Red Carpet Romance (8 page)

He pulled back from her suddenly.
“Shit!”

She looked at him with a question in
her eyes.

“Food’s here. Dammit.” He shook his
head as he slipped his wallet out of his back pocket. Glancing down at the
front of his pants, he groaned. “Crap. Here. Give him a good tip.”

He handed his billfold to her and
went to push the button, admitting the deliveryman. Susanna’s gaze moved down
his form, noticing his obvious erection. She stifled a giggle as she combed her
hair with her fingers, running her tongue over her bruised lips, and went to
answer the door. When she took the food, she heard the rattle of plates coming
from the kitchen. They set up on the small dining room table, as it wasn’t warm
enough to eat out on the terrace.

Quinn unpacked the bag, telling her
about each item as he revealed it. “Guacamole. Salsa. Chips. Cheese Enchiladas.
Beef soft tacos. Beer.”

“A feast!” Her stomach rumbled.

“Interrupting one feast for
another…” he mumbled, his face still cloudy.

“No salad?”

“I’m sick of salad. Goddamn salad. I
need real food.”

“So you’ll be stoked for those
strenuous
interviews?” She covered her
smirk with her hand.

“Go ahead, laugh. You eat real food.
You don’t know what it’s like. I have another Joe Martin coming up. I can’t
gain weight.”

She patted his arm. “You’re right.
I’m sorry. Not very sympathetic.”

“No, you’re not.” He shoveled a chip
loaded with guacamole into his mouth and closed his eyes, sounds of
satisfaction vibrating in his throat.

“If it’s that good, I’ve got to try
it.” She loaded up a chip.

“Tell me what happened to you. Why
is Coach Joe’s daughter working as a nanny?” He put an enchilada on his plate.

“Where to begin? Dad had retired. He
was driving me into the city, to my new apartment. I’d found a place, a share
with two women, near the Empire Art Museum. That’s where my new job was.
Assistant curator in their Impressionist painting section.”

“Art museum, huh? Interesting.”

“Yeah. My training is in art, mostly
art history with a little fine art thrown in.”

“So what are you doing here? Not
that I don’t love having you here, but…it doesn’t make sense.”

“After I got my Master’s, I spent a few
years at home, taking care of my mom because Dad sure as hell couldn’t do it.
He was working all the time. Or traveling, scouting new players, away games.
You can guess the drill.”

“You didn’t work at all?” He took a
sip of his beer.

“Don’t think taking care of my mom
wasn’t a full time job. It was. She deserved my help. She was a great mom…and a
dad, too, most of the time, since he wasn’t around much. I spent my spare time
drawing.”

“So what happened?” He loaded two
tacos on his plate and offered one to her.

“On the highway to New York, a drunk
driver went out of control, jumped the median, and plowed into us. Dad was
killed, and I was in the hospital for three weeks.” She sighed before picking
up her beverage.

“Wow. I’m sorry,” he said, shaking
his head.

“The timing couldn’t have been
worse. Now that Dad had retired, we were going to spend time together. We’d
planned a trip…vacation…for all of us. But we were too late.” Her eyes watered.

He reached out, squeezed her
forearm, and planted a kiss on her hair. “Now you’re left penniless? How could
a man like that not have money?”

“Oh he had money. But until the will
is probated, I can’t touch it.”

“What about life insurance?”

“Dad left coaching. Life insurance
stopped the day he left. He hadn’t gotten around to getting any. He was busy,
trying to figure out what to do with his life.”

“And your job? Did that go up in
smoke?”

“Hell, they didn’t hear from me for
three weeks. So they gave the job to the number two choice. Can’t blame them.”
A soft, shuddering sighed escaped her throat.

Quinn stared at her while he chewed
his food. “Pretty lousy.”

“I’ll survive.” She cast her gaze
down at her plate and put down her fork to hide the slight tremble of her hand.
Her appetite seemed to flee.

“I’m glad you came to work here.” He
ran his finger down her cheek.

She looked up at his soft touch and
managed a weak smile. “Me, too.” They finished the rest of the meal in silence.
Susanna cleared the food away while Quinn went to the sink to wash the dishes.

“Thank you. That was great.” She
picked up a dishcloth to dry. “What’s the schedule?”

