To Catch a Star

by Romy Sommer

  Moving very slowly, since every movement made her want to throw up, she eased herself off the bed and headed to the bathroom. When she opened the bathroom door, she did need to throw up.

  Bright light streamed in from all sides. Brilliant, brain-cramping white sunlight.

  She attended to one need, then the other, then finally splashed her face with water and met her reflection’s gaze in the mirror.

  Oh my…

  So this was what a hangover looked like.

  She managed to swallow a couple of pain-pills, then brush her teeth without throwing up again, and stumbled back to the bedroom. The room looked like an underwater cavern, gloomy, with an eerie pattern of light and shadow creeping up the walls.

  She must have forgotten to open the curtains before she went to sleep last night. She never forgot to open the curtains. She liked waking to sunlight streaming in through the windows.

  Not that she’d seen much of it lately, what with the early calls and having a job to go to. She moved to the windows and put her hand on the edge of the curtain. All it took was a glimpse of the pain-inducing light to make her twitch the drapes shut again.

  It was too early to wake up. And if she opened those curtains she was likely to throw up again. She headed back to bed, pulling the covers right up over her head.

  Tessa wasn’t there when he got downstairs to the dining room the next morning, and he was already late. His chest stretched tight.

  He was halfway through his first espresso when he gave in to the temptation and dialled her number. It went straight to voice mail.

  He had no idea what to say, so he hung up.

  The second espresso was a take-away cup in the back of the car. He slouched down in the back seat, which seemed starkly empty without Teresa beside him. Frank kept his gaze averted from the rear-view mirror, and Christian was grateful.

  Had she simply overslept? Or had she decided, in the cold light of day, that she wanted nothing more to do with him after last night?

  He rubbed his eyes. It had been a mistake, a terrible mistake. So why didn’t it feel like a mistake? Why did it feel right to kiss Tessa and wrong to be here without her?

  “Have you heard from her?” he asked Frank at last.

  Frank shook his head.

  “She drank rather a lot last night. Perhaps she’s hung over.”

  Frank said nothing, and there was nothing more Christian could say.

  Chapter 14

  Christian hefted the weight off his chest and held it aloft, grunting at the effort. Then he slowly lowered the weight back onto its rest. And again.

  Sweat dripped from his brow, and his t-shirt clung damply to his torso. Perhaps a swim in the hotel’s indoor pool would ease this tension inside him. Running on the treadmill hadn’t. Bench-pressing weights hadn’t.

  Perhaps this was payback for every woman he’d seduced and walked away from. Or perhaps this was Fate kicking him in the groin just for the hell of it.

  He’d set out to make Teresa’s life miserable. He’d wanted to break her. And he’d failed spectacularly. She was as cold and unfeeling as ever. Instead, he was the one who was broken. He was the one unable to sleep.

  He hefted the weight again, breathing deeply as he held it high off his chest.

  Sunday night had changed everything for him. Tessa’s kiss had flooded him with new hope, had given him something to aspire to. Forget the superhero movie. Forget the safe bets at the box office. He was going to sign up for Robbie’s script, he’d even produce it if that’s what it would take to make the movie happen. He was going to challenge himself and try new roles, and if the audiences didn’t love him for it… then tough.

  He’d had their love, he’d earned their money, and it wasn’t enough.

  He wanted something in his life to be proud of. And he wanted to try a real relationship. Perhaps not a lifelong commitment, since he had a tendency to bring nothing but pain to those he loved, but a relationship built on something more than exchanging phone numbers and bodily fluids. With someone he could talk to and enjoy being with; a woman who would inspire him and challenge him and awe him, as Tessa did.

  It just wasn’t going to be her.

  She’d made that abundantly clear these last two days. She refused to talk to him, refused to be alone with him. Even refused to look at him.

  The whispers around set were impossible to avoid. Which was how he’d discovered that much as though people loved him, they loved Tessa more.

  There wasn’t one person on the set who didn’t think that whatever had gone down between them, it was his fault. The general verdict was that he’d made a move on an innocent, virginal, soon-to-be married woman and been slapped down for it. And they cheered Tessa for being the one to finally do it.

  Even Dominic, the back-stabbing bastard.

  Christian dropped the weight back on its rest. Hell, he’d earned the reputation, hadn’t he? This was definitely payback.

  But the worst wasn’t that he deserved it. The worst was that the dreams had stopped. He’d lost her twice over. The real Teresa and the one in his head had both deserted him.

  He raised the weight again, relishing the burn in his aching muscles.

  The gymnasium door swung open and he turned his head slightly. It was well past midnight. Who else would be up at this hour?

  “What are you doing here?” he panted. “I thought you’d gone out drinking.”

  Dominic stepped through the door. “And I thought you were dining with the studio money men after wrap tonight?”

  Christian settled the weight back in its place and sat up, wiping his face with his towel. “I did. I’d rather have gone out drinking with you.” Or out with Teresa.

  He’d come close to inviting her along. Twice. She’d have charmed the executives’ pants off. She’d have backed him up. But he couldn’t face the torment of being with her and not being with her. Besides, she’d probably have known them all already. Been dandled on their knees as a kid, or something.

