Kitabı oku: «Star of His Heart», sayfa 2

Chapter Three

“If he’s as hot as you say he is, then maybe you should let him know you might be interested, Rachel.”

Rachel wiped paint from her hands as she glared at the phone. If her best friend since elementary school wasn’t there in person to see her frown, transmitting it through the speakerphone was the next best thing. “I’m not interested.”

And because she knew Charlene would belabor the point, she went on the defensive and said, “Look, Cha, I thought you of all people would understand. You know I don’t like mixing business with pleasure. Besides, I have plenty of work to do.”

Charlene laughed. “You always have plenty of work to do. If becoming involved with a man is a way to slow you down, then I’m all for it. It’s time you started having fun.”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “I could say the same for you.”

“Face it. Men aren’t drawn to me like they are to you.”

Rachel pulled in a deep breath knowing there was no use telling Charlene just how wrong she was. Her words would go in one ear and out the other. For once she wished Charlene would be the one to face it and see that she was beautiful and sexy.

Charlene had to be the kindest and sweetest person Rachel knew, but she always slid to the background when it came to dating and romance. Rachel blamed Charlene’s parents, since they always thought their older daughter, Candis, was the “pretty one” and had always put her in the limelight. As far as Rachel was concerned, Charlene had a lot going for her, including a beautiful singing voice.

“I’m in no mood to argue with you, Cha. You know how mad I get when you put yourself down.”

“I’m not putting myself down. I’m just stating facts.”

“Then let me state a few of my own,” Rachel said. “I’m the one on set every day surrounded by gorgeous men. The only problem is that those men are checking out the tall, slender actresses, not me.”

When Charlene didn’t say anything, Rachel had a feeling there was more going on with her friend. “Okay, Cha, what’s wrong?”

There was another long moment before Charlene replied, “I talked to Mom today.”

Rachel slumped down into a chair. Mrs. Quinn was the mom from hell, and that was putting it kindly. She’d always managed to boost one daughter up while at the same time tearing the other one down. “And?”

“And she wanted me to know that Candis made the cut for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition next year and will be staying in Paris for a while.”

“That’s great, and I’m sure you’re happy for her.” Rachel knew she could say that because deep down she knew Charlene was. Candis and Charlene had a rather good relationship despite the competitive atmosphere created by their mother.

“Yes, of course I’m happy for her.”

“And?”

“And what?” Charlene asked.

Rachel pulled in a deep breath; her patience was wearing thin. “And what else did Mrs. Quinn say?”

“Just the usual about she still doesn’t understand how Candis could be so pretty and me so plain when we had the same parents. She ended the call by even suggesting that maybe she and Dad got the wrong baby from the hospital. She said it in a joking way but I knew she was dead serious.”

Rachel bet the woman had been dead serious as well, but she would never tell Charlene that. That was the kind of garbage she’d had to put up with all her life. “She wasn’t serious, Cha. You and your mother look too much alike for you to be anyone’s baby but hers.”

Evidently Mrs. Quinn never took the time to notice the similarity. Or maybe she had noticed and since she’d never been happy with her own looks, she was passing her insecurities on to Charlene.

Rachel thought about her own situation. She had been raised by her uncle Jacob and her aunt Lily after her parents had been killed. Rachel had been only one year old and Sofia had been ten. Her aunt and uncle were wonderful and had raised her and Sofia as their own children, since unfortunately they’d never had any. The one thing Uncle Jacob and Aunt Lily didn’t do was play her and Sofia against each other. Everyone knew that Sofia wanted to follow in their father’s footsteps and take his place with Uncle Jacob at Limelight.

Although her uncle and sister would have loved for her to join them in the family business, Rachel had never been pressured to do so. She chuckled, thinking it was enough to have Sofia as her agent.

“Hey, let’s do a movie this weekend,” she suggested, thinking her best friend needed some chilling time.

“Sounds super, but don’t you have a lot to do?”

