This Is True Love (Exclusive! #1) (2 page)

His bottle thudded on the counter, interrupting her thoughts. Her gaze shot up. His dark eyes bored into hers across the island. “Can I speak now?”

She produced her best carefree smile, taking full advantage of all those acting classes she’d attended over the years. “Sure.”

“Would you please explain to me why I had to find out on
Twitter
, of all places, that you, not Keith, ended up with his shares of Crescendo?”

Tension crept into her shoulders. “Well—”

“Need I remind you, either of you, that I own half the business?” he interrupted, his voice rising.

“Well—”

“This is not in any way, shape, or form what we discussed.”

“I know.”

“You know,” Alex said, his voice rife with the sarcasm that was so him.

The familiar tone settled her nerves. This she could handle. She’d been deflecting his barbs for years.

He pushed away from the counter and stalked around the island, his head down like he was trying to gather his thoughts. “Then, when I tried to call you, you didn’t answer. But lucky me, I did get a cryptic email. What did it say again?”

She knew. She’d agonized for hours over the message’s wording.

He stopped and pierced her with a laser gaze. “Oh, yeah. It said, ‘You want what I’ve got? Come and get it. You know where to find me.’”

Alex pressed his hands down on the island, bracketing her with his arms, and leaned in, invading her space, until their faces were inches apart. “What the hell is going on?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Be strong, Fliss
. Yes, he was angry, but she’d made the best decision for herself. For Crescendo. Her lips curved, and she tapped him on the nose. “You know you can stop with all the He-Man stuff, right? You don’t scare me.”

She probably shouldn’t be needling him, try to be more conciliatory instead, but his Lord of the Manor,
how dare you not do what I say?
attitude grated on her nerves. Nothing new there.

The muscle in his rock-hard jaw ticked faster, drawing her attention to the five-o’clock shadow covering it. The hair looked soft. Would it tickle her palm? Her gaze jerked upward, only to be caught by his gorgeous eyes. He didn’t budge. Trapped between him and the counter, she caught a whiff of his scent. Soap and, underneath it, a subtle, masculine essence she could only call Alex. The same scent that had been haunting her since
that night
.

“
You
can stop avoiding the question,” he bit out.

Yep. Nerves grated. Better to concentrate on that rather than her dangerous, crazy thoughts. She shrugged. “Why? I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

Alex pushed away from the counter, taking his heat with him, and made another pass around the island. “Don’t try that on me. It’s not going to work.”

She warily followed his every move. “What’s not going to work?”

“You playing the sympathy card. I’m not going to feel sorry for you. This is business.”

More of that lofty Lord of the Manor tone.

Her chin lifted. “Yes, I know.”

“Then why are you playing games?”

“Who said I was?”

He slammed his hands down on the island, hemming her in again. “I do. You don’t return my calls and then I get an email?”

Just like that, her nerves made an unwanted return. But she’d be damned if she let him see. She forced her lips upward. “But you came, right? You knew where to find me.”

“I don’t appreciate being manipulated.”

Fliss sighed. “I know.” For better or for worse, he was always clear and upfront with people. No one had to guess where they stood with him, least of all her. He demanded the same respect in return. “I needed to talk to you.”

His dark eyes flashed. “Then why didn’t you pick up the phone?”

“In person. In private. You know there’s no privacy in L.A. I needed to get you alone.”

“So you could talk in circles?” he bit out.

The grumpy cat certainly knew how to scratch when provoked. Her eyebrows rose in irritation. “No. So we could have this business discussion without worrying about prying eyes and ears. After the news leaked, someone would’ve noticed if I showed up at Crescendo or if you came to my house. Paparazzi would have been crawling outside in no time flat.”

He gave a brisk nod. “Fine. I’m here. Let’s talk.”

“You might want to stop glaring at me and give me some space to breathe.” His scent still wrapped itself around her, making it hard to think. And she needed to think. And not about why his scent was affecting her in such an unsettling, unwelcome way.

He glowered at her for another second, then retreated a step, holding up his palms. “Fine. I did what you wanted. Now will you start talking? How did you end up with Keith’s portion of the company, and why wasn’t I told or consulted?”

Fliss inhaled and exhaled slowly. Where to begin? “I enjoyed the small involvement I had in the company.”

“Which is why Keith gave you five percent of his shares as a one-year anniversary gift.”

“Right. Little did I know it was a way to ease his guilty conscience for screwing everything in a skirt.” She winced at the anger creeping into her tone and held up a hand. “Sorry. That’s not business and ultimately not the point.”

***

Alex bit back a curse. He’d never forget the day Keith had come to him practically giddy because he’d met the woman destined to be his wife. Alex had been skeptical because of his best friend’s well-earned reputation as a womanizer, but Keith had insisted she was different. He’d found the female version of himself—gorgeous and successful—waiting in line at the bar at the Academy Awards. They’d both heard of Felicity Chambers (who hadn’t?), but she was even more perfect in person than on the big screen, Keith had said. He’d assured Alex he’d be faithful to his wife. He’d probably meant it, too. Until the thrill of the chase was gone and he’d stepped onto another movie set and met Hollywood’s newest starlet, who was willing to do anything to make a name for herself—including sleeping with one of the world’s biggest stars, regardless of the fact that he was married. Or maybe because of it. Who knew how many others there’d been?

“Anyway,” Fliss continued, interrupting his trip down bad memory lane, “because California is a community property state, splitting our assets shouldn’t have been that hard, except Keith wanted to argue about every single dollar even with a prenup, the greedy bastard. So things got more contentious.”

“I know that,” he said, crossing his arms. “Get to the point.”

