A feat in itself, the man could make paisley come back into fashion. Of course, the fact that he took everything in stride probably explained this.
The sheer volume of his lifestyle and all the hard work he put into it impressed her, but also made her apprehensive. She couldn’t suppress her mounting anxiety at how she wouldn’t be able to keep up with how he lived.
Both men and women fawned over him. A bit strange in comparison to how she had gotten to know him back home.
Emma didn’t appreciate the women’s open flirtation but what really grated was how everyone expected him to not rebuff them. All and sundry were “darling” in this plastic world and she also became a “darling” by association.
But that wasn’t the cherry on the cake.
No there had been this common piece of gossip she was Damian’s latest diversion. Everyone patted him on the back for coming back from the scandal, for still having integrity to finish the movie, but most of all for having gotten himself a “nice piece” to speed up his recovery.
This bit from the rumor mill she overheard as she walked out from a stall in the ladies bathroom. The culprits were embarrassed but she gave them a polite smile and then ignored them while seething.
When she told Damian, he had laughed it off.
“This is Hollywood. It’s how people operate here,” he had said. And she had to ask him if being pretentious was how he operated. He looked at her with a confused smile and kissed her soundly, saying at the end of it, she should know him better by now.
The final rub, she’d only known him a little over a week.
She bit her lip as she stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror in her bedroom.
Damian had said she couldn’t leave without having gone to a movie premiere. She had been both excited and anxious.
Her first thought, she didn’t have anything to wear, was quelled when he told her this was where the “things” came in. She frowned at him, and then he made a call to Ian. The next day four dresses showed up with a stylist, makeup artist, as well as a hairstylist. Emma gulped her distress down in the face of his obvious excitement at having taken care of something so important to her.
He truly had made her stay more than wonderful. She couldn’t have asked for anything better.
She had been driven everywhere and could, by a drop of a hat, get anything her heart desired, which, believe it or not, was a scary thought. No one should be able to have such power. She would turn into a complete diva if she had access to it twenty-four-seven.
And though Damian had been busy on the set, meeting with the director and producers, he never once made her feel abandoned.
Emma gazed at her mirror image. At times she had been too attentive and she had to put her foot on the brakes.
She didn’t know how Damian regarded her, but in a certain department she wasn’t as experienced as him. In fact, she had no experience at all. She had always vowed when she did gain some experience in that department, it would be on her terms, not by someone pressuring her to. Making love was such a soulful experience, and the idea of giving parts of her soul away to someone without trust, without knowing if they would still be there for more than a lifetime, didn’t seem worth it to her.
And well, her terms had always been marriage, as archaic as the sentiment might seem to some people.
As much as she loved him, she wouldn’t fully trust herself to him without a ring on her finger. The safety and trust of knowing she could completely abandon herself to be completely open, without the person leaving her cold in the morning.
Naturally she hadn’t given Damian a long explanation. She only made it clear she wasn’t prepared to cross that specific line. He respected her for it, but at times both of them would get so worked up without restrictions like a brother and sister, or a world-renowned actress to stop them. She had actually once hopped out of the room, because sprint she couldn’t.
It had become harder every day to resist him.
She finally understood how some of her girlfriends had found themselves giving themselves away in high school. She scorned her judgmental teenaged self as she stared at her crimson complexion.
And the fact that Damian was simply beautiful and completely disarming didn’t help her cause one bit. Yes, I’m in big trouble.
A low whistle caused her to turn to the open bedroom door. She couldn’t keep the silly grin from spreading from ear-to-ear as his dark gaze took her in from head to toe.
“The shoes kind of mess it up a bit, but I can’t manage high heels right now.” She spoke over the flutter in her stomach at his heated stare.
The dress was perfection. She would have never bought such a style herself, but the stylist insisted she try it on. A white and baby-blue confection with Swarovski crystals in the middle, which made the dress fit snugly around her midsection accentuating the small span of her waist.
She had never been one to wear clothes that put her breasts on display and would have dismissed this one because it reminded her of something Kim Kardashian would wear.
But the tasteful halter cut modestly hinted at a swell of cleavage.
Emma loved the low dip in the back, as if the front hadn’t been devastating enough. Her mirror image made her appear exotic in the dress.
The hairstylist concurred with her sister, curls suited her, but she had turned the curls into lengthy waves cascading softly to her shoulders. Her makeup had been done expertly to make her face shimmer with health and her smoky eyes hinted at something even she couldn’t decipher.
She wore flat, delicate silver sandals able to accommodate her bandaged foot. The long dress hid her feet until she moved; then out peeked her one bandaged foot.
Emma shyly looked at Damian in his finery. She would have loved the height heels would have given her.
He moved toward her, achingly slowly, and she took full inventory of him.
He wore a classic black tailored suit, with shiny dress shoes; however the man inside the attire drew the eye. The clothes didn’t wear him, he wore them—and to perfection.
The predatory glint in Damian’s eyes and his movements weren’t lost on her.
