“Mr. Hollywood, Z McCartney Stuns All with His Red Carpet Appearance Amidst Swirling Rumors.”
~Hype
Chapter One
Aubrey
“Here you go,” Penelope said, shoving two champagne glasses into our hands the moment we stepped into the glitz and glamour of the after party. “It’s sparkling cider, so drink to your heart’s content. We are trying to keep up appearance and stave off speculation. All I ask is that you let me know when you want a refill. I’ll make sure you get the right stuff.”
“Thanks, Penny. You’re the best,” Zane said, smiling.
“Anything for you,” she replied with a smile, before moving off to mingle in the crowd.
It was obvious to anyone with eyes that the two of them cared a great deal for one another. I hated that it made me wonder if there had been more between them. Had Penelope ever warmed Zane’s bed? Glancing around the party, my insecurities got the better of me. There was probably a good chance that he’d bedded several of the women here.
Forcefully trying to push those thoughts from my mind, I attempted to focus on the glittering event going on around me. Clusters of people gathered together here and there visiting loudly as they tried to be heard over the thumping music. The guests were a collection of some of the biggest and brightest stars in Hollywood, and I still had the desire to pinch myself, just to see if it was real.
“Anyone you want to meet while we’re here?” Zane asked, turning to me, and I noticed he still didn’t release my hand. For some reason I couldn’t force myself to pull away.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. You’ve always been my favorite movie star.” I couldn’t help coloring even as the words left my mouth, leaving me wishing I could blame it on the drink, but knowing I couldn’t. “Although, if Sandi Lubbock is here, I’d love to meet her. She’s amazing.”
Quickly Z scanned the crowd. “I’m fairly certain she won’t be here. She rarely stays for these things anymore. She likes to hurry home now that she’s a momma.”
I could totally relate to that. In fact I was missing my little tiger right now. The best part of my day was coming home from work and getting hugs from Dustin. He made it all worthwhile. “That’s sweet of her. Kids are important.”
“Do you want kids someday?” His question completely caught me off guard.
“Um . . . of course I do,” I faltered, not sure how to answer. “Look. Could we maybe go for a drive or something? I mean, unless you need to stay at the party. There are just some things I’d like to talk to you about privately still, without any interruptions—if you don’t mind, that is. I’m just worried we might run out of time before we need to get you . . . home.” I figured that word was a better choice in case anyone was eavesdropping.
“I don’t mind at all. How would you like to go back to my place? I know the staff at Sunnybrook isn’t expecting me back until early in the morning. As long as you’re with me, I’m not breaking any rules. What do you say?”
I nodded, swallowing hard. Just the idea of being alone with him in his house felt so intimate. It scared me a little. He’d been nothing but charming tonight, on his best behavior, and despite the walls I’d erected against him, he seemed to easily be able to slip his way inside.
“Let’s find Penelope. She can call for the car.”
“She won’t be angry that we’re leaving early? I thought they wanted to interview you because you were one of the winners.”
“I did those few interviews after the show as we were leaving. That should be plenty. Let the press speculate over why I left early, toting the most beautiful woman at the party with me.”
Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. “Stop. Have you seen where we are? I’m definitely not the most beautiful woman here.”
“Are there other women here? I didn’t notice,” he replied, his eyes never leaving mine. “I’ve been completely mesmerized by the vision of loveliness beside me all evening.”
“You’re a charmer, Mr. McCartney.” Whether he was trying to be charming or not, his words pleased me way too much. I needed to keep my head—and my heart—together better.
Smiling, he shook his head, and then grew more serious. “No, I’m not. I just can’t believe I’ve been lucky enough to spend an entire evening with the girl of my dreams. Look, there’s Penelope.”
Dragging me through the crowd behind him, he maneuvered the two of us over to Penelope’s side and whispered in her ear. Glancing at me, she nodded and then disappeared.
I wasn’t really paying attention, still caught up on Zane’s previous comment about me being the girl of his dreams. It had my heart racing way too fast, and I realized that despite our tortured past, I wanted to be the girl of his dreams. Heaven knew he was still the man of mine, despite the hell he’d put us both through.
No matter how angry I’d been with him, he was still the one I dreamed about. I’d compared every other man I’d tried to date against him, and found them all sadly lacking. I used to fantasize that Zane would find out about Dustin, and one day come to sweep me off my feet, but as time passed, reality set in. He wasn’t coming for me. I doubted he even remembered I existed.
Then the bitterness set in, knowing it was all a pipe dream and he would never show. Of course he had no idea I’d even been living here in LA. I wondered if he’d have come for me if he knew. But I convinced myself I didn’t want him to—that he wasn’t the same guy—that he was too messed up by the seduction of the fame and glory of Hollywood.
But I was wrong. He was the same guy. Underneath the wild partier still existed the boy I’d fallen in love with—the boy I was still in love with—only he was a man now. And what a fine man he was.
Yes, he’d fallen victim to the dangers around him, but his heart was still there. It was easy to see the regret that lay hidden behind his eyes. I knew he’d change things if he could. I knew without a doubt he still had feelings for me. The real question was would he still after he found out what I’d hidden from him?
“We’re all set. Let’s go.”
