She’d hastily borrowed the dress from her sister, careful not to divulge too much about where she was going as her sister would only want to tag along and network. But as the cameras flashed it was obvious Amy’s secret would soon be out- within minutes the pictures would be online and the whole world would see her being escorted to a party by the heartthrob Josh Roberts.
“What’s the point of this party again?” Amy whispered nervously as they walked the red carpet to get inside.
“To advertise a movie, which is all about the carnival.”
“Ah, okay.”
“It’s supposed to be pretty good.”
“Well judging by this party it’s going to be spectacular!”
Inside the venue it was even more jaw dropping than outside. The whole interior had been decorated to be like a big top, and high above their heads acrobats shot across the ceiling perform amazing jumps. There was even an animatronic elephant towards the back of the room, gently squirting guests with a watery mist.
“Walter certainly pulled out all the stops,” Josh declared, looking round.
“It’s unbelievable!”
“Welcome to Hollywood,” Josh joked, “where nothing is beyond belief.”
He led Amy to a vacant table and ordered them each a drink.
“I’m so nervous,” she admitted to him, feeling jittery. “Everywhere I look I see someone I recognize.”
“This is a pretty big party. Most big names in the industry will be here,” Josh explained.
“I feel so out of place.”
“Don’t. You look beautiful.”
“So you keep saying, and I appreciate that, but the parties I normally go to are so much more…normal than this. Like a get together of teachers at someone’s house where we get drunk on cheap wine and play Guitar Hero.”
“Sounds fun.”
“It is. It’s just so much less than this. This is all another league, another world.”
“We can leave if you want,” Josh suggested as their drinks arrived.
“No, its fine,” Amy said, gratefully taking a huge swig from her glass to calm her nerves.
“You got to these types of parties a lot?” Amy asked.
“I guess,” Josh shrugged. “Normally it’s for PR, like I need to be pictured at certain parties, but tonight I just wanted to come and enjoy it, plus I thought you’d think it was cool.”
“It’s amazing,” Amy cooed as an acrobat leaped and soared just above their heads.
“I also just wanted to see you,” Josh admitted, immediately regretting it and feeling vulnerable.
“I wanted to see you too,” Amy echoed his feelings. Across the table they reached out and held hands and she felt a surge of fierce electricity dance through her, lighting up every part of her body.
Whenever she was around Josh she felt perilously close to losing her mind. She was glad that there were so many people around to distract her from him.
“Would you like to dance?” Josh suggested as he noticed the mirrored dance floor filling up as the latest hot song came bursting through the sound system.
“No, I don’t really dance,” Amy waved a dismissive hand.
“Come on – it will be fun,” Josh urged, desperate to remove the table between them and feel her body against his.
“Fine, okay,” Amy agreed, allowing him to lead her to the bustling dance floor.
Josh instinctively drew her body close to his and they began to move and sway to the music.
It was intoxicating to feel him so close, to smell his breath, the scent of his cologne. Amy began to lose herself to the moment, to the music.
They were dancing as one, their bodies tightly together as they swayed and gyrated. Suddenly Josh threw her out in a spin and Amy responded with elegance and grace.
Around them people began to part, watching this stunningly beautiful couple so lost to the music as they danced so skilfully.
Amy pivoted in his arms and arched her back, moved her feet and became a different person; a confident, glamorous person.
She didn’t see the crowd watching, she cared only for the music and for Josh. His hands expertly moved her while her feet responded as though they had always known the steps to this dance.
They moved, they weaved, they became one entity; existing entirely in the song while around them people watched in awe.
Finally the song ended and the spell was broken. Amy fell into Josh’s chest and suddenly sensed that all eyes were upon them and her self-conscious self returned.
“Everyone’s watching!” she shrieked in horror.
“I had no idea you could dance so well,” Josh beamed approvingly.
“Me neither!” Amy panted, trying to catch her breath.
“You were amazing! Did you used to dance or something?”
“No, I used to be a gymnast,” Amy admitted as they walked back to their table.
“A gymnast?” Josh raised his eyebrows cheekily as he spoke.
“Hey! No flirting, remember?” Amy scolded.
“I’m not flirting,” Josh smiled as she stepped forward and wrapped Amy up in his arms.
Then he leaned down and they shared their first, passionate kiss. It was hot, it was heavy and long… and when they finally pulled apart, their hearts racing, they both knew that this was something special, something magical.
Chapter 8
Amy wasn’t sure if she’d ever felt so happy. Standing in Josh’s arms she felt as though she were floating on a cloud.