Rachel laughed. “I always have a lot to do, but I need a break to have fun, and it sounds like you do, too.”

A short while later, Rachel made her way to the kitchen, hungry after missing lunch. On the way home she had stopped by a restaurant owned by one of the cameramen’s parents. She considered Jack Botticello her buddy, and his parents were truly a godsend. Whenever she dropped by their Italian restaurant, Botticello’s Place, for takeout, they always gave her more food than she could possibly eat in one sitting. There would definitely be enough lasagna left for tomorrow’s dinner.

As she sat down at the table to enjoy her meal, she recalled everything that had happened on the set that day, especially the scenes that included Ethan Chambers. She couldn’t help but remember the moment he had walked into a patient’s hospital room. To say he swaggered into the room would probably be more accurate. And when he began speaking in what was supposed to be a northern accent, all eyes and ears were on him. There was no doubt in her mind he was a gifted actor. It was as if the part of Dr. Tyrell Perry had been created just for him.

She couldn’t wait for the airing of the show in a few weeks to see how he would be received by the viewing audience. It would probably be no different than the way he’d been received on the set. Women were all but falling at his feet, doing just about anything to get his attention.

He had mentioned to a member of the camera crew in between scenes that he was going to get a cup of coffee. The three women who’d overheard him had all but broken their necks racing across the room to the coffee cart to get it for him. She could tell he’d actually gotten embarrassed by their antics. That surprised her. Most men would be gloating about all the attention. But then, this had been his first day on the job. There was no doubt in her mind that eventually his media-hungry playboy tendencies would come out. It was only a matter of time.

Unbidden, the memories surfaced of what had happened during their makeup session that day. Had he deliberately tried to unnerve her? Break down her defenses so she would behave the way Tina, Cindy and Nina had done today with the coffee incident? It wouldn’t surprise her to discover he was just as superficial as all the other playboys in Hollywood. And to think for a short while today she’d actually been attracted to him. But with his make-you-drool looks, the attraction couldn’t be helped. It had a way of vamping your senses the first time around.

And his family had money. He’d mentioned his roots were in Napa Valley, but it was only later that day when she’d overheard some of the camera crew talking about how wealthy he already was that she realized he was one of those Chamberses. There were two African American families whose roots and vast financial empires were in Napa Valley. The Russells and the Chamberses. Both families’ vineyards were known to produce some of wine tasters’ finest.

So, okay, she had let her guard down and let herself be affected by him. But tomorrow would be better. She had gotten used to him and would be more in control.

With that resolved, she proceeded to finish her meal.

“Do you promise, Uncle Ethan?”

Ethan couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, I promise.”

“Truly?”

“Yes, truly.”

His six-year-old niece, Kendra, had him wrapped around her finger and probably knew it, he thought. When his parents had mentioned to her that Los Angeles was close to Disneyland, she had begun asking him questions. Mainly she wanted to know if he’d seen any princesses.

Just to hear her voice was a sheer delight because Kendra hadn’t done much talking since her mother had died three years ago in a car accident. She had pretty much been withdrawn and quiet much of the time. But she would always talk to her Uncle Ethan.

“Daddy wants to talk to you, Uncle Ethan.”

“Okay, sweetheart, and always remember you’re Uncle Ethan’s cupcake.”

“I remember. Nighty-night.”

He then heard her hand the phone over to his brother, Hunter, after telling her daddy nighty-night, too and after exchanging an “I love you” and an “I love you back.” It was only then that Hunter placed the phone to his ear. “What’s going on, kid?”

Ethan couldn’t help but chuckle. There was an eight year difference in their ages, and Hunter never let him forget it. But even with that big variation, they’d always gotten along. Like all brothers, they’d had their disagreements, but they’d never lasted more than a few hours. Except for that one time a few years ago when Hunter had tried pressuring him into staying in the family business and getting all those ideas out of his head about making it big in Hollywood.

