Alex felt herself freeze and pushed against him, a wave of self-revulsion washing her entire body. How could she have done it to Paul? she asked herself, watching him with wide and fearful eyes. His face was pale and he was breathing quickly, his hands still holding her arms.
‘Paul, please! I don’t…’
He felt her shudder. ‘God, Alex, don’t do this to me! Do you know how it feels, to be led on and then dropped cold?’ He couldn’t hide the hurt in his eyes.
‘I’m sorry, Paul. I…’ She ran a shaky hand over her eyes. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt you, believe me, but I…’ Tears spilled on to her cheeks.
‘Oh, Alex, don’t cry!’ Paul’s face changed from hurt to concern. ‘I shouldn’t have come on so strongly. I’m an insensitive oaf.’
Alex shook her head. ‘No. No, you’re not. Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s me. I… Oh, Paul!’ She went into his arms and sobbed on to his shoulder for a few moments before she regained her control.
Paul patted her sympathetically until she stood away from him and fumbled for a tissue to dry her eyes. ‘You must think I’m such a fool!’
‘No. But I know there’s something troubling you and if you don’t get it out of your system you really will make yourself ill. Can’t you tell me, Alex? It may help to talk it out.’
‘I wish I could. But I just can’t.’
They looked at each other, but before Paul could comment there was a knock on the door.
‘Alex? Paul? Five minutes to go, you two,’ came Jeff’s voice.
Paul sighed. ‘We’d better get ready.’ He hesitated a moment and then leant across and kissed her lightly on the cheek before going out of the dressing-room. As he was about to close the door behind him he hesitated. ‘Alex, has it got anything to do with that guy you met on the beach yesterday?’
‘On the beach? No, of course not. He’s… He’s just a friend from years ago,’ she said quickly, and with one last level look at her Paul left.
Alex turned back to the mirror and began to deftly Repair her make-up.
So Paul had seen her talking to Ben on the beach. No one was more surprised than Alex had been when he appeared out of the blue. As she walked slowly up the sand, squeezing the salty water from her hair, he had been striding down towards the surf and, for the first time since she had met him, she had not been pleased to see him. He was too close to Justin, at this time, and although Ben scarcely resembled his brother, as he stood talking to her there was a fleeting expression, an occasional mannerism that cut through her like a knife.
But that wasn’t Ben’s fault, and she took pains to hide the anguish she felt and bubbled over about the group’s success at the restaurant with a brittle exuberance. Ben didn’t seem to notice. In his field everyone raved on.
He was filming on location on the Gold Coast and he had taken a unit for the duration of the particular sequence of his movie and expected to be in the area for a month or so. They had laughed together when he offered her a part in the movie.
Usually when Ben visited or phoned her they refrained from mentioning Justin, but on the beach Ben had broken that unspoken rule by telling her casually that Justin was holidaying on one of the Barrier Reef islands. However, after taking one look at her pale face he had changed the subject. He would be bringing a party from the film company to Christie’s for dinner tomorrow night and if Paul recognised him he would certainly think it strange that Alex wouldn’t have mentioned it. And now she wished she had been honest with Paul. But what could she have said? Oh, what a tangled web we weave. She pulled a face at herself in the mirror.
Christie’s Restaurant at Surfers Paradise was twice the size of its Brisbane counterpart and tonight, as it had been on the previous night, the entire place was filled to its capacity. Chris was right. It was a roaring success.
From her position on the slightly raised stage, a much more elaborate affair than the Everglades were accustomed to, Alex scanned the sea of faces for Ben de Wilde, but she was unable to pick him out. Admittedly the restaurant was subtly lit with subdued lighting while the stage was a blaze of spotlights, so she did have difficulty discerning features past the dance floor and the first few rows of tables. He would be there somewhere.
Their bracket drew to a close and they moved to the back of the stage for a break. The three young men walked across to the bar for a drink while Alex sorted through some books of sheet music for a particular song they had been requested to play. The dance floor was empty and the hum of conversation was accompanied by the clink of cutlery, and Alex was unaware of the approaching footsteps until Ben’s voice claimed her attention.
