Malibu Betrayals (17 page)

Thank God, she didn’t think she could handle his disappointment any more than she could his silent treatment.

Gage stood chatting with other cast members, dynamic, captivating. It was no wonder they all hung on his every word. He turned to greet Sam and spotted the coffee. Deep appreciation shone from his eyes.

She ducked behind the shelves to her workplace. As suspected, he rounded the corner in less than two seconds. She giggled.

He took the offered cup and tipped back a mouthful. “Oh, you have no idea. Thank you.”

She watched him and her lips trembled. She’d never met someone so thankful for such little things.

Gage gave her a half smile. “I’m sorry about the other—”

“Me, too.”

He snaked a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her close.

She leaned into his embrace and closed her eyes.

“Tonight we need to—” His body tightened next to her. The warmth in his eyes frosted over. “What’s this?”

Sam leaned forward to take a look at the magazine he’d picked up from her table. A photograph of her and Cecilia Lombardi splashed across the front cover. Both women leaning forward, as if conspiring, smiling. In bold letters the words,
Lombardi in bed with Dekker, Hollywood’s latest love story
all but screamed from the page.

Gage took a step back.

She stood before him, dread settling in her stomach. “Gage.”

Betrayal turned his face to stone. “Do you really think so little of me?” He stood and towered over her.

She crossed her arms. “Listen to me. I know how this photo looks, but it’s not what you think. It was business.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

She winced as the set quieted with his unexpected outburst.

Sam held Gage’s eyes. She had to make him understand. “Gage.”

“I forbid you to ever meet with that woman again. For anything.”

The words rang in her ears, and she tensed.

Sam shook her head. “Don’t.”

Gage stepped forward, brow raised. His jaw clenched and his eyes glowed cyan. “Don’t? Don’t? Are you fucking kidding me? Cecilia Lombardi, of all people? I don’t care if she holds the fate of your career in her hands. There is never a reason for you to meet with that woman.” He paced the room. “I didn’t deserve this, Sam. You, of all people, know how I feel about her.”

“But I don’t.” Her chest rose and fell, fighting for breath, trying to make sense of it all. “And I want to. The producer asked me to go, and networking is part of this business. I needed to see what she had to say.” She rushed on. “It was useless, but I had to know.”

Gage didn’t pause, didn’t stop, just walked from the room. She wanted to run after him, to make him understand, but at this point chasing him would cause more of a scene.

Panic turned in her stomach. What had she done? When would she ever listen to her instinct? She should have never gone. The last thing she’d ever wanted to do was hurt him again. The coffee churned in her stomach. Her head spun and she sat down.

Lombardi could rot in hell, but at the rate Sam was moving, she’d get there first.

…

Gage flopped down onto the bed in his trailer, Metallica blaring from his stereo. He hoped the music would drown out his thoughts, but so far, the heavy guitar sets only made him feel worse. His mother and Sam? He squeezed his eyes shut.

Gage rolled to his side. The cozy warmth of his trailer failed to soothe as it normally did. The dark wood, muted grays, and bold black, offset by shots of white, jarred him like a rip in a film reel. He closed his eyes against the space.

What had Sam been thinking? Seeing the woman he cared for
laughing
with his sorry excuse of a mother made him sick. His stomach churned and he wanted to vomit. Still might.

Maybe he was wrong about Sam. The woman who snagged his heart years ago with her soulful eyes and sweet, determined ways might have changed into a stranger.

Suicide changed the people left behind.

A knock on his trailer door persisted, even after he ignored it.

“Mr. Cutler.”

He recognized Dani’s muffled voice. “Mr. Cutler, I’m not leaving.”

The knocking continued, and he slammed his pillow over his head. The knock changed to a pound, rattling the walls and his bed.
Goddamn it
.

Growling, he charged from the bed and yanked open the door. “I will have your ass thrown from the set if you don’t go away.”

The young assistant, efficient as ever with her hair tucked under her messenger cap, smiled in return. Her bright, sunny ways did nothing but annoy Gage at the moment. “What do you want?”

She walked up the steps and breezed past him inside his trailer. Caught off guard, Gage stepped back. He left the door open and leaned back against the jam, his arms crossed at his chest. “Talk. You have two minutes before I throw you out of here.”

Dani reached her hand toward him, a business card dangling between her fingers.

He stared. “You’re down to one minute.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, for Pete’s sake, take it.”

Gage raised an eyebrow, but she stood her ground.

He snatched the card from her hand and flipped it over. “So?”

Dani sighed. “Mr. Cutler, the producer gave it to her. Look at the back.” She gestured with her hand.

Gage rotated his wrist and read the back of the card.

