“You aren’t watching. It’s so great, you didn’t even notice. I’ve been sitting here for fifteen minutes pretty much having a conversation with myself.”
Nick glanced at his brother. Sebastian was a slim, elegant man with close-cropped hair and a nicely trimmed beard. He fanned a deck of cards for Nick to look at and then he fanned the deck the other way and all the cards changed to aces, black aces interspersed with red aces in all four suits.
Sebastian was a sleight-of-hand card magician who plied his tricks at the Magic Castle on weekends when he tended bar there. Sebastian had always been interested in card tricks starting with a Christmas gift when he’d been four years old. Since then, his focus had been on what he could do to dazzle an audience with cards. He had some pretty interesting sleight of hand tricks.
“That bad, huh,” Sebastian continued, his tone casual.
“No. No. I’m just...thinking.” Thinking about Roxanne Deveraux and trying not to think about their second kiss. The first kiss between them had rocked his world. The second was a tsunami of emotions.
“What are you thinking about?” Sebastian had never been one to sneak up on a subject. He was always direct and to the point. “What’s going on, Nick? I’ve never known you to be so distracted. Is that gorgeous-as-sin Roxanne Deveraux the reason for your distraction?”
Nick turned back toward the TV, refusing to answer his brother, his gaze glued to Roxanne in her red dress and the look of total delight on her face as she moved through the routine. She had been graceful. Never once stumbled or stepped on his feet. She’d kept her head up, shoulders and back straight and remembered to smile. He could see why the judges thought she lacked passion. He knew she’d been so nervous that her only thought had been getting through the routine without falling and making a fool of herself.
“Having girl troubles?” Sebastian asked curiously. “Though I’ve never known you to have those unless you consider fighting them off a problem. Unless you count Margo Kirby. She was a problem waiting to happen.”
“And because of her, I’m in Los Angeles instead of New York.” Nick had been bitter at first. Margo had done her best to blacken his reputation. Los Angeles represented a new beginning for him.
“If you hadn’t been here, you would never have met Roxanne.”
Leave it to Sebastian to figure things out. He liked her.
“You’ve watched that dance sequence about twenty times so far.”
Nick glanced at his brother. “I suppose I am having woman trouble, but not the way you think.”
“I can think up some pretty interesting scenarios, but this is sounding intriguing.” Sebastian spread the cards across the tabletop. The card faces had returned to their normal appearances of four suits and thirteen cards each. “Do tell your big brother about your problems.”
“Roxanne isn’t the problem so much as her parents are.”
“Ah, the famous or infamous, depending on your point of view, Eli and Hannah Deveraux.” Sebastian started putting all the decks back in the boxes.
“Sounds like you’ve had a run-in with them before, too.”
“Not them. Their son.” Distaste showed on Sebastian’s face. “Baby-man.”
“What did baby-man do?”
“He came to the Magic Castle with a woman he wanted to impress.”
“You didn’t have to show him you are a Golden Gloves winner.”
“No,” Sebastian said with a laugh. “That would have been too much fun. This woman obviously wasn’t interested in him, and that put him in a snit. He got loud and obnoxious and we had the distinct pleasure of kicking him out, and he did not go gently into the night.”
“Sounds like he got what he needed.”
“I’ve met both Portia and Roxanne. They are always polite and gracious. What happened to Tristan?”
Nick shrugged. Like he would know? His parents would never put up with bad behavior from any of his siblings. There were seven of them. No one challenged Grace and Manny’s rule with their iron hands encased in velvet gloves.
“He’s persona non grata at the Castle.” Sebastian laughed. “Did you know there’s a website dedicated to keeping tabs on him and a list of all the places Tristan is no longer welcome?”
Nick stared at his brother. “You’re kidding, right?” He’d lived in New York way too long.
“I know two women who check the list regularly to make sure they don’t run into him.”
“It sounds like the type of publicity ploy Nina would scheme up.”
“Don’t let our sister hear you say that. Hannah and Eli offered her a job helping one of their problem clients, but Nina didn’t like them or their client and turned them down flat.”
Nick knew Nina was the best at publicity but didn’t know that she’d turned down the Deveraux family as clients. But she was a smart cookie and she would never compromise her own ethics to work for people she didn’t like.
“They’re such attention whores. If you really want to annoy them, ignore them,” Sebastian offered. “It’s so much more fun.”
His brow quirked at Sebastian’s snark. “Temper, temper, brother. Who do you think has the mean streak? Grace or Manny?”
Sebastian thought for a moment. “Pops has the mean streak and Nina inherited it from him.”
“And you, too,” Nick said.
“But I’m never cruel. And I’m only mean to people who deserve it.”
“That’s what you call it.” Nick was seldom mean. He had to deal with divas of both genders all the time and diplomacy was second nature to him. He’d developed those skills mediating all the quarrels between his siblings when they’d been kids.
Sebastian’s eyebrows rose. “You act like I should be ashamed.”
“Oh, no,” Nick said. “Shame is not an inherited family trait.” There had been times during their childhood when a couple of his siblings should have been ashamed. “We are Torreses and shame is not done.”
