Molly Matthews Meddles in Marriage (11 page)

“You look lovely, just lovely. Doesn’t she, Aaron?”

“Yeah, great,” he said half-heartedly, barely looking up.

“Hmm, thanks for the vote of confidence,” Molly sighed.

“No, really, you look great,” he said, doing nothing to make her feel any better.

The office only had the tiniest of mirrors, which was housed on the back of a cupboard door, and if she contorted her body first one way and then another, she could just about manage to get a full-length view of her image.

“I look as though I’m going to a wedding.”

Pippa laughed.

“That’s because you’re wearing one of your only two wedding outfits. But that dress is a go-anywhere kind of dress.”

That’s the trouble, thought Molly. It had been everywhere and back again several times over.

“Oh, I don’t know. What if they’re all in full-length black strapless gowns, showing off perfectly toned shoulders? Everyone will think I’m someone’s mother.”

“Well, there’s no time to worry about that now.” Pippa peered out of the window into the busy street below. “Your carriage awaits!”

“Oh God,” Molly squealed, feeling uncharacteristically ill-prepared for what lay ahead.

Her heart leaped as she heard Rory fling open the door downstairs and then take the stairs two at a time. She took a deep breath, anticipating his arrival, and then he was there, standing in the doorway to her office, dressed casually in jeans and a black fitted T-shirt, the ridges in his abs clearly defined beneath the clinging cotton fabric.

Her gaze wandered along the length of his bronzed, sculpted arms before locking on to his eyes, her breath catching at the back of her throat.

“Hi,” she managed, all other words—along with her sense—escaping her.

On days like today, Rory wondered how he’d ever gotten to this point in his life. He loved acting, there was never any dispute about that, but all the crap that went alongside it, he loathed.

The publicity, the photos, the constant interest in his everyday life with his every movement scrutinized for public consumption made him feel as if he were living in a TV reality show, but however much he hated the attention, he knew it came with the territory.

The parties and the first nights were something to be endured rather than enjoyed. He’d always made a pretty good job of putting on a show at those events, acting as if he were having the best time ever—such a great job that his grinning face usually ended up on the front of the tabloids the next day.

Drinking too much and partying way too hard were his ways of getting through. Or at least it had been until now. But tonight he’d have Molly at his side and just the thought gave him a warm feeling of reassurance. For the first time in a long while, he was actually looking forward to his night on the town.

Even the firing squad welcoming committee of her assistant Pippa and that Aaron guy—the one who always seemed to be hanging around whenever he visited—couldn’t dampen his anticipation.

They didn’t matter to him because his sole attention was fixed on Molly. His breath caught at the back of his throat and his heart thumped so hard, resounding through his ears, he thought it might explode. An enormous grin spread across his face as he took in the full extent of her beauty before he managed to compose himself and rearrange his features into something approaching normal.

“Hey, how are you doing?” he said, managing to sound like a second-rate character from one of his early films. “Sorry, I got held up. We’re going to have to drop in at my place so that I can get changed.”

She looked adorable in a pretty pale green dress with a matching jacket, her warm auburn hair cascading in soft curls around her face. Her porcelain skin dusted with a smattering of freckles only added to her tangible vulnerability. All he wanted to do was reach out and touch her, to feel the softness of her skin beneath his fingers, to run his hand across her face and down her neck, to hold her body within his arms. To hell with the premiere, he would have quite happily taken her straight home to bed.

Heat fired through his body, but that wasn’t the only thing troubling his mind. An overwhelming surge of protectiveness and responsibility toward Molly stirred deep within, startling him in its intensity. It took him right out of this small, top-floor office and back to his childhood home when he’d stood in the kitchen, facing his father, hearing the news that his mother had died. Responsibility for his father’s happiness may have been foisted upon him back then, but why he should feel that way now about Molly, he had no idea. She didn’t need his protection. Underneath that fragile exterior, she was as tough as the next man. It was a mistake he’d made with Emma, thinking she needed looking after, and one he wasn’t about to repeat with Molly.

