“That’s good.”
“He mentioned a party. Some big shindig wrapping Colt’s movie? My understanding is that you’ve been invited.”
“I’ll be there.” Sable hadn’t known how to decline. “It isn’t until next week. Monday. Since today is Thursday…”
“You have three whole days to fill.”
“Right.”
“When was the last time you took a vacation?”
Sable frowned. What did that have to do with anything? “I’m always taking time off.”
“A day here. Two there. I’m talking about a real vacation. A week or two—completely away from work.”
What do you think this was? Sable almost asked. For all intents and purposes, her time in Hollywood had been nothing but fun and games. And a lot of amazing sex. She didn’t need a vacation. She needed to get away from Colt. To think and clear her mind. Sable couldn’t think of a better way to do that than working a real job.
“Alex.” Sable hated the catch in her voice. She swallowed and tried again. “A couple of days. Please.”
“There’s a job in San Francisco. It’s only one night. You follow a guy around on Sunday night. In and out. I was going to send Baxter but if you want it, it’s yours.”
“Sold.” Sable had never been as grateful to her boss as she was right now.
“I’ll text you the information. It won’t hurt to get up there a few days early. Check in with the client. Get the lay of the land.”
“I can leave right away.”
“Tonight? Jesus, Sable. What are you running from?”
Myself. But she didn’t want to open that can of worms.
“Call it a breather.” Sable rolled her eyes. She used to be a better liar. “I’ve spent too much time with one client. It’s time for a change of scenery.”
“If you say so. I see there’s a flight out of LAX in three hours. Can you make it?”
“Not a problem.”
“Sable.”
“I know what you’re going to say, Alex. I can’t talk about it. Not now.”
“Okay. But remember. You have a lot of friends who are good listeners.”
Sable hung up, thankful that she had an understanding boss. And a friend who understood when to back off. He could have pushed. Instead, he gave her what she asked for with few questions asked. Those would come later when she was home in Harper Falls.
Sable didn’t have the answers. Not now. In a week? A month? Ever? Only time would tell.
SABLE PACKED ONLY the things she had brought with her when she arrived in Los Angeles.
This wasn’t a glamorous assignment. It would be her job to ride shotgun with a nervous scientist while he delivered some papers from one lab to another. It seemed silly, but a lot could happen from point A to point B. Especially when it involved something experimental and potentially worth millions of dollars.
This wasn’t her first such assignment—and it wouldn’t be her last. Alex called them their bread and butter. Small, fast, and profitable.
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
“It’s my job. It doesn’t have to make sense to you.”
Colt paced the bedroom floor, a scowl marring his forehead. It formed when she had told him about the sudden assignment and hadn’t eased. Not on the ride to the loft nor while she packed.
“Why now? Why you?”
“I told you. The client is jumpy. I’ve worked with him before and he specifically requested that I take the job.”
It was a lie. Bold-faced and obvious. At least to her. But Colt didn’t comment. Maybe she hadn’t lost her touch after all.
“Sounds fishy.”
Okay. Her prevarication skills needed some work. Damn Colt. He was such an open, straight to the point kind of guy. Apparently some of that had rubbed off on her.
“You should have stayed at your parents’ house. There was no need for you to interrupt the party. I could have called a cab.”
“Are you coming back?”
“Of course. I’ll be here for the party.” Sable plastered a bright smile on her face before exiting the closet.
Colt gave her a long, searching look. She didn’t know what he saw, but to her relief, he kept it to himself.
“At least let me drive you to the airport.”
“And cause a stampede? If one fan gets a glimpse of you, thousands will follow.”
“Thousands?” Colt smiled for the first time in almost an hour. For him, that had to be a record.
“Hundreds?”
It felt good to tease him. Almost as good as when his arms slipped around her waist.
“Try again.” Colt nuzzled her ear.
“At least ten,” Sable grinned. One brush of his lips and her body relaxed. His kisses were so much better than Xanax. Unfortunately, they were highly addictive.
