Without hesitation, she tilted her head and corrected him. “She hired me because I knew her in Miami.”
Every cell in his body froze. “Oh.”
She licked her lips, like she hadn’t just hit him over the head with bad news. “I also know she can treat people really bad. I knew her when she dated your brother Peter, and she didn’t want anything to do with poor folks like me. But she knows I’m dependable and that’s why she hired me. I’m not going to tell her anything about you. I actually like you.”
Poor… dependable… hired. None of that sounded like she had reason to betray him by telling secrets to Jennifer. He’d pay Ashley well and he wanted to trust her.
Matt ignored the questions that plagued him and decided to stick with his first impression.
Ashley was the perfect choice for his plan. Decision made, he smiled, kissed her thumb and asked, “So you like me?”
Her face turned red as she laughed like he’d hit a nerve. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
“Okay.” He spoke in a commanding tone. “Let’s do this.”
She scooted closer to him and asked in a low voice, “What do you have in mind?”
To have her, right here and right now, for a start—never mind that they were in public and he had an image to project. That image was to be respectful in well-established upscale restaurants where people paid money for candlelight and soft music. To raise his public approval rating.
But when they were at his house… perhaps they might both enjoy indulging in sensuality.
Matt repressed the impulse to kiss her and said, “Well, I was thinking I can pay ten thousand a week for public outings.”
She tugged her ear and stared at his lower lip as she asked, “And that includes housing?”
Maybe his plan was full of holes, but for once in his life, he was ready to open up his private life to a total stranger—he normally valued alone time and his home was his place to recoup from pretending.
If they were in the same place, without people and their phone cameras, he could do way more with Ashley, if she wanted. “Yes. My house, but you’ll have your own room.”
The last woman he’d had over certainly hadn’t, but he respected his employees.
She chewed on her lip which probably hurt but then she stopped and gave herself and him a curt nod. “All right. What about kissing and public displays… like now?”
Ashley’s fresh citrus smell made his mouth water in a way he hadn’t expected. He took her hand and stared into her eyes. “Yes, we need to kiss in public.”
Her face flushed and her lashes fluttered, sending his blood pumping faster as their faces drew closer. “We’re in public,” she said. “Are we going to test that?”
His heartbeat thrashed in his ears but he nodded and half-closed his own eyes. “Sounds perfect.”
His lips met hers and nothing else mattered.
Most of the time a pretend-kiss meant nothing, but Ashley knocked his heart out of its cave in his chest. Now, with Ashley, he was aware in a way he never was.
Having her as his own, conscious that she was a temporary girlfriend, made him want to draw out this moment.
Breathless, the kiss came to an end. Ashley broke the silence first as his skin was still too raw and robbed him of speech. She simply said, “Wow.”
Real must be Ashley’s middle name. He searched her eyes to see if she was teasing him but saw only honesty and she made him feel… special. He tugged his ear to ground himself. “No one’s ever said that before.”
“I wasn’t expecting…” Her voice trailed off, and she didn’t finish whatever she’d been about to say.
He agreed, though. Her kiss burned into his soul.
His logical mind reminded him that actually feeling for Ashley wasn’t the plan.
Matt and Ashley were a business deal and he’d be safer if he stayed uninvolved.
Involvement, for real, brought complications to his ordered life when he needed to focus on his career.
He sat back, stared at the menu until he was sure his voice would sound normal, even if on the inside the walls around his heart were shaking, and asked, “So is the salary for your employment acceptable?”
She also studied her menu and nodded. “It’s great, except-”
The waiter arrived and interrupted them. Matt was surprised when she really did order her own plate of spaghetti—no woman he knew would eat a carb. He blinked and ordered the same. Tomorrow he’d work it off at the gym. Once they were alone, he reached for her hand and said, “I’ll get you a car for your use so we can return the rental.”
“I’ll need my bag.”
“My staff will have it delivered.”
She flinched but then took a deep breath, “I guess I just need to see the room.”
Good. The plan continued. He’d actually have to guard his attraction near Ashley as he couldn’t afford to lose control. Love was something his sister and brothers had, but for him, as a movie star, the last thing he needed was to be out of control, ever.
He picked up his phone as the waiter brought the plates, grinning as he set down their dinners. The staff was probably happy that they’d ordered real food and not just salads. Typing quickly he said, “I’ll text my lawyers to send the contract over to my place—they can meet us there after we finish our meal.”
The waiter left and he put his phone down on the table. As he picked up his silverware, Ashley said, “And all my things will be there by then?”
Rational. He texted his people and then tucked his phone in his back pocket. “Staff never lets me down. I pay well.”
They ate a few bites in silence. The cream in the Alfredo sauce made the dish tasty and he never ate this much unless he was bulking up for a role with hours at the gym. Ashley said, “You’re very efficient about all this.”
Efficient was how he got things done. He had no time for anything not in his career path, especially love. “I’m excited about the opportunity to land the series because it then it solidifies me as an action star.” He leaned closer. “Your job with Jennifer makes me nervous.”
