From Fame to Shame (4 page)

My face hurt from smiling and if one more person tried to photograph me, I’d be tempted to stab them with the heel of my shoe. I mean, they kept getting right in my face. So rude! Plus, I was absolutely positive that the layer of makeup on my face was bubbling, which didn’t help my insecurities. But I forced my mouth to do the unnatural and curl up just a little while longer.

A few minutes later, Stella and I freshened up in the restroom with a few spare minutes before show time. As it turned out, the only thing bubbling had been my brain.

We claimed a settee in the long corridor near the entrance closest to our seats. As Stella advised, I faced her, so I couldn’t see anyone approaching. They’d be more likely to keep walking if they thought we were deep in conversation.

Stella’s gaze wandered to something behind me. “Oh, hell. Dallas Bines is coming our way. Keep it short and sweet while I figure out how to get away.”

Chapter Three

Next thing I knew, he was on my left, towering over Stella and me. Right then, I wished I had my camera. The photographer in me pictured Dallas wearing that sexy tux and leaning against a door frame, ankles crossed, a faraway look in his eyes, bow tie loosened and his hands stuffed in the pockets. Black and white, matte finish.

His weight rested on one leg, like he was in no hurry to leave. That pose would’ve made a great shot too. “How’s your nose?” he asked.

“All good now. Thanks for asking. And thanks for the save out there.” I gave him another smile, but it faltered when he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

Dallas nodded, his gaze steady on me. “Maybe I could switch seats with Stella and she could sit with my brother. You remember, Dave, don’t you, Stella? He's been asking about you.”

“Uh…” Her words stuck in her throat and, for a moment, she seemed torn.

“Stella and I are going over some things.” I opened my tiny purse and pretended to look through it. "Privately. Maybe next time?"

Dallas’s brows lowered as he studied me. “You two are up to something. You’re both acting weird. You,” he aimed an index finger at me, “especially.”

“Ha,” I scoffed. “It’s business as usual. We just have a lot going on.”

“I’m not buying it.” One corner of his mouth curved up. “You’re sitting with me.”

My jaw went slack as I stared at him, unsure how to respond. If I said no, would he become even more suspicious? Plus, my resistance was breaking down. I mean, hello? I’d crushed on him for years and here he was asking me to sit next to him in the dark. How much did Jackie expect me to take?

Stella gave a nervous laugh. “Jackie and I are working.”

“Now?” He shook his head. “Come on.”

“Sure, if it makes you happy,” I told Dallas, trying to convince myself that giving in to his request was only to keep up the charade. Jackie was Stella’s boss. I needed to act like it. Right? “You and I can go over that stuff later.”

Once we found our seats, Stella’s gaze followed the direction of Dallas’s index finger. A slightly older version of Dallas waved from a seat near the next aisle over.

“I’ll go around to the other entrance.” Stella’s lips thinned to a straight line and her eyes gave me the silent message,
Don’t say too much
, then she took off.

Why did Dallas want to sit next to Jackie anyway? Was he interested? Hadn’t he already been there and dumped that? This made me wonder how serious Jackie and Dallas had been. I'd never gotten the details, just the glossy version. Did they have sex? I immediately ejected that image from my head.

“Shh!” He held a finger to his lips as the lights dimmed and the screen lit up, saving me from his scrutiny. I crossed my arms over my chest and vowed to ignore Mr. Hotness.

Yeah, like I could forget Dallas Bines was currently sitting right next to me in the dark.

I stared straight ahead, but the expression
out of sight, out of mind
meant nothing when I could still smell that clean, musky scent that made my mind go in forbidden directions.

Despite his broad shoulders and my constant struggle not to rest my head on one of them, I managed to catch snippets of the movie. It was a romantic comedy, which was usually my thing when I didn’t have certain distractions...

An hour and forty-five minutes later, the credits rolled over the giant screen, lights flooded the theater. As soon as I could get away, I needed to find Stella and, hopefully, get the hell out of there.

“What did you think?” he asked.

“It was great.” I grinned.

He gave me a skeptical glance. “Really? I thought you didn’t like chick flicks. You always go for the action packed movies. ” He turned toward me, his arm brushing against mine. A little shiver skated along my skin. “You're full of surprises today,” he said.

“No, not really.” I should have made my excuse and left, but I was frozen in my seat with my heart pounding wildly from his touch. Help! Where was Stella? A chill vibrated through me and I held my arms.

“Here.” He stood, then shrugged out of his jacket and turned it so the jacket lining faced me.

I rose to slip an arm into one sleeve, then turned as he slid the fabric over my other arm and past my shoulders. His musky scent wafted from the fabric and invaded my brain. Involuntarily, I bent my head and inhaled. I faced him again, but he hadn’t let go of the jacket, which left me uncomfortably close to him.

