The deadpan delivery drew laughter and more applause.
As Martin stepped away, Gavin leaned into the mic. “That about sums it up. Cheers!”
The official after party was held at the nearby OHM Nightclub and it was a total scene with a continuation of celebrities angling for the attention of the media freely circulating, including a camera crew from TMZ. Conor and Martin almost immediately lost sight of Gavin when Gavin spotted his friend Christian Hale. Conor had gotten enough of a sense of Christian’s fowl mood before he stalked off to know it was better to let Gavin deal with it. Christian had come to the awards against his better judgment. His punk-pop band, Scandal, which had years earlier had mainstream success with a few hits, hadn’t made much of a blip on the charts lately. Coming to this train wreck of an awards show had been a desperate attempt at relevance as he and his band were working on a new album. But he had never enjoyed the marketing and obsequious glad-handing that was required in these situations. The current crop of shallow entertainers being celebrated at this event clearly intensified his discomfort.
So, together, Conor and Martin had a good time mingling and talking with people they hadn’t seen in a while, including the guys of Twenty One Pilots and Jared Leto. When Pharrell Williams got pulled away from talking with them, a woman slipped into the vacancy and wrapped her arm around Martin’s neck.
“Martin Whelan, you naughty boy,” Colette Devereaux said,
Conor waited for his ex-fiancée to greet him but she only had eyes for Martin.
“Oh, hey, Colette,” Martin said.
“I am so excited to see you again,” she said and gave him a lingering kiss on both cheeks. “So much has happened and I’m dying to hear all about your exploits.”
“Exploits?”
“Oui. Perhaps we can get a drink together?”
Conor’s patience wore thin at the same time as his ego kicked into gear. He was not used to being ignored by women, especially not one he had a very intimate history with.
“Colette, I see some things never change,” he said.
That forced her to look his way. Though there had been close calls, they hadn’t seen each other since he’d broken off their engagement. She was still strikingly beautiful, with long rich brown hair, olive skin, and the kind of body that begged to be explored. The little black dress she wore conformed to her generous curves, dipping low in the front for a teasing peek at the swell of her breasts. As a sought-after model, she knew exactly how to showcase her phenomenal figure, and Conor couldn’t help but respond to it just as he had in the past. Their relationship had been best when they flirted and fought for power in bed.
“Hi Conor,” she said with distraction. She pulled at Martin’s hand. “You don’t mind if I steal your friend away, do you? He’s got so much to tell me.”
“Tell you what? I don’t understand,” Martin said with a smile and his eyes firmly fixed on Colette’s breasts.
“You’ve turned into a very interesting man, Martin,” she purred. “With your new sex appeal and your wild ways with the ladies—and men, no?”
“Well, em—” Martin started.
“Marty, run and get us a fresh drink,” Conor said.
“Don’t ruin the fun,” Colette replied with a devilish smile. She wrapped her hands around Martin’s arm and leaned into him.
Martin hesitated, still captivated by Colette’s attention.
Conor raised his eyebrows. Was Martin really ready to pounce on his ex-fiancée? Did that man not have any sense?
“Martin, go.”
The insistence in Conor’s voice broke the spell Martin had been under. He saw the look in Conor’s eyes and nodded before slipping away into the crowd.
“I was just being friendly,” Colette said with a pout.
Backing her up against the nearby wall, Conor told her, “You don’t want to toy with him.”
“Why not?”
“He’s a puppy,” he said dismissively.
“Puppies are adorable.”
“You need a wolf.”
“And are you a wolf, mon cher?”
“I was good at dominating you once upon a time,” he said.
Her eyes lit up at this. She placed her hand on his chest, letting it slide down his abdomen, and stopping at his belt buckle. And he let her.
“Maybe we should test that,” she said. “For old time’s sake.”
The thought of ravaging her flashed through his mind and sent blood pumping downward. “You’d be up for that, would you?” he asked, even as he knew he should shut up.
She bit her bottom lip and pulled him by his belt closer to her. “You have to admit, we were very good in bed together.”
“I can admit that.”
“I’ve missed you, Conor. Show me you’ve missed me, too.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her chest to him.
“I can’t do that.” He should remove her hands from him. But the heat and pressure of her body was irresistible.
“Yes, you can. I still remember the way you used to show me you missed me after we’d been apart. You remember? How you’d bend me over the back of my little sofa, too anxious to undress first?”
He did remember. It was like a sense memory, in fact, and he was acutely aware that he was quickly growing hard as a result. He had to put an end to this—whatever this thing was they were doing.
“Colette, you’re hot as hell, but I’m not going to fuck you. You can easily find someone who will. Just not Marty.”
She pulled away from him with a huff. “That’s his decision, isn’t it? Especially since you’re making the mistake of turning me away.”
“Just leave him be. Do me the favor?”
“Do you miss me?”
“Honey, we had some good times. Let’s leave it at that.”
“You’ll never again have someone like me, you know? Whoever that little girl is you’re with now can’t compare.”
This dig brought Conor back to his senses. Why had he been sucked into flirting with his ex? “No, that’s true,” he said and Colette smiled triumphantly. “She’s way out of your league.”
