Fame (7 page)

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the two hooked up during filming. They’d dated twice since then, but their schedules always kept things from staying serious. In the past six months she’d been linked with another of her leading men, but she’d kept her friendship with Dayne.

Now he felt his heart rate pick up. About a year ago he’d read something about Kelly getting mixed up with drugs. At the time he figured it was only Hollywood gossip, the sort of detail the rags needed in order to stay in business. But tonight.., something in her voice sounded desperate.

The sun was just starting to set as Dayne drove his Escalade beyond the speed limit, south on Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Monica Boulevard. His mind was so set on Kelly he forgot to watch for photographers trailing him.

When he reached Ruby’s, he hopped out, handed his keys to a valet attendant, and nodded toward the nightclub. “I might not be long.”

The attendant was wide-eyed. “Certainly, Mr. Matthews. We’ll keep your vehicle close by.”

“Thanks.” He slipped the young man a five-dollar bill and walked inside. The manager’s permission was needed to get into the back room. It was a private room with a second bar, not too different from the one off the main lobby, a dark-lit drink station with high-top marble tables and leather barstools and a dance floor in the middle of the room. Beyond that was a DJ hired just for the private back-room crowd. Dinner was served in the early evening by request only.

Dayne approached the manager. “I’m meeting Kelly Parker.” “Yes, Mr. Matthews.”

The tuxedoed man slid a key into the door and opened it for Dayne. “She’s by herself.” He bowed. “Enjoy your evening.”

Dayne made his way into the room and looked around. He’d never been here during dinner, only during the late evening, the nightclub hours. His eyes searched the back of the room, and he saw her sitting in a booth by herself.

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She was crying.

“Kelly..” He whispered her name as he jogged the remaining distance to her table. Without waiting for her to acknowledge him, he slid in beside her and put his arm around her. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

She looked at him, and something about her was different. So different he almost didn’t recognize her. Gone were the confident look, the dimpled smile that had won her millions of dollars for every film. Now her face was tearstained, her mascara running down her cheeks. “Dayne…”

He pulled her into a long hug and rocked gently. “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.”

She wept on his shoulder for a few minutes before lifting her head and searching his eyes. “I can’t do it. I can’t take it.” Dayne nodded.

“Okay, Kelly, tell me about it.”

She took a tissue from her purse and wiped her nose. sorry.”

“It’s all right. What happened?”

“I was…” She took three quick breaths, still finding her composure. “I was having dinner with a friend, one of the makeup artists I met on my last film.”

She pointed toward the main dining room on the other side of the door. “It was early. I figured I wouldn’t get recognized.” She gestured to her white T-shirt and denim miniskirt. “I don’t exactly stand out dressed like this.”

Dayne kept his opinion to himself. Kelly Parker could stop traffic in a potato sack. “So what happened?”

“We were.., we were eating when someone from another booth walked up and handed my friend a copy of Special Event.”

Dayne felt his stomach tighten. Of all the Hollywood magazines, Special Event was most known for exaggerating the facts and sometimes fully making them up.

“Do you have it?” He held out his hand. “Give it to me, Kelly. Let me see what it says.”

She hung her head, but after a few seconds she pulled the magazine up from the seat beside her and handed it to him.

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“How can they print this, Dayne?” Her voice was a strained whisper. “Do they think we’re not real people? That we don’t feel things?”

The magazine was turned to a layout with pictures of Kelly. One showed her with her most recent leading man, Ari Aspen, the guy she’d been seeing until lately.

The other showed her sitting at a restaurant with her friend the makeup artist.

Above the pictures the headline read “Did Kelly Parker Leave Ari Aspen for a Woman?”

Dayne let the magazine fall to the table. “That’s ridiculous.” He pushed the air from his lungs and then tightened his grip on the rag. In a rush of frustration he picked it up and used it to hit the side of the table. “It’s insane, Kelly.

No one who knows you would ever believe that.”

“That’s just it.” The tears were gone, but her hands shook. “Most of the world doesn’t know me, Dayne. They’re the ones who’ll be reading it.”