“What game are you playing?” he asked.

The metaphoric gun clicked at my temple. “What do you mean?”

“C’mon. You know what I’m talking about.” It was almost a whisper, but not like he was the bad guy cornering me. He sounded… concerned. And very nice.

Nice
. That’s how Jackie had described Dallas when she’d said he wasn’t her type. Well, if
nice
meant incredibly sexy, sweet and confident,
nice
was definitely a good thing to me. A very good thing.

Uh… what was his question?

"We’ll talk about it over a drink,” he said when I didn't answer.

I swallowed. If he knew Jackie well enough — and I was struggling not to think about the two of them
really
getting to know each other — given enough time, he’d figure out that I definitely was not Jackie. My head reeled with various scenarios of us having drinks together and me giving myself away. Every ounce of me wanted to say yes, but it could ruin Jackie if he discovered the truth.

He motioned for me to go first and I led the way from the balcony section and into the second floor lobby. We took the elevator down to the first floor, but could barely push through the mass of schmoozing people.

The giant chandelier cast deceptively little light on the women showing off their sparkling gowns. Cameras flashed as the media captured the various celebrities in natural situations — and I use the term
natural
hesitantly considering how acutely aware they all were of their bodies and what positions flattered them most.

How would Stella find me amidst the throng of people? Because of Dallas’s height, he’d stand out. But if Stella only saw his back, he’d look like a lot of other guys in a dark suit.

My skin tingled when Dallas’s hand closed around mine and we squeezed through the crowd. He stopped on the other side of the large room where a few inches of free space opened up.

A waiter appeared in front of me, but I hardly noticed as my focus remained fixed on Dallas. I hoped I successfully hid my fascination over his masterfully chiseled features. And that little smile that reached his eyes. Totally swoon-worthy.

Dallas was only around twenty. He gave the impression he’d packed a lot into a short time. With all that experience, would he be a good kisser?

I blushed when I caught myself focusing on his lips. He was talking. Oh, crap, I hadn’t been paying attention.

“Jackie? Would you like a drink?” Dallas said, nodding toward the server who appeared to have said something to me. That same smile played at the corner of his mouth, like he had a secret.

Apparently, my brain wasn’t fully up and running or I would’ve just accepted the glass. I didn’t have to drink from it. I twisted around to see a redheaded woman with an extremely smug look on her face. Did Jackie know her?

“Lisa Alcott,
Exposed Magazine
.” Instead of reaching out for a hand shake, her green eyes narrowed. “What would make you give up alcohol?”

“I… I’m not in the mood tonight,” I said.
Exposed
was the worst of them all, constantly printing retractions or getting sued. They probably kept printing trash because they sold enough papers to make up for it. Forget the truth.

Lisa’s cat-like smile grew wider with each second. “Hm.”

I sucked at impersonating Jackie. I’d make a horrible actress. And I couldn't help wondering how much my little sister — by two minutes — drank when she went to these events. I forged on, adding a little snark like I’d seen Jackie do. “It’s not mandatory, is it?”

“You’re wasting your time with us, Lisa.” Dallas grabbed my hand and led me away. Realizing that Lisa was right behind us, he stopped short of the door and whirled around. “Have a good night.”

She scowled, probably because all her baiting hadn’t gotten either of us to slip. But she didn’t need our cooperation. She’d probably use the pictures of Dallas and I together to make up a story, simply because that was her job — to twist the truth and create controversy. I’d heard enough rumors about Jackie to know I should never take anything at face value. But other readers may not see through the lies.

“Let’s go.” He tugged on my hand again, compelling me to trail after him.

Although I wanted to go with him, the sane part of me knew this was a bad idea. Where was Stella? I glanced back, but didn’t see her. Dallas stopped just outside the back door. My gaze drifted to a group huddled several yards away and the cloud of smoke around them. The smoking section.

Lisa hadn’t followed us outside, probably because she’d already gotten what she needed. Dread settled in my stomach. Jackie was supposed to be on sabbatical. She didn’t need to read a bunch of garbage about herself while she was still recovering from her previous humiliation. I glanced at Dallas.

Oh, crap. Of course they wouldn’t serve me with the press around. Worse, while I was being an idiot, I confirmed what a media whore Jackie was.

“C’mon. You’re going to pretend you’ve never been served in a public place before?” I lifted a careless shoulder.

“Not with the press around.”

This impersonation gig couldn’t end soon enough for me. Life was much easier when I could just be myself. Except then I wouldn't see Dallas again.

“So I forgot myself for a moment.” I rolled my eyes. Acting was kind of like lying. I felt bad deceiving Dallas, but isn't that why I was there?

“Well, Lisa won’t see it that way. She’ll put a crazy spin on you refusing a drink, along with some trashy speculation. It’ll probably get picked up in every tabloid across the country.”