Ethan had left home anyway to pursue his dream. It was only after the fatal car accident that claimed Hunter’s wife’s life—an accident that Hunter and Kendra had survived—that Hunter had understood why Ethan had to do what he did. He’d learned that life was too precious and fleeting to take for granted. Tomorrow wasn’t promised to anyone.

“Nothing much is going on. Kendra talked a lot tonight,” he said.

“Only because it’s you. She loves her uncle Ethan. Besides, she wanted to ask you all about princesses.”

Ethan grinned. “Yeah, I noticed. What’s up with that?”

“The Princess and the Frog. She’s seen it five times already. I should blame you since you’re the one who got her the DVD as soon as it went on sale.”

“Hey, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my cupcake,” he said, meaning it.

He talked to Hunter for a few minutes longer before his brother passed the phone to their folks. In addition to the winery, Hunter and his parents ran a small four-star bed-and-breakfast on the property. It was always good to call home because he truly missed everyone, and updates were priceless.

“And you’re eating properly, Ethan?”

He cringed at his mother’s question, knowing he would have to tell her a little white lie, especially when at that very moment the timer went off to let him know his microwave dinner was ready. He had a beer to drink and his dessert would be a bag of peanut M&M’s he’d grabbed out of the vending machine when he’d left the studio today. Paige had invited him to her place for dinner but he had declined.

He removed his dinner from the microwave and said, “Yes, Mom, I’m eating properly.”

“Met any nice girls you want to bring home?”

She has to be kidding. The last few girls he dated weren’t any he would dare bring home for his parents, brother and niece to meet. But then the face of his sexy pixie flashed across his mind and he couldn’t help but think that she would work. For some reason he liked her, and the sexual vibes between them hadn’t gone unnoticed, although it was evident she’d tried ignoring them.

Besides, he didn’t have time to meet girls—nice or any other kind. He had lines to study every night, especially tonight. Frasier had been impressed with him today and had added another scene to his schedule for tomorrow.

“No, Mom, so don’t go planning a wedding for me yet.”

Later that night when he slid into bed, he couldn’t help but think just how blessed he was. Both of his parents were alive and in good health. As the oldest son, Hunter had taken on his role with ease and was the perfect businessman to manage the family’s vast wealth. And Hunter had had the insight to utilize the property surrounding the winery to build the bed-and-breakfast, which was doing extremely well. The reservation list was always filled up a year in advance.

As much as he’d loved Napa Valley, Ethan had known it wasn’t in his blood to the extent it had been in Hunter’s. After college, he returned home and tried working alongside Hunter and his parents, but he hadn’t been happy. Hunter had said it was wanderlust and that eventually he would get over it, but he never did. A year later he had made up his mind to pursue his dream.

So here he was, living in a nice place in L.A. and building the career he’d always wanted. Money was no object, thanks to a trust fund that had been set up by his grandparents as well as the financial standing of the winery, in which he was a stockholder. Of course, every once in a while some smart-ass reporter would ask him why an independently wealthy person would want to work. He was sure Anderson Cooper was asked the same question often enough, too. Ethan wasn’t privy to Anderson’s response, but his was simply, “Wealthy or poor, everyone has dreams, and there is such a thing as continued money growth.”

He reached over to turn off the lamp light, thinking that things had gone better than he’d expected on the set today. His lines had flowed easily, and for a while he had stepped into the role of Dr. Tyrell Perry. To prepare, he had watched medical movies and had volunteered his time at a hospital for ninety days. He had come away with an even greater respect for those in the medical industry.

As he stared up at the ceiling his thoughts shifted to the woman he’d met that day, Rachel Wellesley. There had been something about her that pulled her to him like a magnet. Something about her that he found totally adorable. Even among the sea of model-type women on the set, she had somehow stood out.

And when she had leaned over him to apply whatever it was she brushed on his face, he had inhaled her scent. With his eyes closed, he had breathed it all in while imagining all sorts of things. It was a soft scent, yet it had been hot enough to enflame his senses.

