She hoped tonight she might have some time with Victor alone. Tonight she would tell him how she felt, if he didn’t tell her.
She had come to that decision last night while lying in bed in her suite.
A knock sounded at the door.
She carefully made her way across to the door and pulled it opened.
Her mouth dropped in stunned shock.
Victor stood there, dressed in what had to be a very expensive tux, waiting to be allowed in.
“I take it you like it?” he asked, mildly amused.
“I—wow!” She blushed. He was every bit the movie star now, his hair having been professionally done, his tux the latest style.
She stepped back.
He walked in and then turned to her, taking her hands. “You are a fresh breath of beauty in a world too old and cynical, my dear.”
She blushed like a kid. She could feel it going up her cheeks all the way to her hairline.
“Turn for me,” he said and circled his finger in the air.
She did. She wore a dreamy mauve ball gown. It draped just off the shoulders and dipped slightly, conservatively, in the front and then flared out over the hips, disguising just how wide they were, in her opinion, and fell in soft folds down around her feet, covering the fact she wore a cast. Matching shoes covered both feet.
“I feel like Cinderella at the ball,” she said lightly. “What do you think?”
“I am devastated that you aren’t attending with me,” Sean said walking up to the door.
She stopped turning instantly, she was so surprised by his presence.
“Really?” Reanna drawled, glancing at Annie and then back at Sean. “And I thought you only had eyes for me.”
Her voice was biting, though she smiled when she said it.
Sean, in his impossibly gorgeous tux, immediately turned to Reanna. “Of course I do, love. But still, a man can enjoy looking, can he not?”
“If there is something to look at I suppose.”
She felt Victor stiffen next to her. She even noted that Sean’s smile faltered for a moment. What had they expected? For this woman to like her? She heard the snippiness behind Reanna Chambers’s words but chose to ignore them so as not to embarrass Victor.
“You look lovely,” Annie offered sweetly.
“I should, honey. This dress cost me a fortune. That’s what a star does, dresses for success.”
She heard the implication again. She hadn’t dressed well.
Sean’s eyes narrowed before his gaze went blank. She’d never seen that look from Sean at Victor’s house. It was polite and genteel, but it was as if Sean wasn’t there. “Shall we go, princess?” he said to Reanna. “We don’t want to be late.”
She took his arm and they swept off down the hall.
Victor turned to Annie. “I have to apologize for Reanna’s—”
“No. You don’t.” She placed her hand on his arm and smiled. “A few catty words aren’t going to hurt me. I came to be with you tonight. As long as you’re happy, nothing else matters.”
“I beg to differ,” Victor said. “Your happiness is all that matters to me.” He grinned.
Then he sobered. “About Sean—”
She shook her head. “Don’t worry.”
“He can be quite a pain sometimes, but he really is a friend.”
“Riding in the car with that woman is going to be interesting,” Annie said and took his arm.
“I think you’ll find Sean has plucked her wings by now. He was not very happy with what Reanna said to you.”
“Oh.” She hadn’t been sure. She could only read what Sean allowed her to read. He was very good at hiding his emotions when he wanted. She could read Victor, however, and he actually sounded a bit put out with Sean.
She carefully balanced herself against him and together they started down the hall. “I want to tell you how much this vacation has meant to me,” she said quietly. “I still can’t believe I’m in London.”
He grinned. “I told you staying eight weeks would be great.”
“Four weeks,” she said. “I agreed to four weeks so we could finish that tour.”
He grinned. “But you don’t want to disappoint your friends by leaving early.”
She sighed and couldn’t help an exasperated laugh. “I told my friends two weeks and I only agreed to four weeks for you.”
He grinned. “I can still work on you for those last four weeks.”
“I have to admit the fields of tulips were something to experience,” she said. “And visiting the dikes, and then there was Amsterdam.”
He chuckled. “Very…different.”
She nodded. She had been stunned as she’d walked down the streets. Eventually she’d stopped looking and kept her gaze directly ahead of her.
The elevator was just expelling some guests so they entered.
Victor slipped his arm around her and hugged her close. “What is that perfume you wear?” he whispered, lowering his nose into the loose strands of hair that curled gently around her face.
Her breathing shortened. He felt so good to lean back into like this. “Magnolia Musk,” she replied huskily.
She hadn’t realized just how much she’d missed someone else’s touch until she’d met this man. Her own soul felt empty and starved until he touched her, and he had the ability to fulfill her secret longings when he held her like this. She had begun to look forward to these moments.
“I smelled that on you the first day we met,” he said and his lips brushed the edge of her ear as he said that.
“I like it,” she replied low.
The elevator door dinged and opened.
Victor lifted his head, and, of course, met the surprised look of Sean who stood there with Reanna, waiting.
Oh great, Annie thought as Victor stepped to her side and placed her hand on his arm. Sean’s grin spread knowingly. But instead of flirting, he said, “Shall we go?”
Every time he had seen Victor doing something like that, he usually decided to flirt. Maybe Reanna had stopped that.
She looked mightily ticked as her gaze slipped over Annie. She turned, took Sean’s arm and marched regally out to the limo.
