“You’re drunk,” he accused.
“I am not drunk. I had one drink.”
“I just saw you drain your glass and send your boyfriend off to get you another, a request he was all too eager to oblige, I might add.”
“It was ginger ale.”
“I can smell the alcohol on your breath. Then you finished off a second drink while I was standing right in front of you. Who knows how many you had before I got here?”
“That was Jack’s, and I drank it because I was shocked to see you,” Gabrielle explained, speaking slowly. “I haven’t had anything else all night, but even if I did, it’s okay. I’m over twenty-one. You of all people should know that.”
Doug ignored her reference to her disastrous birthday. “Gabrielle, what’s happened to you? You’ve changed. Look at the way you’re dressed. The Gabrielle I knew might wear something like that on the runway, but not out in public. Hell, the woman I knew wouldn’t even be here tonight.”
“You don’t know me at all, remember?” Gabrielle said fiercely, repeating the same words he’d used.
“Obviously something is very wrong,” Doug said. “I’ve heard about the changes in your behavior—late for work, temper tantrums. I’ve even heard talk of your using drugs. You never used to act like this. At least not when you were with me.”
“But I’m not with you anymore, am I? And where are you getting this crap from anyway?”
“I have my sources.”
“Oh, what, Star Diary? I forgot, that’s where you get all your news. Well, once again you’ve been misinformed. I didn’t drink or do drugs then, and I don’t now. And as far as what I wear when I go out, don’t worry about it. You don’t have to be seen in public with me anymore,” she said angrily and started to walk away.
Doug grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him. Aware of the photographers’ flashbulbs going off, he tried to lead her downstairs near the restrooms “Don’t walk away from me. We need to talk.”
“I think we talked enough the first time you accused me of something you’d read in a tabloid.”
“I’m sorry about that. I should have known better. I wanted to apologize, but your letter—”
“You read what I had to say and figured once a liar always a liar,” she interrupted.
“Please, can’t we go somewhere and discuss this?”
“It’s a little late for that now. I’d appreciate it, though, if you could keep what I told you to yourself.”
“Why would I want anybody to know? I do have some pride.”
“I guess the revelation would be a huge source of embarrassment to you, wouldn’t it? Hanging out with a dumb model was bad enough, but something like this would really tarnish your esteemed intellectual reputation,” Gabrielle said bitterly, misunderstanding his comment. At least she knew that while he was ashamed and unwilling to share his life with her, Doug was obviously amenable to keeping her secret.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that,” Doug said. “If you remember, in the letter I—”
“Let’s just drop this. I’ve moved on. Why don’t you?”
“I see who you’ve moved on to. Hollis is totally wrong for you. I’ve checked him out. He’s nothing but a trophy collector, and you’re his latest acquisition.”
“As usual, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m the one with the prize,” she retorted. Gabrielle was well aware of Jack’s reputation and the fact that he enjoyed being seen in public with her. She also knew that he treated her with the utmost respect and that when they were together he made her feel as if she were the only woman in the room. “What the hell is going on here?” Jack interrupted. “I’ve been looking all over for you,” he told Gabrielle, handing her a glass of ginger ale.
“This is between me and Gabrielle. Mind your own business,” Doug told him.
“Gabrielle is my business,” Jack declared.
“Jack, let’s just go,” Gabrielle pleaded, seeing that they were drawing a crowd.
“You’ll never be happy with him, Gabrielle,” Doug warned. “Man, take another look. Surely you can see that this beautiful lady is not only happy but totally satisfied.”
“Would you please quiet down,” Gabrielle interjected again. “You son of a bitch,” Doug said and took a swing, his right fist connecting with the left side of Jack’s jaw. The blow caused Jack to momentarily reel backward. Regaining his composure, he came straight at Doug with a left hook to his right eye. The two scuffled, while the television cameras from “Entertainment Tonight,” “Extra,” and “Inside Edition” recorded every last punch. Howie happily stood by catching all the action frame by frame. He was going to make a bundle on this stuff. As part of Stephanie’s plan, he would sell several of these pictures to magazines and tabloids across the country and around the world, saving the very best, of course, for Star Diary.
