Mr. Hollywood (Celebrity #1) (7 page)

Laughing heartily, he nodded.
“
Anyone who drives that road on a
regular basis probably has the same vocabulary you do. It
’
s a nightmare.
”

“
I
agree.
”
I glanced at my watch again.
“
Damn. It
’
s already time to start my rounds.
I better get going.
”

“
Good
luck! I hope you have a better day. Don
’
t forget to call me for lunch.
”
He held the door open for me.

“
I
will. Have a good morning.
”

Rushing down the hall, I hurried into the women
’
s locker room, finding it empty.
Quickly, I threw my items into my locker, grabbed my stethoscope, and slipped
it around my neck before punching in my time card. Making my way back out, I
practically ran to the staffing office, bursting through the doorway.

“
I
’
m so sorry I
’
m late, Angie. It
’
s been a killer morning. I slammed
my thumb in the car door when I got here and Dr. Wilson had to help me with it.
”
I held up my injured hand as proof.

“
No
worries. I just barely passed out charts in the staffing meeting. You aren
’
t that late. Here
’
s your charts for the day, and you
have a new patient on your list, too.
”

Quickly, I scanned the names she
’
d given me, noting that a John
Carpenter had been added at the bottom in room twelve.
“
I see he
’
s an inpatient who needs medication
doses this morning. I guess I
’
ll start with him first, since he
will be the one who probably needs me the most.
”

“
You
should know that
—”

“
Aubrey!
Oh good, you
’
re here.
”
Another nurse, and good friend,
Chelle, stuck her head in the door.
“
I need to ask you a question about
your patient that was shifted to my roster last week.
”

“
Okay,
”
I said, quickly waving at Angie as
I exited the room.
“
Thanks for you help. See you later!
”

“
Have
a good day,
”
she called after me as I made
my way out into the corridor.

“
I
’
m on my way to the pharmacy,
”
I told Chelle.
“
Wanna walk with me?
”

“
Perfect.
That
’
s where I need to go, as well.
”

“
What
’
s your question?
”

“
Nothing
too big. I just noticed you never signed off on the transfer papers for Melinda
Barker when I took over her care after you had to leave early last week.
”

“
Oh,
I
’
m sorry. I swear I
’
ve been so scatterbrained lately.
Do you have the paperwork with you right now? I can sign it.
”

“
Yeah.
”
She handed me her clipboard and
shuffled a few things, pointing to the line I needed to sign. Checking to make
sure it was the right document, I quickly penned my name, followed by my RN
title and employee ID number, and handed it back.
“
Thanks a bunch.
”

“
Sorry.
Next time just smack me upside the head.
”

“
Whatever.
I think with all the crazy going on in your life lately, I can look past you
being scatterbrained. It happens to the best of us.
”

“
Well,
I
’
ve had enough surprises in my life
of late. I
’
m ready to buckle down and get back
to normal .
 
.
 
. whatever that is.
”
I laughed and she joined me.

“
How
can I help you pretty ladies this morning?
”
Mitch, the pharmacist, said
as we approached his window, and the two of us slid our medication orders to
him under the Plexiglas protection.

“
Same
old stuff, I
’
m afraid,
”
Chelle said, tossing her long,
blonde ponytail over her shoulder.

“
Well,
seeing your faces is a pleasure at least.
”
He gave a quick smile and
disappeared into the rows of shelves behind him.

“
So
how
’
d your date with Colton go this
weekend?
”
I asked, making small talk
while the meds we needed were filled. Basically, my love life and desires were
all lived vicariously through Chelle. I lived to hear about the dates she went
on because often times her stories were hilarious.

A dreamy look settled across her features, and she
sighed.
“
It was incredible. Want to hear
about it over lunch?
”

“
I
’
d love to, but I promised to eat
with Skip and Dr. Wilson.
”

She waved a hand, nonchalantly.
“
They can hear about it, too. I
swear the man is a stallion. I can
’
t wait to fill you in.
”

A stallion.
“
It must be nice,
”
I replied, my thoughts absently
drifting to my own sex life
—
or rather lack of one.
“
I
’
m
officially listed as celibate. I just can
’
t seem to find the right guy.
”
That was putting it mildly. My
dating life was a mess. Truth be told, I was ready to swear off dating
completely. The only good guys out there were already taken and the rest were
pure scum.

“
Keep
the faith, girlfriend. You never know when Mr. Right is going to be standing
around the next corner. I know he
’
s out there. You
’
re too good to pass up.
”

Laughing, I shook my head and peeked around the
corner.
“
Nope, he
’
s not there.
”
Sighing, I shrugged.

“
Maybe
it will be the next one,
”
she teased.

