by Sarina Bowen
The couple on stage went into the chorus, singing about hurt. Chase joined in the applause as they left the stage a moment later. A flash of deep purple caught his attention and he saw Jillian from the corner of his eye. She offered him a finger wave and, unsurprisingly, Chase didn’t feel a thing.
It was Nina who held his attention throughout the show. Nina who he wanted to dance with.
Two dates and a single kiss and the woman had his blood at the boiling point.
* * *
Too much. Toomuchtoomuchtoomuch.
The words echoed around in Nina’s mind, in between the moments of absolute non-clarity when Chase’s thigh rubbed against hers. She could smell him in the darkness—kind of woodsy and oceany at the same time. Like he’d just gone for a two-hour hike at Joshua Tree and then topped it off with a swim at Long Beach.
His thumb was doing very erotic things to the back of her hand. It was smoothing clockwise circles against her skin and sometimes tapping along with the beat of a song. He had a callus and as it rubbed against her soft skin thoughts about what that callus might do to other parts of her body beckoned.
When he tap-tap-tapped against her hand, her heartbeat sped up, up, up along with the tempo. When his thumb smoothed to a slow circle it was all she could do not to melt all over him.
She had to get a handle on this.
Only she couldn’t seem to keep anything straight except her attraction to Mr. Totally Wrong For Her. No, he wasn’t in love with Jillian, who sat a few rows behind them and a little to the right. Tiny hairs on the back of Nina’s neck prickled. As the song ended, she risked a glimpse behind her. The other woman scowled in their direction. And for some insane reason that only seemed to magnify Nina’s attraction to Chase.
Those hairs prickled again but this time in reaction to Chase, who was focused intently on her.
“We can ditch Nate and Lily, if it’s a problem for you.” His breath tickled her ear as he whispered the words. She shivered at the almost contact.
“No. I, uh, we have to make this believable.” She leaned in so he could hear her over the applause of the audience. Another wisp of that ocean-forest scent tickled her nose and her nipples tightened. Damn her to hell and back. Chase would never be hers. In a week or two she would be a distant memory to him, but maybe she could work him out of her system—just a little bit—before he was back on the Hollywood Express. “I can’t think of a better way to do that than to have dinner with your sister and her boyfriend.”
“Dinner, then. And the band is doing a private show Friday night, it would make a great second act, if you want to come?”
Nina nodded and whispered, “Yes.”
Chase also nodded and seemed to refocus on the show.
But Nina could only concentrate on the man beside her who was burning her to the ground.
* * *
Chase sat across from Nina on the side bench of the darkened limo. Lily and Nate needed to hurry up or he was going to kiss his business associate like a seventeen-year-old after the prom. And it wouldn’t stop with a single kiss, he was absolutely positive about that.
The feel of her palm under his thumb still burned across his senses. The smell of lilac filled the car.
“So.” She looked around, clenching her hands in her lap as she’d done off and on throughout the show tonight. “Where is this dinner with your family?”
Chase shrugged, he hoped, nonchalantly. “I have no idea—”
The back door opened and his sister peeked her head inside. “You have a date, my handsome brother. Color me impressed.” Lily MacIntyre slid across the bench seat so Nate could join her, and the limo started its slow crawl into traffic. “Hi, I’m Lily, Chase’s better twin half.” She held out her hand and Nina shook it.
“Nina Wright.”
“Wright Industries Wright, yeah?” Lily took off her high-heeled booties and wiggled her toes against the carpet. She didn’t wait for Nina’s reply, just kept talking. “God, I love Brian Atwood but my feet need a break.”
“Yes to the Wright part, but I run a…matchmaking business, I don’t work directly for my father’s company.” Nina reached for the booties. “Are these from the winter line?”
Lily nodded and just like that the women were off and running. Chase watched them through the muted lighting in the back of the car. Lily moved from the back bench to the side, sitting with Nina as if they were old friends and not new acquaintances.