“I hope this is okay,” she said, bringing him back to the moment. “I wasn’t sure what to wear and I didn’t really have anything long.” She looked apologetic, the telltale sign of pinkness on her cheeks that Rory had come to recognize as an endearing feature whenever she felt even remotely uncomfortable. “Rory?” she prompted him.

“Oh yep, it’s fine, absolutely perfect. You look lovely.” He cast a glance over at Pippa and Aaron, acknowledging their presence with a small nod of his head. “Shall we make a move?” he said to Molly.

* * * *

“Listen, just make yourself at home. I’m going to jump in the shower. There’s wine in the fridge or make yourself a cup of tea or coffee. Whatever you want.”

Molly sighed with relief when Rory disappeared off into the bathroom. She’d only been with him for the last half an hour or so, but already she felt so tightly sprung with anxiety she didn’t know how she’d manage to get through the rest of the evening.

What had she been thinking even offering to come in the first place?

For one thing, she was wearing completely the wrong outfit. That much had been evident from Rory’s face. He’d looked at her almost aghast, speechless, that mocking glint clear in his eye, until he’d remember his manners and muttered something about her looking good. She didn’t belong on a red carpet. To be honest she’d feel much more at home hoovering the wretched thing rather than sashaying along it, trying to appear gorgeous and sylphlike. And sylphlike was never going to happen, not even in a month of Sundays.

No, this was going to end in disaster. Maybe if she just slipped out the front door now, it would save them both a whole heap of trouble. Why couldn’t he have taken one of those dates she’d gone to so much trouble to arrange for him? Any one of the girls would have been a much better fit to these circumstances than Molly ever would be, even sweet Alice.

Molly sank on the low leather settee, kicked off her nude patent court shoes and sighed. If she needed any more proof that she and Rory came from such different walks of life then she only had to look around this luxurious riverside apartment. It was vast, with full-length windows running across the entire width of the flat, giving panoramic views of the city. The room was sparsely furnished by design with a cream leather swivel chair to match the vast sofa, a monster of a television that seemed to dominate the room, a small chrome dining table with chairs, and a workstation that housed all sorts of computer paraphernalia. There wasn’t a flower or a photo in sight and if she hoped she might glean some hidden secrets into Rory’s personality from his living surroundings, then she was right out of luck.

And now, just to add to her woes, she had a wet nose resting on her lap, depositing a nice damp patch on her best dress, and a pair of the most soulful brown eyes looking up at her, pleading with her to take her away from all this sterile luxury to a green and rolling field somewhere. Molly knew exactly how she felt.

“Bella!” Rory appeared back through the doorway, hollering at the unrepentant dog, but still managing to look like a film star, which Molly supposed shouldn’t have been so surprising considering that’s what he was. Her heart pitter-pattered out of control. Perhaps spending so much time in his company had helped her forget that fact, but not tonight, not dressed in his DJ, the white ruffle-fronted shirt currently undone, giving unrestricted access to a toned and rippled chest. There could be absolutely no forgetting that this man was a superstar.

She averted her eyes, concentrating instead on the furry mass at her feet.

“Molly, sorry,” he said, fixing his cufflinks absentmindedly, before spoiling all her fun and doing up the buttons to his shirt. “Get away, Bella!” he scolded. “Just push her away. She knows that behavior is unacceptable.”

Molly smiled, picking up the undertones of his self-indulgent manner. She suspected the harsh telling-off was for her benefit only, and in normal circumstances Bella could do exactly as she liked.

“She’s beautiful,” said Molly, finding the action of running her hand through Bella’s soft fur strangely therapeutic and a welcome distraction from the giddy sight of Rory in all his finery. Bella lapped up the attention readily. “It’s not the best place for a dog though, is it? A city center apartment.”

“Oh dear, Bella, Molly doesn’t approve.” He laughed, shooting the dog a rueful look. “There’s a communal garden and someone comes in twice a day when I’m working to feed and water her. But most of the time, if I can, I take her to work with me. She’s very good, loves being on set and, of course, everyone makes a fuss of her. And whenever I’m not working, I tend to go down to the country. I have a little cottage in Bexminster.”

