walked to the window. The sun’s last, glimmering rays cast shadows among the evergreens and the oak trees’ skeletal branches. Snow covered the resort’s expansive grounds, shrouding them. Yesterday, he’d felt triumphant about the studio caving to all his demands. Now a weight pressed against his chest, and he ached for the one person he had wanted to surprise with this news.

He’d lost sight of what was important even when he’d been presented with the gift of unconditional acceptance the previous night. Jessie had told him that he was a man of honor, worthy of love. Yet, he’d stopped himself from telling her about the script because, deep down, he was still that ragtag, latchkey kid with holes in his sneakers and thrift shop outfits who would never amount to anything important.

Jessie had been different from the start. She didn’t fawn over him or cut him slack just because he was a Hollywood icon. She respected him for the man he was.

Only to have him squander her loyalty with a lie by omission.

He finished the drink and pressed the glass to his forehead. Water beaded on the brim, trickled down his face. Licking his lips, he tasted salt. He swiped his shirt sleeve across his face, erasing the moisture.

He returned to the desk, and a flicker of light caught his eye. Bending, he located the source. Jessie’s medal. Blake picked it up and turned the gold medal heart over in his palm, taking in the five stars and the purple ribbon edged in silver. She’d risked her life for her country and had been ready to risk her heart. Though he hadn’t expected their no-strings affair to transform into something more, he’d grown to care about Jessie. He hadn’t wanted to say good-bye in the new year, couldn’t envision being without her. But instead of offering her a commitment, he’d offered her a maybe. A job, when what he should have offered was his heart.

Even worse, he’d withheld something vital. He’d lied about why, telling himself it was to protect her. The truth slammed behind his solar plexus. He’d been a deluded idiot.

He might have triumphed over the powers that be at the studio, but he’d failed the only person who mattered.

He cursed himself for being all kinds of stupid. Jessie had bared her soul to him, and he’d never risked trusting her with his own.

He turned the medal again. It was cold to the touch, the ribbon a soft counterpoint to the steel. Much like Jessie. He loved the sparks in her slate-blue eyes when she thought he challenged her, the sweet surrender of her body to his in the dark of night. And he loved the unwavering, unconditional acceptance she’d given so readily when he’d confessed his confusion about his movie role and the life he’d chosen after his parents had died.

He loved her determination, grit, and strength.

Desolation arrowed straight through his chest cavity and into his heart. He loved Jessie. And damn it all to hell, he’d lost her. If he’d been honest with her from the beginning and had trusted her, he might not be throwing a personal shithead party for one.

Blake placed her Purple Heart next to his laptop and stared at it while considering his options. He’d return it, but first he had to break through her defenses. Because nothing he achieved in the future would matter if he didn’t have Jessie.

After opening his laptop, he sent the entire document to the lodge’s business office printer. Then he texted his sister and asked her to run interference. Finally, he placed a call to the rehab center and spoke with Constanza. He stood, praying his plan would work.

…

The following morning, Jessie woke before the crack of dawn. Lonely, her heart aching and bruised, she dressed in her usual gym gear and repeated her ongoing internal mantra as if she were fingering rosary beads.
This was supposed to be only temporary. Just really great sex. Now it’s over.

She replayed the regret in Blake’s eyes when she’d accused him of using her to write his story.

He cared, but he was afraid of risking his heart. Although she felt she had made the right decision to walk away from the deal, and the man himself, staying away from Blake was soul-wrenching.

Oh, how she wished Blake had been honest with her from the beginning. Because the life he’d offered her, and the love she believed existed, could have given them both so much more.

Before she opened her door, she noticed an embossed envelope on the floor. Picking it up, she read Maisey’s personal invitation to the New Year’s Eve gala. Jessie had planned to attend with Blake, but could she go there, face the scrutiny of the rich and famous, and see him one last time?

The girl who had returned scarred and battered from the war shrunk from the idea.

But the woman who she’d become in the last few weeks wanted to prove that nothing intimidated her. She owed it to herself to attend, if only to let go of the idea of Blake and the life he’d offered.

Minutes later, Jessie opened the gym door, inhaling the room’s familiar scent of metal and rubber. Cold air raised goose bumps on her arms as she walked toward the weight rack. She figured fifty bicep curls and double the lunges should keep her muscles primed for the equipment-carry and hose-drag elements of the test. And the resulting sweat this morning would warm her blood.

When she reached the barbells, she rolled back on her heels. A printout of Blake’s screenplay had been placed on top of the thirty-pound weights.

Her pulse accelerated.
Don’t read it. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.
She picked up a pair of forty-pound barbells, stepped onto the mat, and faced the mirror to check her stance before curling the weights.

