Not a Fairy Tale: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance (19 page)

“Gracie’s pregnant and she decided to keep the baby rather than the role.” Jordan leaned in, her hair brushing his shoulder. She wrinkled her nose. “Babies make you fat. If it was me, I’d have had an abortion.”

He had no doubt she would. For Jordan, the only person who mattered was Jordan.

She slid off the chair’s arm and into his lap. “Nina doesn’t have to know.”

He shoved her off. The thought of anyone touching him but Nina made his skin crawl. The thought of anyone touching Nina…made him want to commit murder.

With a glare, Jordan picked herself up off the floor and flounced across the room to the sofa. “Your loss.”

Great. Time to kill with no entertainment but a pouty actress in a snit. An actress whose assets had never included her conversational ability.

Dom reached for the battered novel resting on top of a pile of glossy beauty magazines. He hadn’t read a novel in years, but it was more appealing than flicking through page after page of cosmetic ads, and definitely more appealing than watching Jordan scowl at him for the next half hour.

He was several pages into
Revelations
and already eagerly turning the pages when the casting assistant finally brought his tea. He barely noticed when Jordan was called away.

When Nina returned to the room, again surrounded by the flock of attendants, he set down the book and stood. She ignored the flattery and effusive farewells and looked for him, their gazes catching and holding. She smiled and he grinned back.

He was pleased the callback had gone as well for her as it had for him.

He’d discovered two things in the time she’d been gone. The first, and perhaps the most surprising, was that he really wanted to finish reading this book. The second was that he wanted to keep Nina in his life. He wasn’t yet ready to use words like
forever
and
marriage
, but he didn’t want what they had to end, and he planned to tell her. Maybe not today, when she was still hyped from the callback, but soon.

The director, Tarquin, turned to follow the direction of Nina’s gaze and his mouth dropped open. “Dom! How the hell are you, mate?” He crossed the room to pump Dom’s hand. “Long time, no see.”

“You know each other?” Nina asked, arching one perfect eyebrow in Dom’s direction.

“We worked together on a movie I shot in England a few years ago,” he explained.

“That was fun, wasn’t it?” Tarquin grinned. “If you aren’t busy, we should get together for a drink and catch up. How about tomorrow night? We can pick up some chicks and make a night of it.”

Now both of Nina’s eyebrows had lifted. At least the movement made it obvious she didn’t use botox.

“I’m up for the drink, but I’m over the picking-up-chicks bit.” Dom didn’t look at Tarquin but at Nina as he spoke. “And we have plans for tomorrow night.”

Tarquin glanced between them. “So you’re the guy who’s been training Nina? Everyone’s very impressed with the effort she’s put in. Is she any good?”

Dom smothered his grin. “Very. Give her the role and see for yourself.”

Tarquin smiled at Nina. “Maybe I will.” Then he turned back to Dom. “Hey, how come we aren’t talking to you about working on this movie?”

“I’m not going to be doing stunt work for a while.” Even without looking at her, Dom could feel Nina’s gaze burning into him.

Another thing he needed to come clean with her about.

If he was going to offer himself up to her, she needed to know what she was getting. He wasn’t getting any younger, and he was damaged. He prayed fervently she’d still want him when she knew. It was a risk he had to take. Do or die. That was the war cry he and Christian had used as kids, the motto he’d lived his life by.

It was a risk he had to take. But as with any risk, he’d have to prepare her for it. He wasn’t some angsty teenager blurting out his feelings.

“Pity. You change your mind, you let me know – okay?” Tarquin said.

It was a while before Nina was able to extricate herself from the cluster of film producers and casting people, but at last they were in his car and alone. As they passed through the gates, Nina sagged back against her seat, depleted.

No longer channeling Sonia, she suddenly seemed fragile and vulnerable. Like the woman he’d walked on the beach at Point Dume with all those weeks ago.

“So it went well?” he asked.

She nodded, but she bit her lip, which wasn’t a good sign. “I can’t go anywhere with you tomorrow night. I have a fundraiser I have to attend.”

“The annual Easter fundraiser for the Red Cross.”

She turned in her seat to look at him properly, eyes widening. “You know about it?”

“Christian and I go every year. I suspect I’m going to be very much a third wheel now that he has a wife. I was sorta hoping you’d go with me.”