  “They’re still trying to persuade me to sign up for the superhero movie.”

  “How many zeros did they add to the offer before you said yes?”

  “I said no.”

  Dominic sat beside him on the bench. “Have you gone insane?”

  Christian shook his head. “I’ve decided to do another movie. A dark drama with a bit of a twist. It’s a very clever script and not a single stunt or special effect.”

  Dominic looked as if Christian had just floored him with a sucker punch. “That chick has messed with your head.”

  “It’s not Teresa. It’s me.” Okay, it was all Tessa, but surely he could take a little credit for finally seeing the light?

  “You seriously need to get laid. Since we’re on night shoot tonight we still have a few hours to spare. Let’s find a club, have a drink and find you a woman.”

  “I don’t want to sleep with any other woman.”

  “Who said anything about sleeping?”

  Christian rose from the bench and paced to the water cooler to pour himself a cup of ice-cold water. “I can’t.”

  “Then you need to man up, dude. If you want her, go after her.”

  “I did. She said no. And she’s a good person. She deserves her Prince Charming, and she’s not stupid enough to give that up for one night with me.”

  Dominic rolled his eyes. “What she deserves and what she wants are two very different things. Deep down, the good girls all want bad boys. Have you considered if you asked again she might say yes?”

  “Yes. When hell freezes over.”

  Dominic threw his hands in the air. “Do you know nothing about women? Because the way she’s been avoiding you these last couple of days, I’d say she’s seriously tempted.”

  A large part of Dominic’s success with women came from his knowing how they thought. He’d been the only boy in a family of five kids.

  Christian, on the other hand, had no clue what made women tick. He’d never needed to. As long as
there were women who liked him for his looks, his fame and his bank balance, he’d been assured of a good time.

  But a woman like Teresa, who didn’t care about the money or the name… what could he possibly offer a woman like her, who had everything?

  But she didn’t have everything, did she?

  He stared past Dominic at the bare wall beyond. Beneath the composed façade, Tessa was a passionate woman who craved excitement and new adventures. She’d only just begun to discover that about herself. It was natural the discovery had frightened her.

  And she didn’t need a Prince Charming. She already had one of those. What she needed was someone who could let her explore her dark side before she lost the chance forever.

  Was it possible Dominic might be right?

  He needed more time. He couldn’t just proposition her outright. He needed another opportunity like the one he’d had on Sunday night. He had to get her alone. But their time had run out. Two more days and the Westerwald shoot would be over. He’d be heading for that premiere in Paris and she’d be getting married. They’d go their separate ways and he’d never see her again.

  His chest ached at the thought.

  Dom was certainly right about one thing. He had to at least give it one last shot. He couldn’t live with the regrets and the second-guessing and the what ifs.

  Christian grinned. He felt a whole lot better now he’d made this resolution. “I think I could do with that drink now.”

  “The hotel bar’s closed for the night.”

  “Then let’s get it re-opened.”

  Tessa frowned as she pushed through the double doors into the long corridor leading to the artistes’ dressing and green rooms. It was the second-to-last night of filming. Tomorrow night they’d be shooting at the palace. The bedroom scene.

  Then this would all be over.

  The wide corridor was cluttered with trolleys loaded with film equipment, and filled with people coming and going between the dressing rooms and the warehouse space housing Lee’s pirate-ship set, or heading outdoors for a smoke break. They seemed oblivious to the tangled cables at their feet and the massive flight cases stacked against the walls. Many of them were dressed in pirate costume, but that no longer seemed odd to her.

  A couple of sparks rolled passed with one of those massive film lights on wheels. She flattened herself against the wall to let them pass.

  Muted music spilled from Christian’s make-up room. Bouncy dance music, which meant Dominic was probably in there with him. Facing one would be bad enough, but both…

  Like the coward she’d turned into these last few days, she turned away. She could find Robbie to take Christian the bottled water she’d been sent to fetch.

  Her phone rang, and she snatched it out of her leather bag, checking the caller ID. “Hello, Father.”

  “I have good news and I have great news. Which do you want first?”

  She smiled. Just what she needed. “Let’s start with the good and work up to great.”

  “They caught the escaped convicts trying to get on a boat out of France. They’re back behind bars.”

  A tension she hadn’t even known she’d been carrying eased out of her. She wanted to laugh. Or cry. “If that was the good news, I can’t imagine how fantastic the great news is going to be.”

  “I followed that lead you gave me.”

  The urge to laugh deserted her. She felt like such a traitor telling her father what Christian had told her in confidence.

  She felt doubly traitorous that it had taken her more than twenty-four hours to even realise the significance of what he’d told her. She couldn’t even blame her lapse on her hangover. She’d been so wrapped up in her own crisis that she’d let her father down, and Fredrik, and her nation.

  Her eye had fallen so far off the ball it hadn’t even occurred to her to wonder how Elijah’s father had been persuaded to drop the charges against Christian. There had to be another hand at play here, someone who had way more influence than the mayor of a bunch of back-water Caribbean islands.

  “What did you find out?” she asked, her mouth suddenly so dry she could hardly frame the words. Please let Christian’s mother not be implicated in anything terrible. Please let her be innocent of all this.

