Snowbound at Christmas

by Debbie Mason

  “Molly’s probably ticked that Chloe met Harry first,” Cat responded to Ty, catching a glimpse of George, who stood a few feet down from them watching his “wife” flirt with another man. His arms were crossed, his jaw tight. “Uh, Ty, what’s up with George?”

  Ty lifted a shoulder. “Probably nervous they’re going to replace him with Tall, Dark, and Gorgeous. I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Georgie hasn’t been himself since his wife left him last year, and it’s coming through on the camera.” Ty nodded at the couple dancing at the “gala.” Harry in a tux and Chloe in a red formfitting gown moved around the ballroom in perfect time to the music. Her sister beamed up at the man holding her in his arms with a mesmerized look on her face. After being held in those arms, Cat understood Chloe’s fascination all too well.

  “The way your sister is eating up Harry with her eyes, I wouldn’t put it past her to suggest that they do. And we all know they’ll do anything to keep America’s sweetheart happy.”

  Cat glanced from the beautiful, young couple to the haggard-looking George. The older man was an institution. He’d been on As the Sun Sets since its inception. If Chloe did what Ty thought she might, there would be one more person gunning for her sister. Cat had to make sure that didn’t happen. “George is a better actor. They wouldn’t replace him with Harry.”

  “Are you kidding? Harry’s a fabulous actor. You can’t pick up even a hint of his British accent. But it has nothing to do with who’s the better actor. It’s all about the ratings. And my bet’s on the numbers going through the roof when the female viewers get a load of Harry.”

  “Phil won’t get rid of George. They’re best friends.”

  “In this business, friendship means nothing. Dame Alexander has been buttering Phil up all day. Look at them.”

  She glanced to her left. The older woman sat beside the director, patting her cat while talking to Phil, who appeared to be hanging on to her every word.

  No, no, no! Cat couldn’t deal with the two of them on the set every day. Everywhere she’d turned today, they were there. And they were winding her sister up. There had to be some way to get rid of them… “If word got out that Harry was gay, the female viewers wouldn’t be so hot and heavy for Rand Livingstone and those ratings would fall.”

  “Pussy,” Ty said in a strangled voice.

  “You know what I mean. I’m not saying As the Sun Sets fans are homophobic. I’m just saying that it’s hard for women to fantasize about a man when they know he’s fantasizing about another man.”

  Ty bowed his head, pressing his hand to his mouth. She shook his arm. “Ty, I didn’t mean to your hurt feelings. I don’t care if you or anyone else is gay or straight…”

  He looked up. He was laughing. She swatted his arm. “It’s not funny. I thought I’d upset you.”

  Once he got his laughter under control, he put his hands on her shoulders. “Lord Harry is about as gay as I am straight.”

  Chapter Five

  Grayson had never wanted to wrap up a case as badly as he did this one. After spending ten hours, forty-five minutes, and seven point five seconds in the company of Chloe O’Connor, he wanted to off her himself. Once she hit the set, Chloe transformed from the sweet woman he’d met this morning into a controlling, neurotic diva. He didn’t know how her sister put up with her constant demands. She was cold and needed a sweater, she was hot and needed to be fanned, she was thirsty, she was… a royal pain in the ass. And until he had evidence against Cat, he was stuck shadowing her.

  Because, despite sympathizing with Cat, she remained his primary suspect. Sadly for his sanity and the clock ticking down on his vacation time, the woman wouldn’t make it easy for him. As he’d discovered while trapped in the closet with her, she was sharp; nothing got past her. Which he found as hot as the gun she was packing. If he was honest, he’d admit there wasn’t much about the sexy ex-cop that he didn’t find attractive. Including her smart mouth.

  But as a special agent with ten years’ experience, even though all signs pointed to Cat, he’d added four more people to his suspect list. Molly currently held second place on that list. The actress made no attempt to hide her feelings for Chloe, and the magazine clipping he’d found in Molly’s dressing room had been missing several words.

  Something Cat would have discovered if he hadn’t slid the article up his sleeve before she patted him down. Odds were Cat had planted the evidence, but if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have thought anything of it. Other than to question his reason for pocketing the article.