Her face lit up. “It’ll be very public. And there’ll be cameras. If you go with me, you won’t be able to stay anonymous anymore.”

“You had me at public. Do you think there’ll be a handy supply closet?”

She laughed and he was relieved. It made her look less tired and drawn. He’d definitely worked her too hard, but five weeks was hardly enough time to teach someone everything he’d learned in a lifetime.

“So do you want to go somewhere to celebrate the successful callback?”

She leaned her head against the headrest and smiled. “No. Just take me home.”

He didn’t ask which home. He headed the car for Venice Beach.

“You need to get up and dressed. We’re leaving in an hour. And if I know anything about women you’ll need at least an hour and a half to get ready.”

Nina buried her face in the pillow. Dom knew way too much about women.

“I can’t get up,” she moaned. “I ache everywhere. And I mean
everywhere
.”

While they waited for news from the callback there seemed little point in continuing her training. But she’d needed a distraction from the waiting, so Dom had challenged her to do the commando course again. She’d done it in less than half the time and the water obstacle hadn’t fazed her. But she’d still had to push her body to its limits.

“Not quite everywhere,” Dom said. The bed dipped as he moved to lie behind her, his hand on her hip.

Little did he know! With him in such close proximity, and smelling freshly showered and all masculine eau-de-cologny, even places that had very regular exercise lately were beginning to ache.

She rolled to face him. “If you wanted me to get up, joining me on the bed is a really bad idea.” She stroked a hand down his bicep. “Perhaps we should ditch the fundraiser and stay here in bed?”

Not that she meant it. She was expected and her absence would become gossip fodder.

Dom grinned and shook his head. “And I was worried
I
might be the one getting distracted.” His hand slid beneath the soft silk of her kimono to stroke her breasts. They felt even more ultra-sensitive than usual, the nipples peaking with the barest brush of his knuckles. Her breasts seemed fuller these days too. It must be that time of month.

It was hard to do a mental calculation, though, with Dom’s hands on her, stroking her into a frenzy. She couldn’t remember when last she’d had a period. She had to be overdue. No doubt it was all the extra exercise lately that had thrown her body clock for a loop.

Dom pushed aside the fabric of the kimono and sucked a nipple into his mouth. She arched against him, murmuring incoherently.

A door slammed downstairs and she heard voices. She couldn’t rein in her groan. Just when things were getting good. “Damn! I think we need to change the locks.”

“You said your stylist already had a booking today so I called in reinforcements.” Dom nuzzled her neck, but she rolled away. She could hardly lie here making out with Dom while his sisters waited downstairs.

“I’m going to take a shower.”

“Would you like me to scrub your back?”

Yes.
“No.”

Nina forced herself up and off the bed and headed to the bathroom. She showered and dressed, then made her way downstairs. The little house had never seemed so full of people.

Eric and Dom sat side by side on the sofa, engrossed in a game on the Wii. Dom was already dressed in an evening suit and Nina’s pulse kicked up at the sight of him. Eric’s younger sister sprawled in the armchair, one leg looped over the arm, equally engrossed in her book.

Three of Dom’s sisters sat at the rarely used dining table, where Kathy had once again spread out her make-up kit. All three looked up as Nina entered.

“Look at you!” Juliet whistled. “You look stunning! That’s a gorgeous dress.”

Nina blushed. “Thank you.”

She twirled for them, showing off the dress – a tightly fitted black bodice with a champagne-colored tulle skirt. The skirt had so many layers it would take an angle grinder to rip it to shreds. And even if she should have an unfortunate incident with an angle grinder, she wasn’t wearing her granny pants tonight. With any luck, she wouldn’t need to wear those granny pants for another few years.

While Kathy styled her hair and made up her face, the sisters chatted around her. Nina didn’t take part in the conversation, just let it flow over her. Their conversation was very different from the chatter that usually surrounded her when she sat in the make-up chair. Usually she was surrounded by posturing people trying to impress with how cool they were, swapping beauty tips and fashion tips, and brand-name dropping. Instead, Dom’s sisters chatted about normal stuff like their kids’ progress in school, work worries, and their plans for a barbecue on the upcoming Easter weekend, complete with a chocolate-egg hunt for the kids.

