Never Say Never (The Price of Fame Series) (9 page)

“Did they call you today?” he asked, meaning Studio Four.

Her grin confirmed it before she answered. “They want me to start in two weeks, in time for a new show they’re airing.”

He sipped at the champagne in the glass. Heat spread through his chest at the look on her face. She was happy, and he’d helped make her that way. Sander knew then he didn’t want to think about what would happen after he left for the
Do You Have What It Takes?
tour. Didn’t want to think about anything but being with Chloe, real or not.

His heart dipped and he sighed as he realized he’d have to be practical. He was leaving, and he had to remember that. For the first time in his life, he didn’t want the responsibility of everything he’d taken on. Maybe it wasn’t Chloe, maybe it was the band re-forming. Whatever it was, he wasn’t feeling the old drive and ambition which had kept him going since he hit puberty and decided there was no way in hell he’d end up like either of his parents.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He looked up to see her eyes clouded with worry. The tie around his neck felt too tight and he loosened it, his gaze falling to the table.

“Yeah. It’s hot in here.” The explanation was lame, but hell if he knew what was up. Not that he’d share with Chloe.

“Sander…”

“Tell me about your time in LA.”

His shirt collar felt like it was choking him, so he unbuttoned it, wondering what the hell he was getting so uptight about. Was it her? When she didn’t answer, he met her weary gaze.

“I don’t mean with the ex. Did you have friends? What movies did you work on?” Silence buffers, anything to take the discomfort away. Distraction.

Her whole face lit up. “A few that didn’t quite make it as blockbusters, but then I started working on
Crime Busters
and met Rachel, the girl who works with me in the coffee shop. She was a regular extra on the show. We went to all the parties together. At one we bumped into an actor who got me a job on
Flaming Thrones
.”

She pressed her lips together and Sander put two and two together. “The ex was in the movie?” At her nod, his mind whirred.

Chloe sipped at her champagne. Curiosity burned through him, but he kept his mouth shut. If an actor from
Flaming Thrones
had dated her, there was no way the world wouldn’t have known about it. But he didn’t think she was lying. Her gaze fell to the folded hands in her lap. And Sander realized he’d been a fucking idiot. How did he miss it before?

“He wanted to keep you a secret.”

Why else would she have the pretty dress, but when he took her to places like this acted like she’d never seen this world before? Then the shock in her eyes when he told her he wanted to be pictured with her on his arm, the panic at the club when the photographer had snapped a picture of them kissing.

“Yes,” she whispered.

His whole body heated with rage, and his hands clenched beneath the table. He wished the bastard was there in front of him so he could deck him. Chloe was beautiful, caring, and loyal. He was proud to have her on his arm, even if it was just for a short time.

“Who was it, Chloe?”

Her gaze snapped back to his. “It doesn’t matter. Need to know—”

“Fuck need to know. Who was it?”

Her eyes widened, and her mouth popped open.

He tried to control the rage burning through his body, tried to see through the screen of red mist tinting his vision, but it was hard. He inhaled and closed his eyes, the shock in her face working quicker to dissolve his anger than his feeble attempts.

“I’m sorry. Thinking someone treated you like his dirty secret pisses me off.” He met her gaze.

Emotion’s burned from her melting amber eyes and she swallowed. “He’s not important. Thank you for caring enough to be mad.”

Blood drained from his face and left the skin numb. Did he
care
about Chloe? Had it gone beyond pretend? Sure, there was attraction, but feelings? Shit, he didn’t know how to feel those things, and he figured feeling anything when he was leaving soon wouldn’t be fair to her. Wouldn’t be fair to either of them. An image of her this morning at the coffee shop came back and he saw her again with the baby girl and his heart plummeted to his feet.

“Chloe, this is—”

“Aren’t you going to greet your mother, Sander?”

Ice laced through him at the vaguely familiar voice. He turned to the side to see his mother walking directly toward them. It had been five years since he’d last seen her, and he guessed a few surgeries, since she didn’t look a day over thirty-five. Her black bodycon was no doubt a ruse to show the world that even though she had a son, she hadn’t lost her precious figure. Bile twisted his stomach as he looked up into eyes filled with barely concealed hatred.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” She looked at Chloe, one skeptical brow raised.

