Angel Uncovered (19 page)

He tried to persuade her to have champagne but gave
up when he saw how determined she was. They continued
their conversation, Ethan still flirting with her and
Angel laughing off his attention, which was not to say that
she didn't enjoy it. Without her really being aware of it
she had spent most of the night chatting to him while her
friends talked to his team mates.

'Dance with me, Angel.' Ethan stood up and held out
his hand, clearly expecting her to take him up on the
offer, but Angel shook her head. 'I'm going to stay here.
You go, you can't disappoint the ladies.'

Ethan looked torn. 'Okay, but you will dance with me
eventually, I know it.'

As he turned and walked towards the dance area Angel
watched him, enjoying the view of his tall lean figure and
broad shoulders for a few seconds, smiling to herself as
she imagined all the women vying for his attention. Then
she turned back to the group.

Logan raised his eyebrows at her and said, 'Well, I
hope you realise, Angel, that you have one of the most
eligible bachelors in the States in the palm of your hand.'

She laughed dismissively. 'Oh, come on! I bet he's like
that with all the women, giving them the chat about how
they're
the one?'

Logan shook his head. 'No way, never. He's always the
one being pursued. I have never seen him look at anyone
or talk to another woman the way he has with you
tonight.'

Angel tried to laugh off the comments but actually she
couldn't help feeling flattered or ignore the fact that her
heart was beating just that little bit faster. She found
herself scanning the club, wanting to see what Ethan was
doing and who he was with. When she couldn't see him
she decided to take a trip to the bathroom. She told
herself that this was purely to prove that he would have
moved on by now and forgotten all about her.

As she walked through the bar she noticed him sitting
at a table in the corner surrounded by stunning LA girls.
One gorgeous model type was even sitting on his knee,
her arms wrapped possessively round his neck.
Ha, I
knew it!
she thought. As she walked past, Angel couldn't
resist blowing him a kiss.
Logan was clearly taking the piss,
she'd meant nothing to Ethan.
She checked her make up in
the mirror and was pleased to see that she still looked
good, then she texted Cal again. She'd sent him several
messages but heard nothing back. She hoped that meant
he was out celebrating and having a good time, not that
he was deliberately ignoring her.

As she left the bathroom Ethan was waiting for her, just
outside.

'Are you missing me then? I know you deliberately
walked past just to torture me,' he said.

Angel smiled and shook her head. Now Ethan moved
closer to her, so that she was forced to move back against
the wall and he was leaning over her – his strong arms to
either side. There was something predatory about the
move but also something exciting. She could smell his
aftershave, a musky heady smell, and suddenly she
wanted nothing more than to kiss this gorgeous man.
Her head said no, but her treacherous body said something
entirely different . . .

She turned away, anything to avoid those blue eyes,
and said coolly, as if she wasn't having to fight a battle
inside, as if she wasn't aware that her breasts were almost
touching him, 'You were having a great time. I just
needed to go to the bathroom.'

'Whatever you say, Angel,' Ethan replied huskily, in a
way which indicated he didn't believe a word.

To break the sexual tension between them she quickly
said, 'I'd really like a drink now, will you get me one?'
Anything to get him to move away from her, she didn't
think she could take being this close to him. At any
minute her resolve to keep him at a distance could go up
in flames.

Reluctantly he stepped back then said, 'I'm bored of
this place. Why don't you and your friends come over to
my beach house?' As if sensing that she was about to say
no, he said, 'Come on, it's the least you can do, to mend
my broken heart.'

What the hell?
she thought.
Just one drink, then I'll go and
never see him again.

Since becoming famous and being with Cal, Angel had
grown used to luxurious surroundings, to the finest
restaurants and high-end hotels, but still Ethan's Santa
Monica beach house took her breath away. For one thing
there was the sheer size of it. Never mind house –
mansion would have been a more accurate description.
When they arrived the door was opened by a butler who
showed them through to a vast living room which looked
out on to the ocean. There more champagne was
opened.

'Okay, who's for the hot tub?' Ethan said.