“Tomorrow night is the premiere and
the party. Sunday, I have an interview with
Entertainment
News
. Monday afternoon, I’m taping a
Meade
Rivers
show plus another interview, this time with the
Who’s News
columnist…”

“Allie Peterson?”

“Yep.”

“I hear she’s hot.”

“Wouldn’t know. It’s business.
Monday afternoon another taping, this time with Wyman Joseph for his show. Then
on Tuesday, relax at the beach in the morning and leave on the four o’clock
plane.”

“And you remember all that? Without
a notebook or phone or anything?”

“Hell, yeah. My agent has a PR
person. She gets all this done and sends me an itinerary.”

“I’m impressed you’ve memorized it.
All you have to do is sit back and talk?”

“I have to be there on time,” he
said, rinsing a dish before handing it to her. “And sound intelligent.”

“Not bad. Sounds like fun.”

“It isn’t. People try to trip you up
all the time. Especially the media. The talk shows are a little better, at
least the ones run by comedians. Real interviewers, like Peterson, want some
gossip—something juicy—and push you, try to trap you into revealing something
they think all the world wants to know…and you don’t want to tell.”

“That’s tough.”

“It’s their business, to sell
papers.”

“You have to be careful not to get
caught, right?”

He nodded. “Never go to an interview
drunk.”

She snorted. “Did you learn the hard
way?”

He chuckled. “Chaz and I went on an
interview together, both drunk. It got pretty raunchy. I think they had to bleep
more than they ran.”

Susanna laughed as she put the last
dish away.

“Come on, let’s kill these beers.”
He flipped the top off the last bottle and handed it to her. Quinn stretched
out on the couch, propping his feet up on the coffee table. Tucking her toes
underneath her, Susanna plopped down next to him.

“I’m taking Jaden Benedict to the
premiere tomorrow night.” He lifted the beer to his lips.

She lifted her eyebrows. “Is she
your girlfriend?”

“I don’t have a girlfriend. Jaden
would like to change that…and cast herself in the role.”

“So you’re squiring her, hoping
she’ll be satisfied by that and sell you the rights?”

“Something like that.” He crossed
his ankles.

“Do you think that’s gonna fly?
Won’t she see through you?”

“I don’t dislike her. She’s just not
my type.” He shrugged.

“Oh? What is your type?” She lifted
her eyebrows.

He shifted to his side to make eye
contact with her. “You.”

Heat rushed to her cheeks. “Oh?”

“Yeah.” He moved closer to her on
the sofa.

“Is that a line? If it is, it’s not
working.” She inched farther away.

“It’s not a line. I’d say we were
smokin’, more like it.”

“You mean that kiss?” She continued
to move away.

“Honey, that was more than a kiss.”

“Was it? Famous movie star like you.
Probably kiss women like that all the time.”

He grabbed her elbow and yanked her
to him, holding her against his chest. “I haven’t kissed anyone like that in a
long time. I’m not a man-whore just because I’m an actor.” Then his lips
descended to take hers.

Heat between them momentarily melted
her resistance until rational thoughts recaptured her brain.
He’s got a kid. Probably married. Stop
before you get hurt.
With her last shred of dignity, Susanna slowly eased
away from Quinn.

“I…I…I think it’s time for bed,” she
stumbled, hoping the fire inside her would die down.

“My thoughts exactly.” A gleam of
sexual desire shone in his eyes. His gaze dropped to her chest before returning
to her mouth.

“I meant me. Alone. Time to sleep.”
She glanced at her watch. “Ten thirty already and Junior will be up before six.”
She pushed to her feet, combing her shoulder-length hair with her fingers.

Quinn remained seated. “Anything I
can do to change your mind?” He raised his eyebrows.

She shook her head.

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

“Goodnight,” she said, turning toward
the stairs. “Oh, thanks for the great dinner.”

“You’re welcome. Thanks for the
great kiss.” She watched him rise and stroll to the terrace door before she got
to the second floor and out of view. After slipping soundlessly into bed,
Susanna lay awake for a bit.
He’s so
sexy. That hair. Those eyes. That body. Such a good kisser. Still, too many
unanswered questions. Who is he? Don’t know how much longer I can hold out.
When he starts a fire…I get swept away.

Chapter Five

Like clockwork, Junior was up by
five forty-five. His early cry woke Susanna. She got him changed, threw on her
seersucker robe, and padded down the stairs, holding the baby close.

