“Okay. I’ll do it,” she said breathlessly. She felt like she was taking a chance; falling off the edge without knowing how far off the ground was. But wasn’t life about risks?
Maybe this would be one great big adventure. And at the end she’d be smiling all the way to the bank. Angela was sure if she kept her head on straight, she’d do just fine...
Chapter Four
Shane couldn’t contain his anticipation.
Tonight was to be a rehearsal of sorts. A dinner with a few of his friends and corporate sponsors with Angela present; there was a reason she would need to be there.
He already knew she was perfect for the job but still, this would be the best way to test if they could be convincing together as a couple. Especially since one or two of the guests were known spies for his mother. Valerie Davis held no qualms about using underhanded means to get information about her only son. He was sure her ‘spies’ would give her the information she needed and he was going to make sure they had plenty to report.
Shane hadn’t looked forward to an evening this much in a long time. Chandler and Beverly would be present; both were his close friends from his racing days. Chandler had worked on his pit crew while Beverly made sure everyone stayed fed and hydrated on race days. Shane trusted them like they were family.
Recovery after the wreck hadn’t been easy, but with friends who cared about him, he’d managed to stay sane. Most of the time. The rest of the guests were part of his racing team’s corporate sponsors. They’d been good to him when he was on top and a few of them remained close friends. Probably hoping he’d jump back on the track someday but he didn’t see that ever happening.
It didn’t matter. He was looking forward to introducing Angela to them. She was so different from anyone they would expect to see with him. The past few years had been an endless circle of brainless blondes. True was he didn’t miss that lifestyle and mostly felt glad he’d been given a second chance to redeem himself. It was still hard to look in the mirror; figuratively and in the literal sense. Still, one day at a time, that was what his best friend Chandler always said.
Tonight, Angela managed once again to almost knock him off his feet with her looks. She arrived after being dropped off by his chauffeur. Her smile had been somewhat shy as he’d devoured her with his eyes. This time he’d met her at the door.
“You’re just in time,” he’d said mildly, wanting to put her quickly at her ease. He didn’t comment on how ravishing she looked in that dress...those heels. He had a thing for a woman in a dress. Her waist was the perfect size to play off her curvy hips and firm, high breasts. Her dark hair was artfully styled, leaving her fine cheekbones open to scrutiny and drawing attention to her big, bright brown eyes. Her lips...dear God, those lips. Full and soft-looking, they begged to be kissed.
Shane hated like hell that he wanted her so much. Because he knew he’d never have her. After all, he looked like a freak with the way the scars etched one side of his face. He was thankful his shirt at least covered the scars on his torso and arm.
Every time he looked at his reflection he had the vicious urge to smash the image to pieces. Fat lot of good all those expensive operations did. Once out of hospital he’d had to endure seeing people visibly recoil each time they saw his full face. Now he was used to it, even expected it those few times he went out in public. He couldn’t help seeing himself as one of those old Greek tragedy masks with one side of the face pure and good while the other was twisted and grimacing horribly.
To think he’d been on every Nashville’s ‘most eligible bachelor’ list.
The wreck had changed all that. Now, nothing was the same.
But tonight, curiously, he felt optimistic for the first time in a long while. He realized meeting Angela had done that to him. She didn’t even have to do anything. Just coming into his life had him wanting to make things happen. He kept thinking that if he was whole; if he wasn’t some broken, scarred entity, he’d like to show her how good they could be together. If he didn’t look the way he did, he felt sure he could be a man she wanted to be with.
But he was only being a romantic fool. What did he really know about romance and love? Maybe all he wanted was a chance to get between her legs, nothing more. He didn’t believe in love at first sight and if that was what this was, then he sure as hell had to find a way to get her out of his system, fast.
For now though, he was going to stick to the original plan.
