She swallowed when she found only a single text from Hugh.
cant meet u. nominated sexiest man n known universe 2day. jerk leaked information about hot scenes n dangerous man. horde of paparazzi @ my bldg.
No sooner had her plane rolled to a stop in front of a private hangar than a herd of photographers stampeded her jet.
Great. Im on my own. This is what I deserve for letting the world think even for one minute I was ever serious about Hugh.
Bob stuck his shaggy head out of the cockpit and said, Not to worry. Ive already notified security.
When she finally left the jet, with a security detail, paparazzi on motorcycles chased her limo all the way to her hotel. Apparently, Hughs premiere had been well-received by critics and the public, so for now he was the hottest talent in La-La Land.
Welcome to Hollywood, she thought as she bolted herself into her hotel room.
When room service arrived with her breakfast the next morning, Summer found a weekly tabloid tucked under her door along with a note from her agent. The tabloids banner headline read: Sexiest Man In The Universe Teams With Reputed Lover, Broadway Actress Summer Wallace, To Shoot Super Sexy Love Scenes. The article beneath the headline made her feel cheap and tawdry, especially after her weekend with Zach.
Summer Wallace upset legions of fans this weekend when she failed to attend the premiere of Kill-Hard on the arm of rumored lover, Hugh Jones, star of the film. Instead, the actress tiptoed into the city late last night. Its no secret their fans cant wait for a sneak peek of their favorite couple out on the town together this week. Or better yet, a sneak peak of those love scenes in Dangerous Man. We hear theyre going to be sizzling.
Her week got crazier, but what made her feel crazier was that Zach never called or texted.
When she was on the set, Summer didnt know if it was the soul-stirring sex shed shared with Zach or Hughs sulky attitude toward her after shed told him shed reconnected with Zach over the weekend, but filming intimate moments with Hugh was awkward. She was tense, Hugh impatient and their director, Sam, who called for endless takes, apoplectic.
It didnt help her mood that every male employee in production made up some pretext to show up on the set to leer. During the most intimate scenes, she felt as if she was betraying Zach. Even though hed dismissed her and had shown no inclination to see her again, she worried about what hed think of the finished film. Not that she or Hugh had to strip for the camera-in fact, she had a clause in her contract that protected her against nudity.
It didnt help her mood that every male employee in production made up some pretext to show up on the set to leer. During the most intimate scenes, she felt as if she was betraying Zach. Even though hed dismissed her and had shown no inclination to see her again, she worried about what hed think of the finished film. Not that she or Hugh had to strip for the camera-in fact, she had a clause in her contract that protected her against nudity.
By day two she felt as if she was playing Twister with a sullen, male octopus. Whatever spark had ever existed between Hugh and her was absolutely dead. The only way she endured her scenes with Hugh and managed to respond in character was to remember how shed felt when Zach had touched her or kissed her.
She wanted Zach, but his silence made her that wonder if her longing was one-sided. At night, when she was alone in her hotel room, hoping Zach would call, she felt lost and lonely and under more pressure than ever.
By Thursday, they were forced to film late into the night. Just when she thought the endless, excruciating takes on that satin bed would never end, Sam yelled it was a wrap. He was thrilled with the rushes.
You were fantastic, Summer, he said. Gorgeous in every shot. Every man in America will envy Hugh.
For the first time in her career, she didnt care about that. She just wanted to be with Zach. Even though it was pretty obvious Zach didnt feel as she did, Sams praise reawakened her concerns about how Zach might react to the movie.
Relieved to be finished, Summer headed back to her hotel. While she was showering, her phone rang. She grabbed for a towel and then her cell. She could see from the number that it was Zach.
Hi, Zach said as she pulled the towel around her dripping body. Hows the ankle?
His voice sounded so hard and cold, she wondered why hed even called.
Actually, Im not on crutches anymore. So, its great Her voice died into nothingness.
Glad to hear it. So-you wont sue me, he murmured drily.
She held her breath, waiting, hoping his mood would lighten, hoping hed called to say he wanted to see her again.
I called to say I decided not to let you off for good behavior after all.
Oh. She stopped, stunned, wondering where this was going and whether his motive stemmed from the need to punish or the desire to be with her.
Theres a ground-breaking ceremony tomorrow-Friday night-at my construction site. My PR people think I need a date, and they think youd be the perfect one You being a celebrity and a hometown girl. Since you still owe me, I decided to call. Youll need to dress up and look beautiful-movie-star beautiful.