Sebastian didn’t answer. He stacked his boxes of cards.
“So what you’re telling me,” Nick continued, “is to ignore Hannah and Eli because it irritates them.”
“And keep grooming Roxanne,” Sebastian said. “She has star quality. She had star quality as a kid and she has it now, because I’ve seen you with better dancers. If last night had been an elimination show, she would have been gone, but the audience loved her and gave her a pass. Keep the audience loving her so much she could fall down and break an ankle and still not get voted off.”
Nick could do that. Besides, he liked the feel of her in his arms. “I like dancing with her.”
“Then just fall in love with her and be done with it,” Sebastian said with a low chuckle.
Nick didn’t think he was too far from falling in love with her already.
* * *
Roxanne woke with a start.
Portia shook her again. “Wake up. Wake up.”
“What?” She threw her pillow at her sister, who ducked.
“Wake up.” She thrust her Mac laptop at Roxanne. “You have to see this.”
Roxanne rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. “It’s six o’clock in the morning. I don’t have to be at the studio until nine.”
“You have to be awake now.” Portia gestured at the laptop.
Roxanne settled the Mac across her lap. “What am I looking at?”
“Read the headline.” Portia shoved Roxanne over and sat down next to her. She pointed at the headline. Nicholas Torres Caught Canoodling With Dance Partner.
“What?” Roxanne said as she scrolled down to read the article.
A video popped up showing her arguing with her parents. She watched the whole scene and then as her parents walked off, she turned to Nick. They talked for a few moments and as her parents’ SUV squealed out
of the lot, he kissed her.
The kiss lasted long enough not to be a friend-to-friend type. As she watched herself, her arms slid around his neck and pulled him tight against her. The naked desire on both their faces startled her as the unknown cameraperson zoomed in tight on their lips and the way his one hand gently ran down the side of her breast.
“Oh, no.” The video ended and she started it again. “Who did this?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we dug a little deeper, Mom and Dad set you up. They probably made a boat load of cash selling this to TMZ.”
“I doubt that. TMZ doesn’t pay much.” Roxanne played the video again. The betrayal hurt. They’d plastered the feud with her on the internet and now they were hurting Nick.
“They don’t care,” Portia said, disgust in her voice. “And I don’t care. I’m done with them. Once my contract with them is over, I’m gone. I’ve decided it’s time for me to get an education.”
“They’ll make life as difficult for you as they have for me.”
Portia shook her head. “You survived and I will, too.”
“I was sixteen years old and looked like the victim because I’m way better at playing the victim than you ever will be.” Roxanne didn’t mean to sound smug, but the truth was the truth. When Portia was in front of the camera, she was always Portia. Roxanne could be whoever she needed to be on camera.
“I can play the victim. We had the same acting coach.” In a burst of restless energy, Portia jumped up and started pacing back and forth. “This is not good. Not good at all. Now is the time, we need to get you a publicist.”
“Yeah,” Roxanne said pushing the blankets aside. “I need to call Nick.” What was her parents’ endgame?
She reached for her phone. At the same time, it rang.
“Nick,” she said.
“Did you see the video of our kiss?”
“Oh, yes,” she said glancing at the computer.
“Do you think this is war?” She didn’t add the kind of war that made a show or sank it. People tuned in to watch shows for the hookups and Celebrity Dance was no different.
“I think it’s a skirmish.”
“I’ll be there.”
He disconnected.
Roxanne sighed and pulled herself out of bed. While Portia glowered at the computer, Roxanne took a shower and dressed for rehearsal.
* * *
Nick paced back and forth across the dance floor. He was annoyed, but not surprised.
“I don’t want my romance plastered across the media like my brother’s romance with Greer.” Greer and Daniel had been tabloid fodder for months.
“Is this a romance?” Nancy, who sat on a stool with her laptop on her lap, asked with a gesture at the screen.
“If it is a romance, I still don’t want anybody in my business.”
Nancy laughed. “Honey, you’re a celebrity. Everyone’s in your business. You know that. We need to figure out a way to use it.”
Nick frowned. Mike opened the door and stepped into the dance studio, his phone to his ear. He disconnected and put his phone in his jacket pocket.
“Can we do anything about the video?” Nick asked.
“You know we can’t, Nick. You know the breaks. Since the video was taken in a public place, whoever took it didn’t need your permission.”
“Do we even know who took the video?” Nancy closed her laptop with a snap, a frown on her face.
“Not a clue, but I think we can all guess who might be behind it.” Nick said. “I don’t understand why they would post the video of them arguing since it doesn’t show them in a positive light and I think our kiss is the most interesting part of it.”
“Because,” Nancy said with a shrug, “publicity is publicity, good or bad. They left the argument in because it shows the context of the kiss. Mom and Dad are victims and Nicky is the bad boy who’s corrupting their little girl. Never mind that their little girl can’t stand them.”
The door to the studio opened and Roxanne walked in. She looked a little disheveled, but still beautiful and Nick felt his blood begin to race.