Nina crossed her legs and the slit up the side of the dress opened nearly to her hip.
“Eyes back in your head, buddy, this is a PG-rated car until you drop us off after dinner. Rock ‘n’ roll or not, watching isn’t my thing. Or Lily’s.” Nate’s words brought Chase back to the present and away from ogling the near stranger he was now dating. “Hollywood Madam?”
The words were barely a whisper but they set Chase on edge. “Not even close.”
Nate held up his hands as they passed under a streetlight. “Just a question. And here’s
an observation—Jillian was about to jump over seven rows of donors to get to you tonight.”
“Jillian doesn’t matter.”
“She did last week.”
Chase gritted his teeth. Not even Nate knew the truth about Jillian. And then Nina showed up on the red carpet looking like a siren and all his plans to keep her in the periphery combusted.
The knowledge made Chase itchy. He believed in lust at first sight. In enjoying that lust for as long as both parties were interested and then parting ways. From the moment he’d seen Nina lust had filled his brain. Sometime between that first meeting and now things had gotten messed up. He wanted her but he also felt the need to protect her. Fix things for her. See her not just for one night in his bed but in the morning after, too.
That scared Chase. Because Nina wasn’t a one-night-stand girl. He knew that as well as he knew he wasn’t a long-term guy. He wouldn’t allow love to ruin his life the way it had for his godfather.
* * *
“So, how did you two meet?” Lily waited until the waitress retreated with their order before dropping the bombshell Nina knew was coming.
The four of them sat at a small table on the deck of an exclusive restaurant in Malibu. She hadn’t seen Nate or Chase tip the staff, but they were shown to a quiet corner away from the hustle of the crowd. A few curious glances followed them, but none of the other diners approached.
“I—” Nina stopped talking nearly as quickly as she started. They hadn’t prepared anything for this moment. Of course his sister would want to know details. Sisters always wanted to know. Even while they were gossiping about reality TV stars and which shows were must-see for the fall Fashion Week, Nina sensed the questions Lily was determined to ask.
So much for chatting about the new Stella McCartney line or verbally drooling over the Peter Phan gown Lily wore during the gala. The made-for-glamour dress had been exchanged for a vintage Valentino that made Nina lust almost as hard as she’d been lusting after Chase all week.
Chase reached for her hand. “I went into her office hoping to find a date. And there she was. It’s funny how things work out. From the second I walked into your office, all I could think about was having dinner with you. And here we are.”
Nina was equal parts excited and terrified by his words. Across the table his blue gaze captured hers, and she couldn’t deny the pull of attraction she felt in her belly and saw reflected on his face. “It’s funny how things work out.”
The restaurant faded into the background, the chatter of other patrons stilled. Even the expectant expressions on Lily’s and Nate’s faces were dimmed. It was just Chase and Nina, sitting on the deck of an exclusive restaurant under the stars.
Moonlight danced with a few clouds in the sky, dimming his features and then brightening them, and still Nina was caught in the moment. Unable to look away. Unwilling to break the spell by talking. Or breathing.
“The last thing I expected when I walked through that door wa
s you.”
She treasured the lie, hiding it in her heart to bring out on a night emptied of the magic that was Chase MacIntyre. His hand reached up to caress her cheek and Nina leaned into the touch.
“And the only thing I wanted when you asked me out was to say no.”
A devilish smile stretched Chase’s full lips. “Good thing I rarely take no for an answer.”
She grinned at him. “And it’s a good thing I could only say yes.”
“They’re so cute.” Lily’s words brought her out of the almost-trance. She rubbed her shoulder against Nate’s. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my brother like this.”
The terrified portion of her brain took over, and she couldn’t shut it out.
She needed to remember that this wasn’t real.
Chapter Six
“You like her.”