  Chloe’s agent and the daytime drama’s executive producer had decided to keep the threatening letter from Cat as well as Chloe. They’d been afraid that in an effort to protect her sister, she’d shut down production. More than one person today had commented about her being protective of her sister. Unlike Chloe, Cat appeared to be well liked and respected by the cast and crew. It was the reason he’d widened his investigation.

  He hadn’t had an opportunity to compare the missing words in the clipping to the letter yet, but he planned to as soon as he left the studio. They’d just wrapped up filming for the day, and once he’d seen Chloe safely off the lot, he was off duty. Because of the clause in her life insurance policy that doubled the payout should she die in a work-related accident, chances were good that Chloe would be safe once she left the studio. A killer typically didn’t change their MO at this stage of the game. And Cat wouldn’t want to risk becoming a suspect if the accident happened at the beach house they shared without witnesses present. No, the lady was too smart for that.

  As they walked off the set, Chloe looped her arm through his. “See what a little coaching can do? You did so much better the fifth time around.”

  “Indeed,” he clipped en Brit. She’d called cut so many times that he was surprised Phil didn’t toss her pretty little ass off the set.

  “There’s just one more teensy suggestion I’d like to make,” she said with an ingratiating smile. One he was unfortunately becoming familiar with.

  “Go ahead, my dear. You are the star after all.” Her smile widened. So it wasn’t just her sister’s sarcasm she was oblivious to.

  “You need to smolder more.”

  He cocked his head. “Smolder?”

  “Yes, you want me in your bed. You need to make the audience feel your heat, your passion, your desire for me.” Her pupils dilating, her red-glossed lips parting, she looked like she was having an orgasm.

  Grayson held back a grimace, patting her arm as he disengaged her fingers from his sleeve. “You can be sure I’ll work on that this evening. I’ll practice my smoldering in front of the mirror.”

  Sensing someone watching him, he looked up. Cat’s eyes bored into him, giving new meaning to the word smoldering. He wondered what he’d done to annoy her. Whatever it was, Ty, the gossip-loving hairstylist, stood behind her, appearing highly amused. In Grayson’s twenty minutes in the stylist’s chair, he’d learned more about what was going on behind the scenes at the daytime drama than he would have in twenty-four hours of digging on his own. It had been thanks to Ty that he’d nailed down his four other suspects.

  The hairstylist would probably be surprised to learn he was included on that list. He’d given himself away when Grayson asked about yesterday’s incident. Animated prior to Grayson mentioning Chloe’s close call, Ty’s expression had gone suspiciously blank. Grayson imagined he himself had worn a similar expression when, a few moments later, he learned that Cat had planned to leave her sister’s employ that very same day. Probably, he surmised, because she assumed her employer would be dead.

  But Ty had been “over the moon” that the “accident” had changed his darling Pussy’s plans. And it was that reaction that had landed him on Grayson’s suspect list. In an attempt to keep his best friend from leaving, it was possible Ty had ensured she stay around to protect her sister. A sister for whom Ty made no attempt to hide his contempt.

  “Here comes Dame Alexander.” Chloe nibbled on her bottom
lip as she once again clutched his sleeve. “I’m so nervous, my legs are shaking. Do you think she’ll critique my performance? I don’t know what I’ll do if she didn’t like it.” She waved her hand in front of her face. “I feel awfully warm. I need my sister.”

  He had to calm her down before she sent Cat to look for her pills. They currently resided in his dressing room. He lifted her delicate hand to his lips. Deepening his voice and accent, he said, “You were brilliant. If anything, Estelle will tell you your talent is wasted on a daytime drama. You belong on the big screen, my dear.” He stroked his thumb along the inside of her wrist in an effort to relax her.

  She looked up at him with a hopeful expression on her face. “Do you really think so?”

  “Trust me, I’ve been in this business long enough to recognize true talent. And you are a natural.” She was. And while for the better part of the day she’d also been a spoiled, demanding diva, he found her current insecurity oddly endearing.

