Unravelled (Revealed #2) (26 page)

The envelope had obviously already been opened at some point, not to mention folded numerous times. Carefully, I reached inside and removed a single sheet of paper. Scanning it, I saw the familiar logo of the film company Sean was working with at the top, and then traced down to see that it was a letter addressed to Sean. Trying to calm my hammering heartbeat. I allowed myself several moments to read the contents, and then looked up dubiously and wide-eyed at Sean.

I could barely believe what I’d read. ‘They actually contracted this farce?’ I asked sceptically, my eyes roaming his face and seeing nothing but a grim reality in the hardened angles of his jaw.

‘They did. That’s how seriously they treat the ratings game over here, Allie.’

‘This is … um … certainly a little … unexpected. I thought that maybe you and Savannah had just made it up between the two of you …’ I murmured, my eyes flicking to the paper again.

‘No, but I can see why you would think that.’ He nodded and then sighed. ‘I’ll explain, as best I can, but it’s not something I'm proud of, so I hope you won't think any less of me.’ The look of concern that had settled on his face certainly appeared genuine, his big, doe-eyed look pulling at my heartstrings and filling me with the urge to reach out to comfort him. So I did, sliding my hand onto his firm thigh and giving an encouraging squeeze. His gaze dropped to the point of my contact and a sweet smile curled his lips until he covered my hand with his and continued.

‘I'll start from the beginning. As you know, I’ve been out here on and off over the last few years filming the first two seasons of LA Blue.’ I nodded, yep, so far so good.

‘During the second season the show became really popular, more than we had expected, and as a result the publicity surrounding the actors increased. Some paparazzi snapped Savannah and me out together a few times and a rumour went around that we were dating. The show’s ratings soared almost overnight, as did hits on the website. It was crazy, but as you can imagine, the producers were thrilled. People became obsessed with us.’ He shook his head and shrugged awkwardly.

‘But you were dating,’ I reminded him, hating the sour taste of jealousy that popped on my tongue.

Sean shifted on the sofa, scratching anxiously at the back of his neck and leaving the skin red. ‘Yes. But only briefly. Because we were filming, Savannah and I were spending an awful lot of time together. I wasn’t interested in dating her, but she was incredibly persistent.’ I’d never even met the woman, but I already had an irrational hatred for her. ‘In the end we went out a few times during the filming of season two.’

Lifting my hand from his thigh, where it had practically cramped up from jealousy, he rubbed some life back into it while fixing his gaze on to mine firmly. ‘We never slept together, Allie. Never. I swear to you,’ he assured me, with a gaze so intent that it sent a fizzle of connection bursting through me. As insignificant as it might be to some people, the fact that he hadn’t slept with her made me feel better about the whole situation and I felt my shoulders relax a little.

‘Remember when we were snowed in at my house and I told you the rumours of me sleeping with all my co-stars were lies?’ I nodded, remembering the conversation as if it had happened yesterday. ‘That is true, Allie, believe me. I didn’t sleep with her, or any of my co-stars. Like I told you, I haven’t dated for years, not since Elena.’ I nodded, wincing as I recalled the awful story of his on-off girlfriend being killed in a boating accident. He hadn’t dated since. Until he met me, and apparently our connection had been too strong for him to deny.

‘Savannah’s a great actress, very professional, but as I came to find out, she's also a completely self-centred bitch.’ I couldn’t help but smile. ‘Once I got to know the real Savannah she began to drive me mad and we split up. Not that we were ever really together.’

Blimey. I was on a seesaw of emotions as my light mood was once again dulled by the pangs of jealousy squirming in my stomach. As irrational as it was, I hated the fact that they had even been together. She would have touched him, perhaps kissed him, and that made me want to do some seriously nasty things to her. Jealousy wasn’t an emotion I had ever been particularly familiar with, but since dating Sean I had found that I was becoming rather well acquainted with it. Apparently I was quite the possessive woman where it came to a certain Mr Phillips.

‘Even at that early stage it was obvious how popular the show was and Finlay, our director, had already informed us that he planned on doing at least another five seasons if the network agreed.