Chase grabbed a package of freshly baked pita chips from the shelf and tried to ignore his sister. Lily had called twice the day before, presumably to ask about Sunday brunch, but since he’d never missed a regularly scheduled brunch with their parents, he knew the real reason. She was curious about Nina.
Chase was a little curious about her, too.
Nina hadn’t called. Hadn’t texted. Emailed. Facebook messaged or tweeted. This morning a picture from the red carpet made the front page of the society section along with news of their new relationship. The paper chose a frame snapped just as Chase whispered an encouraging word to Nina but because of the angle it appeared as if he was nuzzling her neck. Just the thought of nuzzling that graceful neck made him hard.
But she hadn’t reached out to him about the picture or the success of their little plan or about Friday and so he hadn’t contacted her. He grabbed a triangle of rich cheese and a bunch of grapes. Lily was still talking, her ponytail twisting from side to side as she moved.
“How did you know I’d be here?”
“Happy accident, twins showing up at the same grocer at the same time. You know, the more you don’t say, the more I’m sure you like her. You always talk about the stuff that doesn’t matter. It’s the important things that you stew over.”
“I’m not stewing.” He immediately wished the words back. “Why aren’t you planning a date of your own with my best friend?”
“Told you.” He didn’t have to look to know a superior smiled was stretched across Lily’s face. She rubbed her shoulder against his and then hooked their arms together. “Nate and I are sailing over to Catalina this afternoon, assuming the weather holds. I’m bringing the wine. And you’ll want a nice white or chardonnay to go with those picnic fixings.”
“Who said anything about a picnic?”
Lily picked through the basket, holding up the pita chips and cheese triumphantly. She grabbed a California chardonnay off the shelf and added it to his purchases along with a picnic basket filled with plates, stemware and linen napkins. “A man doesn’t buy all of these things at the same time unless he has something on his mind.”
“Maybe I was just hungry. And the picnic basket was your idea.”
“Maybe I wasn’t born two minutes after you. And only because a sorry excuse for a boyfriend would show up with these treats and paper plates. I’m helping you out.”
“I’m not her boyfriend.”
“So you’re her…”
Chase couldn’t answer the implied question without submarining their big plan so he kept his mouth shut and tossed another bunch of grapes into the basket. “It’s complicated.”
Lily watched him for a long moment. “But you’re not thinking about her. Even though it’s complicated.”
Fine, maybe he was thinking about Nina. Maybe he’d been thinking about her since he walked her to her door Monday night. But checking his phone every other hour, waiting for her call or text or tweet was just part of their arrangement. They were reverse-paparazzi stalking, after all.
And maybe he wasn’t worried when she didn’t call. Or text. Or tweet.
“She’s better for you than Jillian. More honest. Less interested in the celebrity life.”
“And you know this after spending two hours with her?”
Lily nodded, sending her ponytail into another bounce-fest. “I grew up here, remember. In the middle of Dad’s celebrity parties, seeing what the groupies did to get close to his stars. I had you and Nate around me when I was in the middle of the buzz in high school, but I still knew when people were interested in Lily or interested in where I might take them.”
“She’s not interested—at all—in celebrity.”
“Good, that’s the kind of girl you’ve been looking for.”
Chase started for the checkout with Lily close on his heels. “I’m not looking for anything.” Frustration edged his words. He wasn’t looking for anything, and Nina was…almost everything. That was the problem. When this started he wanted his life to get back to normal. Go to the studio, look for new bands and write a few lyrics with Nate. Not court the paparazzi for an extended amount of time. Not find another reason to spend time with a woman who was taking up too much of it.
Certainly not risk his heart on said woman no matter how deep her brown eyes were or how kissable her lips.
How strong she was to forge a path of her own rather than relying on her father’s connections.
Of all the matchmakers in L.A. he had to walk into Nina’s office and now everything he thought he wanted seemed like…less.
“We’re all looking for something, C. You’re just afraid of what happens when you finally find it.”
“Lil, we’re just friends.” Maybe. Almost.