Reanna’s sudden smile as she approached the doors was a transformation. Annie was a bit stunned. Reanna looked for all the world like a sweet, loving woman who absolutely oozed affection toward the adoring fans.
Annie wasn’t ready for what happened when they stepped out however.
Dozens of paparazzi were waiting and began snapping pictures of them the minute they exited the hotel. They all shouted questions at once. Victor smiled and waved and she took her cue, smiling, though she imagined she looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming lethal car.
And, that fast, it was over. They were swept into the limo and off they went.
“I hate those people,” Reanna complained now. “Someone should take them out and—”
“Now, now, dear,” Sean said, smiling and patting her hand. “Free press and all.”
“Are you all right?” Victor asked, leaning into Annie and asking very quietly.
She smiled up at Victor. “It’s a bit overwhelming. How do you put up with that all the time?”
He smiled. “It’s good for the business,” he replied.
“And it keeps our faces in front of the fans,” Sean added.
Reanna tapped her foot. “Still, they have no respect, Sean. How you can be so patient with them…”
She trailed off and then gave Sean a look that Annie wished she’d missed. “However, if you can put up with it, I’ll put up with it for you.”
Victor, who had his back slightly to Reanna, simply rolled his eyes.
Annie laughed.
She immediately regretted it as all gazes turned toward her. “What was that about?” Reanna demanded.
“I was telling her a joke,” Victor said, mildly. “A very private joke,” he said and lowered his voice.
“I’ll bet,” sai
d Sean. The twinkle was back in his eyes, and she had a feeling Sean knew exactly what Victor had done. He gave her a warm smile before turning his attention back to his date.
He really was a nice guy, she thought.
The limo pulled to a stop. “Before we get out, here are a few guidelines. Smile. Nod. Don’t answer any questions about personal relationships or where you are from and above all, don’t give them your name. Simply say, ‘I’m with Jake.’”
She laughed nervously. “What if they ask something that those answers don’t cover?”
“I’ll help deflect the press, sweetheart,” Sean said.
“Oh, please,” Reanna said, obviously upset that Sean’s attention wasn’t completely on her. “She’s at least forty. She can take care of herself.”
Sean gave Reanna a look that sent her into a pout.
Victor’s gaze was strained. But the door was opened at that moment. “Here we go,” he said.
He stepped out and Annie followed.
She nearly staggered from the noise alone. Huge crowds were on each side of the walkway. Cameras immediately started going off and reporters shouted questions. Victor managed to slip from side to side to sign autographs as they walked and somehow Sean always managed to be on the opposite side of her when Victor moved. He too was signing autographs. Reanna was acting like a queen, signing, posing and answering questions thrown to her from the crowd.
Annie heard Victor deflecting questions about her, instead saying, “She’s a friend. Give us a break. You’ll find out soon.” And other things like that, all the while showing his perfect charming self to the people around.
And then they were inside. Victor patted her hand. “I need you to stand right over here,” he said, leading her away from the cameras, “while I do a few interviews and then we can go into the theater. Okay?”
She nodded. “Thank you. It’ll be nice to catch my breath.”
He smiled. “You’re doing great.”
He squeezed her hand and then walked off.
Sean sauntered over to her, having just finished an interview. Reanna was still being asked questions about a movie of hers that had just come out last week.
“How are you holding up, sweetheart?”
She glanced sideways at Sean. “It’s overwhelming, actually.”
He nodded. “I don’t know if you ever get used to it. You do learn to deal with it, however. Of course, there are some, like Reanna, who thrive on it. But when something happens and she gets sour publicity, I imagine, she too, will take a new look at it.”
“Sour publicity? Oh.” She suddenly remembered Sean being blamed for the break-up of someone’s marriage.
“I’ve had several bouts of it. That’s what happens as you rise in the ranks of stardom. The job becomes a monster, fed by the adoring fans and press. But then, without them, you wouldn’t make money doing a job you love.”
“You know, Sean, I think you’re not at all what you seem,” Annie said, quite sagely.
He glanced at her. “Oh, I’m what I seem all right, but then, right now in public I can’t show you that.”
She gaped at his words. “You’re flirting with me for a reason, and I’m not sure what…”
He shook his head. “You haven’t figured it out yet?” He nodded, his gaze boring into her own. “I’ll have to fix that, I suppose.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“Oh, you might not, but I guarantee you’ll like the results.” She was certain he wasn’t talking about him, but she couldn’t quite figure out his hidden meaning. He was definitely up to something.
Victor chose that moment to return and the look he sent Sean was telling. Victor, it seemed, was getting tired of Sean flirting with her. She hadn’t thought he’d cared until just now.
She would never figure out Sean. Why would he treat his friend this way? She would have to explain that Sean hadn’t meant anything by that last sentence Victor had overheard. She didn’t think he had, at least.
“Ready?” Victor asked.
She nodded.
“We’ll see you inside, Sean,” Victor said.
“Sure thing, Jake. As soon as I can get Reanna away from the cameras.”