Ashley let out a small sigh. “I totally understand but I feel bad about leaving her when she just offered the job.”
Staying loyal was a good quality that he normally reserved for his siblings. He nodded. “Well, I want you to take the job, but I’m serious about not telling Jennifer any personal details. We can put it in the contract.”
“Not a problem.”
Neither of them said anything else as they ate and he tried to be discreet as he watched her make a big dent in the huge bowl of pasta. She was a normal sized woman with nice curves and a great figure yet every actor or model he knew counted every calorie in each bite.
Maybe because she’d traveled this morning she hadn’t had a good meal. Most of his friends didn’t have the Morgan jet service.
Matt’s lips tingled for more of her. He knew he shouldn’t. But once she finished wiping her mouth and putting her silverware down, he leaned closer. She pressed her hands on his chest and asked, “Are we moving this fast?”
“Sounds perfect to me.” They kissed, the diners disappeared, and fireworks exploded.
No other woman had ever made him forget where he was, except Ashley. He was always aware of his image. Hopefully this feeling was just chemicals because she was so different that he had no defense against her charms.
Chapter 5
Ashley hugged Matt’s body on the back of his motorcycle as he weaved through congested traffic.
Los Angeles was just as bad, possibly worse, than Miami and that said a lot. But the night air felt lighter here.
Probably less humidity.
They passed black bars surrounding an estate and her eyes widened.
The house they headed toward was like a film set from one of the Hollywood movies where some spoiled daughter lived.
Seriously, there were fountains with cherubs, and a large green lawn that must be gorgeous in the sunshine.
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br /> He turned off the motorcycle and hopped off as she removed her helmet. Once she was sure her jaw was free, she stared up at the huge house. “This is where you live?”
He shrugged like this was normal and took a step up onto his porch and toward the white double doors that might as well be doors that brought her into heaven. “It’s where I live when I’m working on a movie, yeah. I have a home in Miami too.”
They went in together. She gazed at the crystal chandelier and the pop art on his walls.
Cleaning the chandelier probably took an army of temporary help an entire day to hand wash.
The light brown bamboo floors were impeccably polished to a shine as she stepped on them, without having her cleaning booties on over her tennis shoes.
She swallowed and met his blue eyes. “I didn’t realize you bought on Star Island.”
He closed the door behind her and frowned. “How did you know that?”
Her mind raced. She knew what? Then she realized she’d mentioned his Miami home and family.
Not letting him know who she was seemed unfair. She’d already conquered her goal of speaking in front of him, but honestly she’d never be the love of his life in a day. She wasn’t entirely stupid but maybe he’d notice her as a woman, and not just the housekeeper. She pursed her lips and refrained from biting them as she said, “I told you I knew Jennifer and pretty much hated her when she dated your brother.”
He waved her in farther and walked her up a series of stairs that would make Scarlett O’Hara envious as he said, “Yet you continue to work for her.”
True. Her pulse zipped. She was a horrible liar. She ignored how tense her body was as they climbed but on the top step she met his gaze and said, “Guess you can say I stick to what I know rather than venture out of my comfort zone too often. I know she can be a pain, but she also has a nicer side.”
He gestured for her to follow him toward a room at the end of a long hall with double doors. “I don’t know that side. I didn’t know her when she dated Peter. I only met her when I found out I was a Morgan.”
More yellow-haired ladies in pop art lined the walls.
Jennifer was right about the blonde thing.
Clearly.
Her nerves were on edge but she followed him and said, “That had to be strange. I know what I read about you in the magazines…” Her voice trailed off as he opened a suite fit for a princess. The room was long and white, with a beautiful blue bed that overlooked a pool that also had fountains and lights that shone. She headed toward the window, hugged herself that she wasn’t here to clean anything and exclaimed, “This room is gorgeous!”
“It has the pool.” He pointed toward the open door behind her. “ Mine is across the hall and has a mountain view, not something you see in Miami.”
She glanced down and saw her one suitcase by his feet.
This was real. She twirled and joked, “Honestly, as an employee I half expected a spot under the stairs, or an attic.”
Again she’d said that word honest. Her brain whispered to be that.
Matthew leaned against the door in a way his sister would have yelled at him for slouching as he sometimes did. “You’re going to be my girlfriend. The maid has to think it’s real. The gardener, and even the mailman. No one can think this is anything but legitimate.”
Her entire body zipped with energy. He hit way too close to home with his maid remark, and her pulse raced.
Besides, if she was ever to win his heart then honesty was the only path forward.
While he didn’t recognize her, if someone else told him who she was… well that was the end of her wish for him to see her, as her. She lifted her chin. “A maid huh?”
“Yeah.” He straightened.
He was way more striking and handsome when he stood tall like that. Her body grew warm as she nodded and gazed at his black shoes instead of his face to explain. She took a deep breath and started, “So speaking about family…”
But she couldn’t finish.
She closed her fingers into fists at her side to force herself to spit out the words.
But then Matt motioned with his head to leave the white room, and she followed.
