Tinseltown

by Stephanie Taylor

  She fell silent for a long while. When the song was almost over, his feet slowed and he pulled back so he could look at her. The love he didn’t want to feel for her reared again, but he pushed it aside and made way for the need to prove himself to her. To make Deb look at him the same way she kept glancing at the Ex.

  “I’m not a bad person, you know,” he said quietly and moved his thumb over the back of her hand. Her palm pressed lightly on his chest, and her ear rested against his jaw.

  “I never said you were. I just don’t appreciate you taking advantage of me when I was drunk.”

  “You’ve made it clear it was a mistake. But, if we could erase it, where would we be right now? We were headed somewhere, Deb. Where? Or were you playing games after all?”

  “I was really attracted to you, Zach.”

  “Was?”

  “Yeah… was.”

  “What changed?”

  She didn’t say anything immediately. “I’m smarter now. I know I shouldn’t get involved with you.”

  “Why? And isn’t it kind of a moot point since we’re married?”

  “You aren’t sincere. You’re in it for the publicity it will bring. I’d prefer to keep my relationships separate from work too. I don’t like dating someone from the entertainment business. Too many temptations.”

  “Temptations are everywhere, Deb, at the mall, on the red carpet, everywhere.”

  “Maybe so, but you’re a temptation I don’t want.”

  He pulled back, hope stirring to life inside his chest. He hooked his finger under her chin and forced her to look at him. “Tell me to my face.” He ignored the pain in his gut.

  She looked away.

  “No, look at me and tell me to my face.”

  They stopped moving, but he continued to hold her. She felt like heaven, pressed against him so intimately. Her scent surrounded him like a cloud. “I don’t want you,” she whispered, but her gaze was hungry as she eyed his lips.

  “Then why do I feel like you’re saying you do?” Maybe this wasn’t as hopeless as he’d first thought.

  “I’m not.”

  “I promised you I wouldn’t kiss you again unless you asked me to. I’m not performing for Ex until then.” Keep it real.

  She sighed, closing her eyes slowly. He could remember those sultry eyes settling on him as he moved inside her. He stepped in closer to her, knowing she could feel his arousal. Her eyes shot open.

  “Ask me,” he urged again, his lips only a whisper from hers.

  “Kiss me,” she whispered, already headed for his lips. But he pulled back.

  “I said ask, not tell.” He grinned.

  She frowned, but her gaze darted past his shoulder and determination filled her eyes. “Will you kiss me, Zach?”

  He didn’t hesitate to give her what she wanted. In fact, he was fairly convinced after about four point two seconds into their kiss, the Ex was all but forgotten. He claimed her mouth in a way meant to prove to her what she missed by denying him. His tongue pushed past her lips and delved deeply, fueled by her sigh and her hand on the back of his head holding him close. He wrapped his arms around her, molding her body to his.

  There was an undeniable heat between them. It was why they had been hired to work together. During their test screening, they had made things look real because it was real. It would serve him well to remember he held the trump card.

  He risked embarrassing himself by such an open display of affection but he couldn’t stop now. What he wouldn’t give to disappear into a dark room for a little while and show her what he was capable of. He brought his hand up and touched her cheek, rubbing his thumb over her jaw. Her skin felt like velvet under his fingers. Her fervent return of his kiss sent his senses spiraling.

  His wife.

  “Excuse me,” a man said to his left.

  Deb pulled away but he followed her, reluctant for such a wonderful kiss to be over.

  But Deb’s palms framed his face and she pulled away, laughing forcefully, kissing him chastely once more to end it. “Zach!” She giggled as she pulled away. Zach’s gaze clashed with a man he could only assume was the Ex. He had some balls approaching them while he kissed his wife.

  “Sorry,” he muttered and took a step away from her, folding his hands in front of him.

  Deb sighed and looked at him, her lips still swollen from his kiss, and he knew then and there he was a goner. She might be trying to fool him, but it wasn’t working. They would talk after the party. They had to get these feelings out in the open, whatever they were.