****
The first thing Shane did when she arrived was take her hand casually in his and show her around the house. Angela was impressed. The mansion had more than twenty rooms; with seven bedrooms in the main house. He had an office where he conducted business aided by his assistant, Linda. A private chef prepared the meals and the additional maid service took care of laundry and beds. Angela had already been informed that she would be spending the night in the house and as she was shown her room she realized at least for a while she was going to learn how the other half lived.
“It’s lovely,” she said deeply, turning on her heel and looking round at the classical, harmonious blend of the furnishings. The sheer size of the room itself was impressive. The bed was set beautifully in the center and laid with the most gorgeous covers. She loved that there were window seats as well as life-size paintings in impressionist style on the walls. Not bad for an overnight stay, she thought. She turned round to face him and found that he was staring at her – probably had been the whole time.
His clear grey gaze made her spine tingle. Damn! Did he have to keep looking at her like he’d throw her down on the bed the first chance she got? Angela felt her neck flush. They hadn’t signed anything yet; she could still back out.
And yet...she wasn’t sure she wanted to walk away from this just yet. It was almost as thrilling as being in an actual movie, down to the exotic film set. This could be a dark, gloomy castle where the handsome yet scarred hero kept away from the world, waiting for his delicate lady love to arrive and melt the ice in his heart...
Angela quickly brushed such whimsical thoughts aside. Shane Davis’s lady-love, her? Not happening. For one thing, the guy was definitely socially challenged after his accident. No one had ever seen him in public since the wreck. How did he meet people, to the point, women? Or did they get to come to him? Was that it? Maybe he was used to having to pay for it and that’s why he’d expected her to sleep with him as part of their ‘contract.’ That was really sad, thought Angela. He surely deserved better than that. Or maybe he didn’t even care.
He looked incredibly dashing tonight. His black hair managed to shield part of the scarred section of his face but she could still see the slickly stretched skin that almost pulled down his features on one side. His beautiful grey eyes remained as piercing as ever though, and he had a really nice mouth. His lips were smooth with just enough curve and fullness in the bottom to make a woman want to take a bite. His dark suit fit him perfectly, drawing attention to his dynamic physique. There was a bit of leanness to him but he was broad in the chest and shoulders and everywhere that mattered. She liked the way he smelled, too. That cologne of his made her want to lean in closer, and keep taking him in.
Boy, they had to get the hell out of this bedroom. She was getting unduly conscious of every little thing about him. And that wouldn’t do.
“The guests would soon be arriving. Shall we make it back down?” he asked, as if sensing her sudden discomfort. Nodding with a relieved inner sigh, Angela followed him out of the bedroom and far away from temptation...
****
The dinner party was held in a different part of the house that Angela hadn’t seen yet. It was a beautiful dining room, with a table set faultlessly for eight guests. It was like a perfect little piece of old world charm from the wall hangings to the chandeliers and lamps, plus numerous flower arrangements that went well with the candelabra and other trappings of the exquisitely lit room. She couldn’t help feeling surprised at his choice of décor. Somehow she’d half
-expected a race car driver to hang deer heads and big neon beer signs on the wall.
Meeting the arriving guests had been a revelation. His friends, Chandler and Beverly Miles, were great. They were around the same age as Shane; he’d already told her how close he was to them. They were a charming couple, setting each other’s amiable characters off nicely.
“So, Shane,” one of the other guests began, “Who is this lovely morsel?”
Angela had glanced at Shane who sent her a look before addressing the curious stares of his two acquaintances who’d newly arrived.
“Well, Drew this is my date, Angela.”
Angela smiled warmly at the guests, two men who’d dressed sharply for the occasion. With the exception of Chandler and Beverly everyone seemed wealthy, or at least comfortably well off. Angela felt like she stood out from the rest especially with her choice of clothes. She favored bright colors and patterns and had gone for a deep red dress tonight. She’d received no complaints from Shane when she arrived so she didn’t think anyone would have a problem with it. Shane had already briefed her on what to say regarding how they’d met, what she did and who she was.