So he had sat there, letting her have her way with his face while he imagined all kind of things, especially the image of her naked.

More than once during the shoot, he had had to remind himself that he didn’t really know her and that it would be crazy to lose focus. But he would be the first to admit that he hadn’t counted on being bowled over by a woman who had to tilt her head all the way back just to look up at him. He smiled, remembering the many times they had looked at each other and the number of times they had tried not to do so. And nothing could erase from his mind the sight of the soft smile that had touched her lips when she’d seen his tattoo and when he’d told her why he had it. If he had been trying to impress her, he would definitely have garnered brownie points. But he wasn’t trying to impress her.

He shifted in bed, knowing he had to stay focused and not let a pretty face get him off track. All that sounded easy enough, but he had a feeling it would be the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.

Chapter Four

“Quiet on the set!

“Take four!

“Action!”

Rachel sat quietly in a chair and watched the scene that was being shot. When she heard two women, Paige and another actress on the set named Tae’Shawna Miller, whispering about how handsome and fine Ethan was, she had to press her lips together to keep from turning around and reminding them about the no-talking-during-a-take policy. But that would make her guilty of breaking the rule, too.

So she sat there and tried tuning them out and hoped sooner or later they would close their mouths. It didn’t help matters to know that Paige was one of the women. Rachel figured she of all people should know better.

Rachel turned her attention back to the scene being filmed and couldn’t help but admire the way Ethan was delivering his lines. He was doing a brilliant job portraying Dr. Tyrell Perry, the sexy doctor with a gruff demeanor that could only be softened by his patients. And from the looks of things, a new twist was about to unravel on the show with Dr. Perry being given a love interest—another new doctor on the hospital staff, the widowed Dr. Sonja Duncan.

Rachel had been on the set talking to one of the cameramen when Ethan arrived that morning, swaggering in and exuding rugged masculinity all over the place. The number of flirtatious smiles that were cast his way the moment he said good morning had only made her shake her head. Some of the women were probably still wiping the drool from their mouths.

Why did women get so silly at the sight of a good-looking man? She would admit she had been attracted to him yesterday like everyone else, after all she was a woman, but there was no reason to get downright foolish about it.

“Freeze! No talking on the set!”

Frasier was looking straight at Paige and Tae’Shawna and frowning. He knew exactly who the noisemakers were, and to be called out by the director wasn’t good. They had caused time to be wasted, and everyone knew Frasier didn’t like that.

“Unfreeze!”

This time around, everyone was quiet while the shooting of the scene continued. In this scene, Dr. Tyrell Perry and Dr. Sonja Duncan were discussing the seriousness of a patient’s condition. It was obvious in this scene that the two were attracted to each other. The television viewers would already know through the use of flashbacks that Sonja’s late husband, also a doctor, had gotten killed when an L.A. gang, intent on killing a man being treated in the hospital, burst into the E.R. and opened fire, killing everyone, including the doctor, a nurse and a few others waiting to be treated.

Rachel figured since Livia was only a temporary member of the cast, there would not be too much of a budding romance between the two doctors, although it wasn’t known just how Livia’s exit would be handled. Frasier was known to leave the viewers hanging from scene to scene, so it would be anyone’s guess what he had in mind. She couldn’t help but wonder if the chemistry the two generated on the set would extend beyond filming.

She hadn’t gotten a chance to get to know Livia. During the makeup and wardrobe sessions there hadn’t been much conversation between them. Her initial impression was that Livia was just as shallow and self-absorbed as the other Hollywood types Rachel had met. She’d seen no reason for that impression to change. Livia had a reputation of being a party girl and as much the tabloid princess as Ethan was the tabloid king. So it would stand to reason the two would be attracted to each other both on and off the set.

“Cut! Good scene! Let’s enjoy lunch. Everyone take an additional hour and be back to start again on time.”

