Entangled Hearts (14 page)

“Why don't you give Chynna and me some time alone, eh?” he asked, but Kenya knew he wasn't really asking. He was
telling
them he wanted to talk to her
alone.

“Sure thing, Lucas. We'll be around.” Deacon glanced at Kenya, who nodded her assent from behind Lucas.

Lucas closed the door behind him and turned to face Kenya. She stepped backward and folded her arms across her chest.

“Chynna, please.” Lucas gave an exaggerated sigh. “I'm not about to attack you.”

“I know that,” she said defensively.

“You could have fooled me,” Lucas replied as he walked toward her. “In the limo, you were like a tiger ready to attack if I made one move toward you. And given what we're about to try and pull off today, that's not going to work.”

Kenya inhaled sharply. He had a point. She had to get over her skittishness because they were about to act like they were an adoring couple. “You're right. So what do you suggest we do about it?”

“This.” One of Lucas's hands reached across the short distance between them and pulled her by the neck until she was inches away.

Kenya closed her eyes, ready for some sort of attack, but instead, Lucas gently brushed his lips across hers. Her eyes fluttered open just as he deepened the kiss, and his tongue surged inside her mouth to collide with hers. They mated together as one, tasting and devouring each other. His other hand caressed her hair, cheek, and the curve of her hip, bringing her closer to him until her breasts were pressed firmly against his chest.

Sparks grew, but instead of taking the kiss further, Lucas pulled away.

Kenya stared at Lucas blankly. “Why did you do that?”

“Kiss you?” he said. “Because I needed you to have
that look
in your eye.”

“What look?” Kenya turned to stare at herself in the mirror but couldn't see anything different other than her smudged lip gloss, which would need repair.

“The look you have right now that says you want me,” Lucas said. “It will play well to the camera.”

Kenya opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

“We have to convince the public that we're the real deal,” Lucas said. “And we couldn't do that if you're scared for me to touch you. Now you're more relaxed.”

Kenya felt anything other than relaxed. She felt like a cat on a hot tin roof. Lucas hadn't kissed her because he'd wanted to. He'd done it so he could heighten her awareness of him to play up to the interview. And it had worked. She was very
aware
of him.

Lucas opened the door to the greenroom and allowed Deacon, Fiona, Derrick and Daisy in. They immediately ushered her into a seat.

“What happened to your lips?” Daisy asked as she set about touching up her makeup.

Kenya glanced up to find Deacon smiling knowingly at her, but he didn't comment on how her lip gloss had gotten smudged even though Lucas had a hint of sheen on his lips.

The interviews on all of the shows went well. Kenya was surprised at just how good an actor Lucas really was. He acted like an adoring new boyfriend who couldn't get enough of Chynna. He had one hand around her shoulder and the other held one of hers. And several times during each interview, he'd leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. He was so good at it that if Kenya didn't know otherwise, she would believe he was a man in love.
Is this what Lucas does with the women he dates? Does he make them believe he is in love before he dumps them?

“I'm glad that's over,” Lucas said when they were on the plane heading back to Los Angeles.

“You guys did fantastic!” Fiona gushed. “You were really convincing.”

“A little too convincing,” Deacon muttered underneath his breath.

“What was that?” Kenya said from beside him.

“Oh, nothing,” Deacon replied. “Great job!”

“Good,” Lucas said. “Now Chynna can focus on the movie without fear of the press hounding her about Blake.”

“You know this isn't the end,” Fiona replied. “We'll still need the two of you to go out on a few
public
dates
before we can release that the two of you broke up.”

“That won't be a problem,” Lucas replied.

“Excellent!” Fiona was happy with her handiwork, but Kenya was not looking forward to spending more time in Lucas's company. Today had shown her that Lucas had a way with women— he'd easily made putty of her today in the greenroom after all. If he really put on the charm, just how long would she be able to resist it?

Kenya was nervous as she sat in her trailer a couple of days later. Daisy was making her up for one of the first scenes she would film with Blake. Her whole team had come to the set, but Kenya would have preferred quiet so she could run her lines again in her head. It was imperative that she not screw this up. Chynna was depending on her to pull through some of these scenes. Since they were filming out of order, some of the more dramatic scenes would be taped in advance. Thankfully, when Chynna returned, she'd have less acting to deal with because Kenya would do all the heavy lifting.

What didn't go so well was her wardrobe fitting. The film's wardrobe had already been selected weeks ago when Chynna had been fitted. Unfortunately, Kenya was an inch or so larger in the midriff than Chynna, and the costume designer wasted no time making a point of the weight gain.

“She needs to lose five pounds,” the designer said, glancing over at Deacon as if Kenya wasn't in the room.