It took a second before she realized what he’d said. “You used to say I was too young. But you should worry about the fact that nobody likes an old rock star.” With that, she turned and walked quickly away.
Conor watched her go, trying and failing to hold back a smile. She used to be better with an insult. Calling him old didn’t hurt in the slightest. At thirty-two, he didn’t feel old at all. He was in great shape and in the prime of his life in both work and love. He was just getting started.
Which made his brief flirtation with Colette all the more confusing. Was it an immature reaction to the new direction of his life? With Gavin and Martin’s help, he had just that day purchased an engagement ring for Felicity. And now that fatherhood and marriage loomed, was he just trying to find an obstacle to trip himself up? It might well have been.
Or it might have been as simple as the fact that he was a man who couldn’t help being attracted to a gorgeous woman. In either case, he comforted himself with the fact that he had turned her away. Just as he would turn away the other women who would also overtly proposition him that same evening. He knew he was ready to move forward, even if the forthcoming TMZ video of his encounter with Colette presented a completely different picture.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
After being dismissed by Conor, Martin had retreated with a beer out onto the patio. The outdoor area was just as crowded as inside and he struggled to find a space up against the clear railing overlooking the street below. The canopied lounge seating under wicker globe lights offered people watching, but he was drawn to following the crawl of traffic on Hollywood Boulevard. The number of cars inching their way down the famous street was impressive, as was the foot traffic.
“Pretty lame event, right?”
Martin was surprised to find that a woman was standing next to him, mirroring his bored expression and leaning agai
nst the railing. Lost in his own thoughts, he hadn’t noticed her approach. She was pale and petite with long ebony hair, big gray eyes, and full lips painted crimson. Something about her seemed exotic but yet not foreign. Not with the American accent she spoke with.
“Oh, hey there. Em, no, I’m sure it’s fine. I’m not in the mood, I suppose,” Martin told her.
“Guess I’m not either,” she said with a sigh. “My agent says I have to stay for one hour. One. Full. Hour.”
“Sixty minutes, then,” he said. His reply was weak and redundant, but he wasn’t in the mood to flirt, even if he could somehow figure out how to turn on the charm.
“Precisely.”
They stood together in silence for a few minutes.
“I’m Lainey,” she said.
“Martin,” he replied. “You’re an actress?”
She stared at him for a moment, seeming to want to see if he was joking. When he didn’t offer anything more, she said, “Yes, I am. You’re in Rogue, right?”
“I am, yes.”
“I saw your acceptance speech.”
He had come up with those lines on the fly, not intending the causal cool way they came off. The positive response had been a surprise, but he couldn’t claim to have orchestrated it.
“That’s what happens when the lead singer has the bass player speak,” he said with a smile.
She studied him once more and he grew uncomfortable under the weight of her gaze. “It worked,” she said. “The crowd loved you.”
He smiled at the validation, and they fell into silence for a moment. “Sorry, if me not recognizing you is an insult,” he said. “I just don’t keep up with films.”
“It’s actually not a problem. At all.”
“Pleasure to wait out your sentence with you,” he told her, feeling the need to say something.
She smiled and it lit up her whole face, changing her from someone bordering on a goth look to a stunning beauty. Martin thought he felt himself swoon for a second.
“You’re gorgeous, I suppose you know,” he told her, unable to help himself.
“So, I’ve been told,” she replied. “And I’d guess you hear the same?”
He laughed. “Well, here we are. Two gorgeous people stuck at a party where we don’t want to be.”
She eyed him for a moment, then her gaze fell to his left hand. He still wore his ring, of course. Taking it off seemed a drastic move despite all that had happened.
“Married?” she asked.
“Yes.” He’d rather be honest than try to play some game. “But separated. If you’ve read the tabloids, you’ll know it isn’t likely the missus will want me back.”
That intrigued her. “You’re bad, are you?”
“Nah, I don’t think so. But you’ll have to form your own opinion.”
“That’s usually my preference.”
The way she let her eyes trail over the length of his body sent a rush of heat through him. He hadn’t been looking to hook up with anyone that evening, not with his mood still being off from the episode the night before when he made a fool of himself in front of everyone by confessing those things to Sophie. But this woman was not someone he felt like brushing off.
“How will your agent know if you’ve done your time?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I guess I’m on the honor system.”
“Wanna get out of here?”
Her reply was another brilliant smile and they soon headed out a back exit.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
It wasn’t yet sunrise when Daisy decided she was wide awake and needed tending to. Gavin hadn’t gotten home until three in the morning, so it wasn’t likely he would be getting up with the baby. Sophie sat up in bed and lazily pushed her legs over the side. The fatigue of her early pregnancy, combined with continued interrupted sleep because of Daisy’s inability to sleep through the night had her moving slowly. Gavin reached over and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her back down and into his warm embrace.
“She’s done sleeping, baby. I have to get her,” Sophie whispered.
“It’s too early,” he mumbled.