“Stop it, both of you!” Gabrielle screamed. As security guards and others rushed to the scene, Gabrielle, frustrated, embarrassed, and completely disgusted, tossed her drink on the two men and walked out of the club. They could tear each other to shreds as far as she was concerned.
“I come bearing dinner and a thousand apologies,” Jack said as Gabrielle let him into the apartment. Despite the fact that it was already dark outside, he was wearing large sunglasses to hide the ugly bruises on his face from last night’s sparring match. He was also carrying an armful of newspapers and a brown paper bag containing several cartons of Chinese food. “Am I forgiven?” he asked meekly.
“I suppose so,” she said, returning to her jigsaw puzzle.
“Good,” he said kissing her. “Today’s been rough enough.”
“Felicia tells me we’re all over the place. Every newscast, every paper, and of course every tabloid—print and television—has us featured as their top entertainment story,” she said while searching for the top of Il Duomo.
“Yeah, see for yourself,” Jack said, plopping the newspapers down in front of her.
“Jack, I’ve never seen you upset over being in the newspaper. What’s going on?”
“We lost the Nissan account. The president said he couldn’t trust the image of his company with a guy who doesn’t care about his own.”
“Ouch.”
“Ouch is right. I lost a lot of money today. How about you? Any fallout from last night?”
“Well, I haven’t heard from any of my endorsement companies yet, but I did get a lot of ribbing at my shoot today, particularly about the photo of me pouring my drink on the two of you,” she said.
“Did you see the headline in Celebrity Watch that said ‘Punch Is Served’? You have to admit it was pretty funny. But the best one was the Daily News headline, ‘Sucker Punch’ ” Jack said, causing them both to chuckle.
“I never thought I’d be laughing at something the tabloids wrote about me. All jokes aside, Jack, what got into you last night?”
“I don’t know, seeing that guy with his hands on you again—I didn’t like it.”
“I told you, it’s over between Doug and me.”
“Maybe for you, but I saw the way he looked at you. He’s still in love with you, Gabrielle.”
“I doubt that, but even if he is, I don’t love him anymore,” Gabrielle said, fighting the contradictory emotions her heart was suggesting.
“Prove it. Marry me.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Marry me. I love you, Gabrielle,” Jack told her, himself amazed by what he’d just said. It was true. The unthinkable had happened. The one thing Jack always vowed he would never do—commit himself to one woman.
Jack’s surprise proposal shocked her into silence.
“I think this is where you say, ‘I love you, too.’ ”
“How could you want to marry me now?” she asked, momentarily ignoring his comment. “We’ve been dating only three months. You don’t really know me.”
“Yes I do. You’re gorgeous, bright, funny, sensitive, and sexy as hell. I know you’re a perfect size six, wear a si
ze-nine shoe, and prefer going barefoot indoors. You can’t go to bed without brushing your teeth, and you can’t get going in the morning without at least two cups of coffee. I also know that your hair smells like wildflowers after you shower and that you make the sweetest little sigh right after you come.”
“Okay, so you know a few things.”
“Ah, but I know a lot more. I know that you really loved that jerk and that he hurt you big time, and now you’re scared to get involved in another serious relationship. I know you think this marriage proposal is premature, but I also know that you are the most perfect woman I have ever met, and I’m crazy about you.”
“Don’t put me up on a pedestal, Jack. I’m the last person who belongs there,” Gabrielle told him softly. “I’m nowhere even close to being perfect.”
“Maybe not, but you’re perfect for me,” Jack said, pulling her to him. “So tell me yes, Beauty. Say you love me and you’ll marry me.”
“There’s so much I love about you, Jack,” Gabrielle admitted softly. “I’m just not sure that I’m in love with you.”
