Overnight Sensation (23 page)

“Oh.” Heat warmed her face.

“Mmm, oh. I was a little surprised to find you with him when I returned from Xalapa.” He shrugged. “Not so much that he was with you, because he’s made it pretty clear from day one that he’s crazy about you. I just didn’t think the feeling would be so mutual…so quickly.”

He was crazy about her. Warmth spread through Ivy at Finn’s words. She studied her hands, a smile tugging at her lips. “He’s pretty tough to resist when he sets his mind to something.”

“Hey, Finn, have you seen—oh, sorry.” Garrett rounded the corner and came to an abrupt halt in the doorway of the breakfast room when he spied Ivy sitting at the table with Finn. He stared at her for a full two seconds, his face expressing surprise, pleasure and something that looked suspiciously like regret, before he composed his features into an impassive mask. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No, you’re not interrupting,” Finn assured him. “Ivy and I were just finishing our discussion. Speaking of which…”

Finn’s eyes shifted beyond Garrett to the lobby, where two women walked slowly toward them. One was older, and limped slightly with each step. She leaned on the arm of a younger, strikingly attractive brunette.

“Garrett!” the younger woman exclaimed upon seeing him standing in the doorway. “There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

Ivy felt her insides shrivel as the younger woman released her companion’s arm and strode across the space separating her from Garrett. She wore a simple white tank top and a pair of figure-hugging jeans, and had paired them with heeled sandals that lent additional height to her willowy frame. Even so, Garrett topped her by a good six inches. He turned in surprise as she called his name, and just barely managed to catch her before she launched herself into his arms.

“Hey,” he said, laughing in pleasure as he closed his arms around her. “I didn’t know you’d be here. This is wonderful!”

Ivy felt ill. Obviously, this was Helena Vanderveer, and she could understand why he’d been so attracted to her. The woman was gorgeous, and her entire body exuded a passionate energy. As she hugged Garrett, there was no mistaking the emotion on her face. She loved him.

When Garrett finally set her away, she grabbed his arm with excitement. “Oh, you’ll never guess who was on the connecting flight from Mexico City with me! Wait till you see!”

Garrett glanced once at Ivy, who sat rigidly in her chair, unable to move. Beneath his tan, he was ashen. Every cell in her body wanted to leap up and dash out of the room before she was forced to witness any more of their reunion. Instead, she sat there with a phony smile pasted on her face, pretending interest, while her chest constricted with her every breath.

Now the older woman stepped forward. Despite her limp, she was sturdy, with short graying hair, a friendly face and a wholesome appearance. Her eyes were bright with pleasure as she took Garrett’s hand between both of hers and smiled up at him.

Was it Garrett’s mother? Ivy glanced uncertainly at Finn, who had risen to his feet with a satisfied smile. For Ivy, it was about as much as she could stomach. Standing up, she clutched her bag and glanced apologetically at Finn.

“I’m sorry. I really need to head over to makeup—”

“No, just wait a moment,” Finn said, forestalling her with a raised hand. “I want you to meet Helena.”

It was the absolute last thing Ivy wanted. Short of being rude, however, she had no choice but to stand beside him and behold the drama before her with a sinking heart.

The older woman was squeezing Garrett’s hand and nodding in approval as her eyes traveled over him. “You look very different zan zee last time I saw you,” she said in a heavily accented voice. “You probably do not remember me. You voor badly injured.”

To Ivy’s astonishment, Garrett lifted the woman’s hand to his lips. “Ma’am,” he said, his voice rough, “I could never forget my guardian angel.” The woman laughed in delight, and Garrett released her hand to lean down and embrace her. “I can never thank you enough for what you did for me.”

“Oh, pleeze,” she said, patting his back before he released her. “To see you in such good health is tanks enuff. I heard that you voor in Mexico, and decided I must see you for myself before I return to Amsterdam.”

Ivy couldn’t prevent the small gasp of dismay that escaped her lips, even as her mind reeled with shock. This was Helena Vanderveer! A woman old enough to be Garrett’s mother; a woman Garrett apparently had little recollection of due to his extensive injuries.