  “I told Elijah Senior his son’s murderers were back in jail again, and this time they won’t be seeing a parole board anytime soon. He was so grateful he was more than happy to tell me everything. He got a call from my predecessor in Intelligence asking him to drop the charges.”

  Her legs could no longer support her. She leaned against the wall of the corridor, needing its support, heedless of what people around her might think. “Why would the head of Intelligence be concerned with the welfare of one fourteen-year-old boy from Los Pajaros?”

  “That’s the question I intend to ask. You can leave this with me now. We don’t need the ring any more. Your job is done.”

  She covered her eyes. It was over.

  “Teresa?” called a voice, and she looked up. Robbie threaded his way through the crowd, looking harried.

  “I have to go. Thanks for the news.” She hung up and placed the phone in her bag, just as Robbie reached her side.

  “We’re ready for Christian on set. Is Marie done with him yet?”

  She swallowed. “I don’t know. I went to the craft station to get him some water.” She held up the water bottle that was her weak excuse for staying as far away from Christian as she could.

  Further down the corridor a door banged open and Tessa glanced over her shoulder.

  Oh great.

  The crowd of people tripping over one another in the corridor parted like the Red Sea as Christian strolled through, oblivious to the gazes that followed him.

  Was it too much to hope that he would walk straight on by?

  Of course it was. Her heart hit her feet as he paused beside her.

  “Hey,” she said, faking a cheer she didn’t feel. “Here’s your water.”

  “Hey.” His voice was low and sexy and suggestive as hell. He took the bottle, his fingers brushing against hers. She flicked a nervous glance at Robbie, who appeared way too aware of the undercurrents shimmering around them.

  “May I have a moment with Tessa?” Christian asked.

  Robbie nodded. “I’ll let them know on set you’ll be there shortly.”

  He hurried away, leaving them alone. Or as alone as anyone could be with twenty pairs of curious eyes watching them. She pressed herself back against the wall as a camera technician carrying a box of lenses rushed past.

  She regretted it immediately. Christian stepped close, boxing her in against the wall.

  “You okay?” He leaned in, resting his hand on the wall beside her head. “You look like you’ve had a shock.”

  This was the distinct disadvantage of someone being able to read you. She forced herself to smile. “I’ve just heard that the escaped convicts are back behind bars again.”

  “That’s great news.”

  She nodded. Silence hung between them, as the background noise receded from her awareness.

  “We haven’t had a moment to talk these last few days,” he said at last.

  “And we don’t now. You’re needed on set and we’re already behind schedule for the day.”

  “Screw the schedule.” He leaned in closer. “Sunday night was… ”

  “…so stupid,” she finished for him, while he still searched for the right word.

  “Not where I was going.”

  She moistened her lips and his gaze followed the movement. The air between them seemed even more charged than before. And her rapid heart rate seemed to have affected the oxygen to her brain. She said the first thing that came into her head.

  “I’m sorry I took advantage of you.” She prayed he’d never find out how she’d betrayed his trust. He didn’t give trust easily.

  He frowned. “You didn’t take advantage of me. I’m the one who kissed you, remember?”

  “Yes, but I kissed
you back. What is wrong with me? I’m not this person!”

  “Yes you are. You’re just… ”

  “I’m disgusting. I’m faithless. I’ve cheated on Stefan.”

  “That wasn’t cheating, sweetheart. That was just a kiss. This would be cheating.”

  He pressed his thigh suggestively between her legs and she gasped. Her already desperately needy body responded and she had to clamp down on the surge of desire turning her bones to jelly.

  “The problem isn’t that I cheated on Stefan. The problem is that… ”

  “…it felt good.” Christian leaned closer, so close their bodies touched, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip. Thigh to thigh.

  “It felt good.” She looked away. “But it can’t ever happen again. Just two more days. We can be grownups about this for just two more days. Can’t we?”

  When he didn’t answer she sneaked a look at him. He was frowning. He was going to give himself wrinkles if he kept doing that.

  “So we just pretend it never happened?”

  She nodded, relieved that he understood.

  “Your fiancé is in Paris this weekend, right?”

  Where was he going with this? She hoped he wasn’t planning on taking advantage of Stefan’s continued absence.

  “Would you like to see him?”

  “Of course I would.” Even though she looked away again, she suspected he knew she lied. If she could put off the wedding and buy herself some time to think, she would. But she couldn’t. The wedding was a little over a week away. It was too late to think.

  Her throat closed with the all-too-familiar suffocating feeling.

  “I’d like to ask you a favour, then.”

  She needed to clear her throat before she could speak. “What?”

  “Come to Paris with me.”

  Taken by surprise, she met his gaze. And instantly regretted it as it scorched her.

  “I have spare tickets for the premiere in Paris on Sunday night. We can fly in on Saturday, you can spend some time with your fiancé, watch the movie, and be back home on Monday.”

  “Why?” she managed. “Why me? There must be dozens of French actresses and models who will be more than happy to be your date for the night.” And who’d be more than willing to provide more than just eye candy. She hadn’t thought it would be possible to feel even more choked.