‘Hey, Alex! How about giving us your autograph?’
She turned to greet him, a smile lighting her face. Ben was standing by the stage all right, looking very theatrical in a rich maroon suit teamed with a pastel pink dress shirt, ruffled at the front beneath his dark red bow tie.
But it was the taller man standing slightly behind him that caused the dimpling smile to fade from Alex’s face. Cool blue eyes met hers expressionlessly and what almost passed for a polite smile touched his mouth.
‘Hello, Alex.’
Even as she felt herself go cold with shock she was struck again by the difference between the brothers. Justin was several inches taller and a little broader than Ben and although he didn’t have Ben’s almost ‘chocolate box’ good looks, Justin’s firm square jaw and high cheekbones gave him a rugged handsomeness. His unusual piercing light blue eyes added a compelling, commanding quality.
‘How are you, Justin?’ She was amazed that her voice came out so calmly, so steadily.
‘Can’t complain.’ His smile was cynical while his eyes seemed to move over her, taking in every contour of her body, making her aware of every silky centimetre of her strapless midnight blue evening dress that clung in the right places and swirled about her legs as she moved. And every centimetre of bare skin it revealed.
‘You sounded great, Alex,’ Ben said quickly, and Alex could feel he was a little wary of the situation. ‘Better than ever, didn’t you think, Justin?’
‘Yes,’ Justin replied slowly, looking around the stage at their equipment. ‘Whoever set up your sound system knew what he was doing.’
As complimentary as ever, thought Alex bitingly. ‘Actually, Paul Denman’s our sound man.’ She looked straight at Justin. ‘He’s a craftsman where sound equipment’s concerned. What he doesn’t know just isn’t worth knowing. I think he’s exceptionally talented.’
Justin’s expression never altered and Alex thought her barbs had missed their mark until she noticed the involuntary beat of a nerve in his tensed jaw and knew a surge of success.
‘Which one’s this oh, so talented Paul?’ asked Ben, unaware of the band of tension about his brother.
‘The good-looking lead guitarist,’ replied Alex, warming to the fray. ‘He’s a favourite with all the girls.’
‘Oh.’ Ben raised his dark eyebrow and shot a sideways glance at his brother. ‘Lucky girls!’ he remarked exaggeratedly. ‘So how about joining us for a drink, Alex?’
Alex glanced across and was relieved to see Paul, Danny and Jeff walking back towards the stage. ‘I’m sorry, Ben, we’re due to start up again right about now. The guys are heading back.’
‘Well, when’s your next break?’ Ben persisted.
‘About half an hour, but really I—’
‘No excuses. I’ll come over and get you. See you later.’
Justin didn’t say anything. He looked across in Paul’s direction before turning to follow Ben back to their table, his back as straight and uncompromising as his expression had been.
Before she could begin to wonder why Justin was here instead of being somewhere up north where he was supposed to be the other three had rejoined her.
‘Who were they?’ asked Jeff. ‘A cou
ple of ardent fans I’ll bet.’
‘No.’ Alex had to make a decision and decided she had better tell as much of the truth as possible. ‘Actually it was Justin de Wilde and his brother.’ She turned back to the sheet music she had been scanning to hide the colour that rose in her cheeks.
‘That guy from the Symphony Orchestra we met up in Brisbane the other night? What’s he doing here?’ asked Danny. ‘Hey!’ He grinned teasingly at her. ‘Don’t tell me, let me guess. You’ve made a conquest, Alex?’
‘Don’t be silly, Danny,’ Alex snapped back.
‘I do believe the girl is blushing, Dan,’ Jeff joined in. ‘That’s a sure sign she’s interested at the very least.’
‘I am not interested in Justin de Wilde,’ Alex raised her voice as Jeff flicked a switch on the amplifier. Although she wasn’t standing close to the microphone the way the heads of the diners rose and the slight titter of amusement made it obvious that her words had been audible to part of the room, and Alex cringed with horror, her eyes squeezed closed. ‘Oh, Jeff, how could you?’
