Rumors on the Red Carpet

by Carole Mortimer

  ‘Very funny.’ Thia picked up the blouse carefully, not sure when she would ever find the opportunity to wear something so beautiful—and expensive!—but loving it anyway. ‘I—there appears to be something else in the box...’ she breathed softly as she realised the blouse had been hiding the fact that there was another article wrapped in tissue beneath it. ‘Lucien?’ She looked up at him uncertainly.

  ‘Ah. Yes.’ He looked less than his usual confident self as he gave a self-conscious grimace. ‘That’s for you to wear this evening—unless you already have something you would prefer. You looked lovely in the gown you were wearing the evening we met, for example, although you might feel happier wearing something new.’

  Thia eyed him warily. ‘And where am I going this evening that I would need to wear something new?’

  ‘To a charity ball.’ He stood up restlessly, instantly dwarfing the room—and Thia—with the sheer power of his personality. ‘With me. It’s the reason I’m dressed like this.’ He indicated his formal evening clothes.

  ‘A charity ball...?’ Thia echoed softly.

  He nodded. ‘I thought we could spend a couple of hours at the ball and then leave when you’ve had enough.’

  She looked at him sharply. ‘Is this because of what I said to you last night?’

  He grimaced. ‘You said a lot of things to me last night, Cyn.’

  Yes, she had—and quite a lot of them had been insulting. Most especially the part where she had suggested Lucien was hiding her away because he didn’t want to be seen in public with a waitress student from London...’There’s really no need for you to do this, Lucien. I was out of line, saying what I did, and I apologise for misjudging you—’

  ‘You apologised for that last night,’ he dismissed briskly. ‘Tonight we’re going out to a charity ball. Most, if not all of New York society will be there too.’ Lucien met her gaze unblinkingly.

  ‘Exactly how much per ticket is this charity ball?’ Thia had seen several of these glittering affairs televised, and knew that they cost thousands of dollars to attend.

  ‘What the hell does that have to do with—?’

  ‘Please, Lucien.’

  His mouth thinned. ‘Ten thousand dollars.’

  ‘For both?’ she squeaked.

  ‘Per ticket.’

  ‘Ten thous...?’ Thia couldn’t even finish the sentence—could only gape at him.

  He shrugged. ‘The proceeds from the evening go towards the care of abused children.’

  Even so... Ten thousand dollars a ticket! It was—‘I can’t allow you to spend that sort of money on me.’ She gave a determined shake of her head.

  ‘It isn’t for you. It’s for abused children. And I’ve already bought the tickets, whether we attend or not, so why not use them?’

  ‘Because—because I—’ She gave a pained wince. ‘Why don’t you just take whoever you were originally going to take?’

  ‘I bought the extra ticket today, Cyn. You are the person I was originally going to take.’ His gaze was compelling in its intensity.

  Maybe so, but that didn’t mean Thia had to go to the charity ball with him.

  Did it...?

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ‘THAT WASN’T SO bad, was it...?’ Lucien turned to look at Cyn as the two of them sat in the back of the limousine, driven by Paul, with Dex seated beside him, and they left the charity ball shortly before midnight.

  ‘It wasn’t bad at all. Everyone was so...nice.’ She looked at him from beneath silky dark lashes.

  ‘They can be.’ Lucien nodded.

  ‘It probably helped that I was being escorted by the richest and most powerful man in New York!’

  ‘I didn’t notice any pitying glances being directed my way,’ he teased huskily.

  ‘If there were, they were kept well hidden!’

  Lucien reached across the distance between them to lift up one of her hands before intertwining his fingers with hers—ivory and bronze. ‘Will you come up to my apartment for a nightcap when we get back to the hotel?’ he invited gruffly.

  Thia gave him a shy glance in the dimly lit confines of the back of the limousine. The privacy partition was up between them and the front of the car. To her surprise, she had enjoyed the evening much more than she had thought she would, meeting so many more people than just the celebrity side of New York society. Such was the force of Lucien’s personality that all of them had accepted her place at his side without so much as a raised eyebrow.

  The only moment of awkwardness for Thia had been when they had spoken briefly to Felix and Simone Carew. The older woman had avoided meeting Thia’s gaze—that fact alone telling Thia that Jonathan must have spoken to the actress today, and that Simone knew Thia now knew about the two of them.

  Lucien’s manner had been extremely cool towards the other woman, and his arm had stayed possessively about Thia’s waist as he spoke exclusively to Felix, before making their excuses so that he could introduce Thia to some friends of his across the room. That arm had remained firmly about her waist for the rest of the evening.

  She had even worn the gown Lucien had selected and bought for her. A bright red figure-hugging, ankle-length dress that left her shoulders and the swell of her breasts bare. And she had secured the darkness of her hair at her crown. The appreciation in Lucien’s eyes when she’d rejoined him in the sitting room of her suite had been enough to tell her that he approved of her appearance.

  She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue now. ‘Is that a good idea?’

  His fingers tightened about hers. ‘We can go to your suite if you would prefer it?’

  ‘I’ve had a lovely time this evening, Lucien, but—’

  ‘This sounds suspiciously like a brush-off to me.’ He had tensed beside her.

