Star of His Heart

by Brenda Jackson

  There was no one who could say his and Rachel’s relationship on the set had been anything other than professional. And as far as her being in the spotlight, he thought she didn’t give herself enough credit for handling things. He knew the media could sometimes be relentless, but because of their families, he and Rachel had been born into the spotlight anyway and the key was not avoiding it but dealing with it.

  As he continued on the drive home, he finally admitted something else. Something he’d known for a while but just hadn’t acknowledged. He had fallen in love with Rachel. And because he loved her, he didn’t want to sneak around to be with her. He wanted everyone to know the woman he loved and adored, the woman who could make him smile just by being close to him. The woman he wanted to bring home to meet his family.

  The woman he wanted to marry.

  He wanted Rachel, and only Rachel, to become Mrs. Ethan Chambers. He wanted her to be the mother of his children. To walk by his side for always.

  He gripped the steering wheel, knowing those thoughts were true. Every single one of them. But they were thoughts he could not share with Rachel. She didn’t love him, and she didn’t want to share a future with him.

  Two days later Paige was back in his face again, reiterating her demands.

  Ethan gave her his total attention, squaring off and looking her right in the eyes with an adamant expression. “Look, Paige, I told you once before that I’m not taking you to the wrap party and I meant it. My feelings haven’t changed.”

  He saw the anger build in her features. Her jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed. “Then you leave me no choice. Now everyone will know what you and Rachel have been doing behind their backs.”

  Then she walked off.

  Ethan got into his car, pissed but still positive he was handling the nagging woman the only way he could. He decided to forgo the air-conditioning on the ride home, preferring the warm breeze against his face. He imagined the stench of Paige Stiles being blown off him.

  As if he’d warded it away, any thought of the encounter dared not enter his mind. Until the next night when his cell phone rang.

  How Joe Connors, of all people, had gotten his cell phone number, Ethan didn’t know and didn’t waste his time asking.

  “What do you want, Connors?” he asked instead.

  “I like you, Chambers. You’re different from most of the stars out there who can be anal, so I’m giving you a heads-up. You and your lady have been exposed. Not by me, but by a tip we received. And there are pictures, nothing sleazy, but pictures that will substantiate this person’s claim. They are pretty damn excited over here, and I understand the article, pictures and all, hits tomorrow’s paper.”

  Ethan felt his heart drop to his feet. He drew in a deep breath, knowing he had to get in touch with Rachel. She had volunteered to be a chaperone to Disneyland for a group of kids who attended the school where Charlene worked as a voice coach. She wasn’t scheduled to return until late tonight.

  When Ethan didn’t say anything, Joe Connors continued, “I can’t give you details but I can tell you the headline of the article isn’t pretty.”

  Dread turned to anger, and it raced through Ethan. “Thanks for the heads-up.”

  Ending the call, he tried to reach Rachel. He had to prepare her for whatever the article said and assure her they would handle it, work through it and deal with it.

  He only hoped she’d believe him.

  Rachel finished taking her shower and was about to settle in for the night when she checked her messages on her cell phone. She lifted a brow. She had several missed calls from Ethan and just as many text messages and they all said the same thing: “Call ASAP.”

  Wondering at the urgency, she was about to punch in his phone number when there was loud knock at her door. After running downstairs she took a quick look through her peephole and saw Ethan. She quickly opened her door.

  “Ethan, what is—”

  He suddenly pulled her into his arms and kissed her, kicking the door closed behind him as he continued kissing her and sweeping her off her feet, into his arms.

  She always enjoyed being kissed by him and today was no exception. His lips moved hungrily over hers and instinctively she melted against him, loving the feel of being in his arms. She whimpered his name when moments later he pulled his mouth away.

  “Rachel, sweetheart, we need to talk.”

  She saw they were no longer at the door, but he had carried her across the room and had taken a seat on the sofa with her cradled in his arms. She had been so wrapped up in their kiss she hadn’t noticed the movement.

  It was then that she remembered the missed calls and text messages. “What about?” Her voice sounded wobbly from the impact of his kiss.

  He continued to hold her tightly against him and when he didn’t answer her, she glanced up into his eyes. She had been with Ethan long enough to know when he was deeply troubled. She pulled herself up. “What is it, Ethan?”

  “I need to prepare you for something.”

  “What?”

  “The tabloids know about us, thanks to Paige, and The Wagging Tongue is breaking the story tomorrow. Someone I know on the inside called and gave me a heads-up.”

  Rachel felt as if someone had just doused her with a pail of cold water right in her face. She jumped out of his lap. “What?”

  “Yes, baby, I know. This is not how you wanted things, but together we’ll deal with it.”

  She backed away from him. “No, no, this can’t be happening…” Shaking her head as if to get her thoughts in order, she asked, “What does Paige have to do with it?”

  Ethan rubbed his hand over his face. “Earlier in the week she approached me claiming she knew about us and threatening to go to Frasier and John if I didn’t begin dating her. She figured her name connected to mine would take her places. I flatly refused and two days ago, when she approached me again and I refused again, she got mad. I guess this is her way of getting retaliation.”