  “Can I have a dance, Deborah?” the man asked.

  Next to them stood a man with blond hair, blue eyes — the typical business type. He looked straight at him as if waiting for his permission. Zach bet there wasn’t a single callus on his fingers.

  Fury blazed in Zach’s chest. He didn’t care whether Deb loved this guy; they were married and he would not have his wife, real, pretend, or otherwise, dancing with a man who looked at her like she was a piece of meat.

  Taking a deep breath, Zach looped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close but spoke loudly enough for Ex to hear, “Let’s ditch this guy and go upstairs. You know you’d rather dance for me naked than waste your time down here.”

  The guy narrowed his eyes at Zach. Zach grinned and dropped his hand to Deb’s firm behind and squeezed. She jumped and elbowed him, a little too hard, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Yup, playing this game allowed him a few benefits, too. Right now, he had to make Deb accept him as part of her life while they were here. He prayed everything else would fall into place and this loser would be nothing but a memory.

  “I’ll be waiting for you, wife.” The slip was intentional, one he knew the man heard when his shocked gaze flew from Zach to Deb then back to Zach. He didn’t dare look at Deb. Instead, he winked at him and walked away, trying to find the nearest exit.

  He needed some fresh air.

  Chapter 3

  “Mom, we’re not… um, close yet,” Deb said to her mother as they stood outside the only available room in the house upstairs.

  “Sweetheart, I’m sorry, but it’s the only room we have. Can’t you make do tonight until the guests leave after breakfast tomorrow?”

  “In a six bedroom house, you’re telling me there’s no other place for him to sleep?” Deb was mortified. And angry. How could she have been so stupid to ask the man to kiss her? It was like he had cast some invisible spell on her and she couldn’t snap out of it when he was around.

  “Honey, could you make an exception just this once? I’d rather not kick my guests out of a room tonight, and I think Zach would like to spend some alone time with you.”

  Deb frowned. “Why does everyone automatically assume I make a habit of sleeping around because I’m an actress?”

  Her mother stuttered. “I don’t, but I saw you two kissing downstairs.. .and…”

  Deb sighed. He was supposed to be her boyfriend. But Zach was a lot more and she couldn’t bring herself to tell her mom just yet. There was no getting around this if she didn’t want to make everyone suspicious of her and Zach’s real relationship.

  “If you’ve got a blanket, ma’am, I can sleep on the comfy couch I saw downstairs. I don’t want to make Deb uncomfortable.”

  Deb saw her mother’s eyes soften as Zach walked up the final few steps. Already smitten with her enemy. This was worse than she’d imagined.

  “Nonsense. There’s no telling how late people will be wandering around the house. You won’t get a wink of sleep.”

  Zach smiled in Deb’s general direction as he stepped up next to her and casually draped his arm around her. Deb ignored her heart as it began to race. She had to keep her wits about her. Just because she thought with her hormones lately didn’t erase the fact that Zach had taken advantage of her when she was defenseless in Vegas. He should have protected her, not married her. Hormones or not, the cutest man in the world couldn’t make her ignore that “ruthless” was his m
iddle name.

  Deb stood straight and artfully side-stepped Zach’s arm. “Zach, there is a couch in the room. One of us can take the couch and the other can take the bed.” She saw Zach’s frown and confusion dancing in his eyes when she finally looked at him. “It’s okay. We’ll figure something out, right?”

  “Sure,” he said. “I need your help carrying in our luggage. I’ll get the heavy stuff if you can get the smaller stuff so we can make it quick.”

  Smiling at her mother, she nodded at Zach and hesitantly took his extended hand as he guided them down the stairs. She felt her mother’s gaze on her back, sure she was as confused as Deb was.

  Once they were close enough to the foyer, Zach lit into her. “What was that about?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t want to share a room.”

  “Because you’re afraid of your husband?”