Angel looked at her friends – no way was she up for
that. She might have guessed this would happen. Ethan
and his friends probably thought their luck was in with
the four of them coming back here. She looked meaningfully
at the others who all looked as taken aback as she did.

Ethan saw their looks and laughed. 'I promise, it's
nothing like you're thinking! If you follow Jose, he will
show you to a dressing room where there is a selection of
swimsuits at your disposal. We're talking hanging out in
the hot tub, not an orgy . . . we had one of those last night!
Besides, we know all you lovely ladies are spoken for.'

The girls burst out laughing and Angel, feeling
reassured, said cheekily, 'Just how often do you have lady
callers here? No, don't answer. I can imagine.'

'Oh my God! It's just like being in
Pretty Woman!
' Candy
squealed excitedly, seeing the rows of brand new bikinis
and costumes hanging in the wardrobe Jose had just
opened in the upstairs dressing room.

'Meaning what exactly – we're hookers and Ethan is
Richard Gere?' Angel said dryly, while secretly being as
impressed as Candy was by the array of swimwear on
display. She stood back, watching her friends picking out
designer bikinis – Candy a pink one, Suki a black one and
Madison a silver one. But tempting as the bikinis were
she had something different in mind for herself and
chose a red halterneck swimsuit.

'Angel, I can't believe you've chosen the most boring
costume here!' Candy exclaimed in outrage. 'What about
this gold one?' she cried, waving the skimpy two piece in
front of Angel. 'It would look totally stunning on you.'

'It would barely cover my arse,' she shot back, and
Madison said, 'Angel knows that Ethan is dying to see her
in a teeny tiny bikini so she's going to keep him guessing
about that gorgeous body of hers. You know what they
say about treating them mean to keep them keen!'

'Madison!' Angel said in mock outrage. 'I don't know
what you're talking about. Ethan's not interested in me!'

The three other girls collapsed in fits of giggles while
Angel smiled, but she couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt
even though she hadn't done anything to feel guilty
about, had she?

'Angel, that man's got it
so
bad for you,' Suki said,
slipping into her own bikini and checking out her
appearance in the floor-to-ceiling mirror. 'Just enjoy
tonight. You've done nothing to be worried about, we're
just having a laugh.'

But was that all she was doing?
She was very attracted to
Ethan and this unsettled and excited her in equal
measure.

The others all changed more quickly than her. Angel
took her time, checking out her appearance in the
mirror. While the costume did cover her more than a
bikini, it was cut to show off her figure to its best
advantage, so there was plenty of cleavage on show and
most of her back. But the look was sexy and not tarty, she
thought. Then, furious with herself for even caring how
she looked, she wrapped herself in a large fluffy white
towel and went downstairs.

Outside the others were already in the huge hot tub,
drinking yet more champagne, chatting and laughing
with the boys, but there was no sign of Ethan. She walked
past them, ignoring their appeals for her to come in, and
headed to the pool. The turquoise water shimmered in
the subtle underwater lighting. It looked so inviting. She
felt like she needed to clear her head, remind herself of
who she was.

She quickly slipped off the towel, walked to the edge of
the pool and dived in. The water was colder than she'd
been expecting and she started swimming in an effortless
front crawl to keep warm. She swam several lengths
before she became aware of someone standing by the
pool. It was Ethan. She swam to the side, smoothing back
her hair and wiping the water from her eyes.

'I might have guessed you'd be a fantastic swimmer,'
he said. 'Do you want to warm up in the hot tub?'

Angel laughed. 'That line sounds
so
corny, I bet you say
that to all the girls?'

He shook his head. 'I can't win with you, can I?'

'No. But I will go in the hot tub, I'm bloody freezing!'

But if she was hoping for safety in numbers she was in
for a surprise as the others had moved back inside the
house. Angel was tempted to join them but then reasoned
she was only
sitting
in a hot tub with Ethan. Once she was
immersed in the pleasantly hot bubbling water, she
couldn't resist looking at him as he took off his robe and
climbed in after her. There was no getting away from it –
he had a beautiful body with golden-brown skin and welldefined
abs. He was bigger built than Cal. Bigger in all
departments? she found herself wondering.
Shut up!
she
told herself sternly.
I love my husband. I love everything about
my husband, including his perfectly sized
– her thoughts were
interrupted by Ethan.