“Now you’ve wounded me. A shot,” Colt made the sound of an arrow hitting its target, “straight to my ego.”
“It, and you will survive.” Reluctantly, Sable backed away, picking up her bag. “The taxi will be here at any moment.”
“Sable.”
“Yes?”
She held her breath. There was something in Colt’s eyes. Something anxious. Intense. Frightening. Suddenly, she wanted him to speak more than she wanted to breathe. Her phone buzzed. Glancing down, she released the air from her lungs. Whatever he had been about to say would have to wait.
“That’s my ride.” When Colt started to follow, Sable held up a hand. “Stay here.”
“You’re off the clock.” Colt took her hand, kissing the back. “I can come and go as I please.”
“What will you do without me to keep you out of trouble?” she asked lightly.
“I have no idea.”
Four words. Simple. Brief. But Colt’s answer—and the look in his deep blue eyes as the elevator doors closed—would stay with her all the way to San Francisco—and back.
UNEVENTFUL AND BORING. There was no other way to describe the last four days. Not even a hilariously awkward sexual proposition could lift her trip from anything but what she had to call drudgery.
Her cute nerd scientist client didn’t know the first thing about talking to a woman. He stammered and blushed. Sable found it adorable. Another time she might have kissed him and seen where it would lead. But that was B.C. Before Colt. No man, not even one as sweet as Dr. Joshua Lowenstein, could measure up. The bar had been set at a very high level. Too high.
Sable spent most of her time kicking herself for not being with Colt. She had panicked. There was no other way to put it. She saw her time with him ending and she didn’t have the guts to say what she wanted to say.
I love you. How difficult could it be? People said it every day. But not Sable. No. Rather than act like a reasonable adult, she begged her boss for a lame-ass job that anyone with half a brain and a license to carry a gun could have done. And from what she could tell whenever she went to the local range, there were plenty of gun owners who fit that description.
Sable shook off her wandering thoughts. She was in Los Angeles. In a car. Watching the buildings go by. Not exactly full circle—but close enough. Seven weeks ago, she had no idea how her life was about to change. She had thought that acting as Colton Landis’ bodyguard would be fun. A breeze. She pictured a little flirting. Maybe a few easy kisses. If she decided to take the leap and Colt was amenable? A brief, no-strings affair.
Fun and breezy? Absolutely. Colt made her laugh. He was the least negative person she had ever known.
A few kisses? Hardly. It would be fruitless—but pleasurable—to try to count how many they had exchanged.
As for the no-strings affair? The person who said, be careful what you ask for, would laugh his ass off if he could see Sable now. She wasn’t dealing with strings. They were ropes. Tied in big, intricate knots. Just like her stomach.
The taxi pulled to a stop outside of Colt’s loft. She paid the driver, exiting with her case in one hand and her metaphorical heart in the other.<
br />
Sable breathed deeply. The Los Angeles air wasn’t quite as clear as Harper Falls. It didn’t have the river view or the pine trees lining the road she took to work each day. But the city had its charms. Number one being the man who lived twelve flights up.
Instead of walking into the lobby, Sable went around the side of the building and down the ramp to the garage. It felt natural entering this way, and it meant she avoided any prying eyes that she might encounter in the lobby. She laughed at herself. Thinking about her privacy was another offshoot of spending so much time with Colt.
The elevator doors were in sight when a disturbing thought suddenly crossed her mind. What if Colt had the security updated while she was gone? Not likely. But it would certainly alert her to his feelings. A man didn’t lock out the woman he loved.
Heart racing, Sable leaned in, letting the light scan her retina. When she heard the familiar beep, and the doors slid open, she let out a sigh. One hurdle out of the way.
The ride to the top seemed to take forever. Until she was staring at the living room sofa and couldn’t make her feet move. Then it seemed like it had taken a few seconds. She wasn’t ready. When she thought of it later, Sable was embarrassed that she had reached for the button. But before she could do it, Beauty stood before her, half in the loft, half in the elevator.
