by Tobin, Val
“I’m trying to help you. Remember how the last picture ended? Both of us were drinking every day, you more than me. Please don’t start that again. There’ll be problems.”
“Remember our love scene last time? It was fun to shoot, wasn’t it? I watched it again last night and thought about us. Amazing, babe, truly amazing.”
Dani shot a quick glance at the stylist, who bore a neutral expression. A consummate professional, she wouldn’t react to anything the two stars said. She also didn’t know quite what Henderson meant when he’d reminded Dani of the sex scene from Injury.
Henderson and Dani had been a couple then, and both had been drinking before filming, loosening themselves up for the kind of scene that typically made actors nervous. The strategy had worked. They’d gotten so loose and unselfconscious the sex hadn’t been simulated. When the director had yelled action, the lovemaking had been real, and they’d got it in one take. Dani was sure the entire onset crew had known the two stars were doing it in front of them.
The love scene for this film was scheduled for two weeks away, and Dani wondered how the hell they’d get through it.
Chapter 15
Dani gazed at herself in the full-length mirror on the inside of her closet door and tried to like what she saw. She’d already changed four times. This time, she wore a long, black cocktail dress, simple lines, elegant, with a plunging V-neck and a slit up the side. Dani chose a pair of cream, open-toed pumps and a cream clutch to go with it.
A glance at the time reminded her she’d better hurry. Cope would be here in twenty minutes, and she still had to do her hair and makeup. The butterflies in her stomach kept fluttering while she worked to complete the look. What if his family didn’t like her? What if she embarrassed him? What if someone told him she owned Star Power?
Since the night at Cope’s place, Dani had wanted to find an opportunity to tell him Star Power was her company, but the moment hadn’t presented itself. She’d intended to tell him that evening, but his lovemaking had pushed all thoughts of business out of her head. Lips curling into a smile at the memory of it, Dani put the finishing touches on her makeup and then verified the hair straightener was hot enough to use.
With a deft hand, she ran her hair through the styling tool in minutes, and by the time the buzzer on the intercom sounded, Dani was ready to go. Cope met her in the lobby and, offering her his arm, guided her to the car, an Audi.
“It’s weird to see you driving something other than a limo.” Dani smiled at him, and Cope returned it, eyes shining.
“I’ve gotten so used to driving the limo, it sometimes feels weird to me, too. I’m hoping to be able to change this one up in a few years. But I can wait. I like this car.” He opened the passenger door for her, and she slid into the seat, tucking her dress in around her legs.
Forty minutes later, Dani stared out the window and watched the coast slide by, aware they were almost at their destination and dreading it.
“Not nervous, are you?”
Dani turned away from the window and stared at him. “How do you do that?”
“Do what?” He glanced at her, brows raised.
“Guess my mood and figure out what I’m thinking.”
Cope laughed, a deep chuckle that brought a smile to Dani’s face and made her relax enough to breathe normally again.
“My beauty, don’t ever play poker.” He chuckled again, and this time, she joined in.
“Okay. I’m nervous. I want to make a good impression.”
Cope took her hand and squeezed it a moment before returning his hand to the steering wheel. “Don’t worry. You’re gorgeous, smart, talented, and charming. Just be you, and they’ll love you.”
“Will your whole family be there?”
“If you mean the siblings and the parents, then yes, they will. Don’t worry. I’ll help you through it.”
Cope turned off the highway and in another fifteen minutes pulled into the long, winding drive that led to the mansion Dani had glimpsed that night on the beach. A large fountain, lit up with white lights, sparkled in the midst of a cobblestone walkway along the front of the house.
The ten-car garage loomed up, and the door to one of the bays slid open when Cope pressed a button inside the Audi. The car eased into the garage and he cut the engine.
Dani waited while he came around the vehicle and opened the door. Nerves at full throttle, she clung to his arm, afraid she’d trip walking up the stone staircase to the expansive marble-columned porch. The front door opened before they reached the top of the stairs, and a young woman, younger than Dani by about five years, stepped out.