He turned to Chloe who had retreated behind her calm, polite expression. “Chloe, this is my mother, Cassidy Chase.”

Chloe extended her hand, but Cassidy only stared, her mouth twisting with distaste. His blood boiled. She’d been there all of two seconds and managed to put Chloe down without saying a word. Sander rose to his feet so he was towering above his mother. The way she held herself made her appear the domineering one. No wonder she had his father so whipped.

Still conscious of the crowd around them, he tried his best to keep his anger to himself. “Our meal will be here shortly, so if you don’t mind…”
you can fuck off.

Cassidy eyed Chloe again, then snapped her thousand dollar manicured fingers in the air. A waiter appeared immediately. Cassidy never even met the man’s eyes as she barked, “Two more chairs here. My husband and I will be dining with my son.”

He saw Chloe’s jaw clench from the corner of his eye. “Mother, we’re on a date. We’d appreciate some privacy.”

“Nonsense, Sander. Your father and I haven’t seen you in years. Besides, we’re looking forward to getting to know your…” She flicked her gaze to Chloe. “
Date
.”

Chloe didn’t squirm under Cassidy’s cold stare, only smiled politely. He wanted to get her out of there before his parents’ poison hurt her, but he knew his mother wouldn’t let them walk out without causing a scene. She’d already drawn the attention of every person in the restaurant. Plus, Sander didn’t believe in coincidences. Not where his parents were concerned. Cassidy wouldn’t let him leave until she’d said what she came there to say.

With a sigh, he slid back into his chair and threw Chloe an apologetic glance. She nodded and smiled wider to reassure him, and hell, there was that damn heart squeeze again.

The waiter returned with two chairs and Cassidy slid in to Sander’s left. She turned to the waiter. “Hold their meal until we are ready to order, and bring another bottle of champagne.” She lifted the bottle he’d bought from the ice bucket and wrinkled her nose. “Please tell me
this
isn’t all you have.”

“No, Mrs. Chase.” The man’s face glistened with sweat, the only indication of how much Cassidy unnerved him. “We have something for special guests.” He bowed and left.

“Your father is in the kitchen making sure the chef tonight knows what he’s doing.”

Sander wanted to groan. If he’d known his parents were in the UK, he’d have taken Chloe somewhere else. Somewhere like the Views Studio where he knew Cassidy wouldn’t enter if someone paid her—even if she had an ulterior motive. From what little he remembered of his mother, she always wanted the best and made sure Royce, his father, gave it to her.

Cassidy turned back to Chloe. “What do you do for a living?”

Chloe’s gaze met his for support. He answered his mother. “Chloe works in a coffee shop at the moment, but she starts a new job at the studio in a few weeks.”

“Oh?” Cassidy’s question was laced with sarcasm. His skin prickled. “Doing what?”

“I’m a makeup artist,” Chloe answered, drawing his mother’s gaze. “I moved back to London from LA when I found out my mother was ill. Before that I worked full time on
Crime Busters
.”

Cassidy’s brows rose. It was clear she hadn’t expected that, and Sander couldn’t hold back a smile.

“It’s nice to see some children care about their parents’ well-being,” Cassidy remarked, and Sander gritted his teeth.

He could see Chloe’s jaw clench, and her eyes burned amber, but she kept the polite smile in place. Remembering her disbelief and irritation when he’d told her about his parents never being around, his chest warmed.

“There’s your father.” Cassidy held up a hand and waved with as much authority as a queen.

He turned to see Royce stalking toward them, his face impassive, but the hard lines of his body radiated disproval even from across the room. The restaurant was littered with white covered tables which his father wove around easily. Stained glass windows gave the place an old twist on a modern theme. Chic wooden floors, modern art, and a truckload of celebrities all made up the most sought after place to dine in London among the rich and famous, though at that moment Sander would rather be eating fish and chips on a park bench than have Chloe here with his parents.

He rose to greet his father, and Royce looked him over. Seemingly satisfied Sander’s suit was expensive enough, he nodded and slid into a chair across from his mother. Sander returned to his own chair.

“Father, this is Chloe Butler. Chloe, Royce Chase.”