Before she could say more, he placed one hand behind her back, feeling her bare skin, and the other settled around her neck, pulling her in for a bone-crushing lip-lock, and she was glad the makeup artist wasn’t still there.
He messed up her lipstick. Guess that solved the problem of the unattractive shoes. She let herself be taken on the wave of his emotion.
When they came up for air, he whispered against her mouth, “You’re amazing. How do you go from being innocently gorgeous to being so sinfully stunning you could make a grown man forget who he was?”
She blinked. She hadn’t expected such a passionate compliment. Do I just say thank you? She wondered still on a sensual high.
“I don’t think I’ll ever figure you out,” he said in an exasperated tone.
She laughed. “I should hope not. How boring would that be?”
He smiled down at her. “Very.” He held her tight against him for a moment and then pulled back. “You look very beautiful.”
She smiled back at him. “Thank you.”
His shining eyes showed how much he meant it.
Chapter Fourteen
Emma didn’t want to admit how nervous she was. Her palms damp with sweat, she was glad Damian hadn’t taken hold of her hand yet.
They were in a classic black limousine, Ian also with them, plus another co-star of Damian’s, Alexander.
Only the three of them would be on the red carpet. Ian opted out, said he had some behind the scenes things to take care of.
Emma had hoped she could also skip the media frenzy, but Damian didn’t give her much choice. Everyone expected her by his side like she had been the last couple of days.
She wasn’t even sure what movie premiere they were attending, and she had never been so dressed up for a movie. Her idea of movie-night-type clothes was a pair of faded jeans,
whatever T-shirt might be closest, and her favorite jewelry of choice, a gold charm bracelet her mother had given her when she finished senior year in high school.
Bedecked in finery, she couldn’t stop herself from biting the inside of her mouth. She drew blood when Damian touched her tense hands in her lap and took hold of them.
“You’ll be fine. I won’t let you go,” he whispered in her ear as he leaned into her side.
They arrived much sooner than she would have liked and a crowd had already formed.
She frowned. “We’re not late?”
Alexander laughed. He was truly one of the few people she had met so far she could say she liked. He was so easy to get to know. A bit of a flirt at times, but it had been obvious he didn’t mean any harm. He was ruggedly handsome and knew it. He had strings of women always hanging around him and she had been surprised he flew solo tonight.
“There is no such thing.” He winked.
Through the dark windows she could make out the flashing cameras, as well as the adoring fans.
Her eyes went big. “This is crazy,” she said to no one in particular.
“This is Hollywood,” Alexander replied.
Alexander was the first one to step out of the limousine when the door opened for them. His hand went up in one fluid motion and he waved at the fans. Hysteria broke loose.
Emma turned to Damian. “Does he always get that reaction?”
Damian laughed. “Every time. It’s the reason he comes alone. He says his date wouldn’t like all his screaming fans.”
She quirked her mouth. “A bit full of himself isn’t he?”
Damian signaled with his head. “Our turn.”
“Well, here goes nothing.”
Emma steeled herself for the screaming fans, the flashing lights, and the red carpet. She didn’t want to take her crutch along, but Damian insisted. He didn’t want the wrath of Stephanie or Mark.
He supported her on the one side, while she held the crutch on the other. She could only imagine what an awkward picture they cut, but needless to say the premiere wasn’t about her.
Women screamed Damian’s name and she realized she should have worn earplugs. The sound of high-pitched shrieks was worse than the hollering at sports stadiums; most men’s voices were naturally deeper so their sound barrier could be reached quickly. Women’s on the other hand, she closed her eyes briefly, couldn’t.
“You didn’t say you were even more popular.” She gave an amused smile.
He planted a swift kiss on her lips, and the women roared again. Like literally roared.
“It’s amazing what a bit of gossip can do,” he replied grimly.
When he turned and faced his fans, he also lifted up a hand and greeted them with his famous smile.
When pictures were being taken, she told him to do so alone. She wasn’t the celebrity, but they insisted she also take some snapshots with him. Someone even took her crutch so he could put his arms around her and they could pose together.
The whole experience was exciting and terrifying at the same time.
He kept saying funny things in her ear to make her laugh, and she knew in some of those photographs her mouth would be wide open.
Naturally, they bumped into other famous actors and actress. It was simply amazing, and she really had to try to not become one of the hysterical women screaming their lungs out. But she couldn’t resist taking pictures with all her favorite actors.
Damian rolled his eyes. “I had to beg you to take a picture with me, but in walks Al Pacino and you’re all over him,” he said good-naturedly as they made their way to the movie.
“I wasn’t all over him!” She thumped him on the shoulder. “You’re jealous. And I can take a photo with you any time I want. The novelty has kind of worn off.”
He smirked. “I think it wore off the first day we met.”
“Kind of did.”
The movie was an epic drama, and though not based on a book, she actually did enjoy it. She wasn’t the only one; everyone present seemed to be of the same opinion.