Tail wagging with the force of a small engine, the dog cocked her head to one side as though asking, “Well? What are you waiting for?” Then she plopped on her back and offered a very furry tummy for Sable to scratch.
“You took the decision out of my hands,” Sable laughed. She gave Beauty a thorough pet—head and stomach—then whispered, “Thank you.”
“She is such an attention hound. No pun intended.”
Sable looked up to see Paige walking from the kitchen. She carried a bowl of water in her hand. Carefully, she laid out a towel on the hardwood floor, before setting the bowl on top.
“There you go, Beauty.” Done with Sable, Beauty trotted over to the blonde who patted the dog’s head.
Paige smiled at Sable. “She spills as much on the floor as she swallows.”
“So I see.”
The sounds of a big, enthusiastic tongue lapping water filled the room. Sable didn’t know why, but she felt awkward and unsure what to say.
“Colt isn’t here,” Paige told her.
“He isn’t?” Frowning, Sable looked at her watch. “It’s only four o’clock. It’s too soon for him to be at the party.”
“There were some last minute details he wanted to go over with Callie.” Paige shook her head at Beauty, who had finished drinking. “I know what you want. What did Nate say? No snacks between meals. Remember?”
Beauty turned her head one way, then the other. Her big, brown eyes pleading.
“Fine,” Paige sighed, but there was a twinkle in her eyes. “One biscuit. But don’t tell Nate.”
Beauty delicately took the treat between her teeth, trotting to the rug. She plucked down and happily began eating.
“Sorry about that.” Paige stood. She and Sable were almost the same height—without heels. Today, Sable wore flats with her jeans. With the strappy sandals that went perfectly with the body-hugging coral-colored dress, Paige topped her by four inches. “We have a daily routine. A little more polish and we’re taking it on the road.”
Sable had questions—lots of them. But she didn’t know where to start. Not without sounding a little crazy. Sorting through and discarding most of them, she picked one that seemed relatively innocuous.
“Why are you here?” She added quickly, “Not that it isn’t great to see you.”
“But I wasn’t who you expected,” Paige smiled knowingly. “Colt didn’t want you to come back to an empty loft. I, along with Beauty, volunteered to be your official greeters.
“Was I wrong to hope he’d be here?”
“No.” Paige gave her an understanding look. “When you left, Colt wondered if you were coming back.”
Sable wanted to have this conversation with Colt. But she understood. If the tables were turned, she wouldn’t be here either. On the other hand…
“I texted.”
“ETA between four and five? Be still my beating heart.”
Well, crap.
“I love that the Landis family is close,” Sable sighed. “But do you have to share everything?”
“Not everything,” Paige assured her. “Colt was a bit… incredulous. He passed his phone around asking, ‘What the hell? She’s been out of touch for almost four days and this is all I get?’“
Sable frowned. “I have things to say.”
“And?”
“And I want to say them to Colt. Not with a text. Or on the phone. To him. Face to face.”
“Why didn’t you say so?”
Paige grabbed Sable’s hand, pulling her toward the bedroom.
“All of a sudden, we’re in a hurry?”
“I feel energized. The party starts at seven. It is now,” Paige scanned the room for a clock, “ten to five. Two hours to get you ready, drive to Callie and Caleb’s where my dress is waiting. Then off to the Four Seasons.”
“I thought this was a wrap party for Colt’s movie? You’re going? The Four Seasons? It sounds like a big deal.”
“You know the Landis clan,” Paige said with a wave of her hand. “The bigger, the better.”
“It’s a wrap party.”
Bewildered, Sable followed Paige into the closet. A small party meant a few drinks. Casual. Friendly. A place where she could ply Colt with some liquor, coax him onto the dance floor, and find a cozy place to be alone. But no one gathered at the Four Seasons for beer and chips.
“Colt decided to use the occasion as a charity event. You know how people are. The more celebrities and champagne, the looser they get with the purse strings.”