  He released her hand when her pulse slowed, relieved to see the color returning to her cheeks. She rested her head against his shoulder. “Has anyone ever told you that you have the most calming voice, Harry? It’s truly miraculous how easily you banished my nerves.”

  “Happy to be of service.” He concentrated on keeping his own nervousness from showing. Not only because he seemed to have become the object of Chloe’s affection, but because his grandmother walked toward them with a smile that reached her eyes. An unusual occurrence, and one that had him girding his loins. She was up to something. He was sure of it.

  “You, my boy, are going to be a star.” GG tapped his shin with her cane. “Phillip saw it straight away. There’s just a few minor issues to deal with before he offers you a three-year contract.” She rubbed her cheek on Fluffy’s head. “I feel ten years younger. The lights, the cameras, the action—”

  Was she out of her bloody mind? “Impossible, Estelle. As you well know, I have another commitment.” He’d go home, toss back half a bottle of Johnnie Walker, and pray today had all been a bad dream. If it wasn’t, he was calling his cousin first thing in the morning.

  “Pfft, you can—”

  He had to cut her off before she blew his cover. Slipping his arm around Chloe’s shoulders, he drew her close. “If it weren’t for Chloe’s coaching, I would have embarrassed you. She’s not only gorgeous and a brilliant actress, she’s generous with her talent and advice.”

  Chloe put a hand on her chest and gazed up at him adoringly. “Oh, Harry, that’s the sweetest thing anyone I have ever worked with has said to me.”

  He imagined it was. His grandmother’s calculating gaze moved from him to Chloe. “You’re right, Harry. I’m thinking too small. With the chemistry you two have, you should be on the big screen. You’ll be the next Bogart and Bacall.”

  “Burton and Taylor,” Chloe chimed in, sliding out from under his arm to loop hers through his grandmother’s.

  GG patted Chloe’s hand. “Yes, I can see it now. You’ll just have to learn to emote, my boy.”

  “That’s exactly what I said, Dame Alexander. And did you think perhaps he needs to be more aggressive, commanding? He seemed a little effeminate.”

  Grayson had been looking at the concrete floor, wondering how the conversation had gone so quickly from bad to worse, when he clued in to what Chloe said. His head jerked up. What the bloody hell did she mean by that?

  “Yes, exactly.” Effeminate… him? “You have a good eye, my dear. A very good eye,” his grandmother said as the two of them walked away with their heads together, leaving him staring after them.

  “Lord Harry.” Molly sauntered toward him wearing a short clingy black dress that showed off her voluptuous curves. “We haven’t been formally introduced.”

  “Not formally, but I think our near-kiss in the men’s room qualifies as an introduction.” That had been an interesting scene.

  “Yes, damn that Tessa for interrupting us.” She laughed, then winked. “Tomorrow I may do some improvising to make sure we’re not interrupted again.”

  “Jolly good.” Jolly good? Why did he keep saying that? He sounded like an idiot. “Call me if you need help hiding the body.”

  She snorted, her scarlet-painted lips turning up. “I think I like you, Lord Halstead.”

  “Harry.”

  “Harry it is. You know, I’m available anytime you want to go over your lines.”

  “Thanks for the offer. I may take you up on it.”

  “I hope you do.” Her eyes did a slow tour of his body. “And I mean that.”

  He shoved his hands in his pants pockets, watching her walk away with a subtle sway of her hips. Might not be a bad idea to hang out with Molly. Befriending a suspect had worked well for him in the past. It was a good way to break down their defenses. And thinking about built-up defenses had him glancing to where he’d last seen Ty and Cat. More like impenetrable, he thought as he headed in their direction. He liked a good challenge.

  * * *

  “I don’t know what you’re upset about. All I did was ask Harry for dinner. It’s not like I expect you to stick around, you know,” her sister said as Cat pulled up to the beach house.

  All she’d wanted to do after the day from hell was go for a run and clear her head before looking over her notes from today. But no, Chloe had to open her big mouth and invite his lordship home for dinner. Tall, Dark, and Annoying. Who was not gay. She hadn’t believed Ty until she’d checked out Harry’s social media accounts. There were so many pictures of Harry and his harem of beauty queens on Instagram that Hugh Hefner would be jealous. The entire male population of California would be jealous. The guy was a total player.