'Would it be okay if I sat over here?' He indicated the
opposite side of the tub. She nodded.

'So did I mention how sexy you look in that costume?
But you know that, right? You must get compliments
from men all the time.'

Angel smiled. 'I'm married, remember, so no, I don't.'

'Stop reminding me of that fact. You're tormenting
me!'

'You can handle it,' Angel replied. 'You'll have forgotten
all about me in the morning.'

Ethan frowned. 'Well, I hope your husband realises
that he's one lucky guy to have you.'

Suddenly Angel's mood changed and any flirtatious
thoughts she'd been having about Ethan vanished as she
thought of the distance that had developed between her
and Cal. She felt a lump rise in her throat and her eyes
fill with tears. 'Actually things aren't great between us at
the moment. I don't know if he even loves me anymore,'
she said sadly.

'I'm sure he does,' Ethan said softly.

'It's all my fault. Since I had the baby I know I've
pushed him away. I've not been there for him. I wouldn't
blame him.' Suddenly the words that Angel had been
holding back for so long came tumbling out and she
couldn't stop herself. 'I've been so depressed. No one
except my mum knows – I'm getting better now but I'm
afraid I've lost Cal because of it.'
This was insane, what was
she doing, confiding in a total stranger about her innermost
feelings?
But she couldn't stop. The tears were streaming
down her face.

Ethan moved next to her, put his arm round her.

'Hey, it's okay,' he said gently.

'It's not okay, Ethan. Everyone thinks I've got the
perfect life and the perfect marriage, but I haven't – it's
such a mess!'

Angel was so upset she didn't even care that he had his
arm round her and they were sitting practically naked in
a hot tub. There was a pause as if Ethan was considering
his reply, then he said, 'Much as it's against my own
interests to see you happily married, you've got to tell
your husband how you've been feeling.'

'There's no way I can at the moment, he's got to focus
on the tournament,' Angel replied.

'Well, as soon as it's finished, you must. And you've got
nothing to be ashamed of, Angel. My sister suffered from
depression a couple of years ago after her son was born,
and she's doing great now. It's just an illness, it doesn't
mean you're a bad person.'

'I bet no one's ever behaved like this with you before,
have they?' she asked, struggling to regain her
composure.

Ethan smiled. 'No one's come close.' He gazed at her
then seemed to pull himself together. He took his arm off
her shoulders and moved away from her. 'Can I get you
another drink? Maybe some brandy?'

'No, I'm fine,' Angel replied, half relieved, half
disappointed that he'd moved away.

'It's no problem, I'll just buzz Jose.'

And she watched in astonishment as he pressed a
button by the hot tub.

'My God, you're so flash!' she exclaimed, wanting to
forget her emotional outburst as Jose appeared seconds
later ready to take the order.

Ethan shrugged. 'Not really. You should see some of
the other players' pads. This is modest compared to
theirs.'

'Oh, come on!' Angel protested. 'This is one of the most
amazing . . . no, hang on . . . this is
the
most amazing
house I have ever been in.'

'I'm glad you like it,' Ethan said softly. 'You'd be
welcome here any time.'

Angel smiled. She was saved from having to answer by
the reappearance of Jose with their drinks. She sipped
her brandy and tried to avoid looking at Ethan. The fact
that he'd just shown himself to be so sympathetic only
made him more dangerous.

'Look over there,' he told her, pointing out to sea.
'Sunrise.'

Angel turned and saw the first barely there pink rays
emerging in the sky. 'Beautiful.' Then she allowed
herself to look back at Ethan, who was staring straight at
her.

'Yes, you are.'

She shook her head. 'Don't say that, it's not true. And
I know I look rough now, after crying and making a
complete fool of myself.'

'Come on,' he said, standing up and holding out his
hand. 'Let's go watch the sunrise on the beach.'