“Ms. Dekker really had no choice. She’s trying to rebuild her name in an industry unforgiving when it comes to anyone but actors.” She waved her hand up and down in front of his form. “You all can get away with murder.”

His eyes shot wide. “Sorry?”

Clearing her throat, she continued. “The public loves a story of redemption, but for writers?” She shook her head. “Come on.” Dani walked to the door.

Gage stepped aside.

“Besides, I saw her yesterday afternoon, and she was fuming. A fan of Cecilia Lombardi she is not.” Dani hopped down the trailer stairs.

Gage called out, “Thanks, Dani.” The tension in his shoulders released its tight grip just an inch. Maybe he’d been wrong.

“I didn’t want
you
giving up on Sam.” She gave him a jaunty salute and disappeared into the herd of crew members and equipment. A few curious gazes made eye contact, then darted back to whatever occupied their efforts.

God save him from any more rumors. Gage sighed, stepped back, and pushed his door closed. He needed a few minutes to calm the barrage of emotions before looking for Sam. The look of shock and confusion that crossed her face when he shoved the magazine under her nose supported Dani’s claims. In the moment, however, it was a look he couldn’t—no, wouldn’t—accept. The idea she’d have anything to do with his mother was too much.

He wanted to believe she met Cecilia without any deceit, and that she’d dreaded the meeting with his mother, only to leave with a bitter taste in her mouth.
That
was the Sam he recognized.

Maybe it was time to tell Sam who Cecilia really was. He rubbed the back of his neck. Admitting the woman was his mother to Sam made his stomach turn, but if he wanted her to do the hard things for him, he needed to do them for her. She always complained about her baggage, but she didn’t understand he was already accustomed to carrying a heavy load.

Chapter Seventeen

Gage found Sam bent over the screenplay with Martin, their heads together, whispering. He placed his hand on her work space above her manuscript. “We need to talk.”

She looked up, surprised to see him.

He grabbed the screenplay and handed it to Martin. Rounding the table, he grabbed her hand. “I have something to say, and I need you to listen.” He was acting all alpha gorilla, but he couldn’t help himself.

Martin held his hands up, and looked at Gage as if he’d lost his mind. “Is that really how you treat a lady?” He shook his head. “Besides, you two can’t go anywhere, shooting’s about to start.”

Gage released Sam’s hand, but only to guide her by the shoulders. “It can wait.” He continued to push her toward the front door, though she dug in her heels.

“Come on,” the director shouted with a resounding smack of paper against his knees.

Gage stepped through the door behind Sam and called out over his shoulder. “Five minutes.”

Once outside on the front porch, she pulled away from him and swung around. “You can’t do that. This is my job.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Would you have listened?”

“Like you did for me this morning?” she shot back, her hands on her hips.

“Exactly.” He stood at the porch railing, and she joined him.

He needed a second, the truth of it all constricting his chest and stealing his air. Blowing out the little breath he did find, he stepped next to Sam and studied her profile. Dark eyes looked straight ahead out over the landscape, lush lips pressed together in a firm line under a pert nose. He reached out and pushed the silk of her long brown hair back over her shoulder.

“There’s something you need to know about Cecilia Lombardi.”

Sam turned toward him. She leaned her hip against the railing and crossed her arms. He figured she wasn’t quite over their earlier confrontation, but at least she was willing to listen. She listened like no one he’d ever met, all in and fully engaged; he never saw her eyes glaze over or her focus wander off. And what was more? She wasn’t even aware she did it.

He spoke low. “This isn’t something very many people know, and I’d like to keep it that way. My dad and sister have been through enough. And, frankly, the facts just don’t matter anymore.”

A knot twisted in his gut and he focused on a dark boulder about halfway across the property. “I told you about my mother walking out on us.”

Sam sighed. “Not fair, Gage. I want to be mad at you.”

A half smirk broke the firm line of his lips. “But you remember?” He glanced in her direction and then back across the yard.

“Yes.”

“Cecilia Lombardi is my mother.” A heaviness settled in his gut as silence settled over the yard.

“Gage.”

“She denies it, vehemently. Denied it from the start. I figured my best bet was to keep my mouth shut and hope the rumors would go away.”

“That must hurt.”

A raw, rough laugh escaped from his throat. “Seems to be the way of things for me.”

Sam’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not fair.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the floor, then back to her. “No, it’s not.”

She watched him, but she didn’t deny it, didn’t protest the fact.

His shoulders sagged. “As far as Cecilia goes, it shouldn’t hurt. She’s not worth it.” He turned toward her.