“That’s enough for now—as long as you think you could fall in love with me eventually. Do you?”
Instead of speaking, Gabrielle bathed his face in a sprinkle of kisses. Lip to lip, she and Jack walked into the bedroom and made hungry, aggressive love. Both properly satisfied, they dropped back into the pillows. Jack, too drowsy to smoke his usual cigarette, cuddled up to Gabrielle and settled in for the night. “Think about it. I’m the man you need. I’m the man who can make you happy,” he said and drifted off to sleep.
41
Gabrielle untangled herself from Jack’s body, put on her bathrobe, and walked quietly out to the living room. It was four o’clock in the morning. She stood at the window, looking down on the city.
Now that she was famous, the early hours before dawn were Gabrielle’s favorite time of day. During this time, when all the world was still, she felt momentarily liberated—no longer held captive by her illiteracy. While everyone slept, she had no expectations to fulfill or public image to uphold; she was alone without fear of exposure.
These past few days had been so full of drama. Seeing Doug again after all this time was difficult. Their conversation at Nell’s had clearly dashed any secret hope that they would get back together. Doug’s words and actions made it apparent that he would never be able to cope with her celebrity and the gossip and speculation that swirled around her public image. Once again Doug had approached her readily believing the lies instead of relying on his personal knowledge of her. Doug really didn’t seem to know her at all.
Oh, but he does, Gabrielle reminded herself. In the letter she’d dictated to Beatrice, she had told Doug her entire life story and begged him to forgive the confusion and pain her illiteracy had caused them. Knowing Doug the way she thought she did, Gabrielle had expected him to understand. Instead Doug simply dropped her from his life with no further contact.
All this time she hadn’t understood why Doug had never acknowledged her confession. The reason became all too clear at Nell’s: Loving an illiterate was too much of a burden for an intellectual like Doug. How would it look should the word get out that Doug Sixsmith, award-winning journalist and bestselling author, was involved with a woman who couldn’t read a word he wrote?
Jack, on the other hand, wanted to get as close to her as a man could get to a woman. She still couldn’t get over Jack’s proposal. Standing there in the dark, Gabrielle tried to sort out her emotions toward this man who wanted to marry her.
You don’t love Jack, not the way you loved Doug, Gabrielle’s heart told her. True, she argued back, but isn’t that to be expected? Doug was her first love. I may not be in love with Jack, but I do love him, she argued further. Moreover, Gabrielle respected and truly liked him as a person. And after her bitter experience with Doug, she now trusted friendship much more than love.
Gabrielle stepped away from the window and curled up on the sofa. While combing through the fringe of a throw pillow, she began to seriously consider Jack’s proposal.
Why not marry him? Gabrielle asked herself. Jack loved her. He was incredibly handsome, successful, and, most important, he seemed to understand and even embrace her public life. And after all the hell her celebrity had caused between her and Doug, Jack’s infatuation with her fame was indeed a blessing. He could make her happy. And she would do her best to return that happiness.
I will marry Jack, she decided. But first Gabrielle would tell him the truth. She refused to let her illiteracy destroy another relationship.
Gabrielle walked back into her bedroom and crawled under the sheets. Softly she rocked Jack’s shoulder until he opened his eyes and rolled over to face her.
“Do you really want to marry me?”
Jack sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up. “More than ever.”
“Then there’s something about me you need to know. Jack, I can’t read or write very well.”
“What? You’re dyslexic?”
“It’s not that simple—”
“No, it’s not that big a deal. I don’t care if you don’t read or write as well as you’d like. You have so much more going for you, Beauty. Obviously you know enough to become successful at whatever you’ve wanted to do.”
“Except maybe an acting career.”
“Is that the reason you turned down those parts and don’t want to do the screen test for Lexis Richards?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know how many actors and celebrities are dyslexic? Cher, Tom Cruise, Whoopi Goldberg, and Walt Disney—the list goes on and on.”