“Good morning,” Roxanne said.
“You doing okay since the video broke?” Nancy put her laptop into a briefcase and pulled out her iPad.
“We’ll ignore the video,” Roxanne said. She sat down on a chair.
Nancy said, “You’re going to need to do an interview with why you broke off from your parents.”
“I’ll think about it. But if we ignore the video, that would anger my parents and I always go for what angers them most.”
“Your parents are looking for a life raft,” Nick said, “and it’s got your name all over it. They are desperate people who might start manufacturing things about you.”
“They’ve been doing that for years,” Roxanne said. “I’ve heard the gossip about what they think could be wrong with me. Why don’t we get her a psychiatrist? Why don’t we get her a witch doctor? Or get her on Dr. Phil?”
“What?” Nick asked. “Are you serious?”
“Not about the witch doctor, though sometimes Portia exaggerates,” Roxanne said with a nervous laugh. “I just can’t see my parents wading through the jungles in Guatemala looking for one. They say these things in front of Portia knowing she’ll tell me. It’s very passive-aggressive.”
“Aren’t you afraid the public is going to think you’re callous?” Nancy asked.
Roxanne shrugged. “You know the public is going to think what the public is going to think. All I know to do is protect myself. The funny thing, I love my parents. But they don’t love me except for what I can do for them and that hurts. I spent a lot of time in therapy figuring out my relationship with them. I’ve dealt with the issue and I’ve moved on. They’re stuck in some sort of repeat pattern that makes no sense to me.”
“Can we announce you’ve been in therapy and have been for a number of years due to their mistreatment?”
Roxanne paused to think. “No. I think if I make some sort of official announcement about being in therapy, that will add more fuel. They can build on that and say look at this epic fail on my part and now I play corpses.”
Nick held up a hand. “Executive decision. No announcement about her therapy. No comment on the kiss. Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss...”
“If you say so,” Nancy muttered though she didn’t look convinced.
Nick shot her an amused look and repeated, “Sometimes a kiss is just a kiss.” Even when it wasn’t.
He glanced at Roxanne and saw a blush grow over her cheeks. The kiss had been something more, but he wasn’t going to admit that to Nancy. “Now, we need to start our rehearsal. The preshow interview is at ten and Roxanne has a wardrobe appointment with Fay right after lunch.”
Roxanne took her sandals off and put on her dance shoes. “I’m ready,” she announced. She stood, twirled and suddenly looked radiant.
Nancy kissed Roxanne on the cheek and left with her husband. Mike gave Nick a long, thoughtful look before opening the door for his wife and waving her through.
“I owe you an apology,” Roxanne said.
“What for?”
“For casting you as the lead in my family’s psychodrama.”
He burst out laughing. “That’s kind of funny.” He held out a hand. He’d tried to minimize the stress on Roxanne.
“Thanks for being a good sport,” she said earnestly. “But are you really okay? My parents are difficult to deal with on a good day. And you’re in their line of sight now.”
“If push comes to shove, I can sic the family Torres on them.” Thinking about his mother in combat with her mother made him smile. Grace Torres was a lion and Hannah was the baby gazelle. There would be no contest. “I just picture my mother taking on your mother and we’re going to need the
SWAT team.”
“I have them on speed dial.”
He kissed her on the cheek. Her skin was still as soft as it had been the night before and the scent of her perfume was a subtle citrus. “Me, too.”
Chapter 7
Roxanne pulled into her driveway to find her brother’s silver Porsche already parked in it. She parked to one side, annoyed at him for hogging her driveway.
“What are you doing here?” she asked her brother, wondering how he got past the guard at the gate who was supposed to call her for visitors not on her allowed list.
Tristan Deveraux was a handsome man, tall and lean with muscles that bulged beneath the sleeves of his white T-shirt. He lounged on the porch swing dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. He held a can of beer in hand. A six-pack minus two cans sat on the porch next to him. “Can’t I visit my sister?”
She glared at him. “Normally you come with motive and criticism in hand.”
“Why can’t you just cooperate?”
She stood at the door with no intention of opening it and letting him in. “Because I did my time. I just want to live my own life.”
“We’re your family and you’re obligated to help us.”
“No, I’m not. You’re a grown man. It’s time you made your own way in the world and they made their own way in the world. I refused to be tethered to them for the rest of my life.”
“Ooh. Tough love, sis.” He crumpled the empty beer can and grabbed another, jerking it loose from its companions.
“Like I said, I’m done.” If they had understood how uncomfortable she’d been with the movie they wanted her to do back when she was sixteen, they might not be at this impasse. She loved her parents because they were her parents, but she didn’t like them.
She waited with one hand resting on her hip.
“Mom and Dad are in really deep trouble. They need us. They need you.”
“Other than the IRS, what other trouble could they be in?”
“They’re bleeding clients. The word has gotten out about their IRS problems. If they can’t handle their money properly, clients won’t trust them to handle their careers. You know as well as anyone that image and reputation are sacred in Hollywood.”
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