She didn’t feel intimidated by anyone, even a couple of the women who’d looked at her disdainfully. They’d arrived last and they made up the rest of the party. Bridget and Melissa; she got their names when Shane introduced them. Turned out they were the daughters of his biggest corporate sponsor, Chuck Richards of the successful restaurant chain Richards Steak House. She remembered seeing the restaurant’s logo adorning the hood of Shane’s car in several of the photos. Shane had warned her earlier that the family was still very close to his parents and the women would probably try to pry her for more information the first chance they got.
During their introductions, the redhead Bridget had raked Angela with her gaze before glaring at the hand Shane had slyly wrapped around Angela’s waist. Angela had wanted to laugh. These women had no clue about the stuff Angela was made of. Sure this was all just pretend for her but she wasn’t going to take any crap from anyone. She could play the ideal girlfriend and be all smiles, but she wouldn’t hesitate to show a bit of her tough girl side, within reason.
There’d be no cause for that, though. Obviously. These were high class types; they’d be quick to turn up their noses but wouldn’t go as far as displaying any real maliciousness, not in front of Shane. She noticed they both hung on him possessively like jealous girlfriends. But Shane always stayed in character, making the point of keeping his arm around Angela or saying something light and quiet in her ear. Her stomach always gave a flip when he did that and her flush was real, causing him to smile when he saw the heat spread on her face. The naughty devil; he knew what he was doing, thought Angela.
She didn’t expect to be so affected by his simple touch or look. Here, among his friends he was far more relaxed and didn’t seem to worry about his face around them. The way he styled his hair tonight was able to conceal most of the scars but Angela could tell that he was different with his friends.
“You must be a good influence on Shane. He hasn’t entertained in quite a while,” teased Beverly once the main course was served. The chef had servers to help with dinner and when Angela’s food was put before her she couldn’t help but inhale with appreciation. This was the height of fine dining and she couldn’t wait to tuck in.
“I’ve been busy,” Shane put in before Angela could reply.
Chandler rolled his eyes at that. “Doing what? We’ve missed you, my friend. Isn’t it time you started getting out of the house more?”
Shane smiled and took Angela’s hand which he lifted to his lips. Uh oh, thought Angela as his mouth lightly brushed her knuckles. She could almost feel the snapping gaze of both Bridget and Melissa but that didn’t even get to her as much as the sensation of Shane’s kiss on her skin. It was fleeting but sensual and intimate.
He looked up at her and then set her hand down without relinquishing it before turning to Chandler and saying, “I think I’ll take you up on that suggestion, especially since Angela loves the idea of going out.”
“So are you saying you’ll finally start showing yourself in public? With Angela?” Bridget burst out as if unable to help herself. Angela could swear she saw Melissa jab Bridget’s knee, making Bridget turn to her with a ‘what did I say?’ glare.
“Considering she’s my girlfriend, I’d think that was the normal thing to do,” Shane said somewhat coolly as he turned his grey eyes on Bridget.
“But...” Bridget began, then clamped her mouth shut and started sawing into the beef tenderloin on her plate.
The conversation smoothed over the little disruption when someone mentioned how fantastic the food was. Angela had to agree. She hadn’t tasted anything so tender and delicious in ages. She brought her fork to her mouth and slowly chewed on her food, letting the flavors seep into her palate before sliding down her throat. Heavenly. Better than anything she could have had in the best restaurant. She sighed deeply and opened her eyes to find that Drew and the other man Shane had introduced as his business acquaintances were looking at her lustfully. Angela had that ‘uh oh’ moment again. Being an actress she was used to some form of attention, this kind was a bit flustering though. Especially when she looked over to Shane and saw the glint of fire in his gaze.
Every time she glanced Shane’s way she caught his narrowed stare. Sometimes she felt his gaze long before she sought it out. If he wanted them to play the love-struck couple unable to keep their eyes off each other, then damn it was working. Angela made a point not to act at all seductive for the rest of the night and ate her food with far less sensuous delight.