Lily placed her bottle of wine on the counter. “For now. But, Chase, when you open your eyes to everything Nina can be, don’t run from it this time. Being in a relationship doesn’t mean your rambling is over. It doesn’t have to end badly, like Graham’s.”
Their godfather’s name hit him like a punch to the gut. Graham fell for the wrong woman and when she left him and cleaned out his bank accounts, he fell into a bottle of whiskey. Then he fell into a bottle of pills and he was gone. In the past Chase chose women like Jillian because they were easy distractions. No threat to his independence or his heart.
Nina was dangerous on both counts and one more.
“She wants a calm, quiet life. That’s hard enough to find in L.A. without the celebrity factor.” He didn’t want to be Suburban Man. He didn’t want Beverly Hills or Brentwood. He liked his house in Calabasas, liked to hit the road with the band, staying up all night writing with Nate and jetting off to anywhere when things got boring.
Nina was nine to five, planning everything from her breakfast to where her business would be in five years. She couldn’t want what he did.
“There are ways to have that, even with the spotlight. Nate and I are figuring it out and we’ve got spotlights out the wazoo some days.” With that, Lily picked up her purchase and left.
They had made quiet work when they went to the quiet restaurant up the coast.
He’d been considering adding more acts to his client list. The duo from Star Power was one. Additional clients meant he wouldn’t travel with Nate’s band as often.
They could do normal—pose for the cameras only on special occasions but live life as they had on Tuesday. Quiet dinners. Time alone.
He paid for the picnic supplies and carried them to the car. Gray clouds had rolled in from the sea but they weren’t too threatening. There was really only one thing to do. Nina probably wanted out of the spotlight as soon as the paps moved on, but he wouldn’t know without taking a chance.
Like the chance that sent him to the store at ten in the morning. He put the Corvette in gear and turned toward Nina’s office.
* * *
“So I just fielded the third phone call from a reporter who wanted to talk to you about this ‘hot new romance—’” Cassidy air-quoted the words “—you’re in with Chase MacIntyre. I offered the standard ‘no comment.’ But, Nina, this is the second day of no calls about our little ca
ll-girl circle. You think we’ve turned the corner?”
Nina twisted her mouth to the side. She hadn’t had any calls on her private line or emails to her personal account, either. A few past clients had called to apologize, but so far none had signed back up.
But the lack of new clients was less of a bother than the other person who wasn’t calling. Or texting. Or messaging through Facebook. After the kiss outside the restaurant and the moment after the gala she had hoped…
Please, Nina, it’s barely eleven the morning after Date Three. It isn’t like he’s obligated to check in every two minutes.
“If we start getting calls from new—or old—clients about fix-ups, we’ll have turned the corner. Until then, we’re treading water.” Barely. She closed out of the spreadsheet detailing her impending financial ruin and put on a brave face for Cassidy. “At least we’re not being water-boarded.”
“Five new client emails came in this morning.” Cassidy sank into the chair opposite Nina’s desk. “Plus, there are no photographers on our sidewalk.”
“Both solid happenings.”
“So why are you sitting behind your desk daydreaming when we should be celebrating with chocolate mojitos?”
“I didn’t say anything about Chase.”
Cassidy smiled smugly. “And I didn’t say you were daydreaming about him. I just mentioned daydreaming.”
Damn. Cassidy knew her too well, one of the drawbacks of going into business with your best friend. Nina shook her head. “I was actually going over the financials.”
“You went over the financials yesterday—”
Nina interrupted before Cassidy could really get going. “My father still wants to shut us down. Apparently my being seen on the arm of a rock ‘n’ roll manager is worse than Wright Attraction being associated with prostitution. He’s summoned me to an executive meeting Friday afternoon.” She took a deep breath. “I think I can make the case that the board of directors simply cut us loose. If I sink all Molly’s money into the business, we should be good through December, assuming those new clients continue to call.”
