Checking that Janie was safely in the bathroom, Blaine punched his agent’s number into his cell and waited for the guy to pick up as he walked back to the sofa.
“It’s me.”
“And good morning to you too. How’s the sunshine? We could do with some here. Bloody Edinburgh winter is sucking my soul this year.”
Blaine waved at the air as if Chris, his agent, could see him dismissing the weather. “There have been people snooping. I met a girl and someone left a note on her door. Now another someone, or the same someone, just knocked and took off.”
“What do you mean you met a girl?” His agent’s voice was calm, measured, but Blaine could hear the exasperation in it.
“It’s not like I went out looking for someone. I was minding my own business. She spilled her drink on me, but it turns out this is a couples resort, I was trying to fit in. Go incognito.” He searched for a justification. “But did you not hear what I just said? I know you said I didn’t need to worry about that hack who phoned, but notes?”
“It’s not ideal. No.”
“What do I do?”
“You’re good fodder, my man. Once this lot get a taste of cover-story blood they’re going to go for your jugular. We need to get you out of there so you don’t lose it in front of them. I’ll sort that now.”
“Amen to that.” Thank goodness for his agent giving a shite.
“First though, this girl. Anyone the press will go after? Will they turn it into a thing big enough to make the papers and get Stephanie Johns’ attention? Or will she turn it into a thing big enough to make the papers? If she’s after her two seconds of fame this is her ticket.”
“The girl is no one. Apple pie from the American Southwest. Can’t see her courting press attention. Well, ever.”
“You sure?”
“Sure I’m sure. Her pop owns a tractor shop. Tiny town, stuck there forever. Lovely, nice ass, charming even. But not front-page material if she wasn’t with me.”
“That’s good at least, but it won’t mean diddly if Ms. Johns finds out. Get out of there. Now. There’s another resort down the road. Go there. I’m emailing you the details. They owe me a favor. And keep a low profile. Low, low. No swanning about by the bar, low.”
“What about the girl?”
“I thought she was all apple pie and not after attention?”
“She is, but still, doesn’t mean they won’t find her, misquote the crap out of her and make a story out of it. Then I’m screwed and Hamish is toast.”
“Fine. Get the girl out of there, but be smart about it.”
He rang off, and Blaine sat back against the cushions. Was his agent right? Were the press going to hound him forever until he lost it in front of them and then missed out on his chance to make it, really make it? The British tabloid press were notoriously bad, but the American press were worse, and if he was going to make it over there, what would living in the public eye in front of so many people do to him?
And what about Janie? She was the first woman in forever who had taken him out of himself, made him forget his worries. He hadn’t been kidding when he told her how amazing it made him feel.
“So, thanks for today, but I’m feeling a bit off.” Janie flew into the room and started struggling into her clothes. “Seems I ate too much of a good thing. Maybe it was the pad thai, or the roti, or that chocolate–ice cream thing, or, I don’t know, the combination.” Fully dressed in record time, she gave him an awkward smile but didn’t look into his eyes. “It was lovely and everything, but I better go so I don’t make a mess of your beautiful space.”
“Wait, what?”
But the front door clicked. Standing, ready to go after her, Blaine looked down at himself, shirt undone, hair disheveled after Janie had pushed her hands through it. Not such a good idea. Shower, dress, get out of there, stat. And take Janie with you? Yes. It might be short term, but he needed her apple pie sunshine as much as she obviously needed to get over her douche-bag ex. If he was going into hiding, Janie was coming with him.
…
Janie lowered her sunglasses and gazed out over the glistening pool from where she sat at the bar. She’d thought about going straight to her room, but sitting alone in there didn’t hold any appeal. Finding solace at the bottom of a cocktail glass as the sun set seemed like a much more sensible choice. Or a more adventurous one. Either way, whatever the bartender had put in her glass was making her feel good and her skin no longer wanted to crawl away and leave her naked after overhearing Blaine’s conversation.
What had he said, that she was no one? Lovely, nice ass, charming even. But not front-page material. It wasn’t far off. She was no one. At least it was nice to hear that he really did think she had a nice ass. But still.