The end of the meal couldn’t come quick enough. They all withdrew to the living room for more drinks and Angela found herself cornered by Bridget. “Shane mentioned you’re in the entertainment industry,” she said with a slight curl to her thin upper lip. “What exactly does that mean?”
"I’ve been in a small feature film and I also do commercials. I doubt you’ve seen any of my stuff,” Angela said with a distinctly polite smile.
Bridget’s green eyes snapped. “Oh, I’m sure I haven’t. So exactly how did you two meet again?”
Angela shrugged, taking a drink from her wine before responding. “I do volunteer work with a charity for homeless women and children. Shane is one of our biggest supporters. I guess we just hit it off.”
“Hmm.” Bridget’s eyes raked over Angela’s face and attire. “And you expect me to believe you aren’t worried about his face? You see what he looks like. Or maybe all that money blinds you to the fact that he’s turned into a walking, talking freak show?”
Angela’s eyes widened and then darted. Wait, what?
Bridget smiled thinly at her expression. “That’s right. I said it. He’s like family to us, but that’s the truth. He knows it and doesn’t hide from it. People cringe and walk away when they see him. They rather cross the street than have to go by him. I’ve seen children cry when he shows his face. But then again...he’s Shane Davis. Stock car racing champion. Playboy. And worth several million – certainly enough to make an opportunist stick her claws in where she doesn’t belong.”
Angela was virtually speechless. How could one respond to something like that?
But the vindictive female wasn’t done. Keeping her fake smile plastered on her face, Bridget added, “Have your little fling with Shane. But you’ll never belong in his world. Even with the way he looks he definitely deserves better than your type.”
Oh hell no, thought Angela with fury as Bridget swayed away on her elegant sling back heels to join the men gathered on the other side of the room.
Just then Shane turned and glanced over his shoulder at her. Something on her face must have alerted him because he left the group and came to her side.
“Is something wrong?” he asked lightly, scanning her face.
“Kiss me,” she said.
His eyes narrowed. “What?”
Angela licked on her
lips. “You asked me to do a job. I’m doing it. Now kiss me. Like you mean it.”
His nostrils flared for a moment. He asked no more questions, but leaned right in, slanted to the side and captured her lips. Angela’s breath hitched, the firmness of his mouth on hers edged with a surprising softness. She liked how he instantly took charge, not letting her dictate the heat level though she’d prescribed the kiss. He didn’t touch her, except with his lips grinding over hers with a rising hunger. Angela sank against his formidable chest, sliding her hands up his torso to rest on his broad shoulders. She could have sworn she heard his throat rumble in a low groan. The kiss was sexy as hell without being sloppy; just enough tongue to make a girl start weakening at the knees.
They pulled back at the same time, Angela’s eyes hooded as she stared down at his mouth. He’d tasted...freaking good. She had to admit it hit her in all the right spots. But that wasn’t the issue right now. She glanced to the side of the room and caught Bridget’s venomous expression. Melissa who stood right next to her seemed to shake her head impatiently and whisper something in Bridget’s ears. With friends like those, who needed enemies, Angela wondered, smirking as she drew away from Shane.
But his hand suddenly grabbed her elbow, making her glance up at him in surprise. His grey eyes were shot through with burning coals. “What did Bridget say to you to prompt that shining performance?” he said with a thick undertone.
Angela merely gave him a honeyed smile, replying airily, “Oh, something about status and her thinking I’m not good enough for you. That I’m some gold-digging chic out to scam her unsuspecting lover. She seems awfully damn protective for just a friend.”
Shane grunted, releasing her elbow. “Protective? Hardly. Those two worry only about nobody’s interests but their own. But for the record...I commend your ‘improv’. It’s something I wouldn’t have thought of. Your kiss, I mean. Please feel free to carry on in like manner whenever it comes upon you.”
Tangled: A New Adult Romance Boxed Set (12 Book Bundle of Billionaires, Bad Boys, and Royalty) Page 41