Jeff had the grace to look contrite. ‘Gee, sorry, Alex. I never thought about the mike,’ he whispered back. ‘Maybe he didn’t hear you anyway,’ he added hopefully.
Alex gave him a withering look, her face still aflame. Justin would have heard her all right!
‘You’re a dweeb, Jeff!’ Danny turned to Alex. ‘I hope you don’t secretly fancy him, Alex, ‘cause if you do and he heard what you said— Wow! I think you’ve blown it. He’s going to be mad as hell. No guy wants to hear a neat looking bird making that kind of public announcement, that’s for sure. Does absolutely zilch for a bloke’s ego.’
‘Well, it’s too late now,’ said Paul gently, giving Alex a sympathetic look. ‘We’d better get cracking and give everyone something else to think about.’ Obviously he hadn’t recognised Ben as the guy he’d seen talking to Alex on the beach.
As their next break approached Alex grew more apprehensive. Surely Ben wouldn’t want her to join them now, after what she’d said. Apart from Justin’s anger Ben would have every right to be upset with her as well. He thought the world of his brother. She finished her song with a feeling of inevitability, and the boys set down their instruments.
‘Come and have a drink, Alex,’ invited Paul. ‘You look like you need one.’
‘No, thanks. I might go back to my dressing-room for a while. I’ve got a slight headache.’
‘Oh, no, you don’t,’ Alex,’ Paul interrupted her. ‘I’m not going to let you slink away into your shell. It was an unfortunate accident. Besides, Jeff’s right, he probably didn’t hear it.’ He took her arm and propelled her down from the stage and headed her towards the bar before she could voice her disinclination to accompany him.
‘Paul, I—’
‘No arguments, love.’ He nodded at the barman. ‘One beer and a stiff Scotch and dry.’
‘Paul, I hate Scotch, you know that,’ she appealed to him.
‘An orange drink as well,’ said a deep authoritative voice behind her, and Alex swung around to find Justin standing far too close to her. ‘I’ll swap you the orange for the Scotch,’ he said evenly.
His cold eyes rested on Alex’s pale face and she swallowed nervously. It crossed her mind that he was like an deceptively impassive, tensed snake poised ready to strike, and there was no doubt about who was to be his victim.
‘Good to see you again, Mr de Wilde. How are you?’ Paul held out his hand and smiled pleasantly.
Justin’s hand was slow to shake the younger man’s and his eyes barely flicked over him. ‘Fine, thank you, Denman.’
The barman set their drinks on the counter and Justin paid him for the three. He handed Alex the orange drink and picked up the Scotch. ‘Will you excuse Alex?’ he said, taking her arm firmly, and without waiting for Paul’s reply he led her across to the dining section, leaving Paul standing staring after them.
His hand held her beside him as they walked and she could feel the body warmth emanating from him as her arm brushed the jacket of his lightweight suit. ‘Justin, I really don’t feel up to making polite conversation at the moment.’
‘Polite? Are you sure you know what the word means, Alex?’ His voice came out with ominous lowness and she knew his outward calm only thinly masked his smouldering anger.
‘Look, Justin, I’m sorry.’ She raised her hands expressively. ‘What else can I say? I didn’t know that Jeff would choose that particular moment to connect the microphone. What you heard was completely out of the context of our whole conversation.’
‘Save it, Alex.’ His fingers were almost biting into her arm. ‘Let’s just say that I’m not going to have you discussing me with your friends, or whatever,’ he said quietly as they reached Ben’s table.
In her agitated state Alex at first thought that the table held a dozen people, but besides Justin and Ben there were only four others. It was simply that they were so flamboyantly dressed and all appeared to be talking at once. However, when Ben noticed their presence he called the table to some order.
‘Hi, Alex! Come and meet everyone. The stars of our movie, Bindi Oliver and Tony Jason, and this is my co-producer, Mike Bramley, and his wife Meg. Everyone, meet,’ he shot a quick glance at Justin, ‘Alex Marshall, the songbird.’