When Kathy was done, she held up a mirror and Nina had to agree she’d done as good a job as her stylist would have. Maybe better, because instead of her usual smoky make-up, Kathy had gone for a fresh, nude look.

“What do I owe you?” Nina asked awkwardly.

Kathy shook her head. “Nothing. I don’t charge for…” Then she glanced towards her brother and didn’t finish what she’d been about to say. She shrugged. “What else was I going to do on a Thursday night?”

A clammy chill skated over Nina’s skin. Kathy had been going to say, “I don’t charge for family.” And she hadn’t meant that she’d done it as a favor for Dom. She’d done it as a favor for Nina. She’d included Nina in the family circle.

Sweet as that was, Nina’s jaw clenched. How the hell had this gone so far, so quickly? Why did they all think she and Dom were so serious? This wasn’t serious. This was still just sex. Really great sex, perhaps with a little friendship thrown in, but nothing more.

It couldn’t be anything more.

But it was. And she still didn’t know how she felt about that.

“Let’s have coffee before you go.” Moira rose and headed to the kitchen. “I’ll put the machine on. Who wants?”

There was a chorus of
yes, pleases
and one request for green tea from Dom.

Nina trailed Moira into the kitchen, fetched the coffee mugs and the cream from the refrigerator.

“Espresso, right?” Moira asked, turning back to the coffee machine. She poured a double espresso. No cream, no sugar. Just the way Nina drank it.

Nina took the cup with narrowed eyes. Then she set it back down, as the urgent compulsion to gag overwhelmed her. “What is that smell?”

Moira sniffed. “The only thing I smell is the espresso.”

Espresso. That was it. Except so much more pungent and bitter than usual. Nina clapped her hand to her mouth. “Please excuse me.”

Dom found Nina on her knees beside the toilet bowl in the guest bathroom. She looked pale beneath the make-up.

“You okay?” he asked, kneeling beside her and stroking back the hair from her face.

She nodded weakly and sat back. “I think it’s all out now.”

She looked shaken, but with a visible effort she pulled herself together. He helped her up off the cold, tiled floor.

“I’m sorry. It must be something I ate. Let me take something for the nausea, brush my teeth and re-do my lipstick, then we can leave.”

He wrapped an arm around her. “Are you sure? We can stay home if you’d prefer.”

She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. And I have to go. I’m expected.” She smiled, already looking perkier. “Besides, we wouldn’t want to waste all Kathy’s hard work.”

He searched her face. She looked better, her color almost back to normal, her eyes bright. He nodded. “I’ll call the driver to check he’s close by.”

He shut the door, leaving her alone for a moment, and called the number of the driver Wendy had given him.

When Nina emerged from the guest room she carried her small clutch bag. He took her hand and they headed outside to the waiting limousine, his sisters trailing behind. He held the door and Nina slid inside.

As he was about to slide in after her, Moira laid a hand on his arm. “How far along is she?” she asked in a low voice.

“What do you mean?”

Her cheeks reddened. “I’m sorry. I just assumed… her tiredness, the nausea, the way she keeps running to the bathroom.”

She stepped back and he closed the door. As the limo pulled away, awkwardly navigating the narrow street, Nina looked back to where he knew his sisters would be standing, waving them off.

He didn’t look back. He was still too stunned.

Moira thought Nina was
pregnant
?

They’d only ever had unprotected sex that one time. How long ago had that been? Three weeks?

It could be. He remembered how his sisters had been when they were pregnant. Tired, sick, bright-eyed, swinging from joy to tears in a moment.

His chest closed until he couldn’t breathe. He was going to be a father?

Unless she’d been pregnant before she moved in with him…

Could it be Paul de Angelo’s child?

Did Nina even know?

He thought of all the things he’d pushed her to do these last few weeks. Could any of her training exercises have hurt the baby?

Why hadn’t she told him?

Even with the window closed between the driver and their compartment, this wasn’t the time or place to ask. But it killed him to sit still as the limousine edged up Rodeo Drive towards the iconic Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

Somewhere about the time the car pulled up before the red carpet, and the door opened to the bright lights, camera flashes and shouts, his protective instincts kicked in. Whether or not the baby was his, it didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was that Nina stayed safe until they could talk.