Janie sighed.
The bubble was always going to burst: girl meets handsome stranger in paradise, handsome stranger isn’t who he says he is, whisks girl off on all manner of adventures, handsome stranger comes clean and shows her the best time ever, then handsome stranger gets bored with girl and goes back to the champagne-colored lifestyle he was used to. Need a bucket for those pity-party tears? Yes. She needed to snap out of it. It’s not like McDashing had his wicked way with her and then bailed. She’d been the one to leave, and he’d been the one to send her toppling over the edge, waaaay over the edge. And all for the pleasure of what? Watching her enjoy herself?
Janie languished a moment in the memory of having his mouth on her. Was that why the women’s books her aunt Alexia was always reading went on about throbbing and thrusting? The only sex she’d had was with Two-Minute Tom, and it had been, well, short and…she certainly hadn’t gone toppling down into a dark pleasure cave like she had with Blaine.
Janie hugged herself. This was her trip of a lifetime. She was going to eat up all the experiences available so that when she went home she could feast on them forever.
She pulled out her phone and looked at her photo gallery, the gorgeous pic of Blaine in side profile filling her screen. The dreamy look in his eye reflected everything that surrounded him. Ocean stretching for miles, clear blue sky matched by his eyes, the world, literally, at his feet. Heaven. She scanned back to the start of her trip. The photos she’d taken were amazing, for a girl from Texas. Crazy city taxi rides through Bangkok. Even crazier bus rides. Then big tropical skies. A sunset. Her feet peeping over the edge of a hammock, and the sea. The ocean in all its amazing vibrancy. No one back home would believe half the stuff she’d seen. A cave full of monkeys? And a golden statue the size of three tractors? Nope.
But it wasn’t until she’d met Blaine that the photographs got really amazing. Her photos up until that point were just like the hundreds she’d trawled through on the online travel boards before she’d come. With Blaine leading her journey, her photos suddenly gained a touch of raw energy to them. The outlines of things seemed crisper, more tangible, and the subject matter, with all the trips he’d taken her on, was out of her world. As though she’d been channeling his spirit, the green stood out more, the lust for life that he made her feel was there, in all the pictures.
“How does he do that?” And there, right at that moment, she realized that she wanted to find out more about Blaine Galloway before she crossed him off her to-do list. And not just more of what he could do with his hands. And tongue. Although that stayed on the list for sure. She wasn’t kidding when she said he made her feel all kinds of beautiful.
There was no nervous anticipation of what the future would hold with him like there had been with Two-Minute Tom because there was no future, and her heart both rejoiced and despaired at that fact. Rejoiced because this was something of her very own, not something she would inevitably share with the rest of the population of Little Acre. And despaired, because, well, while Blaine was the perfect holiday fling for her to-do list, he was also a dream come true, and who doesn’t want that to last forever?
But you’re not front-page material. No. She wasn’t and would never be. What’s
more his life was an out-and-out mess. If the media were here he couldn’t be seen with her, so best she just take what she’d gotten and move on.
“There you are. So, did you get the dirt on Galloway?” Tina stood framed in the sunlight and for the first time, Janie was displeased to see her.
“Sort of.”
Tina flopped onto a barstool next to her. “What does sort of mean? Is he a rich and faaaabulous Scottish TV star or not?”
“He is. But it’s complicated.”
Tina pulled her sunglasses down and gave Janie a hard look. “It’s complicated? Everything is complicated girlfriend.” Then she sat back.
“He’s not that bad. Life’s dealt him some crappy hands.” Janie found the excuses coming out of her mouth unbidden.
“Oh yes, life is soooo crappy for a TV star on holiday in Thailand. Come on. What has he been telling you?” Tina was unrepentant.
“Just some of his background.”
“And you believed it? For real? How do you know any of it is true? He’s lied already. Who’s to say he’s not spinning you another line? Guys like that are going to do anything to get ahead.”