All but thrusting her into the chair Ben drew forward, Justin sat down beside her, next to Bindi Oliver whose eyes strayed immediately to his set face. The seating capacity of their dining table had passed its limit and Alex found herself crushed up against Justin so that he had to turn a little to the side, his arm resting along the back of her chair. She sat as straight as she could, holding herself away from him, but there was no way she could keep his thigh from touching hers. She could feel the warmth through the material of his slacks and her dress, and her stomach churned as her senses registered their heightened awareness of him.
‘You have a lovely voice, Alex.’ Tony Jason leant across to smile at her, and Alex knew that that particular smile would have had a lot of this up-and-coming young star’s fans swooning.
She managed to smile back and thank him for his compliment while Justin’s leg seemed to exert an added pressure and she clasped her hands together in her lap, her colour rising.
‘Knock off the charm, Tony. You’ve overwhelmed the girl,’ laughed Mike Bramley.
‘Not Alex?’ Ben chuckled. ‘The only person I’ve seen overwhelm her is my mother. Come to think of it, my mother overwhelms me too.’
They all laughed. Alex couldn’t bear to look at Justin, or Ben for that matter, and her eyes met Bindi Oliver’s in time to catch the speculative look she was giving the three of them.
‘So you’re a friend of the de Wilde family, Alex?’ she asked with honey in her voice, her long fingernails dark red against the white napkin she raised to her matching deep red lips.
Alex couldn’t find her own voice to reply as Justin chose that moment to move his leg against hers.
‘I guess you’d say so. We’ve known Alex for years,’ Ben put in quickly, and turned to address Mike Bramley. ‘Shall we put our proposition to her now?’
‘Good a time as any,’ he replied, and smiled at Alex. ‘We’ve arranged with Chris to film a sequence in the restaurant and we’d like to have you and the boys doing the background music.’ He looked critically at Alex’s shocked face. ‘You’ve got good bone structure and you should be very photogenic. I’d say you’ll come over exceptionally well.’
Alex was stunned.
‘You make quite an impression on the leading man,’ smiled Tony Jason, ‘in the script and,’ he paused, giving her another of his charmingly limpid looks, ‘in real life.’
Alex was fully aware of the tension that radiated from Justin and her peripheral vision told her he was keeping a tight rein on himself. However, the fact that his eyes were aiming daggers at Tony Jason didn�
��t seem to be bothering the young man over-much.
What right had Justin to be annoyed anyway? she asked herself and smiled defiantly at Tony. ‘I’m flattered, Mr Jason,’ she quipped, ‘when I think of the number of women who’d give their right arms to be sitting here with the famous Tony Jason.’
‘Please, make it Tony, Alex.’ He laughed, showing perfect white teeth. ‘And almost famous,’ he added, looking much more human, and Alex warmed to him. Underneath the façade of the star he was most probably a very nice person.
At that moment the band started up and Alex realised she should have been back on stage. As she went to excuse herself Justin’s arm came around her waist in a firm hold.
‘Now we can have that dance you promised me, Alex,’ he spoke for the first time since they’d sat down. ‘Excuse us.’
He stood up with her, his grip tightening, propelling her towards the dance floor without giving her time to say a word.
‘Justin, I can’t dance with you,’ she protested angrily, annoyed that he should act so overbearingly. ‘I have to be up on stage.’
‘They won’t miss you for one dance bracket,’ he said, drawing her forcefully into his arms and clasping her rigidly against his hard body.
Paul saw them at that moment and after his initial look of surprise be continued to follow their progress with unsmiling eyes.
‘Justin, please—’
‘Please?’ Justin mocked, his eyes fixed somewhere over her head. ‘So polite now, aren’t you, Alex? Just consider yourself lucky that I’m only dancing with you. The way I feel right now, if we were alone I’d probably strangle you.’
Casting a quick glance at his uncompromising face, she had no difficulty in believing he meant what he said. She swallowed nervously, but refused to allow herself to be intimidated by him.
Play Our Song Again (Lynsey Stevens Romance Book 13) Page 7