Red Carpet Romance (21 page)

“You’re a sweetie. I wish you luck.”
Quinn’s sister said, giving Susanna a hug.

Before long, they were loaded into
Maggie’s car and on the highway, headed back to New York.

Life
will be pretty drab from now on.
Susanna sighed. She wasn’t prepared for
the tornado that was poised, waiting to enter her life.

Chapter Twelve

Susanna breathed a sigh of relief to
see that no reporters were lurking in front of Quinn’s building. Crash was
there, helping them unload and make their way peacefully up to the apartment.
Junior awoke with a cry, demanding lunch. Susanna fed him while Quinn dropped
off the bags then joined her.

“Can I do that…just once?”

“Sure,” she said, handing him the
spoon. “Don’t take a full spoon. About half.”

“But it’s such a small spoon?”

“Half.”

Quinn filled the spoon halfway with
cereal and gently inserted it in the baby’s mouth. He grinned, causing some
cereal to ooze out of his mouth.

“He’s excited. Just spoon that up
off his face and shove it back in,” she advised.

Quinn followed her directions. It
wasn’t long before he had fed the rest of the bowl to the infant. Susanna wiped
the baby clean. “I’ll take him in.” Quinn picked up the baby, then put him down
for a nap while Susanna made sandwiches and iced tea. They got comfortable on
the terrace and had lunch. Quinn received a text on his phone. She cocked her
head slightly while he read.

“Annemarie’s coming day after
tomorrow.”

Butterflies fluttered in Susanna’s
stomach.
So soon! Lose Junior and maybe
Quinn?

“He’s a cute baby, but it’ll be nice
to have some time to ourselves.”

“Ourselves? My job will be over.”

“But our relationship won’t. You’re
staying, aren’t you?”

Her heart lurched, her pulse kicked
up, and she couldn’t keep a smile off her face. “Are you sure?”

“Are you kidding? Did you think this
was a ‘seduce the nanny’ thing? I’m not that kind of guy. I meant what I said
last night.” He moved his chair closer to hers.

She jumped up, eased into his lap,
and kissed him hard. “I love you, too.”

Before they could go further,
another text arrived on Quinn’s phone. “It’s Jaden.” His eyes lit up. Susanna
crossed her fingers.

Meet me at Café Limoges
for lunch tomorrow.

He texted back his acceptance and
fist-pumped the air. “This must mean she’s ready to sell me the rights.”

The rest of the day was a quiet one.
Susanna gathered all of Junior’s toys and paraphernalia, marveling at how much
stuff he had accumulated in such a short period of time. Opening the closet,
she was also surprised to see how much more she had than when she’d arrived.

Junior had tagged along when Quinn
had taken her shopping on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. A limousine had carried
them to the best stores,
La Maria
,
Jean Louis Designs,
and
Rossini Boulevard
. He had bought her
dresses, shoes, handbags, and even a few elegant T-shirts and jeans. She
fingered the fine fabrics and caught her breath at the cost of such fabulous
fashions.

When
Junior leaves, I’ll move into Quinn’s bedroom.
The idea sent a tingle up
her spine. She loved sleeping with him, cuddling together before falling
asleep, and again when they woke up.
After
the baby goes, I won’t have to get up so early. We can make love in the
morning.
A lustful grin broke out on her face.

The next morning, she headed out
bright and early with Junior to meet Max Webster. She bounced down the street,
unmindful of the humidity slowly building and the intense summer sun beating
down. Junior was covered, and she didn’t care. A broad smile brightened her
face as she approached Riverside Park. The ding of an arriving text brought her
to a halt.

House sold. Going to
contract this afternoon. Got asking price.

She expelled a breath.
One more worry out of the way.
They
arrived at their usual bench first. Susanna pulled out her small notebook and
pencil, and began sketching Junior as he sat in his stroller looking around.
There were a couple of guys shooting hoops. She considered challenging them to
a game of HORSE, but Max arrived before she got the chance.

He opened a brown paper bag and took
out two bagels smeared with cream cheese and wrapped in deli paper then two
cups of coffee. He handed a bagel and coffee to Susanna. “You’re looking like
the cat who swallowed the canary today. And mighty happy. What’s up?”

