An Accidental Love Affair

by Davida Ann Samenski

  “Duh!”

  He chuckled, jerking her into his arms and hugging her tight. “Listen to me. The movie is scheduled to premiere in November. We’ll both be busy trying to promote it. We’ll have interviews and red-carpet appearances. Our calendars are going to be full for some time. Neither of us is going to have a free moment until after the holidays. Why don’t we shoot for the first Saturday in March? Will that work for you?”

  She exhaled loudly. It wasn’t as soon as she wanted, but at least it was a date.

  “Are you feeling better now? Have I silenced your doubts?”

  She smiled. “Yes, like a knight in shining armor, you’ve vanquished my demons.” For now.

  Chapter 13

  The movie Limelight opened to rave reviews, and the book shot to the top of the bestseller’s lists. Reece and Nicole spent a lot of their time on opposite sides of the country—sometimes the world. While she was touring the country promoting the book, he was doing the opening night circuit. They’d both been on multiple talk shows, had answered a thousand probing questions between them, but hadn’t seen each other in nearly a month.

  The strain of separation was beginning to take its toll. The small space of time allotted to them for phone calls and video chats wasn’t enough to say what they needed to say and was often interrupted by others demanding their time, especially Reece’s. They were arguing because of it. Reece thought she should be more understanding of the demands of his career; she thought he should be more understanding of her insecurities. They weren’t talking to each other because of it.

  Nicole was in a funk when she should’ve been having the time of her life. Her childhood dreams had come true. She had become a successful writer practically overnight, with a growing fan base reaching the thousands. Her books were being translated into foreign languages. Everyone was clamoring to the movie theaters to see her creation on the big screen.

  And she was engaged to marry the most incredibly sexy man on the face of the planet. The plans for their wedding were under way. She was getting torn between the demands of her career, his career, and the demands of her mother. Lydia was on a mission to pull off the most extravagant wedding Goldsboro, North Carolina would ever see.

  It was a circus. Nicole was exhausted. She’d appear on a talk show, run to the airport to catch a flight home for a dress fitting, and then run back to the airport to fly out for another interview. At times like this, she wished she had a twin. They could split up the work. As it was, her sister was no help to her. Lindsey was supposed to be traveling as her assistant and to keep her company, but she spent most of her time flitting off to see Damon Westmore. Lucky Lindsey!

  Nicole wanted to fly to England, drive to the cottage, and sleep for a month. She wished more than anything to be there right now, lying in bed with Reece’s arms around her and reassuring her that everything would be okay.

  Instead, she was curled up on the couch in her hotel room, flipping channels. She was trying to relax from another exhausting day of interviews when she stopped on the E network, finding Reece on the red carpet. Cameras were flashing around him at the London premiere. He looked dashing in his suit as he stopped to sign autographs, posing for selfies with his adoring fans.

  As he made his way up the red carpet, he was stopped with questions from reporters. “Reece, are the rumors true? Have you and Nicole called off your engagement?”

  Nicole sat up, turning the volume on the TV to its highest level. What the hell? She and Reece may not be talking to each other, but they weren’t breaking up.

  Reece was smiling for the cameras. “I’m sorry to say that Nicole and I are taking a break. We’re still friends and talk frequently, but we have decided not to pursue a relationship at this time.”

  The remote dropped to the floor. Had he just jilted her on national TV?

  He was still talking. “The demands of being in the spotlight with me became too much for her. I wish her all the best. I hope she finds her happiness.” He moved on up the carpet, stopping again for his fans.

  Son of a bitch! He did jilt her.

  The phone rang. She numbly reached over, picking it up. “Hello?” she answered, her voice low in shock.

  “Tell me it isn’t true, Nicole. I’m planning an enormous wedding, and you’re calling off your engagement? What will people think? Why are you so set in making a laughingstock of us all again?”

  That did it. The tears began falling as her mother berated her for breaking off a relationship she didn’t even know was in trouble.

  “Thank you for asking how I am, Mom. Thank you for caring so much about my feelings, that the first words out of your mouth are about the stupid wedding and how others will see you. It’s good to know where I rank in your priorities.” She hung up quickly, calling Audrey. “Cancel the rest of my interviews and tour stops. I’m not answering questions about this. I’m not going to make myself fodder for the tabloids anymore.”

  “I’ve already started doing it. This is a big blow, Nicole. I wish you had told me.”

  “I can’t tell you something I didn’t know myself.”

  There was a pause. “Do you mean he did this on his own? You didn’t have any idea about it?”

  “That’s right; I’ve just been blindsided.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “There’s nothing I can do. The fairytale has come to its end. The evil sorcerer has won. Yea Brothers Grimm!”

  There was a rueful chuckle. “You’re taking it awfully well.”

  “That’s because it hasn’t sunk in yet, but don’t worry, eventually I’m going to let loose, drowning us all in my tears.”

  “Nicole, I want you to pick up a pen and write it out. Every little bit of feeling you have, put it on paper.”

  She was getting angry. “I don’t want to write about this. I want to fly to London to castrate a certain Englishman.”