Dom didn’t let go of her the entire evening. If his fingers weren’t entwined through hers, then he had his hand on her lower back or on her hip, protective, possessive. She rather liked the whole Neanderthal ‘this girl is mine’ thing, though she knew he was probably only warding off other potential interest rather than staking his claim.

He also seemed fidgety tonight. She tried not to let it get to her, but it required effort. She’d known this day would come, even if his sisters seemed oblivious.

He was getting restless.

Still, at least he wasn’t on the prowl for another woman, the way it had been the handful of times they’d both appeared at events like these in the past. It was infinitely better to be here with Dominic, even a Dominic on edge, than watching him flirt with some other woman from across the ballroom.

He was very quiet tonight, too. He wasn’t a big talker at the best of times, but tonight he seemed preoccupied, as if he was just going through the motions. He let her take the lead as they chatted to the other guests, made small talk and admired dresses and jewels. They posed for the obligatory cameras, then they were seated at a banquet table with Christian and Teresa and a group of Christian’s colleagues from the movie he was currently producing.

Chrissie would be so pleased. Nina had been given Dom’s ‘plus one’ seat. If that didn’t confirm the rumors, nothing else would.

Wendy sat across the room, not looking at all put out that Nina had abandoned her since a hunky young Red Cross doctor had been given the vacant seat beside her.

They ate a sumptuous meal and shared a few bottles of champagne, though Nina ate little of the rich food and stuck to sparkling water. With her stomach already in a fragile condition, she didn’t want to tempt fate. The queues for the bathrooms were diabolical. She’d never make it in time if another wave of nausea hit.

Through the speeches and the fund-raising pitch, Dom held her hand, tracing idle circles against her palm, lulling her into a trance. Her thoughts drifted and she missed most of the video showing what work tonight’s funds would be used for.

Earlier this evening, when he’d held her hair back as she’d been sick, for one moment she’d seen her future flash before her eyes.

As much as it terrified her to think of herself as part of a family, as much as she didn’t want all the complications and emotions that came with being part of a family, it had felt incredibly good not to be alone on that bathroom floor.

She’d felt as if she stood at a crossroads. One way lay the safe path, the one without complications, a smooth path to stardom and security.

On the other side lay a path fraught with complications. But at least it wouldn’t be a lonely path to travel. She would have someone to hold her hand when times were tough. Someone to take care of her when she was sick, and not because she paid them to do it.

A relationship didn’t have to affect her career, did it? Dom was just as dedicated to his career. He would understand that work had to come first.

Maybe they could even work together.

He withdrew his fingers from hers to reach for his champagne glass and her chest contracted, so painfully tight she could hardly breathe.

Because without his soothing touch to calm her, the little fantasy shattered. What had she overheard Juliet say before the callback?
You haven’t told her…

She’d pushed it out of her mind, needing to focus on the callback. What was Dom keeping from her? It had to be something important or Juliet wouldn’t have mentioned it.

Something he hadn’t trusted her enough to tell her. Or cared enough to tell her.

Even after everything she’d shared with him, he still wasn’t ready to let her into his life. What hope did she have of keeping hold of a man like Dominic Kelly when so many others had failed?

She blinked back the sting in her eyes. The end had been inevitable from the start. And it would be better to end it soon, before she trusted him with anything more of herself.

“Earth to Dom,” Christian said, when the speeches and video were done. Nina blinked as both she and Dom turned to look at him.

“That was the second time I called your name.” Christian grinned cheerfully. “You two not getting enough sleep or something?”

“Or something,” Dom replied.

“We’re going to dance. You coming to join us?”

Dom shook his head and Nina’s heart sank. She’d have loved to dance with Dom again, properly this time. One last time. She sipped at her water, saying nothing.

She probably should be mingling. But she couldn’t scrape the will power together to leave Dom’s side. Not with time running against them and every moment bringing them closer to the end.

She leaned closer. “If I get the role in
Revelations
, I want to make it a condition of my contract that they hire you as the stunt coordinator.”

Dom shook his head. He didn’t quite look at her and his expression was unreadable, shutting her out. “I already told you, I’m taking a break for a few months.”

“You can take a break after the movie. It’s only 15 weeks of principal photography, and Tarquin really likes you.”