“Please to meet you, Mr. Chase,” she said, but didn’t offer her hand this time.

Completely ignoring either of them, Royce spoke to Cassidy. “The chef you like is in the kitchen tonight. I insisted he serve your favorite, although they ran out of the shellfish.”

Sander fumed as Cassidy nodded. His father was like a puppy, getting anything his mother wanted for her. And in doing so, had ignored Chloe’s attempt to be polite.

His mother must have noticed Sander’s rising irritation. “This is the girl Sander is
dating
now.” The way Cassidy over exaggerated a sweep of her hand in Chloe’s direction made him grind his teeth again. “She’s a makeup artist.”

Royce laughed, not bothering to even give Chloe a courtesy glance. Sander clenched his fists on the table. “Well, darling, what did you expect from a man who joined a
pop group
?”

Cassidy chuckled.

Sander picked up the glass in front of him and downed the champagne. Chloe’s gaze caught his and he saw a dash of pain for him crack through her irritation. He smiled in an attempt to reassure her. He was used to his parents, but he didn’t give a shit as long as the worst of their poison dripped on him and left her the hell alone.

He had no idea what else the asshole who bought her the dress had subjected her to, but keeping her hidden—like a dirty secret—that alone would have grated enough on her self-esteem. She didn’t need cutting comments from Cassidy and Royce to rub more salt in the wound.

A waiter arrived again with a vintage bottle kept for
special
guests and poured a small amount in a clean glass. Handing it to Cassidy for her approval, he waited with sweat beading along his hairline.

After taking a sip, she swallowed, then pouted. “If it’s the best you have…”

“I’m afraid it is, Mrs. Chase.” Sander saw the man’s hands shake slightly.

Cassidy sighed. “It’s no Dom Pérignon, but I suppose it will have to do.”

The waiter shifted the ice bucket with the champagne he’d bought closer to Chloe to make room for the new one, and she eyed the bottle next to her longingly. Her glass was empty, so Sander reached across the table. Royce watched him curiously as he poured her a glass from the old bottle and refilled his own glass.

“I don’t suppose a makeup artist would know the difference between vintage and cheap,” Royce said to no one in particular.

Chloe winced, and Sander almost growled.

“Enough,” he said to his father, who glared at him.

“You are such a disappointment. With a face like yours you could have graced the silver screen like your mother.”

Cassidy chimed in. “You could have been an A-lister if you had gone to the acting lessons we paid for. Maybe then you wouldn’t have lost the best thing that ever happened to you, to an Englishman no less.”

Sander shut his eyes and counted to ten, but before he even got there, Chloe spoke.

“She wasn’t good enough for him. After all he did for Sienna, she threw it back in his face.”

His eyes opened wide. Chloe’s jaw strained with the effort to keep her voice conversational, quiet. Even though her gaze shot daggers at his mother. He realized then that she held back, probably so she didn’t embarrass him, regardless of how much she clearly didn’t want to be there.

No one had ever put him first, and the emotion that rocked through him would have put him on his ass if he hadn’t been sitting down.

Cassidy’s blue eyes glinted with ice. “Perhaps. But neither is a
nobody
makeup artist wearing a dress four seasons out of date. Did you pick it up from eBay, or did Sander realize you weren’t worth more than a secondhand gown?”

The blood drained from Chloe’s face, and all the new emotions coursing through him swelled, shifted, burned, until his vision tinted red. At that moment he didn’t give a fuck about causing a scene, why Cassidy was there, or what papers they ended up in tomorrow. He could take their poison, but he wasn’t about to let them hurt Chloe. She’d been treated shitty enough from hot shot movie stars who thought they were better than everyone else.

Sander pushed his chair back. The legs scraped against the wooden floor and echoed through the restaurant. He rose and met Chloe’s gaze with his jaw taut. “We’re leaving.”

He knew he didn’t need to ask, her face relaxed into a real smile the second he spoke. He pulled out his wallet and threw a few bills down on the table.

* * * *

Chloe had never seen Sander so angry. With his jaw clenched tight, he stalked around the table, ignoring the glares from his parents, and offered his hand. Air caught in her lungs and her eyes watered with gratitude as she placed her hand in his and let him pull her up. He slid his arm around her waist.