“Bobby!” The woman rushed out and grabbed Cope in a bear hug, smiling bright brown eyes at Dani while she did. “Mom told me you were bringing a date. I’m Heather.”
Heather offered Dani her hand, then pulled her in for a hug as soon as their hands clasped. “Oh, I’m so excited to see you. Bobby doesn’t usually bring dates home. You must be special.” Heather winked, and Dani grinned, unable to help herself.
“I’m Dani Grayson.”
The young woman stepped back and did a double take. “Oh, my God. Daniella Grayson. Bobby, you didn’t tell me you were dating Daniella Grayson. I’ve got to tell Nichole. Oh, God, she’ll pee herself. We’ve seen all your movies.” Heather rushed back into the house.
Dani glanced at Cope and saw the indulgent smile.
“She’s still kind of a kid. I choose to find her charming.”
Cope rested a hand on the small of Dani’s back and guided her inside. Dani tossed her head back in his direction, lips curling up into a sly grin. “Bobby?”
“Only my kid sister gets away with that.” He shot her a scowl that looked more comic than threatening.
An older woman entered the room, dark hair swept back in an elegant up-do. She wore a Grecian-style evening dress, in cream, and Dani wondered if the woman had deliberately tried to match the color of the stucco outside. To steel her nerves at meeting Cope’s mother, Dani pretended she was Felicity Sanderson, cloaking herself in her character’s self-confidence.
“Mother, meet Daniella Grayson. Dani, Margaret.” Cope put an arm around Dani’s waist.
Dani extended a hand to Margaret, who smiled through gritted teeth and clasped the hand in a moist, floppy grip.
“How charming. You’re dating a movie star. What’s it like, Daniella, to have strange men throwing themselves at your feet? You must never want for male companionship.”
Unsure what to make of that remark, Dani managed a polite smile. “Nice to meet you, Margaret.”
“Please, dear, call me Mrs. Copeland.”
A warm flush crept up Dani’s face despite her resolve to act confident and as Felicity-like as she could manage. No writers to provide her with dialog here, though, and she had trouble coming up with her own charming banter.
Cope’s arm tightened around her, and she found that a comfort.
“Be nice, Mother. Dani’s my guest.”
“I don’t know if you’re aware, darling, but Katherine’s here.” Margaret spoke to Cope, but kept her gaze on Dani. “Robert and Katherine used to be quite close before they each went off to college. I think she was his first love.”
Cope sighed, then looked relieved when he caught the eye of a strikingly handsome older man walking down the stairs toward the group. “Dad. Come and meet Dani, my girlfriend.”
Dani didn’t flinch though she came close. So she’d graduated from date to girlfriend. How did she feel about that? She gazed up at Cope’s face and wanted to kiss him all over. Apparently she was okay with it.
Cope’s father reached the trio, and he offered Dani his hand. She accepted it with a genuine smile and felt herself blush again when he raised her hand to his mouth and lightly kissed it.
“Rupert Copeland. Everyone calls me Big Cope. It’s nice to meet you, dear. I’ve seen most of your movies. Robert’s a lucky man.”
“Shall we go to the party room?” Margaret interrupted.
She spun on her heel and headed to a corridor on the left.
Big Cope released Dani’s hand and motioned for them to follow. He led them into a banquet hall, decorated as though for a wedding reception. Instead of banquet tables, bar tables with bar stools ringed the room’s perimeter. An enormous stone fireplace consumed the west wall, a pyramid of candles inside it providing ambience. A bar, manned by two bartenders, spanned the far wall. A band played in the southeast corner. Couples swirled and swayed on the dance floor in the middle of the room.
“What would you like to drink, dear?” Big Cope offered Dani his arm, and she linked her hand through it and smiled.
“Mineral water with lime will be fine, thank you.” Worried he might find that insulting, Dani braced herself for a negative reaction, but it didn’t come. She didn’t want a drink tonight. Her guard would go down, and based on Margaret’s reaction, Dani thought she’d need both brain and body unscrambled by alcohol.