  Audrey sighed. “The writing is meant to curb those impulses.”

  Nicole glared at the TV screen as he disappeared inside the theater. “I hear you.” She pressed her lips together. “I think I’m going to disappear for a while.”

  There was worry in her editor’s tone. “Where will you go?”

  “I don’t know. Somewhere he won’t find me, not that he’ll be looking.”

  “Will you keep me updated?”

  “Yes, I’ll let you know where I am.” She hung up, taking a deep breath. What was she going to do now? She glanced down at her finger, beginning to laugh.

  “At least I won’t have to wear this monstrosity any longer,” she swore, trying to rip it off her finger. The damned thing wouldn’t budge. That figures.

  She kept the hotel phone off the hook, powering down her cell as she packed her suitcase and left. When she arrived at the front desk to check out, there were over ten messages waiting for her from Reece. She threw them into the trash without reading them.

  “If my sister returns, tell her not to bother looking for me. I’ll resurface when I’m ready to be found.”

  “Yes, ma’am. We’re sorry to hear about your break up, ma’am.”

  Her smile was brittle. “Don’t be. It wouldn’t have worked out anyway.”

  The clerk pouted in sympathy. “Still, it was nice while it lasted, wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah, it was a dream come true,” she replied sarcastically as she waved goodbye, exiting the hotel.

  She hailed a cab, asking to be taken to the airport. “American Airlines, please?”

  “Where are you flying?” asked the driver who looked a lot like Peter Griffin of The Family Guy cartoon.

  “I’m going to London. I have urgent business there.”

  “I hope it’s nothing serious.”

  “Oh no, I’m going there to kill a man. Nothing serious at all.”
>
  The cabbie kept his conversation to himself from that point on. Nicole enjoyed a nice quiet ride to the airport.

  She found a flight leaving in twenty minutes, paying her fare. She zipped through the security check, making it to the gate with minutes to spare.

  As she was handing over her boarding pass, the attendant exclaimed in recognition. “Hello, Miss DeLancey. Do you remember me?”

  Nicole peered at the nametag. Hello to the girl who started it all. “Sara, how have you been?”

  “I’m fine. I was severely reprimanded for speaking to the press about you and Mr. Collins. You could say I’ve been grounded.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Sara smiled. “I’ve been keeping track of you both. I’ve even purchased your books. I’m a big fan.”

  “Thank you.”

  “How are you and Mr. Collins? I was so happy to hear about your engagement. I thought you made a really cute couple.”

  “We’re not together anymore.”

  Sara looked shocked, even crestfallen. “I’m sorry to hear that. When did it happen?”

  Nicole glanced at her watch. “About two hours ago. He announced it on E news.”

  “What?” the girl asked in shock.

  “Yeah.” Nicole gazed around. “Can I board the plane now? I’d like to get off my feet.”

  Sara shook her head. “Of course. I’m so sorry.” She moved away from the door. Nicole ambled down the jetway.

  She found her seat, sitting down and remembering the first time she’d sat in first class. Everything after that moment had changed her life forever.

  The attendant came up to introduce herself. Nicole promptly ordered a drink. When it was gone, she ordered another, and so on . . . until she felt nothing. She reclined back in her seat, closing her eyes and hoping to shut out the memories just as easily.

  ~ ~ ~

  She woke up with a killer headache and a dry throat—the remains of her last drink gone. The attendant noticed her and came over. “Would you like some water, Miss DeLancey?”

  “Yes, thank you. Are we almost there?”

  “We should be starting our descent shortly. You slept for most of the flight.”

  “Easiest seven hours I’ve ever spent.”

  The attendant chuckled. “I’ll be right back.” She walked away, returning with a bottle of water and two Tylenol. Nicole saw the offering, bursting into tears.

  “What’s wrong, ma’am?”

  Nicole wiped her eyes. “It’s nothing. I have a migraine. The engines are making it worse.”

  “I am sorry to hear that, but the plane will be landing shortly.” Nicole nodded. The attendant let her be.

  Nicole was the first passenger off the plane, promptly catching a cab to the train station. She finally knew where she was going to go. It was the last place he’d ever think to look for her. She doubted he cared enough to wonder.

  ~ ~ ~

  Reece unlocked the door to the cottage, walking in and setting his bags down on the floor. It was good to be home. He wanted to drop where he stood; he was that tired. And not just from the rounds of interviews and appearances, but from the pure misery of not knowing where his fiancée could be. Where had she gone? She wasn’t returning his calls. He’d left messages at her last hotel, but the office staff reported she threw them in the trash when she checked out. Why would she do that?

  He flicked on the lamp, taking a seat on the sofa, stretching his legs out in front of him, and leaning his head back against the cushions. Surely, she hadn’t taken his E interview seriously? She couldn’t have. She knew him better than that.

  He heard a noise coming from the back of the house. He stood up to check it out. It was a small sound, like a sigh or a hiccup. Was someone here? He wasn’t in the mood to deal with a nosy photographer tonight.