She stepped in close and pulled his head down until their lips met, and he sighed into the kiss. She spoke against his lips. “The loss is all hers. You wouldn’t be the same man had she stayed.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Seeing the two of you together, I overreacted. I’m sorry.”

Sam studied him, her eyes wide, and she smiled. “I knew there was a reason I didn’t like the woman. She wanted me to join forces with her. I told her no, and she wasn’t happy.” She tilted her head to the side. “There’s one thing I don’t understand.”

“What’s that?”

“I’d think she’d want to claim you to help her career.”

He shook his head. “You can’t understand crazy. She always blamed us for her dreams
not
coming true, so there’s no way in hell she’d allow the association to make sure her dreams
do
come true. You know the saying, ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’? That’s her.”

Sam frowned. “That’s so sad.” She bit her lip and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m so sorry I went. Had I known, I’d have never gone. You have to see that.” Running her fingers through his hair, the light touch sending shivers down the back of his neck, she lifted on tiptoe and kissed the corners of his mouth. “I care about you, more than I should. I really wish things could be different.”

Gage swung his arm around her shoulder and led her back inside. There was nothing more to say today. He’d simply have to find a way to change her mind. Time to get back to work, on the film and on keeping Sam.

…

Later that evening, Sam sunk into the couch next to Gage, wishing the tension between them would go away. She glanced at him from beneath her lashes. He stared at the TV, but she doubted he was paying any attention. Turning toward him, she plucked at the fringe of the blanket lying in a heap between them. “Thank you for telling me about your mom.” She’d been thinking about him ever since he’d shared, hating what the woman had done to him. Gage had given her something Ethan never had—respect. He talked to her, apologized. He’d been selfless with part of his life he didn’t share with anyone. It all warmed her.

He turned to her and warm lips caressed her temple and then trailed down her cheek, feather-light, to the corner of her mouth. She lifted her lips to his. One brush, and then two, a million wouldn’t be enough.

Lifting onto her knees, Sam straddled his lap and poured herself into the kiss. She angled her head, sliding her tongue along his, and then pulling back, bit his lower lip with a gentle tug. She’d loved how he felt, how he tasted, the way he slept with his arms crossed above his head, and the lingering scent of his cologne after he got ready in the morning. Her throat burned, and she swallowed. Everything was so different with him. She stilled.

“What’s wrong?”

Looking down at him, she brushed her fingertips over each brow and down the bridge of his nose. Nothing was wrong with him, and that was just it. She was terrified, but the fact remained that everything was different with him, better, bolder, more beautiful. Just maybe—

He kissed her once more and then held her from him. “Do something for me.”

She wiggled her brows. “What do you have in mind?”

He palmed her ass and squeezed until she giggled. “There’s been a lot going on, and my dad and Bel have heard a lot about you.”

A soft, sweet unfurling in her chest made her inhale with a slight catch in her breath. He wanted her to meet his sister and dad. A warm flush of gratitude stretched her lips into a smile she had no power to stop.

“Look, I know we can’t be more than what we are now, but that doesn’t mean we need to hide from the people we love. I’ll make it clear we’re friends, but I think after all this time, they deserve to meet you.”

Sam rolled the pros and cons around in her head as she watched the intensity in his face. He’d done something really difficult for her and had a strong relationship with his family. Lumping him in with the average celebrity no longer seemed fair. With every want and need at his fingertips, he tried to curb his once-reckless behavior.

The hopeful look in his eye was her undoing, and her resolve crumpled with each heartbeat. Besides, she really wanted to meet them. To see him in his element, with the people he loved and who loved him. She nodded.

Gage grinned against her mouth. “Thank you.”

She’d do anything for him. He’d never believe it, but it was true.

He might be the one celebrity who could actually handle that kind of power.

…

The next day, after being released early from the set, Gage and Sam warmed in the sun on his front patio. He pulled her close. “Why are you so nervous?”

His voice startled her, and Sam shook out her hands. The muscles in her shoulders were so tight her fingers were almost numb. “How about they’re the people you love, and they’re going to hate me if I hurt you?”

Squeezing her close, he chuckled. “They don’t bite.” He leaned close and nibbled her earlobe.

She laughed and pushed him away. “I hope not like that, at least. This is a big deal. They’re important to you.” Sam wrapped her arms around him, wishing he could understand everything she felt just by her touch alone. “I know how much they mean to you, how much you mean to them. And after the stupid tabloid, I owe them the courtesy, if nothing else, but I’m worried about their expectations. And I really, really want to meet them.”

“Their expectation will be that they’re well-fed and entertained. I think we have that covered.” He brushed his lips over hers, eliciting a small shiver that reached her toes. “And I’m so glad you want to meet them.”

