Over Exposed (18 page)

“Is it a guy?”

She didn't even blink. “When would I have time for a relationship?”

Good question. Hell, he didn't have time for one and it pissed him off that he couldn't spend the time with Sabrina he wanted.

“So it is a guy.”

“Do you really want to know or are you looking for an opening to talk about the woman you're seeing?”

He shouldn't be surprised. Trudeau probably knew him better than anyone except Tyler and his sister.

As the elevator slid to a stop and the doors opened on Daisy's floor, he put a hand on the elevator to stop the doors from closing but stayed inside the cage. “What do you already know?”

Trudeau's expression didn't change. “Only that you followed a woman out of the hotel this morning. And you've been more stressed than normal and I've never really seen you like this so I made an educated guess. I'm not digging for dirt. I only need to know enough to be prepared for any fallout when the press gets wind of it.”

“I don't want the press getting wind of it.”

“So what do you need me to do? Are you going to need a decoy?”

Greg started to laugh. “I like you, Truly. If you ever decide to use your powers for evil, I'm going to make sure I'm not on your bad side.

A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. “Who says I don't?”

It was always the quiet ones you had to watch out for, wasn't it?

“I'll talk to Sabrina and let you know what I'll need. Now,” he said with a sigh, “let's go figure out how to deal with our Neal-Daisy dilemma.”

*  *

“So.” Kate drew the word out to at least five syllables. “Greg talked to Tyler on Wednesday morning.”

Kate had been remarkably not-pushy as the three of them walked to the market. Kate and Annabelle had discussed the dress while the cold air allowed Sabrina to regain most of her senses.

Then they'd gotten their crepes and managed to find a small table near the back of the overflowing seating area. But now Sabrina's reprieve had come to an end.

Trying not to blush five shades of red, she nodded, deliberately cutting her crepe into bite-size pieces.

Maybe if she ate it slowly, her body wouldn't immediately add five pounds to her hips. She'd managed to keep her weight steady since she'd started working at Haven, but that wouldn't last long if she kept taking Dominique the pastry chef's advice to try her dessert every night. Or made too many trips to the market for crepes.

Of course, the stress of dealing with this relationship might burn some calories.

“Hellooo, Sabrina. I said—”

“I heard you. You're not exactly subtle, you know.”

“I wasn't going for subtle,” Kate said. “I was attempting nonchalant.”

“Well, you missed that by about a mile.” She sighed as Kate continued to stare at her with raised brows. “He told me he was going to.”

Kate and Annabelle exchanged a glance.

“And . . . ?” they said in unison.

Sabrina put down her fork. “And you already know what he told Tyler, so why are you giving me the third degree?”

Kate's eyes widened as if she'd attacked her, and Sabrina wanted to take the words back right away. “Sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that to come out so . . . mean.”

Annabelle smacked Kate on the shoulder. “You're not being mean. Kate's being Kate. What she
meant
to say is, we're here if you want to talk. About anything.”

Kate huffed. “Or specifically about Greg.” She stared at her, gaze boring into hers with laser-like intensity. “I've noticed the past few days you've seemed kind of on edge. Did he do something?”

Sabrina's fork paused on its way to her mouth. “What do you mean?”

“Did he say something to hurt you?”

She frowned. “No. Why would you think that?”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Please. He's a guy. So he gave you a key to the fourth floor and his room. Have you stayed with him?”

Sabrina deliberately took a bite of her crepe and chewed. Slowly.

Kate rolled her eyes and groaned. “Come on, Sabrina. I know you want to talk. No one can hear us over the noise. Are you
sure
you don't have anything you want to talk about?”

Sabrina had an entire army of nosy minions at home. She knew how to deal with one beloved friend. “You want to talk, let's talk. You first. There's something going on that I don't know about, so spill it.”

Kate couldn't quite conceal the flash of something in her eyes that looked a lot like guilt.

Again, Sabrina wondered exactly what sort of relationship she and Tyler had with Greg.