“Junior’s leaving tomorrow.”

“That’s a reason to cheer? I like
the little guy. Thought you did, too.”

“No, no. I do. I almost feel as if
he’s my child. I’m going to miss him terribly. But I’m happy Quinn asked me to
stay.”

Max lifted his eyebrows. “Really?”

She nodded, her grin growing wider.
“I guess it’s love,” he said, carefully raising the top off his coffee cup.

“That’s what he says.”

“For how long? I heard he’s got a
movie shoot coming soon.”

“In September. How’d you know?”

“Read it in the paper. He’s news.” A
slight blush stole up Max’s neck. “Are you going with him?”

“Don’t know yet. I’ll cross that
bridge…we have plenty of time. How’s your son?” She changed the subject.

“I forgot to tell you. He got into
New York Art & Design.” Max’s lips stretched into a big smile.

“That’s wonderful!” Susanna touched
his forearm. “You must be so proud.”

“I am. Now we’ll have to see how he
does there. Then…can he get a job?”

“One step at a time, Max. Don’t
judge him. Support him.”

“You’re right. I know. I’m trying.
Any word on Quinn’s book deal?”

“Not yet, but he’s meeting with
Jaden at lunch today. My fingers are crossed.”

Junior shrieked then gurgled as a
couple of young men got up to play basketball. They were short a man. “Max,
would you mind?” Susanna picked up the basketball and headed toward the court.

“Go for it, Kareem,” he joked. While
she warmed up, Max pulled Junior’s stroller closer to him and typed a text into
his phone.

* * * *

Bobby pulled the car as close as he
could to Café Limoges. Quinn got out and walked. Confidence flowed through his
veins as he strode toward the restaurant.
Why
else would she want to meet? The book is mine!

When he entered, Jean Marc had
reserved his favorite table. Jaden was already there. She looked as emaciated
as ever. Quinn thought of Susanna’s rosy, full cheeks, her breasts that more
than filled his hands, and her perfectly rounded bottom. The sallow color of
Jaden’s skin together with her sunken face reminded Quinn of people in third
world countries.

“I don’t care what you say. You’re
eating a real meal today, Jaden,” he said as he sat down.

“Hello to you, too.”

“Red meat. Potatoes. Maybe even a
glass of milk.”

She laughed. “Trying to fatten me
up?”

“Put some meat on those bones.” He
picked up his water glass.

“Am I too skinny for you?”

“I didn’t say that. I want you to be
healthy, that’s all.”
You look like
you’re on death’s door.

“So I can write another bestseller
for you?” She cocked an eyebrow at him.

Perfect
makeup, okay lips, but can’t compare to Susanna.

“Are you writing another
bestseller?”
Conversation, always a duel
with her.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She
shot a flirtatious glance his way.

“I would. But one bestseller at a
time. Have you decided to sell me the rights to
BLIND LOVE
yet?”

“I thought we should go out on a
real date, not this stupid lunch stuff. I need to know if you have…uh…what it
takes to play my hero.”

“I have acting credentials.”
Shit, she wants to sleep with me before she’ll
sell me the book. No way!

“That’s not what I meant.” She moved
a little closer to him on the bench.

“I prefer not to mix business
with…uh…personal.”

“And I’m business?” She bristled.

“In the best way, of course. This is
going to be the role of a lifetime for me.”

“Is it?” She trained her stare on
his face. Her lips wore an amused smile.

“It is if you sell me the rights.”

“Do you have a producer and a studio
lined up yet?”

“Not exactly, but I’m working on
it.” He began to sweat.

“That’s what I thought. We’ll see.”
She took a sip from her water glass.

The waitress arrived.

“I’ll have the steak
au poivre
.”

“Bring me a salad, a salad with
beets and goat cheese,” Jaden said.

* * * *

Quinn was nervous as he, Junior, and
Susanna waited for Annemarie. Susanna had fixed some
hors d’oeuvres
and a plate with cheese and crackers. Quinn prepared
a pitcher of margaritas.
Damn it, she
better come with good news.

Quinn paced, repeatedly looking at
his watch.
Can’t you be on time for once,
Annemarie?
Junior fussed. About half an hour after she said she’d be there,
there was a buzz from Stokes. He noticed Susanna’s furrowed brow. The sound of
the buzzer from the lobby startled them both. A pretty redhead bounced into the
apartment all smiles.