“
I
hope so. I need a man in a big way. I have parts that are drying up and
shriveling to nothingness.
”

She snorted.
“
Whatever. You
’
re a catch and if a guy can
’
t see that, then he
’
s too dumb to live. You
’
re smart, and you look like a
walking supermodel.
”

“
Ha,
ha, ha!
”
I enunciated, trying to resist the
urge to roll my eyes.
“
Maybe I should just start dating
you,
”
I joked back.

“
We
’
d be too explosive,
”
she replied without missing a beat.
“
Besides, I don
’
t swing that way. I need certain
appendages to be long, hard, and stiff.
”

I snorted. Chelle wasn
’
t
ever afraid to say what she was thinking. I found it kind of refreshing.
Everyone knew exactly where they stood with her. There was never any
second-guessing or weird drama with her. It was nice.

Mitch returned to the window at that moment, sliding
my meds along with the orders to me on a tray.
“
Here
you go.
”

“
Thanks.
”
I lifted the tray and glanced at
Chelle.
“
Unfortunately, no one seems to
swing my way.
”

“
I
do,
”
Mitch promptly added with a grin.

Smiling back at him, I shook my head at the short,
balding man.
“
I wouldn
’
t be able to handle you, Mitch. You
’
re too much man for me.
”
I winked and he flushed, clearly
pleased with the boost to his ego.
“
See you both later,
”
I added and hurried off to start my
rounds.

“Missing! Where in the World is Z McCartney?”

~
Entertainment Daily
~

Chapter Four

Aubrey

Reaching room number twelve, I knocked lightly,
glancing at the name on my chart.
“
I
’
m
here for morning rounds, Mr. Carpenter,
”
I said through the door.

“
Come
in,
”
a slightly gruff voice said.

Turning the knob, I entered, balancing the items I was
carrying in my other hand.
“
Good morning, Mr. Carp
—”

A small shriek escaped my lips as I stared at the man
in front of me and everything I was holding clattered to the floor. Eyes
widening, I covered my mouth, as shock flooded my system and I backed away.

In a flash he moved, zipping behind me and shutting
the door.
“
Aubrey, please let me explain.
”
His words came out in a rush as he
stared at me.

“
You
’
re here. How are you here? How is
this possible?
”
Tears came, unbidden, as I
took in the extremely handsome man in front of me. He
’
d been a boy the last time I
’
d seen him in person, but there was
no doubt he was a man now.

My traitorous body instantly reacted to being in the
same room with him, just like it had in high school. Everything felt heightened
and on the verge of exploding. I
’
d never expected to see him again
—
ever. I
’
d made my peace with it. Yet, here
he was.

Unspeaking, he simply continued to stare at me, a
thirsty look filling his incredible blue eyes, the same blue eyes that had
hypnotized me every second I
’
d ever spent with him.

Stop!
I yelled, mentally.
You
can’t let him affect you like this again! Pull yourself together!
Steeling myself I dropped my
hands.
“
What are you doing here?
”
I said, more forcefully.

A soft chuckle escaped him, and the action drew my
attention to his very well formed chest that was aptly highlighted in the
V-neck t-shirt he was wearing. From there I drifted to his large biceps, noting
he had tattoos that didn
’
t used to be there.
“
Isn
’
t
it obvious,
”
he said, redirecting my focus
back to his gorgeous face and his full lips
—
lips
that used to kiss me for hours at a time. I wondered how many other women
besides me had had the pleasure of his kiss now.
“
I
seem to have discovered I have a little drug problem.
”

It wasn
’
t until then that I actually
noticed how much he was shaking. Seeing that shocked me back into my routine.
“
Oh my gosh! I
’
m so sorry. You need your meds!
”

Glancing at the floor, I saw the pills scattered
across the papers from his file.

“
Let
me go get you some fresh ones real quick,
”
I added, bending to pick up
what I
’
d dropped and trying to scoop up
the papers.

“
Aubrey.
”
My name was soft on his lips as he
crouched beside me, reaching out and stilling my hands with his own. Heat
streaked through me instantly at the contact.
“
These
pills are fine.
”
Carefully, he pried my
fingers open and took the medication, popping it quickly into his mouth. Eyes
never leaving me, it was as if a thousand questions were in his eyes.
“
I
’
m
sorry I shocked you, but damn girl, it
’
s great to see you again.
”

I couldn
’
t stand sitting here pretending we
both weren
’
t ignoring the giant elephant in
the room. Unable to hold it back anymore, I burst into tears.
“
You left me.
”
The nagging residual pain I felt
every time I thought of him was back in full strength. Everything felt fresh,
as if simply seeing him in this moment had torn my heart completely open again.

Regret filled his features.
“
I know. I
’
m so sorry. Come on. Leave this
stuff and come sit on the bed.
”
Offering his hand, he helped
me up and I let him guide me to the bed, my mind a swirling mess of confusion.
I didn
’
t know how to process this, and
while I
’
d imagined him reappearing in my
life on many occasions, this was certainly one scenario that had never crossed
my mind.