  Rachel’s head began pounding. “She approached you earlier in the week and you didn’t mention it to me?”

  He came to his feet and faced her. “I didn’t want to upset you and I was hoping she would drop it.”

  Rachel pulled in a deep breath. “Paige is like a sore that only festers. She’s never cared for me, Ethan. Jealousy is deeply embedded in any decision she makes about me. She’s always wanted you, and for her to find out you and I have been involved in an affair, there’s no way she would have dropped it. You should have told me.”

  “Maybe I should have, but I didn’t want you upset.”

  “Well, now I am upset. I am livid. I am mad as hell.”

  He reached out for her. “The truth is out, baby, and we’ll deal with it.”

  She pulled away from him. “It’s not that easy, Ethan. It’s my privacy and professionalism being threatened.”

  “And I still say we will deal with it, Rachel. When we’re approached we’ll tell them the truth.”

  “No, we won’t! We will deny everything. They can’t prove anything.”

  “I’m not sure about that. The person I talked to claims there are pictures.”

  “Pictures! Oh my God!” She dropped down on the sofa and covered her face with her hands.

  Ethan went to her and pulled her into his arms. He’d never seen her this upset. “Rachel, the best thing to do is not to deny anything. We’re two consenting adults who—”

  “Should not have let things get out of hand. We should not have gotten involved in the first place since we knew what was at risk.”

  “But we did and we need to own up to it and not let the tabloids or anyone else control our lives or our relationship.”

  She jerked out of his arms. “No! You make it sound so easy and it’s not. Don’t you understand what I’ll be going through, Ethan? Don’t you understand? You like this sort of stuff. It makes you who you are, but it can only destroy me.”

  “Rachel, we can deal with it. Together.”

&nbs
p; “No! That’s just it. We can’t be together. That will just be more fuel for their fire. We have to end things between us now.”

  “That’s not going to happen, Rachel. I won’t give you up because of any damn tabloid,” he said angrily.

  She glared up at him. “You don’t have a choice because I’m ending things between us, Ethan. I can’t sacrifice a professional career I’ve worked hard to build or a private life I’ve tried hard to preserve. Besides, our affair was about nothing but sex anyway.”

  Her words were like a backhanded slap to Ethan’s face and he felt the pain in the depths of his heart. “You don’t mean that, Rachel,” he said softly.

  He refused to believe all the time they’d spent together had been about nothing but sex. Maybe that had been the case the first few times, but there was no way he would believe she didn’t care for him the way he cared for her. No way.

  “I love you, Rachel. Our times together weren’t just about sex for me and I refuse to believe that’s the way it was for you. And I won’t deny what we shared to anyone. I won’t make it into some backstreet, sleazy affair. I’ve never loved a woman before you, and I hope that you’ll realize that our love—yes, our love—will be able to deal with anything. Together. You know how to reach me when you do.”

  He then turned and left.

  Chapter 17

  By noon on Saturday, Rachel was ready to have a stiff drink. The entire bottle, if necessary. Her phone hadn’t stopped ringing. Some calls she had answered and some she had not.

  Ethan’s calls were some of the ones she had not.

  It seemed everyone was shocked by the tabloid’s allegations that she’d been having a secret affair with Ethan, but they were happy if she had. Uncle Jacob and Aunt Lily told her not to be bothered by the accusations. Sofia inquired as to how she was holding up but didn’t ask any specifics about the affair. So far no one believed the tabloid’s headline that she only got involved with Ethan to further her career. That was so far from the truth. She had already had an up-and-coming career before Ethan appeared on the scene. But the goal of the tabloids was to sell papers, and with those kinds of accusations and the photos of them kissing in the studio lot, they created the sensationalism they craved.

  Thanks to Charlene, who’d shown up for breakfast with a copy of The Wagging Tongue in her hand, she’d been forced to see the article. She wished she could claim the picture plastered on the front page had been doctored, but it hadn’t.

  Evidently, Paige had been around that night Ethan had shown up in the trailer unexpectedly. After they’d made love, he had walked her to her parked car. Since it was late, they assumed everyone had left and, before getting in her car, Ethan had pulled her into his arms and given her a very heated kiss. What she considered a special moment between them had been reduced to something sleazy, thanks to Paige and her cell phone camera.

  She looked up from the book she’d been trying unsuccessfully to read when her house phone rang. She hoped the caller wasn’t Ethan again. She couldn’t help but smile when she heard the voice of Carmen Aiken on her answering machine.

  “Rachel, I know you’re there, so pick up this phone!”

  Carmen was an Oscar-winning actress who was married to director/producer Matthew Birmingham. She and Carmen had become good friends when Carmen, new to Hollywood at the time, had been cast in one of Matt’s movies. Rachel had been the makeup artist on the set.

  She reached for the phone and answered, “Okay, so you knew I was here.”

  “You’ve been holding back on me, girl. Ethan Chambers! Why did you keep that hunk a secret?”

  Rachel wished it had been a secret she could have shared, but the only people who’d known about her affair with Ethan had been Charlene and Livia. “You know why, Carmen.”