“Hey, Quinn. Where’s my baby?” She
brushed his cheek with her lips and kept moving.

Susanna sat with Junior on her lap.
When Annemarie squealed, Junior looked up and started crying. She rushed
forward, plucked Junior out of Susanna’s arms, and chested him.

“There, there, Tonio. My baby!
What’s wrong?” She walked the floor with the infant, trying to soothe him.

“Tonio?” Susanna asked.

“That’s his name. What did you call
him?” Annemarie asked in a cool voice.

“Junior.”

“Junior?” She turned her green eyes
on Quinn.

“Yeah…guess I didn’t like Tonio.
Kinda…pretentious.”

“Pretentious? Tell Antonio that,”
she huffed, kissing the baby on the cheek.

Before long, he recognized his
mother and began to coo and smile. Annemarie kept walking with him, up and down
the living room, speaking softly to him and smiling.

“He’s a great baby,” Susanna put in.
She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt.

“Were you the babysitter?”
Annemarie’s gaze perused the young woman. “Pretty lucky for you, Quinn, to have
such a pretty girl living here. What’s been going on?”

Susanna’s cheeks flushed.

“What’s been going on with you?”
Quinn volleyed back.

“I’ll leave you two alone. I think
you need to talk about the baby and all.” She pushed to her feet.

“No, no. Come back here.” Quinn
grabbed her by the arm and turned her around.

“I mean, you’re the parents, and I’m
intruding.”

A loud, shrieking laugh burst out of
Annemarie, startling Junior, who began to cry again. “Tonio, Tonio…it’s okay.
You think Quinn’s my baby’s father?” Her eyebrows shot up.

“It’s logical to assume—”

“That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever
heard.” Annemarie interrupted.

“It’s not that funny,” Quinn
mumbled.

She eyed Quinn. “Oh yes it is! My
dear…”

“Susanna.”

“My dear Susanna. Quinn is
definitely
not
the father of my
baby!”

“I’m confused. Why is Junior…I mean
Tonio…here then?”

“To make a long story short, Tonio’s
father, Antonio, and I have been…uh…together for the past year. When I got
pregnant, he got on his high horse and said it wasn’t his. We fought and split
up. I had a commitment to do a supporting role in a movie and, after he left
me, I needed the money.”

“He left you, pregnant?” Susanna
sank down on the couch.

“Not pretty, is it?”

“Tell her the rest,” Quinn urged.

“Okay. So after I had the baby, I
worked on convincing Antonio. I even agreed to do a DNA test. But I had to go
on location and do the part. I didn’t have anywhere to drop off my baby. Since
we weren’t married, giving him to my family was not an option, and Antonio
wasn’t ready to accept the responsibility.”

“Why did you choose Quinn, a single
man who knows nothing about children?”

“Quinn was my first boyfriend. We
went to high school together and have been friends forever. In this business,
old, reliable friends like Quinn are hard to find.”

“Did you have to say
old?
”

“Didn’t you think that was a pretty
big thing to ask?” Susanna ignored Quinn’s remark.

Annemarie blushed. “You’re right, of
course. I didn’t realize it at the time. And leaving Tonio was excruciating for
me. I’ve missed him every single day.” She hugged the baby then put him on the
floor on the blanket.

Quinn shifted his weight from foot
to foot.

“Quinn’s really not the father?”
Susanna asked.

Annemarie burst out laughing. “Lord,
no!”

“What’s so funny about that idea?”
He asked, his feathers ruffled.

“Nothing, Quinn, darling. You know.
But you and me? Really? After all these years? I knew that Antonio was
weakening. He was getting used to the idea and maybe a little excited to be a
father. The picture I sent him convinced him my words were true. I knew if I
worked on him, he would come around.”

“Did he?” Susanna asked.

“At first, he was scared. But since
I was on location in Brazil, it was easy to work on him in person.” Annemarie
blushed again and gave Susanna a knowing smile. “A pretty girl like you knows
what I mean, eh?” Annemarie picked up Junior.

Now it was Susanna’s turn to blush.
Before Susanna could answer, the buzzer rang again.