“Stupid. Why not save the money they spend on a new dress and give to charity?”
“I agree, in theory. But this is a time-honored method—because it works. And speaking of new dresses. Ta da!”
“Wow.”
Dazzled, Sable stared, unable to take her eyes off the garment draped over Paige’s arm. The color was hard to describe. It was a shade she didn’t recognize.
“What shade is that?” she mused.
“That’s what I asked. Promise you won’t laugh? Colt calls it Sable blue.”
Laugh? Sable wondered how she would keep from crying. Sable blue. The man knew how to go straight to a woman’s heart. Hope. It started down deep, warming her from the inside out.
“You have to hand it those Landis boys.” Paige handed Sable the dress. “They know how to knock a woman for a loop. In a good way.”
“Very good.”
Sable ran her hand over the material. It shimmered—iridescent in the light and slipping like water through her fingers. There wasn’t much to it but what there was, was spectacular. She couldn’t wait to put it on.
“Leave that with me.” Paige laughed when Sable reluctantly let go of the dress. “I promise it will still be here after your shower.”
Sable took one last look before heading for the bathroom. Funny. Her stomach was calm. Her nerves under control. Maybe the dress possessed magic powers. Soothing qualities. Or maybe the jolt of hope it had provided was all the magic she needed.
Sable reached into the shower and turned on the taps. As she undressed, she suddenly realized she was humming. Crocodile Rock. Interesting choice. She thought about Colt singing the same song. The man’s influence seeped into all aspects of her life.
Grinning, she walked under the falling water. She belted out the chorus, singing about a Chevy and some old blue jeans. Sable’s voice didn’t compare to Colt’s, but if she played her cards just right, she might be lucky enough to hear him serenade her from the shower every day for the rest of her life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
THE LOBBY OF the Beverly Hills Four Seasons was always a busy place. However, tonight it was overflowing with more glitz
and glamour than usual.
The management was used to hosting celebrities, dignitaries, heads of state, and a few minor royals. It was their job to make them feel that, while guests of the hotel, they were the most important people to ever walk through the doors.
Sable imagined that if she had arrived by herself, the greeting would have been gracious. But she wasn’t alone. She was surrounded by the top of the Hollywood food chain. The Landis family was as close as it came to royalty in a country that had decisively disposed of the monarchy close to two hundred and fifty years earlier.
Caleb and Callie led the procession. They drew stares as much for their good looks as for who they were. Evening clothes suited the big man. His broad shoulders filled out the perfectly fitted suit. The streaks of gray in his hair didn’t age him. Caleb was the definition of a silver fox.
Callie Flynn, dressed in a gold gown that showed her youthful figure to perfection, walked next to her husband with regal grace.
Garrett and Jade. Nate and Paige. The next generation. Handsome. Beautiful. And obviously, head over heels in love.
No, Sable thought with a smile, it wasn’t her arrival that had the hotel manager fawning with more enthusiasm than usual.
“We are honored that you chose the Four Seasons to host your gala.”
Gala? Now it was a gala?
Sable looked around as they entered the ballroom. It was almost full. Groups of people stood around visiting, accepting glasses filled with sparkling champagne from nattily dressed roaming waiters. To her surprise, Sable recognized many of the faces.
“When did a simple wrap party become a gala?” she whispered.
Jade smiled. “This is Hollywood. There’s an old saying. I went to a party and a gala broke out.”
Sable laughed.
“You got the joke,” Jade said, obviously pleased. Her hair was piled into an artfully messy bun. Her dress hit her mid-thigh, showing off her toned legs. Pink seemed like an incongruous color for a redhead, but on Jade, it worked.
“It was a good one.”
Jade gave Garrett a light jab with her elbow. “I told you so.”
“Jade. Love of my life. That is, what, the fourth time you’ve told that joke? How many laughs have you gotten?”
Dreaming Of Your Love (Hollywood Legends #3) Page 26