Rachel smiled, grateful for the extra time. It seemed a number of people were in a hurry to take advantage of Frasier’s generosity…in more ways than one, she thought, when out of the corner of her eye she noticed several women bustling over in Ethan’s direction. She rolled her eyes. My goodness, did they have no shame? Interestingly, Livia walked away in another direction, as if the attention given to Ethan didn’t concern her one bit.

Shaking her head, Rachel walked back to her trailer to grab her purse. She had a few errands to do before lunch was over.

Ethan watched Rachel leave before forcing his attention back to the two women standing in front of him. Tae’Shawna had all but invited him over tonight to go skinny-dipping in her pool. Of course he had turned her down. Paige had offered to come over to his place to help him go over his lines. He turned her down as well. For some reason, he wasn’t feeling these two. If truth be told, he wasn’t feeling any woman right now. Except for the one who’d just headed off toward her trailer.

“So what are you doing for lunch, Ethan? We would love for you to join us,” Paige invited, interrupting his thoughts.

“Thanks, but I have a few errands I need to take care of,” he said, knowing it was a lie as he said it. But in this case, he felt it was justified.

“No problem. Maybe we can help with your errands and—”

“Thanks again, but that’s not necessary,” he said, pulling his keys out of his back pocket. He had planned to wait until the weekend to shop for Kendra’s gift, but now was just as good a time since these two were beginning to make a nuisance of themselves.

“I’ll see you ladies later. I need to leave so I can be back on time.”

For a second Paige looked like she was going to invite herself along. Instead she said, “Then I guess we’ll see you when you return.”

He only smiled, refusing to make any promises as he headed toward the exit. He was grateful for the additional hour and planned on making good use of it. Moving quickly, he reached for the door at the same time someone else did. The moment their hands touched he knew the identity of that person. Her scent gave her away.

“Excuse me.”

“Excuse me as well,” he said, taking a step back, opening the door and holding it for her to pass through. “You’re taking advantage of the extra hour, I see.”

Rachel smiled up at him. “I think everyone is.” She glanced back over his shoulder. “Where’s your fan club?”

His gaze scanned over her face and he saw a cute little mole near the corner of her lip. How could he have missed it yesterday? “My fan club?”

“Yes.”

They were walking together as they headed toward the parking lot. “Trust me, there are some fans you can do without.”

“And you want me to believe you’re not flattered?” she teased, speaking in a low tone when a crew member passed them on the sidewalk.

He slowed his pace as they got closer to where the cars were parked in the studio lot. “Yes, that’s exactly what I want you to believe.”

She stopped walking and so did he. “Why? Why does it matter what I think?”

Ethan thought she had asked a good question. Why did it matter what she thought? He knew the answer before he could pull in his next breath. He liked her, and if he had the time he would try to get something going with her. The thing was he didn’t have the time. He had to stay focused and doubted he would have time to pursue a relationship, serious or otherwise, with any woman anytime soon. He kept reminding himself that this was his big break, and he wasn’t about to mess it up by trying to get between any woman’s legs. He had gone without for six months, and he could go another six months or more if he had to.

But that didn’t mean that he and Rachel couldn’t be just friends, did it? It would be nice to have someone who wasn’t interested in anything more than friendship. The little attraction that had passed between them yesterday couldn’t be helped. After all, she was a nice-looking woman and he was a hot-blooded man. But as long as they kept things under control, being just friends would be fine.

“It matters because I like you and I’d like for us to be friends,” he said.

She pushed a wayward strand of hair from her face as she looked at him. “And why would you want us to become friends?”

Providing an answer to that question was easy enough. “The one thing I noticed yesterday was that you’re genuinely a nice person.” He chuckled then added, “Hey, you didn’t rag on me about being nervous. And it’s obvious everyone on the set likes you, from the maintenance man all the way up to the bigwigs. I figure with that kind of popularity, you can’t be all bad. Besides, you and Livia are the only two females on the set that I feel pretty comfortable around.”