And then Kate and Annabelle exchanged the look. The one that meant they were telepathically communicating. Or at least reading each other's minds.

“Oh, now that's just not fair.” Sabrina barely managed not to throw her fork at them. “Spill it. You two want to know what's going on in my life but you're allowed to keep secrets? So not fair.”

Annabelle grimaced. “You're absolutely right. It's not fair and I'm sorry.”

Kate and Annabelle exchanged another look, apparently coming to some conclusion. Then both stared straight at her.

“We're breaching about five different legal contracts here so you have to swear that what we talk about here stays here. And when I have you sign a contract later that says basically the same thing, you need to sign it.”

Sabrina started to laugh at what sounded like the plot to a film but Kate looked totally sincere. Her laughter cut off and her smile turned into a frown.

“Seriously? That sounds ominous.”

Annabelle smiled and reached for her hand to squeeze it. “Just agree.”

Sabrina pulled a face. “Okay, fine, I promise I won't say a word and I promise to sign whatever you want. Now spit it out.”

“Has he shown you the Salon yet?” Kate asked.

She shook her head. “No. And there would have been no time because I haven't seen him since Thursday morning.”

“Really?” Kate looked shocked. “I thought— Oh, hell, never mind. I thought . . . Shit.”

She and Annabelle glanced at each other again.

“You thought there was something more going on than there is.”

Obviously she didn't hide the hurt in her voice well enough because Annabelle shook her head. “Oh, there's definitely something going on. You can't help but notice how much he wants you when he looks at you. I'm sure he's just busy right now.”

“He is. I get it. The guy's a world-famous producer directing his first feature in years. What was I thinking? Of course he's not going to have time for me.”

“Yeah, the timing really does suck, doesn't it?” Kate shook her head. “But that doesn't mean you should give up.”

“Who said I'm giving up? But it's not like we're planning to spend the rest of our lives together. We're just having some fun.”

Kate paused then her smile returned. “Well, I am glad to hear that. So, what's your plan?”

“Plan? Why do I need a plan?”

“Please.” Kate rolled her eyes. “You don't do anything without a five-point plan.”

That arrow hit the mark and Sabrina wrinkled her nose. “You make me sound like I'm an evil genius plotting world domination. Greg and I are just—”

“Just what?”

She wished she knew. “Having a good time while it lasts?”

Kate narrowed her gaze. “And that's it?”

“Well, it's not like we're going to fall in love and live happily ever after.”

Even as she said the words, she felt a little pang in her chest. Which was stupid. Seriously stupid to even say the words out loud.

“So you're just in it for the sex.” Annabelle looked like she totally understood. And approved. “Good choice.”

Sabrina shoved another two bites of crepe in her mouth. Well, she didn't have to be
that
agreeable.

“Hmm, I guess Annabelle's right.” Kate started to dig into her crepe. “Greg is pretty much married to his company. He doesn't really have time to care about anything else.”

“He's much too intense and too focused on business. So, what do you think about ivory for my dress instead of white? Or maybe pink. I wasn't so sure about the ivory at first but, as much as I hate to admit it, I think Kate's right. The ivory looks better against my skin.”

Sabrina's fork stopped midway to her mouth before she forced it to continue, shoving it in her mouth and starting to chew, barely tasting the Nutella, strawberry, and banana crepe she usually loved.

“I think ivory will look amazing.”

Annabelle and Kate exchanged a glance then both turned their full attention back to her.

“Alright.” Kate stabbed her fork into her crepe and let it stand there. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Sabrina? The one who would never let a guy treat her like nothing more than a fuck buddy.”

Wincing at the volume of Kate's voice, even though no one would be able to hear their conversation above the noise from the rest of the market, Sabrina's heart started to pound. “I don't know what you're talking about. Greg and I both know the relationship isn't going anywhere. We're having fun. I like him. He seems to like me. When he's finished with his film, he'll go back to Hollywood and I'll be here. Doing the dream job I've been lucky enough to fall into.”