Sitting, I placed my hands in my lap and stared at the
wall, unable to look at him for too long. It brought up too many emotions for
me.
“
I never thought I'd see you again.
”

A muscle ticked in his jaw.
“
I don
’
t
know what to say.
”

“
You
hurt me, Zane.
”
I glanced at him, wanting him
to see the pain in my eyes.
“
I
’
ve
never been so hurt in my life.
”
I used to dream of having the
opportunity to tell him exactly how bad he
’
d hurt me. Now he was here, and I
wasn
’
t going to miss my chance while I
had it.

“
Why
didn
’
t you tell me you were here?
”
he asked, and I was surprised to
see the emotion in his eyes mirroring my own.

I snorted, feeling ill.
“
I
tried. You were too preoccupied to notice.
”

“
What
do you mean?
”
He sounded confused.

Standing, I had to move away from him. I needed space.
When he was so close it made it hard to think.
“
I
came to see you, Zane. I missed you terribly and wanted to be with you, so I
packed up all my bags, my tiny bit of savings, and came to Los Angeles.
”

Memories and images I
’
d
tried to bury for years were burned into my mind, but instead of shoving them
away like usual, I embraced them, ready to wield them like the true weapons
they were.
“
Imagine my surprise when I went to
my boyfriend
’
s apartment building and found him
having a private little pool party with not one girl but three. You seemed to
be having a pretty great time, if all the grunting and moaning you were doing
was any indication.
”

“
Fuck,
”
he muttered, dragging his hand
through his messy light brown hair and even that simple gesture looked sexier
than anything I
’
d seen in the last ten years. I
hated how my body reacted to him, as if no time had passed at all. It would be
so easy to just fall back into those arms and join the rest of the world in
worshipping at the altar that was Zane McCartney. Glancing back at me, his eyes
penetrated mine, seeming as if he could see right inside me.
“
You should
’
ve told me you came.
”

“
Yeah,
I can see that conversation now. 'Hey Zane, I dropped by earlier but you were
busy fucking the neighborhood, so I figured I
’
d
just let you know I was in town.'
”
Sarcasm dripped heavily from
my voice, but I didn
’
t care. I was bitter.
“
I
’
m
sorry, but I deserved better from you. As of that moment I realized whatever we
had together ceased to exist.
”

“
I
don
’
t know what to say.
”
He seemed lost, forlorn, and I
hated it. I didn
’
t want to comfort him or ease
anything for him. I wanted him to feel every second of pain and sorrow he
’
d caused me. I wanted him to feel
terrible.

“
You
don
’
t need to say anything. You made your
choice loud and clear. I never heard from you again after that either, so I
guess everything you told me before that was just a lie to get me to sleep with
you before you left. You got what you wanted. That
’
s all that matters. I hope it made
you happy.
”

“
Hey,
now. I wasn
’
t that big of a jerk. I didn
’
t tell you anything to get you into
bed. You know as well as me that I was in love with you. What happened between
us .
 
.
 
. well, it was magical.
”

“
So
magical that you immediately left me to come be a star in Hollywood and
promptly forgot all about me?
”
Bitterness laced my words,
ten years of suffering boiling to the surface. I sank into one of the chairs at
the table.

“
You
’
re wrong. I
’
ve never forgotten about you,
Aubrey. I couldn
’
t even if I wanted to.
”
Standing, he walked over toward the
window, staring at the closed blinds with his arms folded.
“
Trust me, I tried.
”

“
You
sure have a funny way of showing it.
”

Absently, he rubbed at his chest, his expression
pained.
“
Things were crazy back then. I was
thrown into the middle of this insane lifestyle and all these things were
coming at me full speed. It was so different from growing up in Montana. I
loved it, though. I wanted to do everything, be a part of all of it.
”

Head drooping, he stared at his feet.
“
My modeling agent took me to a big
party one night, not long after I got here. There was all this alcohol, and the
drugs .
 
.
 
. I couldn
’
t believe how open and free
everyone was with them. I didn
’
t use anything back then, substance
wise, except for alcohol and the occasional joint.
”
Pausing, he stared at me for a
moment before lifting his hands and letting them fall again, helplessly.
Sighing heavily, he continued on, and as much as I didn
’
t want to hear it, I couldn
’
t bring myself to walk away.

“
I
got pretty plastered that night. When I woke up in the morning, I was in bed
with some girl who slightly resembled you. I
’
m
sure that was how I ended up hooking up with her in the first place. I
’
d been missing you so badly.
”

I hated that girl, whoever she was. She
’
d stolen my future from me, and I
’
d hate her for the rest of my life.

He stared at me apologetically.
“
After that, I was too damn chicken
to face you again. I figured you were lost to me forever, and you
’
d never forgive me. Judging from
your reaction to what you saw, I think I pinned my guess correctly.
”