  “No, because I don’t want to. I have a choice, you know.”

  “Not if you want to convince your parents we’re together.”

  Deb stopped walking and looked at him. “What’s in this for you? I think you’re enjoying yourself a little too much.”

  Narrowed eyes met hers. “Let’s get one thing straight, okay? I’m doing this because you asked me to. No other reason. I don’t give a crap about what your family thinks of you — or me — for that matter. I’m doing this because my boss ordered me to, and if I want to keep my job and my career, I have to. This has nothing to do with you or your family. It has everything to do with me and my career.”

  Deb took a step back at his words. But his eyes told her he was lying. In fact, she could have sworn she saw hurt there. Could it be he had feelings after all?

  Zach let out a puff of air and seemed to deflate. “Deb, I’m sorry.”

  But she was out the door, unable to make sense of anything, and unsure if she wanted to. He was a jerk, despite his lies.

  He caught up to her after a few steps, grabbed her arm, and spun her around. “I’m sorry,” he said again, a little louder.

  “Don’t worry about it, Zach.” She couldn’t believe she felt betrayed that he didn’t want to be there.

  He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his dark hair. His golden eyes sparked angrily as his chiseled jaw thumped in frustration. He was beautiful even when angry.

  “I didn’t mean to sound so selfish.” He turned his back on her and took a few steps away. Then he spun around, and in two long strides, was in front of her again, stooping so they were eye level. “Don’t you get it? I want to hate you, but I can’t. I’ve admired your work and everything about you since I first started in this business, and all of a sudden I’m thrown into an atmosphere where I have to pretend we’re a couple, or not… What are we pretending, Deb?” He shook his head. “I want us to give this marriage a chance. We haven’t even begun to see if it could work.”

  Stunned, Deb gaped at him. “What?”

  “I don’t want to end this before we try. I’d wager you don’t believe in divorce. I know our chances of making it with our careers is slim, but do you really want to quit? I’m not a quitter, Deb.”

  “You married me in Vegas, Zach, when I was drunk, a move that could very well haunt us the rest of our careers. I didn’t want this.”

  “Do you wanna turn the clock back and undo it? I sure don’t. I wasn’t drunk, Deb.” His brows drew tightly together, and he looked at her for a long moment. What was he saying?

  Deb licked her lips and lowered her eyes. She didn’t like this side of him… or rather she liked it too much. The honest side of Zach Sparks was far more intriguing than the conceited one.

  Zach didn’t say anything for a while. “You still love him?”

  Deb closed her eyes. How could she answer his question? “Yes and no.”

  “You care to explain?”

  “Brad and I have a long history. Every time I come home, we always get together, even if it’s for a few weeks at a time. Then he does the same thing to me every visit and tells me he can’t be with someone like me in a serious relationship because I don’t value the things he values, like honesty and faithfulness.”

  “Sounds like a jerk.”

  Deb laughed at the irony. “No, he’s a kind man, but we’re too different. He doesn’t understand even though I’m an actress I can value those things. I’m not at every Hollywood party, falling into bed with the first guy I meet.”

  “You just marry them instead?”

  Deb grinned and nodded.

  Again, Zach remained quiet for a long while. “Don’t you think you deserve more? Don’t you want someone who believes in you and makes you happy?”

  She smiled sardonically. “The few weeks we’re together when I’m home, I am happy.”

  “So you do love him.”

  Deb shook her head again. “How can I love someone I barely know outside of a bedroom? I guess when I’m honest with myself, it’s my fame I think that attracts him the most. Surprising, since he hates the very idea of it.”

  She crossed her arms against the chill and shivered a little. Thinking of Brad upset her. She remembered telling Zach she loved Brad the morning after their wedding. But did she?

  If it had been Brad in Vegas, would she have eloped? A voice deep inside of her answered with a resounding ‘no’. So why Zach? She didn’t trust him any more than she did Brad.

  “Thank you for sharing with me.”