‘Obviously he wasn’t thrilled when I told him our brief relationship was over, and being a money-hungry bastard his main concern was the impact it would have on the viewer base and the show’s ratings.’ Sean raised his eyebrows to show his disregard for the director’s attitude, something I couldn’t help but share. Did he have no morals at all? ‘This is Hollywood in all its greedy glory.’ Taking in a heavy breath, Sean smiled thinly. ‘This sounds crazy … even to me … but Finlay offered us both a very healthy pay check if we pretended to continue seeing each other. Nothing specific had to be announced to the press, we just had to be seen in public together every now and again to keep the rumour mill going.’

Levelling an apologetic gaze at me, he thinned his lips into a tight line. ‘Neither of us was involved with anyone else at the time, and seeing as I didn’t ever date I didn’t see the harm in it.’ Scowling, he lowered his eyes. ‘I gave in to the lure of the extra cash. What can I say? I thought I was different, but I'm obviously just a money-hungry arsehole like everyone else who moves out here.’ He smiled on the surface, but I could see sadness in his eyes.

‘That was it, really. Savannah dated other people on and off during the next year, but we were together enough for filming that there were always pictures of us appearing in the press to keep the fans interested, the rumour mill spinning, and the director happy.’

Blinking rapidly, Sean shook his head. ‘You have to believe me when I say it was never supposed to go beyond that. An engagement was not discussed with me at that point, or ever agreed on.’ Once again his stare was solid and truthful, so I could do little but sit, nod, and allow him to continue.

‘One thing kind of led to another and the longer it went on, the more the press were hounding us for gossip. At the start of this season, Finlay called Savannah and me into a meeting and offered us a bonus cheque if we would pretend to be engaged.’ All the air left my lungs at those words. The start of this season was when Sean and I were already together. Did that mean he’d chosen money over me? Before I could draw in a new breath to state my concerns, Sean practically launched himself from the sofa in agitation.

‘I was fucking furious at his presumption. I still am!’ His big blues met mine, his fury burning into me and laying my previous concerns to rest. He hadn’t chosen money over me. That was certainly good to know.

‘Obviously things had happened with you by that point and I knew with certainty that you were the one for me.’ I was the one for him. There was no way Sean could know how happy those words made me, but my breathing faltered for the second time in less than a minute as they sank in and made something inside my chest heat with love. Even in the midst of this other craziness his words were like a soothing balm. ‘I point-blank refused the offer and left the meeting, but as it turns out, Savannah continued talks with Finlay and agreed a deal.’

My eyes widened and my eyebrows made a break for my hairline, immediately causing Sean to raise his hands defensively. Or perhaps it was a proclamation of innocence, I wasn’t sure. ‘I swear to you I thought that was the end of it. I had no idea they made the deal behind my back.’

As I tried to analysis all of this insanity, my expression morphed into a heavy scowl. This was all so unethical, so unreal I could barely believe it – not to mention it was a complete pack of lies being fed to the fans.

‘It was such an utter sham. Still is,’ Sean spat with a firm shake of his head. ‘Finlay offered me a second, larger cheque later that week and I told them I didn't agree with lying any further and I turned down the offer … unfortunately, Savannah's greed got the better of her and she announced our engagement at a film premiere about three weeks ago. I found the money in my account the same day.’ Sean’s eyes closed as he shook his head bitterly. ‘I wasn't there with her that night, but the next day it was all over the press and people were going wild. I couldn’t fucking believe it.’ Sean did occasionally swear, but the passion behind his words made me surprised that more expletives hadn’t slipped from his lips over the course of the last five minutes.

‘I was so torn over what to do. I tried to go to the press and deny Savanah’s statement, but Finlay told me in no uncertain terms that my job on the show would have been compromised, and he promised it would affect any future employment in Hollywood.’

My mouth fell open in surprise. ‘He blackmailed you?’

A weary sigh heaved from Sean’s chest as he nodded. ‘Pretty much, although obviously he was careful not to word it that way. He’s a big deal in LA, lots of connections to the right people, so I have to take his threat seriously.’ Walking back towards the sofa, Sean sank down onto his haunches in front of me and took hold of both my chilled hands. I felt almost frozen from this new, and bizarre, information.