“Robert, why don’t you hunt up Dani that drink while I get to know her better?”
Cope gave Dani a reassuring smile and a quick squeeze around the waist, then headed toward the bar. Big Cope drew Dani toward a nearby table, and they sat, perching on the barstools. “How did you meet my son?”
Surprised that Cope didn’t talk to his family about the job, Dani leaned in so she didn’t have to shout too much over the music. “He was my limo driver.” She almost mentioned her role in getting him fired when it occurred to her Cope might not want her to discuss it. She’d have to be careful what she said and to whom she said it. To calm her nerves, she drew in a deep breath and smiled.
Dani chatted with Big Cope, mostly about his son, which made her like the younger Cope even more. Big Cope’s tone and words betrayed his pride in his youngest son. The older Copeland confided to Dani that the family had argued that young Cope needed them to partner with him. But Big Cope was secretly delighted that his son had secured the funding on his own.
“When he called me with the news, I couldn’t have been more proud.” Big Cope’s eyes shone, and his gaze wandered over toward the bar.
Dani followed the glance, uneasy that she still hadn’t told Cope the money came from a company she owned. She’d tell him tomorrow for sure. He was coming over for dinner, and she’d tell him then. She had to. It was getting to the point where he’d be unable to back out of the deal without a lot of headaches. But tonight wasn’t the time to dump that on him.
A frown crossed Dani’s face when she noticed Cope continued to stand at the bar, drinks already in hand, and the reason for the holdup was a woman. The woman talking to him—who kept him talking—beamed at him, laughing and touching his shoulder in a familiar way. Blonde, thin, dressed elegantly in a long white evening gown with spaghetti straps and a corset that accentuated her cleavage, she tossed back her head, obviously flirting.
“Katherine Bloomington,” Big Cope said, helpfully. “Friend of the family. Bobby and Kate grew up and went to school together.”
Margaret joined the couple at the bar and embraced Katherine with enthusiasm. Dani turned away and focused on Big Cope, asking him about his business, though when he responded, she barely heard anything he said. A knot of anxiety twisted in her solar plexus. Dani smiled at all the right moments, even managed a giggle at something funny Big Cope said, and forced herself to avoid checking on the scene at the bar.
The first indication Cope had returned was the glass of mineral water and lime appearing in front of her on the table. Dani breathed a quick sigh of relief and glanced at him, mouth curling up in appreciation. The smile faltered, but then continued to spread out of stubborn pride, when she saw Katherine stood beside Cope, an arm around his shoulder.
“Katherine Bloomington,” the blonde predator said.
“Daniella Grayson.” Dani held her hand out, trying not to hiss and determined to squelch the jealousy flooding through her.
Katherine’s arm slid from Cope’s shoulders and the women shook hands. “I’m so thrilled to meet you. My condolences on your father’s death. What you’re going through must be difficult.”
Dani saw Cope shoot a dagger look at Katherine, who ignored it. Surprised, and oddly enough, touched, Dani shook her head at Cope, and said, “Thank you. I’m managing.”
It occurred to Dani that Katherine was the first stranger to talk to her about what had happened who wasn’t trying to get a scoop or comment from her. “I loved my dad, and it’s been difficult to hear how he died. My mother will be in prison for a long time.”
“You volunteer with abused children at Child Rescue.” Katherine leaned in close. “My sister mans the phones for them, and she told me she’s seen you around. Hillary.”
Dani smiled, and her eyes widened. “Yes. I know Hillary. She’s wonderful with the children who call in needing help. Bloomington. I didn’t make the connection.” It was hard to dislike Katherine. If she was anything like her sister, Dani could understand why Cope would be attracted to her and why Margaret would want to throw them together.
Cope put an arm around Dani’s shoulders and leaned in close to whisper in her ear. “If you want to escape, let me know. We’ll go for a walk and some fresh air.”
He kissed her cheek, and she smiled up at him. Maybe the evening wouldn’t be so bad after all. After a few sips of mineral water, Dani realized she needed to use the ladies’ room, asked for directions, and excused herself. She headed out into the hallway and looked to the left, where Cope had told her a bathroom existed.