  He moved down the hall, a beam of light coming from the master suite. He stopped, slowly pushing the door open. Nicole sat in the middle of the bed with a notebook in her lap, scratching across the page with her pen. She stopped writing long enough to lean over the side of the bed to pull an open wine bottle from the floor. She chugged down a healthy swallow of the liquid.

  His first reaction was relief because she was obviously safe from harm. His second was overwhelming pain and anger for putting him through hell in the last thirty-six hours. “Are you that thirsty?”

  She looked up, focusing her eyes on him, but then letting them glaze back over. “Go away, Satan. You can’t have my soul just yet.”

  He moved into the room, abruptly ducking when the wine bottle sailed by his head and smashed on the wall, spraying and splattering wine everywhere. He turned back, staring at her in shock. “What the hell, Nicole?”

  “I said, ‘Go away, Satan.’”

  “I’m not Satan.”

  “Yes, you are. Only Satan would build your dreams up then tear them down when you think you’re on the top of the world.”

  “You saw the interview.” Bloody Hell!

  “I saw the announcement. I didn’t stay around for the interview.”

  He stood with his hands on his hips. “Is that why you disappeared?” He raked his hand through his hair. “Do you know how frantic I’ve been, trying to find you? My God, woman, your parents have issued a missing person’s report, and Lindsey is beside herself with guilt because she wasn’t with you.”

  “Lindsey has her own life to live. That doesn’t include having to babysit her older sister.”

  “You need a keeper.”

  “I’m not five, Reece.”

  “Are you sure about that? You’re definitely not a mature adult when you run away every time something isn’t to your liking.”

  “I didn’t run away. I disappeared.”

  He snorted. “And the difference is?”

  “Running away means I may never be found. Disappearing means I’ll turn up eventually.”

  He shook his head, rolling his eyes to the ceiling. “I forgot who I was talking to, ‘Miss I’ve got an answer to everything.’” She went back to scribbling in her notepad. “What are you jotting down?”

  “A ‘Dear Reece’ letter.”

  He came closer. “Is that like a Dear John letter?”

  “Yes, except I don’t plan to let you down easy.” She glanced up at him. “Why are you here?”

  He looked around. “The last time I checked, this was my house.”

  She sat up straight. “You’re absolutely right. My bad! I’ll get my things and clear out of your way.” She started gathering up the wasted balls of paper.

  He held up a hand. “Hold on a second. What are you doing here?”

  “I figured this was the last place you’d come. I thought I was safe.”

  “Safe from what?”

  “Safe from you.”

  He clucked his tongue. “And why would you need to be safe from me?”

  She froze, staring up at him across the expanse of the bed. “If you don’t know the answer to that, I don’t know what to tell you.” Her speech was beginning to slur.

  He moved toward her side of the bed. She scrambled over the mattress, her feet knocking over the empty wine bottles. As they stood facing each other again from opposite ends, he glanced down, witnessing the evidence of her binge.

  “There are a lot of dead soldiers here. How long have you been drinking?”

  “I started when I was sixteen, in the barn at Jason Moore’s house.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Don’t be a smart-ass, Nicole.”

  She looked straight back at him. “I think I got a drink on the flight and haven’t stopped since.”

  “Have you eaten anything in that time?”

  She scoffed. “I’m drinking wine,” she rolled her fingers. “
Grapes. So, yeah, my nutritional needs are being met.” She was swaying on her feet. “I think that was the last of the wine, though. Guess I’ll have to start on the brandy.” She squinted down the hall. “Just remind me which corridor to take to get to the living room, and we’ll be square.”

  She wasn’t feeling too hot right now. As soon as she stood up, the alcohol she had consumed leaked into her other extremities. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she said, stumbling to the bathroom.

  Reece followed as she fell to her knees, retching over the toilet. He leaned down, pulling her hair out of the way as she heaved. Just as one spell ended, another began.

  She felt like she’d been there for hours. “Oh God, kill me now,” she moaned.

  Reece rolled his eyes. “I’m going to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee. Try to be here when I get back.”

  She didn’t acknowledge his sarcasm, continuing to lean against the toilet with her head resting on the seat.

  While he was making the coffee, Reece put in calls to her parents and his, along with her editor and her sister. They were relieved she was okay, scrambling to get to her as quickly as possible. He asked them to wait. He wanted some time alone with her, so they could make sense out of their muddle.

  The house was silent as he moved back down the hall, the sound of her heaving dwindling away to nothing. He stood in the doorway, contemplating her slumped form. She had fallen asleep on the bathroom rug. He set the cup on the sink, leaning down to pull her into his arms.

  She moaned in her sleep, snuggling into his embrace. “I really hate you,” she mumbled.

  “I know, baby. I don’t blame you.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Nicole slept off and on for three days. She’d wake up long enough to use the bathroom, stumbling back to bed to pull the covers over her head. Reece paced the length of the cottage, his feelings over the situation notching high before dwindling low. He wanted to let her sleep it off. He wanted to shake her awake and demand answers. He wanted to hold her tight. He wanted to walk away. He had no idea how he was going to handle the situation when she finally rose, but he knew he wasn’t going to let this impasse go on for much longer.