  “Yes, I know how brutal the tabloids can be. Remember, I was a victim of their gossip for a while. Even after Matt and I remarried, they claimed we did it as a way to get publicity for his next movie.”

  Rachel was aware of that lie. Carmen and Matt had been divorced for a little over a year and had remarried last month. Rachel was glad they had worked out their differences and had gotten back together. She didn’t know of any couple who deserved each other more.

  “It really doesn’t matter what those reporters think. It’s how you feel, Rachel. I can tell from the photo that was one hell of a kiss he gave you. You’re probably the envy of a lot of women today.”

  Rachel drew in a deep breath. Charlene had said the same thing, but it really didn’t matter. She wanted no part of the tabloids and no part of Ethan.

  She couldn’t help but remember what he’d said before leaving and in the messages he’d left on her answering machine and cell. He said he loved her.

  Well, she loved him, too, but in this case love would not be enough.

  Carmen breached her silence. “I don’t want you to make the same mistake I made, Rachel, by letting the tabloids rule your life.”

  Moments later when Rachel ended her call with Carmen, she knew it was too late. The tabloids were already ruling her life.

  “What do you want, Curtis?”

  “I like the publicity, Ethan, but you could have hooked up with another woman. It would have benefited your career a lot more had she been a model or an actress. She’s a makeup artist, for crying out loud, regardless of the fact her last name is Wellesley.”

  An angry Ethan slouched back against the sofa with a beer bottle in one hand and his cell phone in the other. He didn’t give a royal damn whether Curtis liked the publicity or not. That last comment alone meant the man’s days as his agent were numbered.

  When Ethan didn’t say anything, Curtis continued, “Now what we need to do is to play our cards right with this publicity and keep it moving. But you need to get rid of the broad in that picture and get someone more newsworthy. Someone like Rayon Stewart. We can work the angle that Rachel Wellesley was just someone you were sleeping with while waiting for Rayon Stewart to end things with Artis Lomax.”

  “Go to hell, Curtis.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I said, go to hell. By the way, as of now, you’re no longer my agent. You’re fired.”

  He then hung up the phone and took a swig of his beer. He refused to let anyone put Rachel down. She was the best thing to ever happen to him, and he loved her and not some model or Hollywood actress.

  He reached for his cell phone and punched in her number. He knew she was at her condo hiding out. He’d tried calling her all day but she refused to take any of his calls.

  Joe Connors had been right. The article hadn’t been pretty and had made Rachel look like a schemer who had used their affair to build her career. No doubt that was the story Paige had told the tabloids and they had run with it. If anyone would have bothered to check, they would have known it was all lies fabricated by a jealous woman.

  When Rachel didn’t answer, Ethan clicked off the phone before standing and moving to the window. The paparazzi was out there and had been all day, waiting for him to come out with a story. Well, he didn’t have one. At the moment, the only thing he had was heartache.

  Rachel braced herself for work Monday, knowing everyone had probably seen the tabloid’s article. She had decided the best thing to do was to deal with it and move on. She had worked too hard to build her career to do otherwise.

  Ethan had continued to call her through late last night and had called her again this morning. By her not answering his calls, she hoped he now realized she hadn’t changed her mind. Ending things between them had been the best thing to do. It was important that anyone expecting drama would get the professional she had always been.

  She appreciated that the studio lot was private. But that didn’t stop the paparazzi from being crowded out front with their cameras ready to get a shot of her when she arrived at work. A few even tried blocking her car from going through the gate.

  From the way everything got quiet when she walked onto the set, it was obvious she had been th
e topic of conversation. She gave everyone her cheery hello as usual while heading toward the trailer, but she didn’t miss Paige’s comment, which was intentionally loud enough for anyone to hear. “And she actually thought someone like Ethan Chambers could be interested in her?”

  Rachel refused to turn and comment, but she couldn’t help the smile when she heard Livia speak up. “Evidently he was interested in her, since she’s the one with him in that photo, Paige.”

  Livia’s words had no doubt hit a nerve with Paige, since everyone on set had seen her flirting outrageously with Ethan. Tae’Shawna had been just as bad. Some people on set had placed bets on which of the two—Paige or Tae’Shawna—would finally get his attention. Neither had.

  Rachel kept walking to her trailer, intent on not being around when Ethan arrived. It would be bad enough having to work with him on the set knowing they would be the subject of everyone’s attention. She needed to get herself together before seeing him.

  She appreciated her two assistants giving their support with words of encouragement and letting her know if she and Ethan were an item, that meant he had good taste.

  For the next hour or so she went about her day as usual, and when it was time for her to go out on the set she left her trailer. The last thing she wanted was to give the impression she was hiding out.

  Ethan and Livia were in the middle of a scene where Dr. Duncan was explaining to Dr. Perry why they couldn’t be together and why they needed to end things. Boy, that sounded familiar.

  Several people turned to look at her, including Frasier and John, who both gave her nods. If they believed the tabloid story, then they knew she and Ethan had broken the show’s rule. In which case, she knew her job was in jeopardy. If they had to choose which of them to keep, no doubt Ethan would stay, since he was their star.

  “Freeze! Rachel, kill that shine on Ethan.”