Sophie stretched, then cuddled into her husband’s strong arms. In the adjacent room, Daisy was cooing and trying to verbalize. Sophie knew this would soon turn into something more demanding, like banging on the crib railing. She predicted four minutes before that escalation. Not nearly enough time to do what she wanted with Gavin. She would have to settle for something more chaste.
Running her hand through his short brown hair, Sophie told him, “I missed you last night.”
“You should have come.”
“I would have had to share you with a room full of strangers. That’s not as much fun as this.”
“Christian was there.”
“Oh, then I am sorry I missed it. How is he?”
“In a mood.”
Sophie knew that was code for Christian not being his normally easygoing self. He had long been a good friend to the band and a mentor to Gavin in particular. Sophie met him before she and Gavin were even married and adored him. At 6’4”, he was a larger than life figure—literally and figuratively. As the singer for the pop-punk band Scandal, he was nationally known and revered in his native Australia. His passion for surfing rivaled his love of music, and he often claimed that there was nothing that salt water couldn’t fix. But she and Gavin had known him long enough to understand that wasn’t always the truth. He struggled with bouts of depression. That mercurial side was likely what drew him to Gavin all the more, as the two had in common a history of complex inner lives.
“I hate to hear that,” she said.
Gavin squeezed her waist, nuzzling his face into her neck. “He’ll bounce back. Always does.”
“We should invite him and Patsy for New Year’s. Or go there.”
He smiled and kissed her neck, his eyes closed. “Great idea.”
Sophie kissed him on the temple and felt him go slack as he drifted off. It felt so good to be in his embrace, even when he was dead to the world. He had always been possessive with her, but this was different. It was him being both protective and intimate. Except for one rough patch, they had been deeply connected to each other since they were teenagers. And now they were going to be parents all over again. She was grateful for the blessings of her life. Becoming a mother had been her greatest joy, so to be able to add to her family was more than she could ever ask for.
As if a silent timer went off at the four-minute mark, Daisy pounded her little fists against the crib. Sophie pulled away from Gavin’s arms and got up.
“Love you, darlin’,” he said sleepily.
Leaning back down, she kissed him on the lips and whispered, “I love you, Gavin.”
After a nursing session and a diaper change, Sophie took Daisy downstairs to the kitchen. She let out a yelp when she found a dark-haired woman sitting on a barstool at the island.
“Oh! I’m so sorry. I wasn’t planning on staying long enough to bother anyone,” the woman said.
At the same time that the surprise wore off, Sophie recognized the woman as award-winning actress Lainey Keeler. The awards had come when she’d been a child actress with preternatural skills. A well-documented rebellious period during her teens had seen her arrested for nonsensical acts like shoplifting, vandalism, and public intoxication. It was the pressure of having her childhood stolen by Hollywood and a greedy stage mother, the tabloids claimed. The public had been sympathetic toward her until it was revealed that at age seventeen she’d been the mistress to a married producer. The attention on her had been relentlessly negative as paparazzi hounded her every move. Eventually, she disappeared, emerging only when she attended Harvard at the age of nineteen. She graduated with a degree in philosophy and appeared to have found some normalcy. The spotlight left her for another five years before she surprised the world by returning to acting. Starting with off-Broadway plays, she eventually found her way to independent films where each performance mesmeri
zed audiences. It was a respectable, small-scale career. Then she took a role starring as a tough, sarcastic librarian who discovers an ancient spells book and accidentally turns herself into a reluctant superhero. Despite having supernatural powers, the character solved the trickiest dilemmas with her librarian skills. The intent was to mock the genre, but it struck a nerve and became a huge international hit. She had backed into being the star of an enormous franchise, filming a wildly popular sequel with another planned.
Sophie, a frequent subject of gossip and tabloids, wasn’t immune to following the stories of others, including Lainey’s. She knew—or thought she knew, based on the papers—that Lainey was woefully unhappy with the mega stardom she had regained. Vegas oddsmakers put another sudden disappearance by her at two-to-one.
Was this part of some escape plan? Sophie wondered. Sneaking into a rental house in the Hollywood Hills she thought was empty?
“Your baby is beautiful,” Lainey said. “I’ll get out of your way.” She stood and carefully pushed her stool in.
“Wait,” Sophie said. “What are you doing here?”
“I just wanted to watch the sunrise,” she said. When Sophie gave her a perplexed look, she continued, “Oh, sorry. I didn’t get a lot of sleep. I’m a little out of it. Martin. I came here with Martin.”
That made more sense, Sophie thought, than some random house squatting incident. Although, Martin somehow bringing the gorgeous Lainey Keeler home for a shag was just as improbable. Sophie loved Martin, but he was not the suavest man she knew.
“You don’t have to go,” Sophie told her. “We could use the company. It can feel so lonely at this hour.”
“I like to think of it as being the hour of expectation. So much is about to happen with the day waking up.”
Sophie smiled. “I like that.” She paused. “I was going to make coffee. Sound good? Or are you a tea drinker? We have both.” Sophie placed Daisy in a highchair and gave her a toy made out of pull-tabs, knobs, and buttons. It would amuse her until her early breakfast of soft fruit was ready.
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