“Are you having a good night?” he leaned and asked in her ear.
“The best.” Amy beamed before resting her head against his chest and sighing contentedly.
Around them the party continued to develop, people were dancing, acrobats were flying and everyone was talking about Josh Roberts and his new woman!
“I’ll be right back,” Josh told Amy as they pulled apart.
“Oh?” Amy asked, suddenly feeling a little anxious about being left alone at such a grand event.
“Bathroom,” Josh explained bashfully.
“Oh!” Amy laughed.
Alone at the table she allowed herself to soak in the atmosphere of the party. It was all so energetic and vibrant; unlike anything she’d been to before.
Everywhere she looked she saw a familiar face from film or television.
“You know, you could be in the movies.”
Amy jumped at the sound of an unfamiliar voice as a man in an immaculate black suit slid in the chair across from her.
His hair was as dark as his suit and was slicked back to rest almost directly on his skull and on his wrist a diamond encrusted watch sparkled and caught the light; the only element of color in his whole outfit.
“Sorry, do I know you?” Amy asked, feeling uneasy.
“No, but you should. I’m Mitch Johnson.”
Mitch Johnson whipped his business card out from within his suite with skilled precision and slid it across the table to Amy. She picked it up and read it aloud.
“Mitch Johnson, agent to the stars.”
“That’s right. I represent all the big names.”
“Okay,” Amy wondered what he wanted with her.
“You might have heard of Caroline Demure. She’s one of my biggest clients.”
“Oh yes, I’ve seen some of her movies,” Amy answered politely.
“You were really quite something out on the dance floor,” Mitch commented a little lustfully.
“Oh, thank you,” Amy blushed, feeling embarrassed.
“Have you ever thought about being in the movies?”
“What, me? Oh no, I’m a teacher.”
“I didn’t ask what you did, I asked about what you want to do,” Mitch declared emphatically.
“A girl with your looks, grace, and Josh Roberts on your arm…you could be a sensation.”
Amy bristled at this, not liking the implication that she was with Josh to further her own agenda to becoming famous.
“I’m perfectly hap
py being a teacher, thank you.”
“No teacher moves like you did. I peg you as a stripper. Did Josh pick you up earlier tonight?” Mitch asked bluntly.
“Goodness no!” Amy cried angrily, feeling both insulted and hurt by the accusation.
“I teach at the local college. That’s where I met Josh. And before you say anything else smutty I teach English Literature.”
“Whoa, okay, didn’t mean to offend. Josh has brought strippers to events like these before. Hookers too.” Mitch said spitefully.
“Well I’m neither,” Amy said, crossing her arms defiantly. “And I think it’s time you left, Mr. Johnson.”
“Okay, but if you decide you want to make a name for yourself, give me a call,” Mitch flicked out another business card as he left.
Amy sighed and let her head fall in her hands, wondering what on earth she was doing at this party. She’d never felt more out of her depth and where was Josh– shouldn’t he be back by now?
****
Josh strode confidently through the party towards the men’s restroom. He was surely the envy of every guy in there as he was with the most stunning woman in the room. The way Amy had danced had blown his mind. She could move amazingly well and he didn’t dare let his mind wander to what that could mean, at least not yet.
And then that kiss, it was amazing. Josh could still feel his entire body tingling from it. He wanted to suggest they just leave the party and head back to his hotel but he knew Amy wasn’t like that and he didn’t want to risk ruining everything between them. She was the sort of woman who deserved to be respected. Unlike…
“Joshie!”
As if on cue Caroline appeared and planted a giant kiss on Josh’s cheek, leaving a red stain behind.
“Caroline,” Josh tried to get away from her but she blocked his path.
“Surprised to see me?” she asked angrily.
“Not really,” Josh answered dismissively.
“Well since you didn’t ask me to come to the party I thought I’d just find my own way anyway.” Caroline explained, placing her hands on her hips.
“Good for you, have fun.”
Josh tried to walk away but she blocked his path again.
“I thought maybe you’d be pleased to see me, but instead I find out you are here with some nobody!”
“She’s not a nobody.” Josh defended.
“What are you trying to do to me, Josh? To us? We had a plan, to be the biggest couple in Hollywood and you’re blowing it!”
“Caroline I don’t want to be with you, accept it.” Josh said angrily.
“You’re fooling yourself!” Caroline replied, on the verge of tears.
Her long black false eyelashes fought to hold back the stem of tears which wanted to break free.