A painful mix of feelings churned in Dayne’s gut. Anger at the magazine for having the nerve to print such a story and a helpless ache for his friend. “Ah, Kelly..” He stilled her hands with his. “I’m sorry. Know what they’re saying about me?”

She managed a smile, despite her puffy cheeks. “That you’re an alien woman in disguise?”

“Practically.” He gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “They say some crazy woman is stalking me, that she wants a day with me or my death.” He held both hands out and made a funny face. “See what I mean? Crazy stuff.”

Kelly’s expression changed, and fear settled in around the corners of her eyes.

“What if it’s true?”

“It’s not true.” He covered her hands again. “I know when the paparazzi are on my tail; I’d certainly know if some deranged fan was following me.” He paused.

“See? It’s all nonsense.”

“What is it with those people?” She leaned her head back against the top of the leather booth. “They build you up until

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you’re so… so big you can’t leave your house. Then they tear you down.”

‘Wes.” Dayne remembered his conversation earlier in the week with Marc David.

“Piece by piece.”

“I can’t stand it.” Kelly sniffed and sat up straighter. “Take me home, will you?”

“Isn’t your car here?”

“No.” She collected her purse and stuffed the magazine deep inside. “My friend gave me a ride. It’s easier going out in someone else’s car.” She nodded toward the magazine in her purse. “At least it was before that hit the streets.”

Dayne took her hand and led her from the booth. Before they entered the public part of the restaurant, he stopped and faced her, “Keep your chin up, Kelly,” He used his thumb to clean the mascara smudges from her face. “Don’t let ‘em see you crying.”

She worked her fingertips into the roots of her hair and straightened the wrinkles in her T-shirt. “That’s what I keep telling myself.” For a moment she locked eyes with Dayne. “Sometimes I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble.”

“What?” An alarm went off in Dayne’s mind. “The acting?”

“No.” The fear in Kelly’s eyes was so deep, it was impossible to see past it, “The living,”

“Hey.” He pulled her into his arms and rubbed his hand along her back. “Don’t talk like that. You scare me.”

“I’m sorry.” Her words were mumbled against his chest. She drew back. “I don’t know how to get away from it.”

Dayne reached into her purse, grabbed the magazine, and ripped out the pages with the pictures of her. He crumpled them into a ball, strode across the room, and dropped them into the closest trash can. Then he ripped out the rest of the pages, grabbing big handfuls of them, crushing them in his fists and dropping them into the trash.

From across the room, Kelly let loose a few small giggles. Finally all that was left was the cover. Dayne held it up, aimed 51

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a pointed grin in her direction, then ripped the glossy layout into a few dozen pieces. He let them drift from his hands into the trash can, and when there was nothing left of the magazine, he returned to his place facing Kelly.

“That’s how you get away from it.” He moved in closer to her and took her shoulders in his hands. “Don’t read them, Kelly. They’re not real, and the people who read them aren’t real either. You’ll never know those people, and they’ll never know you. Who cares what they think?”

A desperate look filled Kelly’s eyes and she reached up, holding on to his forearms. “I want to think that way, really.” She gave a small nod. “You’re right. I need to stay away from them.” She wrinkled her nose. “Is that how you live with it?”

“No.” He chuckled and fell in alongside her, leading her to the door once more.

“I read every word because it makes me laugh. By the time I reach the end of the rag, my sides hurt.”

“Wow.” She looped her arm through his, her tone lighter than before. “That’s why you’re my hero, Dayne. Really.”

Having Kelly so close sent a familiar desire through Dayne’s body. He wove his fingers between hers and opened the door. Before taking another step, he scanned the room, It was almost empty, the dinner crowd light that evening. A few couples, nothing more. Certainly no photographers.

He turned to her. “Come on. The coast is clear.”

Together they moved quickly through the club, out the door, and to the valet.

They were in his SUV headed back to her Hollywood Hills home in a matter of minutes. Dayne kept the conversation light as they drove, but he wondered if she might invite him in. They had never figured out how to have a relationship, but the time they did share was unforgettable.

Once they were in front of her house, he rolled down his windows and cut the engine.