  So would she leave him alone with her sister? Not on your life.

  “Once you tidy the house and get dinner on, you can go for a run. Maybe to Santa Monica?”

  Unbelievable. With a snap of her wrist, Cat shut off the engine. “Pizza or Thai, take your pick. And I cleaned the house last night.” Until two in the morning while she tried to figure out who was out to hurt Chloe and how to protect her.

  “How uncouth can you be? You do not offer a member of the British aristocracy takeout, Kit Kat.” Chloe opened the passenger-side door. “It’s only seven. That gourmet market on Hawthorne should still be open. Maybe a lobster bisque with a cheese brochette and a mixed green salad.” Her sister gave a decisive nod. “Yes, that will be perfect.”

  “I can buy all that there?” What was she saying? She got out of the SUV. “I’m tired, Chloe. It’s been a long day. If you can find a gourmet place that will deliver, go for it. Otherwise, it’s pizza.”

  Her sister stood by the front of the Range Rover, tapping her foot with an annoyed expression on her face. “Honestly, Kit Kat, I can’t believe how ungrateful you are. Since you have free room and board, the least you can do, when I ask, which I very rarely do, is accede to my wishes without an argument.”

  That stung. Cat had her pride, and it wasn’t like Chloe was paying her a crapload of money. She was making half of what she did with the Denver PD. But she hadn’t taken the job because of the money. She’d needed to get away from Colorado and lick her wounds. Spending time with her sister had been an added bonus. Or so she’d thought at the time.

  “You take room and board out of my salary, Chloe. I also look after the grounds, clean the house, do your laundry, and cook the meals. So don’t make it sound as if I’m mooching off you, because I’m not.” She stabbed the lock button on the key fob and opened the back gate.

  “Don’t be so dramatic. You make it sound as if you’re Cinderella and I’m the evil stepsister.”

  Clearly Cat was not Cinderella material, but lately her sister was the poster child for evil stepsister. Chloe must have caught Cat’s if-the-shoe-fits expression because she continued. “If I had all the time you do, I’d cook and clean, too. But I don’t. You know how busy I am.”

  Sure, her sister had public appearances, and her campaign for her new perfume, Chloe, kept h
er busy. But really… “Right, and I don’t have a life. That’s what you’re implying, isn’t it?”

  “Well, it’s true. You don’t…” Chloe sighed as she followed Cat up the flagstone path. “I’m sorry. I’m just nervous Harry is coming over. I want to make a good impression. I… I think I might be in love with him.”

  Cat looked up at the stars blinking in the night sky. “You’ve known him for less than twenty-four hours, Chloe.” Opening the door to the bungalow, she stepped inside and turned to the wall, punching in the code on the panel. As Chloe came up behind her, Cat did a quick scan of the living room, dining room, and kitchen in the open-concept space. Anyone with a modicum of skill could bypass the alarm.

  “It was love at first sight. He’s everything I want in a man. And you know how I knew?”

  “No, Chloe, how did you know?” Cat asked, only half listening as she moved through the house and eyed the deck leading down to the beach and ocean through the sliding doors. Everything seemed to be as it should.

  “Why are you doing that? You’re acting weird again.”

  “I’m not acting weird. And if you don’t mind, I want to grab a shower and get changed.” Once she searched the bedrooms. She was hot and sweaty from keeping her jacket on all day. Tomorrow, she’d wear a leg holster.

  “Oh, okay. If you have a white shirt and black pants, that would work.”

  She turned to the living room. Chloe had her back to her, plumping the petal-pink cushions on the white sectional. “Work for what?”

  Chloe glanced over her shoulder. “Don’t throw a hissy fit, but I need you to serve dinner. Then you can do whatever you want.”

  “Serve you?”

  “Yes, serve us. It wouldn’t be proper for me to. Harry’s a lord. He’s used to being waited on by servants, and I want him to be comfortable.”