Table of Contents
~ Look for these titles from Rhonda Laurel ~
Copyright Warning
~ Dedication ~
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
~ About the Author ~
~ Also by Rhonda Laurel ~
~ More Romance from Etopia Press ~
~ Look for these titles from Rhonda Laurel ~
Now Available
Ebb Tide
For the Love of the Game
Shutter
Star Crossed
Rhonda Laurel
Copyright Warning
EBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Etopia Press
1643 Warwick Ave., #124
Warwick, RI 02889
http://www.etopia-press.net
Star Crossed
Copyright © 2013 by Rhonda Laurel
ISBN: 978-1-939194-88-6
Edited by Melinda Fulton
Cover by Valerie Tibbs
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Etopia Press electronic publication: April 2013
~ Dedication ~
To Kate, thanks for making all of my California dreams come true.
Chapter One
The trendy new restaurant, Coriander, was having a busy night, but when the hostess heard that Kate Garrison, President of Atlantis Records and most recent Hollywood scandal victim, was coming to drown her sorrows, she happily made room for her entourage in a private dining room. They filed in and formed a circle around Kate to block the paparazzi from snapping her photo.
After everyone was seated, Kate grabbed the bottle of wine that was sitting in the middle of the table and poured everyone a glass. “Thank you, ladies, for dropping what you were doing to come here tonight.”
“We love you, Kate. Of course we would.” The woman at the end of the table had to yell to be heard.
“A toast.” Sabrina, Kate’s executive assistant, raised her glass.
Kate lifted her wine glass in anticipation of what Sabrina was going to say. But what was there to say about her failing Hollywood marriage? Three weeks prior the news broke that her new husband, film director Jack Pierce, had had a brief fling with one of the actresses of his latest film while on location. Two weeks and six days ago she’d thrown him out of her Malibu beach house and filed for divorce. Barely wed for three months, Kate counted her blessings that her impulsive decision would be undone fairly quickly.
Jack had tried to deny it at first, but his hookup, Brianna Sage, gave full disclosure to a news magazine show, making it a moot point.
He shifted to lavish apologies. Each day he would come up with a new and atrocious way to woo Kate back, and each day she would have a messenger redeliver the divorce papers.
“May that rat bastard rot in hell.” Sabrina took a sip of wine.
Leave it to Sabrina—so brazen and untraditional though nonetheless an excellent assistant and friend—to tell it like it was. Kate looked around the table at the showing of support. Her girlfriends tried to cheer her up, devising evil plots to exact vengeance on Jack and Brianna.
The scandal and the minute-by-minute news coverage didn’t really bother her. But she had ignored that voice inside her that was screaming at her to run the day she married him in Vegas. Jack was a handsome and passionate man driven by his desires. He brought out raw emotion in people and manipulated that energy to make outstanding films. Unfortunately, the same qualities made him a horrible husband. Kate wanted to put it all behind her.
“I heard Brianna has been after Jack for years.” Caitlyn, an actress, patted Kate’s hand.
“Then why did he let her catch him on that shoot? Brianna’s partly to blame, but this mess was Jack not thinking with the head where his brain is housed.” Kate ran her finger along the stem of the wine glass. “Maybe he was rebelling against marriage. Why did he bother proposing to me in the first place?”
“Honey, you’re a hot commodity. In the last three years everything you’ve touched has turned to gold.” Caitlyn gestured toward Kate. “And people are dying to have Jack work on their projects. He probably thought you two would become a Hollywood power couple.”
“He won’t get that with Brianna. She has the look, but she couldn’t act her way out of a paper bag. I bet she’d fail mime school.” Sabrina smirked, looking around the table, and then landed her gaze on Kate’s hand. “Where’s your ring.”
“That ring is expensive fish food by now.”
“You didn’t?”
“I did. Walked out onto the beach and threw it in.”
“Shut up!”
“Technically, I polluted the ocean. I was sorry about that.” Kate cocked an eyebrow.
“Bravo.” Sabrina clapped. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
Caitlyn leaned toward Kate. “At least you got the first marriage out of your system.”
“The first?”
“You’re bound to get married at least two more times.”
The women around the table nodded their heads in agreement.
She didn’t know if it was the chardonnay or the spicy shrimp appetizer, but Kate was beginning to feel ill. She really hadn’t eaten in days. She put up a brave front when she went out, but when she got home, she curled up on the couch in the living room and watched the waves rolling to shore through her big picture window.
She excused herself from the table and asked a waiter to direct her to the restroom. When she reached the end of the corridor Kate muttered a curse. The words Out of Order on the sign on the ladies’ room door read like an epitaph to her bladder.