She turned toward him, and a shy smile lifted the corners of her lips. “Thanks, I feel better.”

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“Good.” He took her hands, and as he did, his fingers brushed against her bare knees. Crickets sang in the background, and a breeze rustled the leaves of the trees that lined her driveway. “Hey… it’s been a while since we were like this.”

“I was thinking that.” She glanced at her front door, then back at him. “You dating anyone these days?”

“No.” He thought about the month he spent with his last leading lady and Sarah Whitley before her. Both were old news. It’d been a month since he’d been with anyone. He shrugged. “Trying to keep things simple.”

“What about Sarah Whitley?”

“Nah, she’s seeing a producer. Someone more serious than me.” He leaned back against the driver’s door and grinned. “I guess I was too wild for her.”

Kelly tipped her face and looked deeper. “You’re not wild, Dayne.” She squeezed his fingers. “It’s all a big act. You’re just waiting for the right one.”

“Oh, really?” His chuckle helped keep the moment light. But in that instant, the image of Katy Hart came to mind. Katy with her long blonde hair and innocent eyes and dedication to kids’ theater. He coughed, shaking the picture. “What makes you so sure?”

“I know you, remember?” The air between them changed, and the electricity that had been there earlier that evening was back. She lifted his fingers to her lips and kissed them. “Wanna come in?” Her eyes held a hint of shame but not enough to hide her desire. “I could use the company.”

“Are you sure?” Dayne felt his body respond to her offer. He had hoped things might go this way, but he wouldn’t have pushed it.

“I’m sure.” She leaned closer and kissed him on the lips, a kiss that left no doubt as to her intentions. “I need you, Dayne. Please.”

“Okay.” He kissed her, dizzy with anticipation of the pleasure 53

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that lay ahead. He didn’t want a relationship, not with Kelly Parker. The two of them had already explored that possibility. But every now and then a night together was something they both enjoyed. He swallowed and shifted in his seat.

She was still inches from him, her breathing fast, heavy. “I’ll go first. In case they’re watching.” Her lips met his again. “Could you drive around the block, maybe park down the street and walk up?”

“Sure.” Anything to keep her mind off the paparazzi. Tonight it would be just the two of them, sharing the night, savoring each other. He framed her face with his hands and kissed her with an abandon he hadn’t felt since the last time they were together. “You better go in.”

“I will.” A giggle surfaced from between her lips. “Soon.” She moved closer, nuzzling her face against his. “This is going to be fun. Catching up on old times.”

Dayne was thinking the same thing. He kissed her again, the intensity between them building. He was about to tell her they should leave, get themselves inside before someone saw them making out in the SUV. Only just then he heard a series of clicks. Crickets, maybe. Yes, it had to be crickets.

“Let’s get inside.” He whispered into her ear, “I missed you.” His lips made a trail of kisses down her neck. “We’ve waited too long for this.”

At that instant the clicks sounded again, too quiet, too distant to make him pull away.

But she must have heard them too, because she sat straight up. “What was that?”

She ran her tongue along her lower lip and shot furtive glances out the window, squinting at the dusky shadows around his SUV. “Did you hear something?”

“Relax, Kelly.” He drew her close again and kissed her once more. “Just the crickets.”

But even as he tried to convince her, even as he leaned over, opened her car door, and told her to hurry inside where their 54

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catching up would certainly continue into the early morning hours, he heard the sound again. A series of rapid clicks. This time he couldn’t convince himself it was crickets or rustling leaves or anything but the obvious.

The sound of a camera.

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THE INSiDe OF the old yellow Honda Civic was stuffy, but that didn’t matter.

Her windows were already cracked an inch, and that’s all she would allow.

Anything more and he’d see her, hear her. Sense her heart beating across the street from Ruby’s. And that was something that absolutely couldn’t happen.

Otherwise the whole plan would fall apart.

As it was, she was having trouble following him. He stayed at the studio long hours lately and spent way too much time at his beach house in Malibu. It was better when he went clubbing. Then she could dress up and work her way inside.

Sometimes she’d sit at the bar for hours, sipping the same glass of Sutter Home burgundy.