‘I was terrified about telling you, Allie. You have no idea.’ His eyes were flicking around rapidly now. ‘I just couldn’t think of a way to say it and make it sound OK, so I avoided it, like a coward. When you kept asking me why I was tense on our Skype calls, this was the reason.’

Dropping down, he rested his forehead on my knee as he took several long, ragged breaths, the air warming the skin below my shorts. His contact helped me loosen up my stiff body, and so I tried to return the favour by gently pulling one of my hands free from his grip and running it soothingly through his hair.

After remaining there for a few seconds, Sean drew in a long breath and looked up, his eyes calmer and more purposeful. ‘I went and spoke to Finlay on Thursday, as soon as you ran away from me and nearly gave me heart failure.’ I swallowed guiltily and bit down on my lower lip.

‘I tried appealing to his softer side and told him about you.’ Gripping my hands again, Sean fixed me with his penetrating stare. ‘I explained how very important you are to me.’ My heart gave a kick of happiness, but then Sean licked his lips, the movement slow and deliberate and somehow changing my happiness to something far lustier. He reached up and cupped my cheek, causing a growing heat to flicker between us and almost scorch my skin where we were connected. No matter how inappropriate the timing, I wanted him.

Sean seemed to agree with my sentiment, but after a second shook his head, apparently intent on finishing his confessions first. ‘He wasn’t thrilled, but he could see what a state I was in and finally agreed that the engagement farce needed to end. Apparently the man does have a heart after all,’ Sean joked mildly before sobering again. ‘His acceptance comes with two stipulations – I have to wait until after the new season premiere to make the announcement, and until then Savannah and I have to continue to live together in the same house. He wants the fans hooked in before we “split up”. Plus, he thinks that it might cause some extra publicity for the show that way.’

My jaw clenched as I grimaced at his mention of living with Savannah, but there seemed to be an end in sight, which was all I was clinging to right now.

I still couldn’t believe people lived like this. How was this make-believe world his reality? It made me feel well and truly boring. ‘We have separate rooms, Allie, there is nothing between us.’ After finishing his confession, Sean sat still and stared right at me, his eyes large and almost childlike as he awaited my judgement. When I didn’t say anything – I couldn’t, I’d been stunned into silence – he let out an almighty sigh. ‘You probably think I'm a total jerk now.’

I quietly pondered what he'd told me for a second, finding myself totally lost for what to say. My bottom lip took a battering as I chewed on it and thought through all he had told me. Technically, when he’d agreed to the fake relationship, he’d been single, so there was really no harm to that element, and money certainly had a way of making people do crazy things. I dreaded to think what sums of cash had been exchanged for this farce – probably more than my bank account had ever seen in its lifetime.

Nodding to myself, I got to the real crux of the issue – Savannah. She sounded like a grade A bitch, had forced the engagement thing into the public eye, and from what I’d seen of her in pictures, looked more than keen to make fantasy into reality with Sean.

It was a lot to consider so I asked a question that sprang into my head. ‘After I left you on Monday, Cait and I did a bit of digging. There were a couple of photographs of you and Savannah out with your families. Have you deceived them too?’ I asked, aware that my voice was most disapproving and also wavering from the jealousy still burning inside me.

Sean unfurled his tall frame from his position on the floor and moved to sit back next to me again, his posture decidedly more slumped than earlier.

‘Those photos are really old, back when Finlay first asked us to continue the pretence, but no, of course I didn’t lie to my family. I told them all the truth.’ Running a hand through his hair, Sean shrugged. ‘Actually, in the end, it was my parents who convinced me it was the right thing to do. They said the money was too much to turn down. My mum has wanted me to settle down for years so I think secretly she hoped things would work out between Savannah and me and we would end up together for real.’ He raised an eyebrow ironically, shaking his head and his eyes sought mine as he searched my face for an indication of my feelings.

I was still basically in stunned silence, but Sean’s face crumpled at my continued hesitation. ‘Do you think I'm an awful person?’ he asked quietly, anxiety written across his handsome face and making him look far older than his years.