Though Dani was well off, she wasn’t used to extravagant living, and walking into a house that had a ballroom and lavish, multi-stall bathrooms overwhelmed her. Cope lived in this. No, that wasn’t true. He lived in a one-bedroom apartment and was happy about it. Dani entered the bathroom and headed for a stall.
As she stepped to the sink to wash her hands, Margaret entered the bathroom and stood next to Dani. The only other woman in the room dried her hands, patted her hair, and walked out.
“Mrs. Copeland. You have a beautiful home.”
“Thank you, dear, but it won’t help you.” Margaret folded her arms across her chest and met Dani’s gaze in the mirror.
“Excuse me?”
“Bobby might sow some wild oats with you, but now that Katherine’s back, I’m sure he’ll come to his senses. It’s nothing personal—it’s just that they’ve known each other for such a long time. Nice as I’m sure you are, you ought to know that his heart belongs to someone else.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.” Dani washed her hands, trying to keep them steady. Margaret’s cruelty stung, and all she wanted to do was escape.
“Your mother murdered your father. We want no part of people like that in this family. How much do you want?”
Her mouth dropping open, Dani gasped, and her eyes went wide. Silently, she turned off the water and picked up one of the cloth hand towels rolled up in the basket on the counter. When her hands were dry, she tossed the towel into the bin on the floor and faced Margaret.
Chapter 16
Dani took a deep breath and forced herself not to cry. “I don’t understand. Robert and I are just dating. We enjoy each other’s company. I don’t want anything from him.”
“How much money would ensure you leave Bobby’s life and stay out? Surely, we can come to an arrangement.”
“I don’t need money.” Horrified, Dani stepped around Margaret and tried to make a run for the door.
Margaret snagged Dani’s arm, stopping her. Long fingernails dug into Dani’s flesh, making her wince.
“That hurts.” All of it hurt, but she focused on the tight grip and sharp nails, because if she thought about the rest, she’d certainly cry.
“I want you to stop seeing my son. Do you understand? You’re not good enough for him. I’ve read the magazines. You’ve been in rehab for drug addiction. Bobby’s a good boy. You’ll ruin him.” Margaret’s eyes flashed, and her lips curled back in a grimace.
“Let go. Please.” Sorry sh
e’d agreed to come to the party, all Dani wanted to do was go home. “Let go now, and I won’t tell Robert you tried to bribe me. But understand one thing: you won’t bully me. I refuse to stop seeing him. He’s capable of making his own decisions about his love life.”
Margaret’s hand, the one not gripping Dani’s arm, twitched, as if she were contemplating slapping Dani.
Feet planted on the floor, Dani prepared to defend herself. At the very least, she’d stop Margaret from hitting her—she’d had enough of that shit from her own mother.
The hand at Margaret’s side stayed there, and the one burrowed into Dani’s biceps released.
Dani ran from the room.
***
The doors to the party room were closed, and Dani took a moment to collect herself before tugging them open and stepping inside.
Cope still sat at the table with Big Cope and Katherine, but another couple had joined them. Dani made her way to the table and hooked her arm through Cope’s.
He looked at her, smiling, but the smile vanished when he saw her face. “What’s wrong?”
Shit. He could always read her, an ability he’d probably developed on the job trying to anticipate his client’s needs.
“I could use that walk now.” If she could escape the crowd for a while, she’d be able to deal with what had happened between her and Margaret.
“Sure.” Cope hopped off the barstool and led Dani into the corridor.
They slipped outside onto the veranda, and Cope guided her along the side of the house to the back of the property. A cobblestone pathway meandered through massive, landscaped gardens accented with fountains, statues, and topiary. An outdoor kitchen and den surrounded the sunroom connected to the back of the house.
Dani forgot about everything as she took in the opulence and beauty of it. “This is amazing. Did your parents build this house?”
“They bought it from the original owners and added on. Most of what you see, my parents built. Let’s go to the gazebo. It has a fabulous view of the ocean.”