“Finally, I got fed up with the drama and really thought about what Keith valued. It wasn’t hard to figure out. After all, I was married to the man for three years. He likes the perks of fame—the cars, the bling, the money, the attention. The hard work? Not so much.”

“Once again,
I know
, which is why he’d agreed to sell me his shares of Crescendo after the divorce was final.” More or less. Fed up with how his friend was treating his wife, who didn’t deserve to be publicly humiliated no matter how much she confounded Alex, he’d let Keith know in no uncertain terms he was tired of his shady ways.

“Yes, but you have to understand
I
don’t care about the bling and cars, so I gave him what he wanted in exchange for something that held much more meaning to me. Crescendo.” Fliss dropped her gaze to the bottle in her hands. “And, umm, I might have told him that giving me his part of the company instead of selling to you would make it easier to save face in Hollywood—you know, so people wouldn’t spread rumors that his best friend had kicked him out of the company.”

Unbelievable. The anger he’d done his damnedest to control flared once again. “In other words, you stole Crescendo from right underneath my nose.”

Her head shot up. “Okay, now who’s being dramatic? You still own as much of the company as you ever did. Half. You just have a new business partner.” She beamed, clearly pleased with herself. Her beautiful eyes shone with joy.

He refused to be dazzled. Not this time. “I don’t want a new business partner.”

He liked working alone. Having his success or failure rest solely on his shoulders. Yes, Keith’s name had offered instant credibility for the company, but Keith had liked the prestige of owning a production company and the profits that came with it more than the actual work. Just the way Alex liked it. Still, legally he’d needed Keith to sign off on projects and had felt an obligation to keep his former partner in the loop.

As part owner, Fliss occasionally gave input, but for the most part she’d been busy shooting movies and then finalizing the divorce. Now she wanted to get actively involved when he was on the cusp of assuming total control and taking Crescendo to the next level with no need to check in with anyone about anything? When he was on the cusp of finally becoming the success he’d dreamed of for so long? No. Thank. You.

Fliss set her bottle down and hopped off the stool, bringing her nearly naked, gorgeous body much too close for comfort. Once again, he commanded himself to concentrate on her words and not his barely checked desire to stroke her tempting flesh.

“I know you don’t want a new, full-time partner,” she said. “You’re a control freak. Someone who likes to work alone.”

“Exactly.” He saw no reason to deny it. As far as he was concerned, it wasn’t a drawback. But that wasn’t the only reason he didn’t want Fliss as a co-owner. How were they supposed to work together after…?

“Let’s be real, Alex.”

He refocused on the woman standing in front of him, a mutinous expression on her beautiful face. “Yes, let’s.”

“You’re a little gruff, a little stuffy. That hurts you sometimes when it comes to business.”

“Are you trying to convince me with insults? Interesting strategy,” he said dryly. “Crescendo is doing fine. I’m doing fine.”

“Yes, but imagine the possibilities if we joined forces,” she said, patting his chest. It felt like he’d been branded, he felt the touch so keenly, even through his T-shirt. His heartbeat pounded in his ears. Why her? Why now when they’d never gotten along? Except for that one night he couldn’t stop obsessing over.

“I don’t want to join forces,” he said. “I’ll buy your shares from you. Problem solved.”

“I bring a different energy, a different perspective,” she added like he hadn’t spoken. She continued to pat his chest. “I have connections of my own that we can leverage to make Crescendo even more successful than it already is. Together, we’d be unstoppable.”

Alex caught her hand in mid-pat and ensnared her gaze. “Not going to happen,” he said flatly.

Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.

CHAPTER TWO

Not what Fliss wanted to hear, but not all that shocking, either. Stubbornness virtually oozed from his pores. “Well, I’m not going to sell, so it looks like we’re at a stalemate. Oh, and now that I own fifty percent of Crescendo, you can’t do whatever you want, whenever you want without my input.”

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, releasing her hand.

Determined to ignore how her hand still tingled from his touch, Fliss curled it at her side. “Well—”

“Is it because of what happened that night?” he continued, cutting her off.

She recoiled, horror sweeping through her. “You think I did this in some clumsy attempt to
seduce
you?”

His gaze never wavered. “The thought crossed my mind.”

Ooh, he was so arrogant. Did he think he was God’s gift to women? More like the devil’s curse. She poked him in the chest. “Well, tell the thought to cross back. That’s
not
why I did this. That’s not why I showed up at the gala.”

“It’s not?” Lord of the Manor had returned. He was messing with her. She knew it and still didn’t care.

She poked him again. “No, and you know it. I wanted to be there. I deserved to be there.”

Six weeks ago, Crescendo had been honored at the Hollywood Gives Back Gala for its philanthropic efforts in sponsoring college scholarships for aspiring filmmakers. She’d been so proud of the honor. It had been her idea to expand the scholarship program as Crescendo became more successful. She’d gone, knowing she’d have to endure whispers and stares and maybe even the occasional rude comment to her face. She’d been so determined to prove to everyone, to
herself
that she was fine. That Keith hadn’t bested her. She’d been doing fine until he walked in with his latest
whatever
, Rebecca Peterson.

And that was enough thinking about that. The man in front of her was her concern, not her ex. She froze, her eyes narrowing. “Wait. You’re not interested in me, are you?”

“Of course not,” Alex scoffed.

Something pinched near her heart. Something she dared not call hurt. He didn’t have the power to hurt her. She wouldn’t give him that power. Not when she’d been hurt by others, who meant more to her than he ever would, and still managed to survive. She lifted her chin. “Good. Glad that’s settled.”

Fliss shifted to walk away, but his hand on her arm halted her progress. And sent another damn tingle down her limb. She pulled away and turned toward him, her eyebrows raised in silent, annoyed query.