She
was
happy. She only wished it were under much simpler circumstances. Circumstances where she and his sister could get pedicures and gossip about the latest hot actors just so Sam could tease Gage about it afterward, or DC could meet her dad for game of golf and then meet Martin for drinks. Normal, everyday things, lovely things.

“Did you hear me?” Gage’s words broke through the voices in her head.

“What?”

“There they are.” He pointed to a tall elegant man with an athletic build, and a petite woman around her own age with a chic style, blond hair, and Gage’s eyes.

Sam blew out a breath; her heart sped. She gave a nod. “Your family’s beautiful. I can see where you get your good looks.”

Gage raised an eyebrow and pulled her back to his side. “Oh, so you think I’m good looking?”

She rolled her eyes with an exaggerated sigh. “Please. You do not need encouragement.”

He slapped her ass. “Be nice.”

Sam jumped and spun around. “Gage, oh my God.” She turned back to his family and heat rose in her face. “I am so sorry.”

His sister stepped forward. “I think we’re the ones who should apologize.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Gage’s father stepped up and grasped the ends of Sam’s fingers. With a slight bow, he pressed his lips to her knuckles, and her heart skipped a beat. Wow. This man could give Prince Charming a run for his money. She could see Gage in him, but it was more than just his looks. It was the way he held his shoulders, the tilt of his head, and the intensity in his gaze.

He stepped back and smiled. “It’s a pleasure.”

Gage stepped up. “Nice way to show me up, Dad.”

“Only you can help what you’re not doing, son.” Cutler Senior dipped his chin toward Sam. “I never miss an opportunity to enchant a beautiful woman.”

Gage and Bel laughed as they filed inside the house. Gage leaned close and whispered in Sam’s ear. “He’s not kidding.”

She giggled.

Gage, a natural host, plied everyone with food and drink, and then eased the crew into the living room in front of the fire. He left the sliding glass doors cracked so they could enjoy the rhythmic crash of the Pacific waves combined with the snap and crackle of the glowing embers.

Sam bit into crispy bread infused with chipotle oil and layered with sundried tomatoes and goat cheese. “This is good.”

“I’m glad you like it. It’s one of my favorites to make.”

Sam’s eyes snapped open at Gage. “You made this?”

His dad, sitting to his right on the long sofa, slapped Gage on the back. “Our boy here’s been cooking before his voice dropped.”

“Nice, Dad.”

Bel piped in with a laugh. “Seriously, he has. We thought for a while he might pursue a career as a chef, but then he took off to the New York Film Academy.”

Sam tilted her head. “I’m impressed.” And she was. Every moment she spent with the man revealed something new she couldn’t quite shake.

Chewing on another bite and content to listen to their banter, she looked from one Cutler to the next with a grin. Bel shared stories of the two siblings growing up, and Mr. Cutler nodded his head in rapt attention, the memories pulling smiles from each face.

Sam took the first lull in the conversation to ask, “So, why
did
you pursue acting?”

The question silenced the room, and Gage shifted in his seat. He pulled a long draw from his IPA and stared into the flames. “Different reasons.”

His dad and sister settled back in their seats. Sam had touched on something serious. She could feel the tension thicken. Curious, she scooted forward. The fact Gage went after a career so different from his dad’s and sister’s, not to mention it mirrored his mother’s, intrigued her.

“I had.” He laughed. “
Have
my issues. As a teen, I didn’t trust anyone, was lonely and frustrated, always trying to figure myself out. Acting made me feel whole for the first time. It gave me something to do with all of my energy.”

“That’s an understatement,” Bel mumbled.

Sam’s heart beat faster in her chest. He shared family stories, secrets, and the fact he shared them with her made her chest swell and her lungs ache.

“In the end, acting gives me a chance to be someone else. Gives me a break. Freedom.”

So many more questions demanded answers. But now wasn’t the time. She wanted to wrap him in her arms. Shield him from Cecilia Lombardi.

She froze.

Protect him
? Her mouth went dry. She shifted in her chair, searching for something to say and picked up her glass of wine. “In my opinion, you made the right choice. You’re brilliant in front of the camera.” She winked and picked up another hors d’oeuvre. “This is excellent. I know where I’m coming when I’m hungry.”

Gage narrowed his eyes and pulled the corners of his mouth up in a sly smile.

Her statement caused a chorus of agreements followed by favorite movie moments from his family. Gage’s shoulders relaxed, and he held her gaze. He leaned back in the couch, and the tense light in his eyes faded to a content gleam as he took in the praise.

Bel and Cutler Senior fell into a debate about which was his best movie, and Gage leaned his head toward Sam. “See how great this is?”