She lifted a brow. “Livia?”

“Yes.”

She tilted her head back as if to give him her full attention. “Not that it is any of my business, but I thought that maybe something was going on between the two of you.”

He smiled. “There is, on the show. But it’s all acting. She’s supposed to be my new love interest for the next few episodes.”

She nodded. “Your scenes earlier were pretty convincing.”

He chuckled. “We’re actors. They were meant to be convincing.”

Ethan glanced at his watch. “I’d better get going. I want to pick up something for my six-year-old niece from the Disney Store. After watching The Princess and the Frog she’s into princesses, so I thought I’d pick her up a Princess Tiana doll.”

A smile touched the corners of her lips. “You have a niece?”

“Yes, Kendra. She’s my older brother’s little girl and, I hate to say it, but she’s perfect.”

She chuckled. “I believe you. And there’s a store in walking distance on Hollywood Boulevard. I’m headed that way myself to pick up something from the art supply shop.”

He turned the idea over in his mind only once before asking, “Mind if I tag along?”

He did his best not to watch the way her lips were tugged up in a smile when she said, “Sure, you can tag along, as long as we don’t talk about work. We need to give our brains a break.”

He jammed his keys in his pocket as he resumed walking by her side. It was a beautiful August day, and he had a beautiful woman strolling alongside him. Things couldn’t get any better than that. “So what do we talk about?” he decided to ask her.

She slanted her head to look at him. “You.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Hey, we talked about me yesterday.”

Her mouth twitched in a grin. “Yes, but all I know is that you’re from Napa Valley and you have a niece.” She chuckled. “I guess I could go by what I’ve heard and—”

“Read in the tabloids,” he said, finishing the statement for her.

“No, I don’t do tabloids. It would be nice if others didn’t do them either, then they would go out of business.”

He glanced over at her and laughed. “You don’t like the right of free speech?”

She laughed back at him. “More like the right of sleazy speech. Ninety percent of what they print isn’t true, but then I guess that’s the price of being a star.”

He smiled, liking the way the sunlight was bouncing off her hair, making it appear even more lustrous. He liked the short cut on her. “Yes, it’s one of the detriments, that’s for sure. I just go with the flow. As long as I know what’s true about me and what’s not, I don’t lose any sleep.”

She didn’t say anything for a while, and then replied, “I hate being in the spotlight.”

She kept looking ahead, but he’d heard what she said. Clearly. If that was true, he wondered how she managed it, being a Wellesley. The company her family owned was so connected with this industry, and had been for close to thirty years, they were practically an icon in Hollywood.

He had researched information on Limelight when he’d returned to the States from abroad. He had even considered contacting them to handle his affairs before he’d chosen Curtis, who’d been a friend of a friend to whom he’d owed a favor. But he wouldn’t hesitate to consider them again when his contract with Curtis ended. Lately, he’d begun feeling as if he was making his own contacts. Everyone he knew handled by Limelight was pleased with its services. Not once had they ever been made to feel like they were a passenger instead of a driver.

“Being in the spotlight doesn’t bother me,” he decided to say. “It comes with the territory. But then, my family is well-known in Napa Valley, so I got used to having a mike shoved in my face, only to be quoted incorrectly.” He could recall a number of times when he’d been referred to as “the playboy Chambers” while Hunter had always been considered the one with a level head. The responsibly acting Chambers.

“And it doesn’t bother you?” she asked.

He met her gaze. “A distortion of the truth will bother most people, and I’m no different. However, I don’t lose sleep over it,” he said, shifting his gaze to study her features.

But he had a feeling she would.

There had to be a reason, and the question rested on the tip of his tongue.

But he had no right to pry. This woman owed him nothing, had no reason to divulge her deep, dark secrets and innermost feelings. Not to him. They weren’t husband and wife. They weren’t even lovers. Nor would they ever be.

No, he reminded himself, he was trying out the friendship thing.