The gallon of wine she drank wouldn’t wait until the situation with the ladies’ room was resolved. Kate eyed the men’s room door, took a deep breath, turned the handle, and prayed being cheated on would be the only scandal she was involved in this month.
* * *
Chris Cavanaugh was having a very good week. His agent, Stan, told him he got the role of Danny in The Knock-Around Boys. He’d had a feeling he nailed it when he auditioned. He and Danny were essentially the same person. This was just the thing he needed to get him out of neutral and on the road to the A list. After a brief stint on a soap opera, then two seasons on a prime-time crime show, his agent convinced him to hold out for movies. It seemed to be working. Success was within his grasp, but something always happened and the brass ring would disappear.
Chris looked in the mirror, assessing his five o’clock shadow. He’d thought about shaving it, but women seemed to love it. His ex-girlfriend told him it added a touch of rogue to his already devilishly h
andsome appearance. But if he were so handsome, why hadn’t he made it big yet?
He’d left his hometown six years ago, and in that time there had been several part-time jobs and three acting classes. Yeah, he had wanted that part so badly he was beginning to stress out.
He reached into his pocket and retrieved the vial his friend Darwin asked him to hold for him earlier. Darwin had been acting strange all day. Chris didn’t think too much about it while they were at dinner, but then he realized that taking a mysterious bottle from a friend could lead to a jail sentence. As soon as he accepted it, Darwin begged off dinner and said he would come by Chris’s house later.
Chris opened the vial. What the hell had he been thinking? The bathroom door opened. He looked up, startled to see a woman standing there, and he dropped the vial.
* * *
Kate recognized Chris. She’d seen his headshot around the house enough the past two months. His photograph didn’t do him justice. He was taller than she thought. He seemed shorter and thinner in films, but standing before him there was no mistaking he was six feet two. His chest was much broader too. Thick eyebrows coupled with dark, mysterious, blue eyes pulled her in and held her captive.
But how was this rising star able to hide his drug addiction? The white powder on the floor wasn’t confectioner’s sugar. Why were the gorgeous ones always on drugs or mentally unstable?
“Didn’t mean to interrupt. The ladies’ room is out of order.”
“This isn’t what it looks like.”
Kate laughed. “Thank goodness! For a minute I thought you were another slimeball actor trying to take a hit—”
“I don’t do drugs.”
“You sure won’t be doing those drugs. They’re on the floor.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
Kate held up her hand. “Save it, Chris. I just need to use the can. Step outside and play lookout for me so I can pee, and I’ll ignore the nose candy.”
“You know who I am?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Have we met before?” He searched her face.
“In a manner of speaking.”
“I don’t think we have. I would have definitely remembered meeting you.” Chris smiled. “Are you an agent or something?
“Or something.”
Kate’s cell phone vibrated in her purse, and she fished it out. “Hey, Sabrina, what’s up?” She paused. “Are you sure? Thanks.”
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. First, it was nice that he didn’t know she was Jack’s wife. Second, it was insulting he didn’t know she was Jack’s wife. She tried to focus on the proper way to process those emotions. “It seems someone with a camera is staked outside the bathroom door.”
“What?”
“Yeah. So I hope you have your PR person on speed dial.”
* * *
Chris’s mind was racing. She was right. Tales of him being in the men’s room of Coriander with a mysterious pretty woman and some white powder on the floor was not a good career move. The bathroom had no window, but luckily he and this woman who obviously knew him were the only people in the bathroom. Whoever she was, he hoped she was in a generous mood.
“Listen, I know you don’t know me. What is your name?”
“Kate.” Her voice was firm.
“Pretty name.”
“Really? You’re gonna try to flirt right now?”
“Sorry, I get distracted easily by attractive women.” He grinned. “I assure you this is not what it looks like. I was not on my way to see the magic dragon. The worst thing I’ve ever taken was some ecstasy once—”
“Do I look like your intake counselor?”
“I just need you to help me get rid of this.”
“Now I’m an accomplice.”
* * *
A push came from the other side of the bathroom door, but Kate blocked it with her foot. The person pushed again, but she pushed back and locked the door. “You are about to get the fastest intervention in your life.” She pulled out a business card from her purse and handed it to him.
It took a second for him to figure out she was pointing to the floor. He pushed the white powder onto the card. She walked over to the sink, wet a paper towel, and then cleaned up the residue. She opened a stall door and motioned for him to dump the powder into the toilet, and she followed suit with the towel. She washed out the vial and put it in her purse. She thoroughly washed her hands, and he did the same.
A knock sounded at the door. “This is restaurant management. Whoever is in there, I demand you open the door.”