Blaine’s phone call, his admission that she was the plain Jane Two-Minute Tom had accused her of being came back to her and she shrank a little. “He seemed legit.”
“Honey. Read my lips. He’s an actor. This is his job.”
True. The certainty that Blaine was a nice guy, a guy she’d ripped her clothes off for, wavered.
“If you don’t think he’s pulled the nice guy act on at least one other woman here, then you’re way more of a fool than I took you for.”
“He’s been with other women?”
Tina shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll ask around and find out.”
The little bubble Janie had built around her burst and splattered the ground with metaphorical gloom.
“He’s your ticket out of Little Acre, you know that, right? So get back in there, get the goss, and get typing.”
“What if I don’t want to do that to him?”
Tina exhaled loudly. “Did he say he was going to break up with his fiancée and marry you instead?”
“Of course not. Wait, what? You knew he had a fiancée?”
“I did some more Googling.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“To be fair, I didn’t find out straightaway.”
“But you thought I was the type of girl who would date another woman’s fiancé?”
“No. But I didn’t want you to call off the investigative reporting.”
Janie pouted. “I’m hardly investigating him.”
“Well you should be. I smell a story in this. A big one. Don’t be an ass. Do it. Make the world your piña colada before someone beats you to it. Heads up. Talk of the good-looking devil, here he comes, and he’s heading right for you.”
“Ladies.” Blaine’s voice was deep, strained, Janie realized. “Ms. Milan, could I have a word?”
Janie realized he was more than strained, he was nervous. Worried even. He had a New York Yankees hat pulled down low over his face and his sunglasses were enormous. Definitely not his style. His gaze darted around the pool area before returning back to her.
“You said you weren’t feeling all that well earlier. Worst thing for that is alcohol. We should get you inside, hydrate you.”
“Really?”
“Oh, absolutely.” And he tipped his sunglasses so she could see his eyes. They read I’m risking public discovery to come get you and please.
“Oh, okay, perhaps you’re right.” Janie darted a Don’t Say It look at Tina and stood before starting after him.
“No one’s tried to talk to you, have they?” he asked as they walked.
“No,” she said. “Have they found you? The tabloids?”
“Seems that way, but I’m not waiting to find out. Grab your stuff and meet me at reception in ten minutes.”
“My stuff? Reception?”
He paused a moment. “Please. I have to go and I don’t want you to get caught up in my mess. I’m trying to fix it.”
That warmed her heart a little. Tina might be right, Blaine might still be lying to her, or he might not. All Janie had to go on was what was in front of her: her gut instinct. And her instinct told her that he had been up-front with her.
Hadn’t she just decided that his holiday was better with Blaine in it? And wasn’t this all about her having an adventure? “I have things to do while I’m here, you know. Experiences to gather.”
“This will be an adventure, that much I can promise you.”
She shot a look over her shoulder at Tina, who was watching their every move like a hawk. The way her body was stiff, focused on them with such intensity, sent a shiver through Janie. “But I’ve paid up here. I can’t afford to leave.”
“You don’t have to pay anything at the next place. My agent has it sorted. Please. I have to go, and I have to get you out of here too.”
There wasn’t time to smooth things over with Tina right now. They could talk later. Janie took a deep breath and nodded. “I want to keep my room here though. In case. I dunno, just in case.”
“Sure.”
“Well then. I guess we should go.” This was her adventure, and it was time to milk every last minute out of it. She could deal with What Next later.
Chapter Eight
“So why do I have to get out of here?”
“You know who I am, what’s going on for me. I could have disappeared and left you to your holiday, but I’m nervous they’ll come after you.”
That was nice. Wasn’t it? She heard Tina’s voice in her head: if it was true. “You’ve lied about who you are already. Why should I trust you now?”
He paused a moment. “You’re right. You shouldn’t trust me. You shouldn’t trust anyone. But on the off chance that you wanted a little more adventure in your life, I don’t know, a little sparkle, a little suck on this Two-Minute-Tom-ness, come with me now and decide the rest later.”