One rep. The pages mocked her, and the memory of how Blake had helped her regain her flexibility flashed. Two reps. The pages taunted her with the memory of how she wanted him to seduce her, if only to feel alive. Three reps. The pages enticed her, just as every moment he’d been with her had reawakened her femininity.

Her nose prickled and stung. Blake had never been repulsed by the scars on her leg. He hadn’t faked the desire in his eyes when he moved inside her. She lowered the weights, brushed the steel close to her right thigh, her throat aching. Jessie returned the weights to the rack. Picking up the clipped pages, she read the note he had written on the front.

If you feel the same way about the next Quinn Sawyer movie and me after you read this, I’ll forget I ever wrote this story. I’ll walk away from the Quinn Sawyer franchise’s offer to let me direct and star in this film. Blake

Chapter Twelve

“You positive she’s coming?” Blake asked Maisey as they walked to the bar. “Because this party’s almost over.” And if Jessie had read that script and hated it, he doubted she’d show up tonight. Why would she even want to look at him, let alone give him a second chance?

Midnight was minutes away. Half the guests were knee-deep in noisy celebration, dancing on the parquet floor beneath a canopy of enormous, fake snowflakes and twinkling lights.

His sister leveled her green eyes on his. “Blake, she RSVP’d via a text first thing this morning,” she said. “Everything is in place for your big scene.”

“Except for the main attraction.” He waved to Constanza, who had hooked up with the Sullivans in attendance. “Maybe she changed her mind.”

“Jessie’s too brave to walk away from a challenge.” Maisey clasped his forearm. “And you’re equally as strong. The pair of you make quite a couple. I imagine you’ll be sparring and making up for years to come.”

“If she’ll accept my apology,” Blake said, sticking his hand in his pocket and touching the velvet box.

“You screwed up,” Maisey said. “But you can fix this. Just don’t worry about what these Hollyweirdos think.”

His lungs expanded with brotherly pride. Maisey had grown from a frightened, lonely teenager into a strong, independent woman. Somehow she’d found her own happiness and love.

And man, he sure as hell wanted to grab onto that brass ring and hold it forever. Even if it meant destroying the one chance he had to prove he was more than a walking poster boy for Abs of Steel.

But Jessie was worth taking the gamble.

“I’m double-checking the DJ’s music list.” Maisey kissed his cheek. “Your star attraction has arrived.”

He looked toward the doors leading into the room. Air whooshed through his ears and the floor seemed to slip beneath his feet. Jessie stood at the entrance dressed in a long silver, figure-hugging evening gown he’d given to her before their fight. Though she’d sworn she’d never put herself in the limelight, every person at the party stopped to watch her walk into the room.

His brave, beautiful Marine held her head high, moved with grace and dignity, refusing to shy away from the group’s unwavering attention.

Heart pounding, Blake pushed through the thick crowd, making his way toward her as she penetrated the throng and walked to him. Soon they were standing face-to-face. The noises and sounds of the party faded until a bubble of expectation cocooned them.

“Jessie,” he said, wanting to touch her, afraid she would evaporate if he did.

“I read the story.” Jessie opened her matching clutch and withdrew the note he’d written. “You still willing to stand by your promise?”

Jessie’s voice cracked and a light sheen sparkled in her gaze, but challenge glinted there as well. His chest constricted. “Yes. I’ll kill the script.” He grabbed her hands, the paper crumpling. “I was a first class fool for hiding the truth from you.”

“What about the franchise’s offer to let you direct?” She raised her chin as the people in the room seemed to take a collective gasp. “Isn’t that what you wanted so you could prove that you’re not some Hollywood Hottie with shit for brains?”

He glanced around the room. Read the shock in his entourage’s raised brows and slack jaws. Never had anyone spoken to him like this in public, but he didn’t give a rat’s ass about what Hollywood’s elite thought tonight. All that mattered was Jessie.

She wasn’t about to make it easy. Not his Jessie. “I’ve spent my entire life proving that I was better than people gave me credit for. Years of perfecting a persona that garnered me fame. But I’ve never belonged anywhere until I met you.”

Her beautiful smoky eyes filled, and the paper she held dropped to the ground. “I know what it’s like to lie to yourself about what you want.”

Blake closed the remaining distance between them, inhaled her scent, and felt as if he’d come home. He framed her face and caressed her cheeks. “I believed I was helping you get over your trauma. The truth is that I got the better deal.” He willed her to see the love that flowed through his veins. Prayed he had at least one more chance with this strong, sexy woman. “You offered your heart to me. Not because you wanted something or because of the power I wield. But because you recognized who I am and loved me enough to force me to face that guy in the mirror. I’ll never deceive you, or myself, again.”