Of course he did. Why hadn’t Molly thought of that?

“This is just my city base. And that’s exactly what it is, a crash pad. I don’t think of it as home. Home is the cottage. That’s where we get a proper chance to relax, go for long walks and generally unwind.”

Molly wondered if he was referring to him and Bella or him and whoever his current ‘girlfriend for the weekend’ was. The thought gave rise to the tiniest pang of jealousy, which she quickly pushed aside.

“Bella’s found a new best friend in you, though.” He smiled wryly, nodding to himself in affirmation, leaving Molly with the distinct impression she’d passed a test she didn’t even know she’d been entered for.

“It sounds lovely, must mean you get the best of both worlds.”

Rory nodded as he did up his collar, expertly tying the folds of his silk bow tie with a flourish, something he’d clearly done many times before, then he examined his reflection in the huge gilt mirror overhanging the fireplace, before turning to Molly

“What do you reckon?” He held his hands out wide, inviting her inspection. “Will I do?”

“Definitely,” said Molly, sighing inwardly with barely contained adoration. He would more than do. He was the most eligible bachelor in the country. You would think finding him a wife would be the easiest job in the world. “You really look the part.”

* * * *

“This way, Rory!”

“Over here, please, Rory!” The demands came from every direction with the cameras flashing insistently. Molly didn’t know where to look first. She just plastered a knowing smile on her face in the hope that she might, at least, appear confident.

“You okay?” Rory whispered in her ear as he slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her into his side for yet another batch of photos. His strong arm around her body sent a ripple of delight through her entire being and looking up at his broad frame encased in the immaculately tailored suit made her feel even smaller than her compact five feet and important half inch. She may only have been tiny, but the sense of protectiveness she gained from his touch was both empowering and reassuring.

She sensed a sea of eyes focused on her, or more accurately, Rory, and she knew for that brief moment she was the envy of a whole crowd of adoring women. Something she had never experienced before nor was likely to again.

“Yes, fine,” she said, trying to regain some control over her shaking limbs. It wasn’t the cold, she could cope with that, but the sense of being totally overwhelmed by the occasion. She still couldn’t quite believe that she was here among all these beautiful people. Her gaze swept the crowds, trying to absorb all the frenzied activity and the familiar faces, people she knew through the pages of glossy magazines.

In her professional life, Molly wasn’t judged on what she looked like or what she was wearing and that’s exactly how she liked it. Her personality had always gotten her through in any given situation. She could talk to anyone and deal with any problem thrown at her, but this was so far outside her comfort zone she couldn’t help the nerves fizzing through her body like champagne.

“Rory! Who’s your new girlfriend?”

Someone called from the crowd and a ripple of laughter spread around the onlookers. Rory gave a wry smile and an imperceptible shake of his head. Molly dropped her gaze to the floor, her skin prickling with embarrassment, followed by a tiny bit of pride to think she’d been mistaken for his girlfriend.

Inside the theater, away from the glare of the cameras, Rory pulled her closer to his side.

“You did great out there. I hate these things, I don’t know if I mentioned that?” He laughed, showing no sign that he wasn’t enjoying himself. “So it’s good to have a bit of moral support.” He squeezed her hand, his dark eyes caressing her.

A warm swirl of desire filled her stomach and she suppressed an urge to stand on tiptoe and kiss him on his lips. Which she knew was totally bizarre and totally inappropriate.

He’s your client, Molly
, she scolded herself
, not your boyfriend
. But the more time she spent in his company, the more times complete strangers asked the question, the more she couldn’t stop herself from fantasizing about the possibility.

“What I can’t understand is why we went to such great lengths the other night to escape a lone photographer and yet tonight you’re courting publicity in front of all these cameras.”

“Yeah.” He shrugged, as though the fact amused him. “I thought about that. But I’ve decided I’m not going to live my life dictated to by the tabloids. Besides, we’ve got nothing to hide, have we?” His gaze challenged her and she wondered what had brought about the sudden change of heart. “You’re single. I’m single. Let them do their worst. Besides, it’s all good publicity for the film.”