I said nothing as we wove our way back through the crowd. Pausing here and there as we greeted different celebrities and several other people that I had no idea who they were. Finally, we reached the door and I could see the driver waiting beside our limo.
Zane led me to it without speaking, and helped me climb inside, following after me.
“What about Penelope?” I asked, not seeing her.
“She’s staying. The car will come back for her and take her home when she’s ready.”
“And what about us?”
“We’ll take one of my vehicles back to the facility, or call a driver to take us.”
“If we take your car, how will we get it back to your place?”
He shrugged. “I figured we could just leave it in the lot at Sunnybrook. Or better yet, you could take it home and keep it until I’m released.”
I gave a slight snort. “Yeah, I could see trying to explain that to my parents.”
He chuckled. “Would that be so bad? Or do they still hate me for leaving their daughter behind?”
“They were pretty angry.” That was the understatement of the year. I believed my father had mentioned a possible castration if he ever laid eyes on Zane again. They’d felt betrayed in the worst way possible. It had taken a lot of begging and pleading on my part to make them realize I didn’t want them to try and find him. I wasn’t ready to face him yet, the memory of his betrayal too fresh in my mind.
Zane slipped his hand inside mine, lacing our fingers together. “I wish I knew how to make it up to you, and to them.”
My pulse rate quickened as I stared at our linked hands. I’d dreamed about a moment like this for the last ten years. Now it was happening and I couldn’t stop feeling guilty about it. He was in therapy. For him to have any kind of relationship with me would compromise that therapy. I couldn’t knowingly do that to him, no matter how much I wanted to be a part of his life.
It scared me, too. What if he walked away again? What if after therapy he realized that I wasn’t enough for him? He’d left me before and I survived, but what about Dustin? I couldn’t bring his father into his life and then have him leave again.
Carefully, I extracted my hand from Zane’s. “We can’t do this.” I stared at him, my heart heavy. “I can’t do anything to compromise your therapy. You know as well as I do that you aren’t to get involved in any new relationships for a year.”
“This isn’t a new relationship,” he countered, slipping his hand back into mine. “It’s an old one, and it’s one I need to fix. If it’s the last thing I do with my life, I need to fix this. It’s the only thing that ever really mattered to me.”
His words touched me, but I couldn’t accept them. “I took an oath, a vow, to never do anything that would harm one of my patients.”
“You aren’t harming me. You’re helping me to get better. Besides, all my therapy sessions have been focused on how I need to set things from my past straight again. Dr. Wilson doesn’t know it’s you we are talking about, but he’s constantly encouraging me to make amends with you as part of my therapy.”
“Really?” I didn’t know why that gave me hope.
“Really.” His eyes dropped to my lips. “Tell me what I can do to make things right with you. I’ll do anything you ask, just say you won’t leave me.” Leaning closer, his hand cupped my chin, sending little sparks racing through me. “Sometimes when I’m with you, I’m afraid I’m going to wake up and find out this is a dream and you aren’t really here. I have this terrified feeling that I’m stuck in some sort of hallucination.” His thumb traced my lips. “If I am hallucinating, I don’t ever want to wake up.”
His lips captured mine, and I moaned. Unable to help myself, I leaned into his embrace, like a camel starved for water. I wanted to drink my fill of him, store it, and keep it so I could take it out for a rainy day and imagine it all over again.
He gathered me into his arms, and I realized they were still strong and muscular, though bigger around than the last time I’d been in them, but they still felt the same—like home.
Parting my lips, I allowed his tongue to sweep inside, and he groaned, as he leaned into me harder. I couldn’t get close enough. I wanted my body pressed against every inch of him. My fingers ached to trail the planes and ridges of his body the way they used to. I wanted to know him again—in every sense of the word.
Breaking away, I pushed back, distancing myself from him. “Zane.” My voice was trembling heavily. “I can’t do this. Not yet. We need to talk about some things first.”
Sighing heavily, he released me, but took my hand again. “We’re combustible, you and I.”
“I know. We always were.”
Silence fell between us for a few moments.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“How close are we to your house? I don’t want to be interrupted.”
He glanced out the window. “We’re almost there.”
I was surprised at his declaration because we were in the middle of downtown, skyscrapers towering over us. He pointed to one of the tall glass buildings.
“I live in the penthouse.”
The penthouse. Why was I surprised?
“I’ve never been in a penthouse,” I said, feeling a little excited over the prospect of getting to see where he actually lived. You could tell so much about a person by how they lived in their personal space—and I was definitely anxious to see his.
The car paused in front of a gate and a guard waved us through, securing the gate behind us. The limo pulled up in front of an elevator and parked.
“We’re here,” Zane said smiling. He didn’t wait for the driver to get out and open the door, instead doing it himself and then offering me a hand as he helped me out. Taking out his wallet, he removed a special key card and placed it in a slot at the elevator.
“Let me guess, your own private entrance?” I asked.
“Yep. This elevator goes straight up to the penthouse.”
“I can’t even imagine living in a place like this, let alone having my own private elevator.”
He grinned. “Wait until you see the views. You’re gonna love it!” His excitement was infectious.
“I can’t wait,” I responded, smiling back.
And I meant every single word.