“I'll take care of it,” Deacon said.

Kenya glared at Deacon as the woman rushed off to let out the snug-fitting mini-dress
. He will take care of it? He isn't the boss of me.

Deacon must have sensed her fury, because he said, “No carbs. We've done this before, Chynna. You know how the camera adds fifteen pounds. It'll be fine.” He patted her shoulder as if she were an inconsolable child.

Kenya hated being patronized and shrugged him off. “Take a break. I need some privacy.”

“Chynna ...,” Deacon began, but Kenya held up her hand.

“Out.” She pushed him toward the trailer door.

When they'd all blessedly left, Kenya sighed.
How am I going to pull this off?
Had anyone noticed the difference in her figure versus Chynna's? Five pounds? It was closer to ten. Although she wasn't fat by any means, she was much more athletic than Chynna and muscle weighed more. She was going to have to starve herself to fit in that skinny outfit.

Kenya needed to talk to someone. She reached for her purse and called her twin, but her cell phone rang and rang, so Kenya finally gave up. She was going to have to get through this on her own. But how? She'd never done a motion picture before. Television was different. They had all the time in the world to tape, but film moved much quicker.
What if I tank?

Her cell phone rang and Kenya tapped the screen, hoping it was Chynna. It wasn't.

“Chynna.” It was Lucas.
What is he doing calling me?

“What do you want?”

“Well, I was hoping I could come in, but I was told you'd kicked everyone out for privacy.”

“Come in?”

“I'm outside the trailer,” Lucas said. “Figured I couldn't not show up to support my girlfriend's first day filming. What would the press think?”

He is entirely too good at this
, Kenya thought as she stepped down to open the trailer door. Lucas was standing outside in the sunlight, looking good enough to eat. He looked fresh-shaven and was wearing a collared navy-colored jersey sweater and some jeans. Kenya couldn't remember ever seeing Lucas wear jeans. The casual look was good on him.

“May I?” he asked, motioning toward the door.

“Come in,” she said. She glanced at Deacon outside her door and pointed at him. “Not a word.” She knew he suspected there was more going on to her and Lucas's relationship, but as her manager, he was the epitome of discretion.

Lucas brushed past her on the steps as he walked up the trailer, and her nipples instantly hardened. God, what was wrong with her? Whenever she was around this man, she became horny as hell.

Slowly, she walked up the steps and found that having Lucas in her small trailer made it feel dwarfed. He sucked up all the air in the room, and it disoriented her. Not to mention those jeans accentuated his tight butt.

“How do you feel?” Lucas asked, staring at her.

“Hmm? Oh, I'm fine.”

“Liar,” he said, taking a seat on the couch. “You look tense. I thought you said you had this.”

Kenya straightened her back. “I do. But this is my first movie, in case you've forgotten.”

“I haven't,” Lucas said, watching her intently. “I just have faith in you that you can do this.”

“Thanks,” Kenya said as she tugged at the too-small top she was wearing and pulled it down over her midriff. She couldn't wait for the replacement top to be let out.

Lucas's eyes caught the action and did a slow roam over her outfit. “A little snug?”

Kenya rolled her eyes and frowned. “Don't remind me. I was told to lose a few pounds.” She reached for a bottle of Evian she'd opened earlier, and she sipped.

“I kind of like the extra pounds,” Lucas said. “Gives me more to hold on to.”

Kenya swallowed hard. There was no mistaking the sexual innuendo in that statement. She tried to ignore him by changing subjects and bringing up the public date Fiona wanted to arrange for them at Spago at the Hotel Bel-Air. It was easier than focusing on the obvious sexual tension between the two of them.

Kenya glanced around for something to use to fan herself.
When did it get so hot in the trailer?

Lucas noticed Chynna's obvious agitation as she moved around the small trailer. He'd thought it was nerves about the movie, but then he thought better of it and rose from the small sofa and walked over to her at the counter.

When she turned around, he was right behind her and consequently, had her backed in a corner between him and the counter. “Why does being around me make you so uncomfortable?” Lucas inquired, raising a brow. “Before you left for Tucson, you wanted more between us, and now that it's here ...” His voice trailed off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was definitely something different about Chynna.

She tried to stand up straight, but by doing so, her breasts puckered out in the skimpy top she wore, and Lucas couldn't resist staring at them in all their beautiful perfection. The memory of tasting those sweet chocolate morsels came to him, and he could feel himself hardening.

“I-I'm not uncomfortable,” Kenya said.

Lucas wanted to call her bluff, but he knew she needed to be on set soon. So he didn't want to start something he wouldn't be able to finish.

“Good.” Lucas pushed away from her and heard her audible sigh of relief. “I just wanted to say, break a leg on set today.”