“It doesn’t bother you?” Gabrielle inquired, thinking that Jack was telling her the same things her mother had.
“What bothers me is that you would even for a moment consider not marrying me because of it. I’m sure this dyslexia thing has complicated your life in ways I can only imagine, but it’s nothing to be ashamed of. So you have a learning disability. Why would I let something so inconsequential stop me from marrying you?”
Gabrielle didn’t know how to reply. Jack was determined to blame her illiteracy on dyslexia. Does it really matter why he thinks I can’t read? she asked herself. The important thing was that he now knew that she was unable to read and he still loved her, which was much more than she could say for Doug. Instead of worrying about his reputation, Jack was worried about losing her.
“So, am I hearing a yes?”
Gabrielle looked deep into Jack’s eyes. Here was a man who knew she couldn’t read and still wanted her. Here was a man who was offering her the opportunity to live a full life despite her deficiencies. “Yes,” she said, tears welling up in her eyes.
Jack swooped her up in his arms and kissed her with great happiness. He was being truthful when he told Gabrielle her dyslexia didn’t matter. It was an invisible inconvenience, one that he was sure could be tricky and annoying at times, but one that nobody else needed to know about. As far as Jack could see, Gabrielle’s problem would not alter their life together in any discernible manner. “When?”
“How about Christmas Eve?”
“Are you kidding me? That’s tomorrow.”
“I’d never kid about anything as serious as becoming Mrs. Jack Hollis.”
“God, I love the sound of that! But don’t you want the big, fancy wedding with all the trimmings?” Jack asked.
“The last thing I want is my wedding to be a media circus. I want a quiet, private ceremony right here at home.”
“That’s all the convincing I need.”
“Let’s do it, then. We tell no one, promise?”
“What about Bea?” Jack asked.
“Of course I’d like Beatrice there. I couldn’t possibly get married without her. What about you? Will you ask Fritz to be your best man?” Gabrielle asked.
“He’s the only man for the job.”
“Why don’t we surprise them?” Gabrielle suggested. “We’ll tell them when and where to show up, but
not why.”
“I can’t wait to see the look on Fritz’s face when he realizes I’m actually getting married.”
“That’s another reason for a small wedding. I don’t think I could get married in a church where the groom’s side is full of crying women wearing black armbands,” Gabrielle teased.
“I was merely marking time, waiting for you,” Jack said, kissing her forehead.
“We do have another problem,” Gabrielle announced. “I’m scheduled for a major publicity tour to promote my new calendar and video. I’ll be on the road for weeks. I don’t know when we’ll be able to have a honeymoon.”
“And I’m headed to Europe next week, so even if you were free, I’m not. But I promise you, Beauty, when we can both get away, we’ll take a proper honeymoon.”
“Look, the sun is coming up,” Gabrielle said jumping up and rushing out onto the terrace. Jack, wrapped in a sheet, joined her there. Together they stood in awe and watched the sun rise over the city. “It’s the start of a beautiful new day,” Gabrielle said, reflectively.
“The start of a beautiful new life,” Jack whispered, taking her in his arms.
Jack and Gabrielle spent a frenzied morning preparing for their wedding. By midday they had contracted a baker and a florist, and Jack had pulled a few strings with a friendly judge, not only to grant them a marriage license and waive the twenty-four-hour waiting period, but to preside over the nuptials as well.
“I’ll meet you back here at five-thirty,” Jack said as he headed out the door.
Gabrielle walked back into the kitchen, picked up the phone, and dialed Beatrice’s number. She’d briefly debated going down and telling her in person, but she decided to call instead, afraid her excitement would give the surprise away. “Good morning,” she said when Bea picked up.
“Good morning. What’s up?”
“I’m having a little holiday celebration tonight. Can you come?”
“Where’s Jack? Aren’t you planning to spend Christmas Eve with him?” Beatrice asked.
Read Between the Lies Page 32