  Thia gave a shake of her head. ‘I’m leaving in the morning, Lucien. Let’s not make things complicated.’

  His eyes glowed in the dim light. ‘What if I want to complicate the hell out of things?’

  She smiled sadly. ‘We both know that isn’t a good idea. I’m...what I am, and you’re...what you are.’

  ‘And didn’t tonight prove to you that I don’t give a damn about the waitress/student/billionaire/businessman thing?’

  Thia chuckled huskily. ‘The difference between us I was referring to was actually the virgin and the man of experience thing!’

  ‘Ah.’

  ‘Yes—ah. A difference that horrified you last night,’ she reminded him huskily.

  ‘It didn’t horrify me. I was just surprised,’ he amended impatiently. ‘But I’m over the surprise now, and—’

  ‘And you want to continue where we left off last night?’ Thia arched her brows.

  ‘You know, Cyn, when—if—I’ve ever thought of proposing marriage to a woman, I certainly didn’t envisage it would be in the back of a car. Even if that car is a limousine! But if that’s how it has to be, then I guess—’

  ‘Did you say you’re proposing marriage...?’ Thia turned fully on the leather seat to look at him with wide disbelieving eyes. Lucien couldn’t really mean he was proposing marriage to her!

  ‘Well, no,’ he answered predictably. ‘Because I haven’t actually got around to asking you yet,’ he added dryly. ‘I believe I need to get down on one knee for that, and although the back of this car is plenty big enough I think you would prefer that Paul and Dex didn’t make their own assumptions as to exactly what I’m doing when I drop down onto my knees in front of you!’

  Thia felt the warm rush of colour that heated her cheeks just at the thought of what the other two men might think about seeing their employer falling to his knees in the back of the car.

  She snatched her hand out of his. ‘Stop teasing me, Lucien— What are you doing?’ she gasped as he moved down onto
his knees in front of her after all, before taking both of her hands in his. ‘Lucien!’

  * * *

  What was he doing?

  How the hell did Lucien know? He was still travelling that untrodden path with no signs or indications to guide him.

  Thia had obviously enjoyed herself this evening, and he could only hope part of that enjoyment had been his own company.

  She looked so beautiful tonight Lucien hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her. The fact that other men had also looked at her covetously had been enough for Lucien to keep his arm possessively about her waist all evening, rather than just accepting the glances of admiration his dates usually merited. He didn’t want any other man admiring Thia but him.

  He knew it was probably too soon for Cyn. That the two of them had only known each other a couple of days. But what a couple of days they had been!

  That first evening, when he had literally looked across a crowded room and seen her for the first time, she’d been so beautiful she had taken his breath away. And he had felt as if she had punched him in the chest later on, when she’d preferred to walk away from him, in the middle of a crowded New York street, rather than accompany him to Steele Heights Hotel. The following morning, when he had seen the disreputable hotel where she had spent the night, he’d actually had palpitations! And when she had arrived at his office later that afternoon, wearing that cropped pink T-shirt and those figure-hugging low-rider denims, his physical reaction had been so wonderfully different...!

  Cooking dinner last night with Cyn had been fun, and their conversation stimulating, while at the same time Lucien had felt more comfortable, more at ease in her company than he had ever been before. And she had looked so cute in his over-sized T-shirt. He had even enjoyed shopping for the blouse and gown for her earlier today. As for making love with her last night... How Cyn had responded, the way she had given herself to him totally, only for him to learn later that she was inexperienced, an innocent, had literally brought him to his knees.

  And he had been on his knees ever since.

  He was on his knees again now...

  ‘I’m really not insane, Cyn.’ His hands tightened about hers as he looked up intently into her beautiful pale face. ‘I am, however, currently shaking in those handmade Italian leather shoes you mentioned at our first meeting,’ he admitted ruefully.

  She blinked. ‘Why?’

  ‘I’ve never proposed to a woman before, and the thought of having you refuse is enough to make any man shake.’

  Cyn gave a pained frown. ‘I don’t—this is just—’

  ‘Too soon? Too sudden? I know all that, Cyn.’ He grimaced. ‘I’ve been telling myself the same thing all day. But none of it changes the fact that I’ve fallen in love with you—that the thought of you going back to London tomorrow, of never seeing you again, is unacceptable to me. I don’t just love you, Cyn, I adore you. I love your spirit, your teasing, your intelligence, your kindness, your loyalty, the way you give the whole of yourself, no matter what the situation. I had no idea how empty my life and heart were until I met you, but you’ve filled both of them in a way I could never have imagined. In a way I never want to live without,’ he added huskily.

  * * *

  Thia stared at him incredulously. Had Lucien just said—? Had he really just told her that he loved her? He adored her?

  Maybe she was the one who was insane—because he really couldn’t have said those things. Not to her. Not Lucien Steele, American zillionaire, the richest and most powerful man in New York.

  And yet there he was, on his knees in front of her, her hands held tightly in his as he gazed up at her with such a look of love Thia thought her heart had actually stuttered and then stilled in her chest.