Changing tactics she leaned in close to Josh so that he could smell her perfume. She ran her hand down his back and led it all the way to his thigh where she let it settle suggestively.
“We’re good together, Josh,” she purred in his ear.
“We know each other, what we like…what we don’t like,” she drew circles in his leg with her long false nails as she spoke.
“We know how to drive each other wild,” she was in full seductress mode now, her eyes half closed, her voice soft.
“Remember that night at the film premiere last year? It was a party, just like this, and we stole away, unable to wait to have each other.”
As much as he didn’t want to remember, Josh felt himself being drawn back to that night when he had some of the wildest sex he’d ever had, and the next day it was all over the front of the papers as they’d been caught on CCTV.
It was a huge media scandal but it boosted both his and Caroline’s careers considerably. He could tell she was taunting him, that she wanted the same thing to happen here, tonight.
“I’ve already found a room upstairs we could use,” she told him, confirming his suspicions.
“Why don’t we go and recreate some magic?”
The part of Josh which was led primarily by his physical desires was desperate to go. Desperate to have another passion-filled wild night but this time his heart spoke up; something which it had never done before.
It told him how sex with Caroline would be empty, as it always was…which was ultimately unsatisfying. With Amy he had a chance at something real.
“And who leaked the footage?” Josh asked, pulling away from Caroline and the spell she was attempting to cast.
“What?” she asked, confused at having been broken off mid-flow.
“You came back, got the footage and leaked it to the media, all because of that piece of shit agent of yours, Mitch, thought it would be a good idea.”
“That’s not true.”
“Of course it is. And all the while you were sleeping with me you were blowing Mitch, everyone knew it. He used to brag about it all the time. It’s the only reason he took you on as a client!”
Caroline’s face burnt red with fury.
“Leave Mitch out of this!” she yelled.
“Why? The guy’s a scumbag and you are just a slut. Stay the hell away from me, I don’t want to catch anything you’ve got,” Josh tossed her aside and began to walk away but she followed behind, shouting at him.
“She’s just a nobody!” she screamed, causing people to look at the drama unfolding before them at the party.
Caroline’s lashes were now unable to hold her tears and she was crying as she spoke, her famous physique shaking slightly with it.
“She won’t make you happy! No one can but me!”
“Goodbye Caroline!”
“You’ll come back, you always do!”
****
Amy was getting seriously concerned about where her date had gone when another man sat down opposite her at the table. A man she immediately recognized.
Clark Smith-Jackson was forty five and the most famous playboy in the world. He owned a ridiculously successful internet company, several newspapers and a ludicrous amount of real estate.
The previous year Forbes had cited him as the third most wealthy man in the world. And it showed.
He wore a crisp suit, set off by all the diamond encrusted jewellery he wore. His hair was silver, cut short and modern in style, and his blue eyes regarded Amy mischievously.
He was arrogant yet accomplished. While Josh was known as being reckless and treating women badly, Clark had a reputation for being a sensational lover and for the brief time he was with a woman, he made her feel like an absolute princess. He was a modern day gentleman and most women melted at just seeing him.
Even Amy had to admit that he had an allure.
“Can I help you?” she asked, wondering why he had sat down.
“Do you know what I do when I see a beautiful woman?” Clark asked.
“No.”
“I come over, I sit with her, and I get her a drink.”
“Okay,” Amy replied uneasily.
“So,” Clark smiled, revealing two rows of perfect teeth. “What are you drinking?”
“Oh, no thank you,” Amy waved her hand dismissively.
“No? Because you are here with Josh Roberts and you are waiting for him to come back?” Clark asked.
“Well, yes,” Amy admitted.
“Sweetheart, Josh Roberts is a boy. I’m a man. Do you know what he does at events like these? He goes and has sex with that little tart Demure and they film it and then leak it to the press to advance their sad little careers. Whereas when I see a striking woman, engage her in conversation and get to know her. Then the next day I fly her out to my private island.”
“Sounds exotic,” Amy smiled, feeling rather unimpressed with Clark’s attack on Josh.
“It is. I could see you there… lying in a hammock, wearing just a smile.”
Amy blushed but it was all a bit much for her, Clark was old enough to be her father! She wasn’t interested in his wealth, or his island, she liked Josh. She already knew about the video, she doubted there w
as anyone in the world who hadn’t heard about it.
“I’m flattered, Mr. Smith-Jackson, really I am. But I’m after a boy, not a man.” She smiled sweetly as Clark’s face soured and he got up and left.
Hollywood Heartthrob Page 6