Kate’s cell phone went off again. She had to think fast. She looked at Chris and smiled. Instinctively he smiled back at her. Then she slapped the crap out of him.
“What was that for?” He brought his hand to his face.
“Great!” She studied him for a moment. “You really are a good actor.”
“I wasn’t acting.” He turned to examine his reddened cheek in the mirror.
She grabbed his broad shoulders and turned him to face her. “I know you don’t know who I am, but I’ve had a very shitty month. I would prefer it if whoever is on the other side of that door thought we were in here having a lover’s quarrel and not having sex or, God forbid, what I caught you doing.”
Chris rubbed his cheek. “It wasn’t mine. Remember—”
“Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You’re a narcotics virgin with the exception of ecstasy.”
“Yes.”
“Right. Get ready for your close-up, Mr. Cavanaugh.” She unlocked the door.
The restaurant manager and two paparazzi almost fell into the bathroom.
She took a deep breath. “We are so over, you son of a bitch!”
* * *
Chris was still rubbing his cheek. The flash of cameras was coming so fast and furious he could barely see in the bathroom. If he was going to sell this with no questions asked other than what was face value, then he’d better see it through to the end.
He raced through the restaurant to see his accidental guardian angel talking in a private dining room to a slew of women. He walked to the front of the restaurant and asked the valet to bring his car around. Kate was exiting as the valet pulled up in his convertible. Chris opened the passenger door. “We need to talk.”
“I said all I had to say to you in the john.”
“Get in the car.” He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Please.”
She stood there for a moment. Was she going to go for it? She knew who he was, so surely she wasn’t concerned about him kidnapping her. Why did she seem so familiar to him? Had they worked together before? No, she didn’t have that actress vibe about her. She seemed more polished—like an executive or something. Surely she didn’t work for a movie studio; his agent had showed him a trick for remembering names and titles.
She started walking toward him, and he smiled. When she reached him, she looked up at him.
She kept her voice low. “I don’t know why people think acting is so hard.”
“Oh, yeah?”
He pulled her into an embrace and kissed her. He’d kissed women before. Hell, it was literally part of his job at times. But her soft lips tasted like strawberries, and this kiss was the real deal. When she wrapped her arms around his waist, he deepened the kiss. The paparazzi were snapping their picture. He forced himself to stop when he found his hands wandering to her ass.
“Take me home.”
He closed the car door after she got into the car. He walked around, got in, and put his seatbelt on. “Where to?” His tone had grown husky.
“Malibu.”
* * *
Kate felt heavy breathing on the back of her neck and opened her eyes. She’d made a lot of mistakes lately, and she hoped she hadn’t made another last night. Her phone had continuously rung as Chris drove her home to her beach house, but she hadn’t answered. What had that kiss been all about? It had been improvised but sent shivers down her spine.
She turned to her bedmate. “I gu
ess you’re hungry?”
Merlot barked and wagged his tail. She’d become an adoptive parent to the Havanese toy dog, who was fortunate enough to occupy two Malibu beach house addresses. His primary owners were her neighbors, Marvin and Clara Weismann. Merlot had been on the cover of more magazines than Kate had and was once named as the richest dog in America by a dog lover’s magazine.
She pulled back the covers and followed the male in her life into the kitchen. She glanced at the clock; it was six thirty. Merlot was better than an alarm clock.
She fed him and gave him a pat on the head. There was nothing left to do but turn on the television.
“Got to love these Hollywood twists. Music mogul Kate Garrison’s secret exposed! Last night paparazzi caught Kate leaving Coriander with rising star Chris Cavanaugh. This has to be the best-kept love affair in Hollywood. They were leaving the restaurant after a nasty argument in the men’s room, no less. But it ended when Chris calmed her down with a hot kiss in front of the restaurant, and then they made a hasty exit in his car. Looks like Kate wasn’t the victim in her divorce from director Jack Pierce after all. People have been speculating all morning how long these two have been involved. And the stinger in all of this is Chris and Jack will be working together soon. All of Hollywood is abuzz about the new movie The Knock-Around Boys, scheduled to go into production in less than two weeks. Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that sound stage.”
Kate smiled. The reporter called her a mogul.
* * *
“Oh, to be a fly on the wall of that sound stage.”
Chris spit out his orange juice. That’s why his guardian angel had looked familiar. She was Jack Pierce’s wife! As a rule he forgot the names and faces of unavailable women. After two near misses with career suicide, Stan educated him on how to resist the temptation of bedding a married man’s wife in this town. He said the next time he was caught with some lovely thing who didn’t belong to him it would definitely put the final nail in his promiscuous coffin.
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