So this wasnt about them; this was about his work.
But youve already broken ground. I mean I fell in that hole, didnt I? she said softly, hoping he would admit to feeling more for her.
Wont happen tomorrow night because Ill be holding on to you all night long. Good for my image.
Her hopes and his tension warred in the silence that hung between them. She was a big girl. She should be used to men wanting her only for publicity.
The whole town will be there, he said. So, a fringe benefit of this appearance will be having the gossips around here see that you dont view me as a threat. I know this is late notice, but you do owe me.
Of course, Ill be your date, she whispered.
When he didnt say anything, she realized anew how tense he was. How could he have made love to her so passionately and then have turned so cold? It was as if hed turned off a switch and now disliked her more than ever. How could she have been so wrong about what theyd shared?
To keep him from hanging up, because some tiny part of her believed she hadnt been wrong, she said, So-howve you been all week?
Fine. Again his voice was too abrupt.
Work went okay?
The usual challenges. And your scenes with Hugh? How did they go? As always, when discussing the subject of Hugh, his tone hardened. Which was strange-hed been so aloof since theyd slept together. Why would he care?
Maybe she should explain about how grueling and unsexy the work had really been. Maybe she should tell Zach that because of him, shed ended it with Hugh. But she didnt want to discuss Hugh, not when Zach was in his present dark mood. Not over the phone.
Sam, our director, says hes happy. ImIm just glad the weeks over. After Bonne Terre, it felt like the four longest days of my lifebecause II missed you.
She willed him to say hed missed her, too, to say anything When he didnt, she chewed at the edge of a fingernail.
Zach
Hmm?
She took a deep breath. Why was it so impossible to talk to him now when it had been so easy the night after her fall?
Never mind, she finally said. Ill see you tomorrow.
Tomorrow, he repeated sternly. Bob will call you and set a time and place to pick you up. He hung up after an impersonal goodbye that left her feeling emotionally dissatisfied.
If only hed sounded the least bit eager to see her.
Hed called, hadnt he? Hed demanded that she spend another weekend with him.
Maybe shed given up on them too soon when shed been younger. She didnt want to make the same mistake a second time.
Theres no such thing as bad publicity. Thats what Zachs PR guys said. They loved that somebody had stolen the hot love scenes from Summers new movie and plastered them all over the internet.
Zach disagreed. Tension fisted around his lungs as he studied the stolen clips of Summer with Jones. She was so gorgeous he couldnt breathe. Even though she was lying beneath another man, just the sight of her sparkling eyes, tremulous lips, breasts and silken hair got his pulse thudding violently. In an instant, he remembered her looking at him exactly that way and how nauseatingly vulnerable hed felt when hed realized there was no way he could make love to her again without surrendering his heart. In one stolen weekend, shed gotten through every careful barrier hed spent years erecting, which made her too dangerous to fool around with.
Since there was no way he was ever giving her his heart again, hed sent her packing.
But that hadnt stopped him from wanting her.
Hell. Shed plunged him back into hell. Thats what shed done.
Within minutes of starting the clip, hed seen more than hed ever wanted to see of Summer on those satin sheets. Did she have to moan under that egotistical actor just as she had when Zach had made love to her last weekend?
She was just acting.
Or was she?
Maybe shed been acting in Bonne Terre, in Zachs bed.
It didnt matter.
He damn sure hadnt been acting. Hed been wildly upset that hed felt so much more than lust for her; furious that hed experienced the same shattering, soul-deep bond hed felt for her as a kid.
He knew too well the destructive power of those emotions, so hed known what hed had to do. Shed acted hurt when hed dismissed her, and that had gotten to him, too, but then she was an actress.
Hed lived without her before. He could do it again.
But then, when hed been missing her the most, his PR guys had come up with the idea to invite her to the ground-breaking, to put a positive spin on an old story by dating her.
His PR guys had handed him an excuse to see her again. So, hed broken his vow to himself and called her. Hed told himself it was business; it would only be for one night; theyd be in public. He had no intention of sleeping with her again. Hed be safe.
But hed been lying to himself. Hed called her because he wanted her.
Damn it, he wanted her so badly he couldnt think rationally. Even as hed willed himself to forget her and move on, hed spent the week fantasizing about her lips, her wide eyes, her sweet, responsive body. Hed remembered the same soft expression on her face that hed just seen captured on film.