They headed toward the stairs leading down as he said, “My father never let me know he was my father. I found out at the reading of the will that the family banker was actually related to me.”
History. Yeah. She needed to tell him hers. She massaged the back of her neck. “I can’t imagine. I am not the daughter my mother wanted, but my father, until he left, kept me sane.”
His eyes were sharp and haunted as he said, “I wouldn’t know what that’s like.”
Elizabeth, Luke, and Matt sounded like they’d had the worst of it with no one watching out for them.
“Boarding school. I read about it.”
He tensed before continuing down the stairs. “What else do you know about me?”
She’d mentioned being a fan. That wasn’t her secret, so she shrugged and admitted, “Everything ever printed.”
His lips thinned. “Not all of what you read is true.”
Fair. She knew that, but on the other hand, she’d scrubbed toilets he’d used so she knew more of the truth than he did. She smiled at him and asked, “Do you like Spanish omelets?”
His gaze narrowed as he led her into the huge living area with couches in a square, made for talking and no TV in sight. “Yes.”
She winked though she’d made them for him. “I read that in a Healthy Living article.”
He crossed his arms like he was upset, but then nodded. “I see, but to make our relationship seem real I should know about you too. Let me get the paperwork.”
He headed toward a corner desk but she said to his back, “Before we sign the contracts at my house later, there’s something I want to say.”
He turned on his heels and gave her a charming smile. “Over a glass of wine?”
Yes. Alcohol would be preferable to spit out what she had to share with him.
Her fantasy was so improbable and it was good she hadn’t unpacked. Ashley nodded. “Sounds perfect. I’m slightly nervous.”
He walked to a side room as he called behind him, “Don’t be. I’m nice.”
Yet he had no idea who she was which meant he’d never once really seen her—she’d been in the same room as him and she’d been invisible. Her heart raced as she murmured, “So you say now.”
“Red or white?” She craned her neck and saw that he was in a wine cellar.
A few sips for courage. She sucked in her lips and decided to start with small truths as she said, “White. A pinot grigio is my favorite.”
He snapped his fingers. “That’s the stuff I should know about my girlfriend.”
He sauntered back in his designer jeans, blue Henley shirt that matched his eyes, and his hair growing out for his new role and her heart and body melted. Matthew was here, pretending to be a rock star, and sexier than any movie or TV screen she’d seen him on.
Tonight was different than all those times in his sister’s house—she’d taken a courageous first step to find him and tell him the truth about her feelings. For months she’d seen his kindness with his nephew and realized he’d be a great parent, because he listened to the boy and guided without raising his voice. In fact, she never once saw him upset about anything.
The day she’d heard how some ex-girlfriend had broken up with him via text message, she’d softened while he’d be on the patio enjoying his breakfast.
She’d made him coffee and hoped it helped—wanting to tell him that a serious relationship deserved an in-person, adult conversation. Instead, she’d watched him sip his coffee. Now she sighed, glanced away as he handed her a glass he’d poured, and ignored the heat in her veins. “There is something bigger.”
He brushed against her hand, and a wave of goosebumps grew. She looked up at him as he said, “Okay, let’s sit and you tell me.”
Her sudden plan to talk to him and figure out what was next in h
er life would come to an end. And then she’d settle into figuring out how to do interior design that she studied and never used, seriously, and not just pine for love. She took a sip and wished she could freeze this second and never tell him.
She followed him and sat on one of four couches. She trembled and drank, then stared down into the white liquid. “This might be a deal-breaker, but I won’t hold it against you. I’ll take my suitcase and get a car if it’s too much to handle.”
He patted her knee. “And where would you go? It’s night now.”
Hotels never closed. The pang in her heart couldn’t be helped as she glanced up and said, “Doesn’t matter. I need to tell you the whole truth.”
He held his barely touched glass between his legs and squared his shoulders. “What’s going on?”
Thunder and lightning wasn’t good enough of a description for the storm in her chest. She sucked on her lips and ignored the tingles she now had as she squeezed her eyes shut. It was time to tell him. “I wasn’t completely honest about how I know Jennifer and your family. Well, I was, but I was holding back, which is dishonest. You should know.”
He gulped the white wine and then put his glass on the small table beside him. “Yeah, that makes me pause. So what’s going on, Ashley?”
Now or never. She refused to look at him as she told him everything. “I… I was the surrogate for Peter and Belle’s baby. Jennifer offered to pay off my student loan debt if I took a nine-month temporary job and had a baby for her. She said it wasn’t her egg, and I accepted the cash.”
“You had…” His voice trailed off and she dared to look up at him. She’d expected fury but his furrowed brow emitted confusion. “Why would you do that?”
Bills. A way out. Being a maid is no one’s dream. She didn’t move a muscle as she said, “I was making payments on loans that were way out of proportion to what I was getting paid.”
He jumped out of his seat on the couch and paced. She imagined that any moment he would order her to run upstairs, get all her belongings and leave. Matt said, “Wait. Peter said the surrogate was Elizabeth’s maid.”
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