  ‘Hey, look...you don’t have to answer me now.’ He’d obviously mistaken her look of disbelief for one of panic. ‘There’s no rush. I realise that it’s too much for me to expect you to know if you’ll ever feel the same way about me, but we can spend as long as you like getting to know each other better. You’ll want to go back to London anyway, to finish your degree. I’ll buy an apartment there, or maybe a house, so that we can spend as much time together as you have free, and then, after a few months, if you—’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘If you still don’t think you could ever love me the way I love you, then I’ll—’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I’ll somehow have to learn to accept it, to live with that. I won’t like it, but—’

  ‘I said yes, Lucien.’ Thia squeezed his hands to pull him up so that she could look directly into his face. ‘I said yes, Lucien...’ she repeated softly as he returned her gaze questioningly.

  ‘Yes, what...?’

  Her breath caught in her throat, tears stinging the backs of her eyes. But they were tears of happiness. Lucien loved her. He really loved her. He knew that she had struggled to finance her degree and understood she was determined to finish it. He was going to buy a home in London so that he could be close to her while she did so. He had asked her to marry him!

  Yes, it was too soon.

  For other people.

  Not for Lucien and Thia.

  Because they were a result of their past—people who had both lost the security of their parents in different ways, at a vulnerable time in their lives. As a result they were two people who didn’t love or trust easily—and the fact that they had fallen in love with each other surely had to be fate’s reward for all those previous years of loneliness.

  Thia slid forward on the leather seat and then down onto her knees in the carpeted footwell beside him. ‘I said yes, Lucien.’ She raised her hands to cup each side of his beloved and handsome face. ‘Yes, I love you, too. Yes, I’ll marry you. Tomorrow, if you like.’

  ‘I— But—’

  ‘Or maybe we can wait a while, if that’s too soon for you. Lucien!’ She gasped as he pulled her tightly against him before his mouth claimed hers hungrily.

  * * *

  ‘I’ll take that as a yes to us getting married, then,’ Lucien murmured a long time later, when the two of them were cuddled up together on one of the sofas in the sitting room of his penthouse apartment at Steele Heights, with only a side lamp to illuminate the room.

  Cyn stirred beside him. ‘I still think you’re mean to make me wait for you until our wedding night.’

  ‘Shouldn’t that be my line?’ he came back indulgently, more relaxed, happier than he had ever been in his life before. How could he feel any other way when he had the woman he loved beside him?

  ‘It should, yes.’ She pouted up at him. ‘But you’re the one who’s gone all “not until we’re married” on me.’

  Lucien chuckled softly, trailing her loosened hair like midnight silk over his fingers. ‘That doesn’t mean we can’t...be together before then. I would just prefer that we left things the way they are for now. I can’t wait to see you walk down the aisle to me, all dressed in white and all the time knowing that I’m going to undress you later that night and make love to you for the first time.’

  When he put it like that...

  Cyn moved up on her elbow to look down at him, loving how relaxed Lucien looked, how loved he looked. ‘What do you mean, we can be together before then...?’

  His mouth quirked seductively. ‘You enjoyed what we did last night, didn’t you?’

  ‘Oh, yes.’ Her cheeks grew hot at the memory of their lovemaking.

  ‘Would you like to repeat it tonight?’

  ‘That depends...’

  His smile faded to a frown. ‘On what?’

  Thia gave a rueful smile. ‘On whether or not you’ll allow me to...reciprocate. You’ll have to show me how, of course, but I’m sure I’ll quickly get the hang of it—’

  ‘Dear God...!’ Lucien gave a pained groan and closed his eyes b
riefly, before opening them again, those same eyes narrowing as he saw how mischievously she returned his gaze. ‘You’re teasing me again!’ he realised self-derisively.

  ‘Only partly.’ She wrinkled her nose at him. ‘I know the mechanics, of course, but I’m guessing that doesn’t mean a whole lot when it comes to the real thing?’

  ‘Let’s go and see for ourselves, shall we...?’ Lucien stood up, bending down to lift her up into his arms and cradling her tenderly against his chest.

  Thia wrapped her arms about his shoulders and gazed up at him adoringly. ‘I could get used to this.’

  ‘I very much hope that you do—because I intend spoiling and petting you for the rest of your life.’ That same love glowed in Lucien’s eyes as he looked down at her. ‘I love you very much, Cynthia Hammond. Thank you for coming into my life.’

  Her lips trembled with emotion. ‘I love you very much, Lucien Steele. Thank you for coming into my life.’

  It was everything.

  Now.

  Tomorrow.

  Always.

  * * * * *

  The Talk of Hollywood

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  EXCERPT

  CHAPTER ONE

  ‘IT WOULD APPEAR that your guest has finally arrived, Gramps,’ Stazy said as she stood stiffly beside one of the bay windows in the drawing room, facing towards the front of Bromley House and watching the sleek black sports car as it was driven down the gravel driveway of her grandfather’s Hampshire estate. She was unable to make out the features of the driver of the car behind the tinted windows; but, nevertheless, she was sure that it was Jaxon Wilder, the English actor and director who for the past ten years had held the fickle world of Hollywood in the palm of his elegant hand.