When they left the theater, all around them were talks of the after party.
“I have to go. Make an appearance,” Damian said, looking concerned. “Are you still okay?”
“I’m fine. I sat for more than two hours. I think my pinky toe can handle it.”
He smiled and kissed her knuckles.
She glanced down at her dress. “Do we rock up with the same clothes?”
He smiled. “We rock up with the same clothes. We won’t stay long.”
Outside the paparazzi was a nightmare and Emma soon found out why as one paparazzo after another shouted.
“Are you really engaged?”
“Where’s the ring Damian?”
“Is Emma the love of your life?”
“What does Lizle Vlam have to say about this?”
In the limousine Emma rolled her eyes. Why does Lizle Vlam get to be Lizle Vlam, name and surname, and I’m just Emma.
Damian gave her a sheepish grin.
“I didn’t think your mother would have told anyone.”
“I’m one of two daughters. What do you think would have happened? My whole extended family already knows about my’pending nuptials’ by now.” She did the finger gesture indicating quotation marks. “And now so does the whole world!” She was mad.
He took hold of one of her hands. Lucky for them they were alone. Alexander had disappeared before they got out of the cinema and Ian was somewhere talking to some important bigwig and told them to not wait for him.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. I wanted you here with me.”
He seemed so sincere she could feel herself starting to calm down.
“But Damian you can see how this….”She didn’t even know how to explain what was going on in her head.
“We’ll ignore them. We know the truth.”
She took a deep breath, “Okay. This is really hectic isn’t it?”
He rubbed her cheek with his other hand. “It’s my world.”
She bit her lip. “Yes, it’s your world.”
And Damian didn’t have a chance to ask her what she meant because the limousine stopped and they were required to get out again.
Emma’s words made his heart clench. Over the last couple of days, something fundamental had happened. He knew it couldn’t ever be erased or changed, Emma meant more to him than she could ever know and, to be honest, he had started thinking of their future together. He began to think of her relocating to the States.
She was a teacher; she could find a teaching post here if she wanted, all she needed was certification by the state and then national certification for all fifty of the United States. Though she didn’t even need to work.
He had built castles in the air. His co-stars on set had wanted to know what was wrong with him. Usually he was so serious and wouldn’t even share a coffee before he had to go on.
She had set something in him free. He didn’t feel like he had to prove his worth all the time, not to everyone else anyway. Only to her, and she accepted him, and he hoped, loved him for who and what he was.
To Emma, he wasn’t Damian Davidson, the famous actor. He was Damian, and he loved how she made him feel.
But what had happened outside the premiere? He took a deep steadying breath as he led them into the party.
What she had said about it being his world. He couldn’t deny shock had gone through his system. What had she meant by those words? She isn’t planning on being a part of my world? She doesn’t want to be with me anymore?
He glanced down at her. She had been staring at the venue. No woman has ever made me feel so insecure.
“Damian!”
He turned toward the voice, a director he worked with once.
“It’s okay. You can go to him. I’ll be fine,” she said.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to leave you alone.”
But what he really meant was, he didn’t want her to brood on what ha
d happened and change her mind about them.
She gave him a reassuring smile. “Really. You should go.”
But he made sure she sat down with some refreshments before he went and talked to the director.
He couldn’t keep his eyes from straying to her every now and then.
People would stop and talk to her, some lingering longer than others. Once or twice some of his co-stars sat down with her. But even from a distance, he observed she wasn’t her usual perky self.
Before he could go over to her, Lizle accosted him. “I didn’t think you’d come here tonight.”
She gave her most sultry smile.
He frowned. “I was invited.”
“But poor Emily and her broken foot.”
He didn’t even think to correct her. He needed to finish the conversation so he could get back to Emma.
“If you’ll excuse me, Lizle, I have to….”
“Oh, Damian! Surely you two can stand to be apart for a couple of minutes.” She tried to hide the sharpness of her comment with a tilting laugh.
“Actually, I can’t so excuse me.” He loosened himself from her grip and made his way to Emma, but when he got to where he’d left her, she was gone.
He made a sweep of the room, but he didn’t spot her. He decided to find the restrooms and as he walked down the passageway, he came to an abrupt stop.
Emma stood with her back against the wall, opposite the door to the ladies’ restrooms, with Alexander in front of her, his hand planted next to her head against the wall, almost wedging her in.
He bent his head and said something to her and she laughed.
Damian couldn’t stop all the conflicting emotions running through him anymore than he could stop a tsunami.
Emma gestured to the floor and he followed the motion. She had been pointing at her foot.
Alexander bent down, now on his knees, and examined it, cradling the bound one in his hands.
Damian wanted to rip his throat out. The smile he gave her as he touched her was anything but innocent.
He didn’t like seeing Alexander touching her, foot or any part of her for that matter, and as the thought came to his mind, his jaw clenched and before he knew it, he was on them.
Falling for Mr. Unexpected Page 14