  When she looked at him, he appeared sincere. “Just don’t use it against me, okay?”

  He smiled. They seemed to have found common ground for a moment and Deb was glad. She smiled back.

  “For the record, I enjoyed kissing you tonight.”

  Deb cocked an eyebrow at him and flipped her hair behind her shoulder. “A mistake I won’t make twice.”

  “Ha! You said it would never happen and now look. You asked me to kiss you within an hour. You just find my charm irresistible.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “Charm… manipulation, it’s all the same thing.”

  He grinned and stepped forward, reaching past her to open the car door. “Let’s get this luggage in so we can warm up.”

  Deb studied him for a second before saying, “Are you acting right now?”

  His jaw dropped and his eyes rounded. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean are you acting? Are you just being nice and saying all these things for the movie or do you really want to try to make this work?”

  Zach turned away and studied the neighboring house and its decorations. When his gaze fell upon hers, full of emotion, she knew she’d walked straight into a mine field. “You won’t believe me, but I really want to try.”

  This time, Deb fingered her wedding ring in her pocket, remembering that drunken night. She wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.

  * * * *

  It killed Zach to watch Deb go through her nightly routine in the bathroom off to the right. She hadn’t even bothered to shut the door. He sat on the couch, flipping channels on the TV, his socked feet propped on the marble coffee table.

  His gaze moved to where Deb washed her face, her hair secured at her neck unflatteringly, yet somehow the normalcy of it all made her attractive. He yearned to walk up behind her and kiss her neck. Fill his hands with her…

  And those thoughts were better left alone if he wanted to make this marriage work.

  Tonight, he realized why Deb was so defensive when it came to physical intimacy. She thought he had manipulated her to get what he wanted. Somehow, she manifested her problems with the Ex onto him and apparently believed all men were as snaky as ol’ Brad. Well, even though he still felt reserved toward her, he wasn’t going to let her believe that about him.

  And it meant he’d put his needs aside and let her learn to trust him. He wouldn’t let it upset him if she didn’t change her mind about him right away, though. He was a patient man.

  “Hey, Zach? Could you bring me the robe at the foot of the bed, please?” she called.

  He glanced at h
er and grinned, seeing she was, at least, comfortable enough to ask him to do something for her. “Sure,” he said and stood.

  She had dressed in flannel pajamas. The variety masked every inch of sex-appeal, or at least was supposed to. He grew hard just thinking about unfastening those buttons to see what hid inside.

  He suppressed a smile when he saw the robe. It was one of those fuzzy pink ones that would cover her ears to ankles. Zach grabbed it and walked to the door of the bathroom. “This is… um… an interesting piece for your wardrobe.”

  She rewarded him with one of those real smiles he loved. “Just an incentive to keep your hands off.”

  Oh boy, if she only knew the thoughts flowing in his mind about her and the pink robe. He nodded and held it out, grinning knowingly at her, keeping his little secret inside for now.

  “Thanks.” She took the robe from him. Their fingers grazed and, in that moment, her eyes shot to his. He looked into her pretty eyes, rounded in innocence and sexuality that made his blood boil. No wonder the public loved her. She was beautiful. The sad thing was he wasn’t entirely sure she even knew it.

  Something passed between them that confused him. One second she looked angry and the next confused and yet before he fully registered either of those, heat entered her eyes and she looked away. She brimmed with myriad feelings and he wanted to diffuse every one of them to make way for passion.

  But the thing with Deb was, she was an expert, as was he, at her job. Everything he thought she felt could very well be her expertise. The trouble he found in their craft was no one could really tell sincerity or otherwise. No wonder marriages in Hollywood never lasted more than a few years. In Hollywood, it was more about getting laid than finding someone to marry.

  Zach turned away from her and sat back down on the couch. Those kinds of thoughts, though true as they were, depressed him. He didn’t sleep around, although he certainly enjoyed female company. He did value marriage and vows and faithfulness.