Together she and Victor entered the darkened theater to watch the showing of Shelter, and she wondered how this night would end.
Chapter Twelve
It was 2:00 a.m. and the party that had followed the showing was finally slowing. Annie had met more stars on the ground than there were in the sky tonight. Many had been nice. Some people were curious while others were definitely shocked at her appearance on Jake’s arm. She’d heard him called Jake more than she cared to admit. She was even beginning to think of him as Jake—at least in this setting. For the Jake at the party hadn’t been the same Victor she’d known at his estate. He’d been ‘on’ so to speak, socializing, saying all the right things.
Of course, wasn’t everyone that way when out around others they weren’t close to? She supposed even she was. She certainly had been tonight.
Her jaw hurt from smiling so much.
“Jake wanted me to escort you to the limo. He said he’d be there shortly,” Sean said coming up to her.
She glanced around. “Where is Reanna?”
He shrugged. “She’s off with someone else. And I can’t say that I mind much,” he said crisply. “She was quite a bore.”
He glanced over her head and saw something. “Come on,” he said and took her arm.
Before she could turn around, he’d slipped his arm around her just as Victor would have and had escorted her out of the ballroom where the party had been held.
“So, Victor still hasn’t declared himself?” he asked as they walked.
Annie was shocked by Sean’s words. “What do you mean?”
He chuckled and propelled her onward. “I imagine he is a bit stubborn, but I had hoped that tonight, with all of the press…still I should have realized he would have to be pushed a bit harder.”
“Sean, I’m sorry but I don’t understand.”
“So, what did you think of the movie?” he asked mildly, changing the subject.
“I enjoyed it,” she said, though one part had certainly disturbed her.
“But not all of it, I can tell,” Sean said, too wisely.
“No. Well, it’s just…”
They passed through the great hall toward the exit. She thought she heard someone call her name.
Sean continued walking, carrying her right along with him. “Seeing an on-screen romance between Jake and the leading lady bothered you, didn’t it?”
Her gaze slipped back up to Sean’s. “Am I that transparent?” she asked miserably.
Out of all that had happened, that one thing had disturbed her. Probably because all she could think about lately was Victor and wanting to experience his kisses. She was ashamed to admit it, but she had fallen hard and fast for the man and couldn’t think of anything but him.
Sean nodded. “I think you are. Of course, I couldn’t see Jake’s reaction on your other side. Really, sweetheart, it’s business. The woman he was kissing is worse than Reanna. And it’s hard to get into the mood when you have fifty other people standing around watching. Trust me. There’s nothing there between them.”
“It looked so real,” she said quietly as they pushed through the doors. And she’d seen Meredith. She was gorgeous and perfect. How could he not fall for her?
Most of the paparazzi were gone now. Sean signaled for the attendants to bring the limo around and then strolled off to a secluded area to wait. “It’s supposed to look real. The directors keep at it until they get the scenes right. That’s the idea behind movies, to make the audience think it’s real. And that’s the idea behind what I’m about to do,” he said gently.
Confused, she glanced up. “I’m sorry. What?”
His gaze turned dark. He said something in Dutch and then, to her utter shock, his hands slipped to her shoulders and he pulled
her forward.
“Wha—” she started and was engulfed in his kiss.
Her mind absolutely froze with astonishment for a moment.
Good heavens. Sean Hampton was kissing her, she thought and then her mind began working again. Sean Hampton was kissing her!
She lifted her hands to push him away.
“Excuse me.”
Before she could move, a hand closed around her upper arm and she was jerked away.
Annie’s ball gown tripped her and she staggered. She latched onto the hand holding her and looked up. Oh good heavens! Victor stood there, eyes blazing.
Sean lifted his hands in mock surprise. “I didn’t think it was serious between you two,” he said.
“What?” Disbelieving, she looked back and forth between the two men. She saw flashes and thought, Great, lightning and thunder. Rain was coming and they were standing out here arguing or—something—since she couldn’t understand them. Words were exchanged in rapid-fire Dutch, and then the limo arrived.
“Come on,” Victor said and hauled her along with him to the limo, shoving her inside, almost causing her to trip again.
“I—” she started.
She glanced back and saw Sean smile at her.
She glared.
Victor climbed in and closed the door and off went the limo. “But what about him?”
Oh boy. That was the wrong thing to ask. Victor’s gaze riveted to her.
“Would you rather be with him?” Victor asked. “Is that it?”
“Huh?” Her mouth fell open.
Growling low in his throat, he said, “I’ve wanted to do this since day one. I guess I should have just done it.”
Before she could answer, he’d grabbed her and pulled her into his arms.
It only took a moment for her to melt and accept Victor’s kiss.
“Victor,” she whispered. She wanted to say so many things, tell him so many things. Unfortunately, his name was all she could remember.
She couldn’t believe how right this felt. She also couldn’t believe the emotions he pulled out of her. In his arms like this, she couldn’t deny the feelings she had for him. She ran her hands up through his short hair, thinking how much she’d wanted to reach up and do that since she’d met him. It was soft, curly, slick between her fingers. She squeezed her hands closed around it and sighed.
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