She almost dropped her teeth to find
Quinn wearing nothing but a pair of jeans, sitting at the kitchen counter
sipping coffee. “A bit early for you, isn’t it?”

“Told you I get up early to be on
the set. Hard habit to break. Besides, I got a text. Woke me up at five,
dammit.”

“A text?”

“Jaden Benedict. Stomach virus. She
can’t come to the premiere tonight.”

“What a shame.” Susanna tried to
hide her smile as she placed Junior in his highchair and mixed a bottle of
formula.

“I guess that means you’re standing
in.” He sat back, grinning at her.

“What?” She whirled around to look
at him.

A lazy smile made its way across his
lips. “You heard me. I need you to go in her place.”

“Why? She took a box of cereal down
from the cabinet.

“Because I don’t attend premieres
stag. Bad for my image.”

“What image? As a playboy or an
actor?” She mixed the cereal with formula and put a bib on Junior.

“I’m not a playboy. I prefer to look
like a guy who can get chicks. Women. Beautiful women. Even if it’s not true.
You know. Doesn’t mean I’m sleeping with them…”

“Think you’ll look like a loser if
you don’t have a woman on your arm?” Her gaze rested on his bare chest. Her
fingers twitched at the thought of touching his skin. The baby gurgled at
Quinn, who put his finger within the tyke’s reach. “Are you really that
shallow? I didn’t think so.”

“Hey if it was any other event, I
wouldn’t care. This is all about image. Very important in Hollywood.”

“Who’ll look after Junior?”

“Damn! Forgot about that. My
producer. I’ll call Josh. He’ll get a babysitter.”

“And I don’t have any formal
clothes.”

“Aha! Right. Hmm. Let me think.” He
stood up from his chair and began to pace. He snapped his fingers. “Penny!
Chaz’s sister-in-law.”

“Who?”

“Penny…she’s a…a
fashionista
, I think is the term. She
used to live out here and knows the best stores on Rodeo Drive. We won’t waste
time. I’ll call Chaz and get her number.”

Susanna sat quietly, feeding Junior
and talking in a low voice to the baby while Quinn heated up his phone with
call after call. She heard bits of his conversations, the funniest being when
he was trying to get her a dress. He had to describe Susanna’s body.

“Her breasts are…well…sort of.”

She peeked out to spy him holding a
cupped hand in front of his chest. Unsuccessful at stifling giggles, she
clamped her hand over her mouth.

“I can hear you in there…laughing,”
he called out.

“Do you want my dress size?” She
asked.

“Might make this easier.”

She left the baby gumming his
strained fruit to mouth “size eight” to Quinn in the living room. When he
finished, he returned to the kitchen.

“She said we should be able to find
the right dress in your size at La Maria, Jean Louis Designs, or Rossini
Boulevard on Rodeo Drive.” With a look of satisfaction on his face, the actor
rested his foot on a chair seat and pointed one finger at the sky. “Dress
shopping at noon. Babysitter arrives at five.” He added another finger, one for
each point he made. “Limo at five thirty. Red carpet at six thirty. Brief
interview. Movie at seven. Tons of cringing when I see myself up there. After
party at nine thirty. Home by midnight.”

“You did all that just now?”

He nodded. “I had help. Josh, Penny,
Fran…they all have contacts here.”

“Guess I’m going to the premiere.
But what about being seen in public with you? Holding hands and all?” She put
down the baby’s spoon.

“This is a date. Formal date.
Holding hands is okay. Being seen on the street wheeling a baby and holding
hands is not.”

“Guess you’ve got your reasons.” She
added more fruit to Junior’s cereal.

“Trust me.”

Why
am I finding that so hard?
“I’m taking Jaden’s place?”

“You’re going because I want you to
be my date. She asked me…caught me off guard. I didn’t have a good excuse.”

Susanna stopped, holding the utensil
in midair.
He wants to take me, wants to
date me?

“Isn’t that okay?” For the first
time, a frown of worry creased his handsome brow.

“It’s more than okay,” she smiled at
him. “You’re not married, are you?”

He burst out laughing. “No. Why are
you asking?”

“You’ve got a child, his mother is
coming, and you’re not dating anyone that I can see.”