“You believe you can be that man always?” she asked. “’Cause I need to know if you can be honest with me—and with the people in this room—about what you really want to do with your script.”

…

Though the resort’s ballroom thumped with a pounding bass beat, all Jessie heard was the sound of her blood rushing through her veins. Oh, how she loved the man standing in front of her, but she had to hold her ground. If being with her was where Blake belonged, then he’d have to trust her completely.

His palms, so strong and yet so gentle, framed her cheeks. And she watched the play of emotions on his face, the uncertainty about what the right answer should be warring with what he hoped would bind her to him forever.

What seemed like hours passed in a few seconds before he replied. “Jessie.” Blake’s voice cracked. “I want you. I want what we can have together because I love you, but I don’t want to tear up that script. Not because I want to direct or prove that I’m not a body without a brain, but because this story needs to be told.”

A floating sensation seemed to lift her feet from the ballroom’s parquet floor. Emotions long held at bay blurred her vision. This bold, handsome man bound her to him with his touch and his brave, honorable answer.

The words she fought to speak struggled to the surface. “I love you, Blake Johnston.” She ghosted her fingers along his face’s strong jaw. “I love you for helping me move past my injuries and the guilt I carried for so many months. I love you for making me believe I’m the most beautiful woman in the world. And I love you for writing a beautiful screenplay that deserves to be filmed.”

“You love me?” he asked. “And the script?”

“You’ve given me everything I could ever want,” she said. “And I want to be a part of this story becoming a movie. I’m accepting the position.”

“I should have asked you to come with me because I wanted you, not just offered you a job with a
let’s see where this relationship takes us
crap lack of commitment.”

“True,” Jessie said. “But I’m the one who instigated a no-strings holiday fling.”

He smiled, his trademark dimple and devil-may-care charm sending electrical zips of pleasure to all her female zones.

“I won’t bring you out to Hollywood without adding a major string,” he said.

“A job is pretty major,” she said.

“Not major enough.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a velvet box. “I offered you the job because I didn’t want to say good-bye. What I really wanted was to be with you forever.”

Her pulse rate accelerated, air whooshed through her ears. In all her wildest dreams she’d never imagined this scenario. Only that they’d have the opportunity to be together, working and loving each other side by side. Marriage hadn’t entered her mind.

Her lungs squeezed. Hope tripped along her spine, raising her hairs. Time slowed, evaporated until her only reality was Blake’s warmth, the aroma of his clean male scent, and his gleaming green irises.

He loved her. Jessie’s heart skipped a beat, happiness mingled with the sweetness of knowing she’d found the perfect man. One who would give himself to her completely, her match in every way.

“Isn’t this too fast?” she asked. “We’ve only been together for a few short weeks.”

“I’ve been waiting my whole life to find you.” He turned his head to take in the crowd circling around them and opened the box. “Marry me, Jessie, and I promise I’ll be yours forever.”

The room hushed as if it had taken a collective breath. She contemplated her mom’s beaming face and her father’s slight nod of unspoken approval. The expectant gazes in her siblings and Nick Constanza’s cocky grin gave her a strength only the bonds of family could bring.

Peering inside the box, Jessie’s throat filled with emotion when she recognized the contents nestled inside the satin, creamy interior. A platinum band with a large, princess cut diamond surrounded by smaller ones. And her medal nestled next to the ring. “My Purple Heart,” she said, unable to hide the catch in her voice. “I couldn’t figure out how to ask for it after I left the room.”

“I’m sorry I hurt you, but I’m not sorry you left the medal behind.” He pinned it to her dress. “It showed me the way back to you.”

“Blake,” she whispered, touching her pin. “I don’t know what to say.”

He lifted the platinum engagement ring he’d had overnighted from New York. “Tell me you’ll stay with me forever.”

Warmth radiated through her chest. This wasn’t movie magic with a fade to black ending. This man. This moment. All of it was real. She couldn’t resist the wishes glittering in his emerald eyes. “Yes.” She held out her left hand. “But you know I’m never going to let you get off easy.”

“No kidding,” her brother Michael joked on the sidelines.

Jessie’s mother shot him a hush-your-mouth look that had him sheepishly shrugging. Beside him, Kennedy moved a little closer to Zach, her eyes filled with dreams Jessie had believed she’d never discover herself.

Blake slid the ring onto her finger. “I want you to be tough.”

He lowered his head to capture her lips. As she welcomed him, Jessie heard clapping and whistles of celebration. Around her a countdown began as everyone cheered the New Year into life. But Jessie wasn’t counting down, she was counting forward. Forward to the future with the man who owned her heart, and who held her soul entwined with his.

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