Kate's gaze narrowed. “So this is about your job? You think Tyler's going to have a problem with you seeing Greg? Seriously, the only problem he's going to have is with Greg if he hurts you. Tyler thinks of you as a friend, not just an employee.”

“And that's a huge potential problem. Don't you see? Greg's his best friend. I don't want to be a wrench in their relationship. And I love my job. I don't want to lose it.”

Kate looked shocked. “You think Tyler would fire you because of Greg?”

Sabrina immediately shook her head. “No, no. I know he wouldn't do that. But . . . what if I can't stand to see him. What if—”

“You fall in love and you're forced to see him whenever he comes to the hotel to see Tyler.” Annabelle's tone was kind, sympathetic. “Yeah, that would suck.”

“So then don't let it come to that.” Kate's voice held a strong note of determination.

It was Sabrina's turn to give Kate the lifted eyebrows. “It will.”

“Why are you so ready to talk yourself down?” Kate stabbed at her crepe again. “You're not giving yourself enough credit. The man's been half in love with you since that night he took the pictures for my portfolio.”

Sabrina refused to blush. “No, he's in lust.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “If it was just lust, he wouldn't be telling Tyler not to give you a hassle about him.”

“Why would Tyler do that?”

Kate gave her a nod. “He wouldn't. So that demonstrates Greg's totally unusual response to you.”

Little sparks of hope that she tried to crush continued to flare. “But it's still not going to develop into anything. In a few months, he'll be back in Hollywood and I'll be here and there'll be three thousand miles between us.”

And she'd be left with a broken heart.

Isn't that what you wanted? For him to break your heart so you could move on with your life?

“Sometimes things work out.” Kate's determination showed in the set of her chin and the gleam in her eyes.

“Sure, sometimes.”

She dug up a smile that tried to be sincere but probably just looked pathetic. Things had worked out great for Kate and Tyler. Even though Kate had turned down her dream job in New York, she was going to open her own boutique at the retreat and she'd found a man who loved her with an intensity that was palpable when they were in the same room.

Even Annabelle's messy, tragic life had gotten a happy ending. She'd recently revealed she was the daughter of a famous painter and his wife, who, along with their lover, had been murdered by a psycho, and she had subsequently seen her private life splashed over the tabloid pages.

Jesus, the things those rags said about her, the lies they printed about her family were horrendous. Annabelle had done a couple of interviews with a very few select magazines, the ones that had allowed her to talk about her parents' artistic passions more than their bedroom habits. Jared had already set his legal team on several magazines that had dared to print some of the most objectionable stories.

Annabelle had handled most of it with grace, although there'd been quite a few bottles of wine downed while she cursed a few so-called journalists.

Sabrina cringed to think what the supermarket tabloids would make of her.

White trash. Money-grubbing—

“Hey.” Kate drew Sabrina out of her head, which wasn't a very nice place at the moment. “I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to badger you. Honestly. We're just worried. I saw the way Greg looked at you this morning—like he wanted to devour you.”

“And can you imagine what will happen if anyone else sees him look at me like that? He's got enough on his mind without me freaking out about paparazzi taking pictures of us.”

“So you're worried what other people will think about you and him?” Kate asked.

“Shouldn't I be? I don't know that I want my life splashed all over a tabloid. Annabelle, you have to know how I feel.”

Annabelle's expression looked pained. “I do.”

“So that's your excuse to hide your affair?” Kate's tone was drenched in disbelief. “Because the paparazzi might take a few pictures?”

She wondered what her friends would think if they knew about the photos Greg had already taken of her. But those were private.

“It's not only that. I just don't want my life to be . . . lived in the media. I'm fine if we spend most of our time in his suite. Besides, now that the film's ready to start shooting, that time's going to be cut to nil. I just feel like it's the beginning of the end. And there wasn't that much of a middle to begin with so maybe it's better that things just kind of fade away, because there's no future.”