Well, you’re hardly going to refuse that, are you? Blaine Galloway might be a man of mystery so far, but he sure as heck knew how to push her buttons. “Okay, okay, you’ve won me over. Just don’t be surprised if I’m skeptical.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Janie made sure her details were logged with reception so she didn’t disappear without a trace. Just in case. But when Blaine pushed open the door to the honeymoon suite of the resort a little farther down the road, her worries evaporated into an incredulous haze.
“What is…how does it even exist…I mean, wow. And this is…” She shook her head. “Pinch me.”
“Sorry?”
“Pinch me to prove this isn’t just a dream.”
He put a hand on her arm and stroked her instead.
“You call that a pinch?”
He smiled. “I call that the start of an apology.”
“Pretty good start.” She pursed her lips, channeling Tina. “So, just to be crystal clear. Was everything you said earlier true or a line? I might not be front-page material, but I’m not stupid. Or should I say, I’m not front-page material, ’cause I’m not stupid?”
Recognition flickered in his eyes. “You overheard my conversation.”
“Nice to know you really do think I have a good ass.”
“You have more than a nice ass.”
“In my experience, if a guy seems too good to be true, he’s usually a beet farmer. And I’m done with beet farmers. So, are you spinning me a line? Another one.”
Taking her by the hand, he led her through a discreet door she hadn’t noticed, into a bedroom that was bigger than some of the houses back in Little Acre.
For a minute, there was nothing to say. All Janie could do was take in the view, because to call it a room was an understatement. The place was pretty much an homage to the water outside. The front of the room was glass, along with a good portion of the sides. In fact, if you stood in the front half of the room, you were sta
nding on glass, because up, down, and sideways, a glass box was attached to the edges of the room, letting in a view of the early evening outside. And what a view. The ocean stretched, a glorious deep turquoise blanket of color as the sky darkened, as far as Janie could see. And down below, a golden sand beach surrounded on each side by rocky walls so that it was entirely private, promised the perfect place to slide into the water and float away. Thailand was perfect.
He turned her back to face him. “I haven’t met anyone who didn’t know who I was for a long time. I promise I wasn’t spinning you a line. I enjoy your company. I told you that.”
“But this is bigger than that. Bigger than me. What if What’s-Her-Trousers finds out? Won’t your brother be screwed?”
“Yes. That’s why we’re here. My agent checked and none of the usual suspects are staying at the couples resort. It must have been someone who got lucky. Someone small-time. So we’ll wait them out from here. Thailand is a long way from the UK and no one knows me in the States, not yet.”
The way he said not yet, like he was going to take over the world, poked Janie in her self-conscious ass. How did men get so much confidence, whether they deserved it or not? And she was left with, well, about as much chutzpah as an owl who was afraid of the dark. Tina’s words kept at her. Blaine was her ticket out of Little Acre, a way she might finally be able to make some money off her blog, set up her pop for life and then get on with living a little of her own.
“I have to confess, bringing you here is a little selfish. I don’t want him hassling you even if he is small-time. Small-time news can turn into big-time news these days when everyone’s online 24-7.” Blaine sighed. “But it’s been so good to be with you, to know that you weren’t after me for a slice of fame pie or because you wanted a part on The Highlander’s Cure. To be with someone who didn’t care who I was, well, it’s been grand, lass. I figured we could wait it out together.”
“You did, did you? How convenient for you.” It wasn’t fair, and Janie knew it, but she couldn’t help it. Her bliss bubble had burst, and it was going to take some effort to re-inflate it.
Blaine rubbed his face and she watched his nostrils flare. “I’m not feeding you a line here. You know why I need to stay away from women. All women. And then you turn up and I can’t keep away. You’re infectious. Contagious even.” His eyes flashed their brilliant blue, a direct match for the wide stretch of water outside. Janie’s heart reared up near her throat, and Miss Muffin threatened to ignore all the hurt and mistrust and demand she throw herself at him anyway. Damn him for being so gorgeous.
Her Scottish Mistake (A Perfect Escape) Page 9