Recalling the multiple scars on his body, Ivy almost groaned at her own gullibility. It was so obvious that he wouldn’t have been in any shape for a seduction. How could she have fallen for such a patent impossibility?

Because she, herself, had wanted him.

Ivy ignored the tiny voice. It didn’t matter whether she’d wanted him or not—what he’d done was wrong.

“I heard you were ill,” Garrett was saying.

Helena waved dismissively. “Just my pesky hip. My doctors vill giff me a new one.”

They stood smiling at each other for a moment, until the younger woman cleared her throat in a meaningful way. Garrett started and his gaze snapped to Ivy. To her amazement, two ruddy patches rode high on his cheekbones.

“Ivy James,” Finn said, drawing her forward, “I’d like you to meet my wife, Savannah.”

“I’m Finn’s wife and Garrett’s sister,” the woman said, slanting an affectionate glance toward Garrett.

Ivy stared at the other woman as they shook hands. Now that she knew the truth, the strong family resemblance was hard to miss. Suddenly, she understood the expression she’d seen on Savannah’s face as she’d hugged Garrett. Not that of an adoring lover, but one of an adoring sister.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you,” Savannah said with a warm smile. “I’ve seen all your movies.” Her glance slid back to Garrett and a mischievous grin curved her mouth. “At least a hundred times.”

“Savannah,” Garrett warned in a low voice.

“And this amazing lady,” Finn continued, putting an arm around the older woman’s shoulders, “is the real-life inspiration for your character, Helena Vanderveer.”

Helena stepped forward and, just as she had done with Garrett, took Ivy’s hand between both of her own. “Hello, my dear,” she said, smiling into Ivy’s eyes. “I tink dat maybe you did not know I vass an old vooman.”

Ivy struggled to contain her rioting emotions—confusion, embarrassment, complete and overwhelming relief and, beneath that, a growing indignation.

Garrett had completely lied to her. Again.

The first time had been by omission, in not telling her he’d played a vital part in getting her cast for the role of Helena Vanderveer by bringing Ivy to Finn’s attention. But this…this had been a deliberate and outright fabrication about his relationship with the missionary for the sole purpose of getting her to sleep with him.

“Ah, no,” she said with a swift, self-conscious smile. “I didn’t realize that the real Helena wasn’t—that she was—that you were—” Ivy was perilously close to tears.

“It’s my fault,” Garrett interjected. “I told her that every aspect of the script was based on true events. She had no reason not to believe me.”

But I did believe you.

Ivy didn’t miss how Savannah’s eyes widened at her brother’s admission, before she rolled them in exasperation. Ivy didn’t trust herself to look at Garrett. She was afraid if she did, she would crumble. She would break down and rail at him for deceiving her in such an underhanded way, and then sob her relief that he hadn’t been in love with the Dutch missionary.

She needed to get out of there before she said or did something she’d regret.

“You know what?” She smiled brightly at them. “It’s fine. Really. Garrett was just trying to help me get into character, at least as it was depicted in the script, and I’m grateful to him for that.” She leaned forward and gave Helena a brief hug. “I’m so happy for the opportunity to meet you.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, meant for Helena’s ears only. “And thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for saving him.”

Helena squeezed Ivy’s shoulders. “I tink he is a good man. If I had your yout and beauty, I vood not let him get avay.”

Ivy nodded and, straightening, pretended to rummage through her bag. “I, um, have to get over to hair and makeup,” she said. “If you’ll excuse me.”

Without looking at any of them, she hurried from the room, making a beeline for the exit. She was halfway across the courtyard, when she heard his voice behind her.

“Ivy, wait.” His tone was insistent. “Ivy, damn it, will you wait?”

She broke into a trot, aware he’d have difficulty keeping up with her. If she wanted to, she could completely outrun him. She made it just beyond the courtyard, to the pathway that led down to his casita, before she stopped, chest heaving. He was on her less than a second later, stopping a foot away.

“Ivy,” he said, extending his hands toward her. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I wanted to tell you—I really did. But—”

“But what? You wanted to sleep with me more than you wanted to tell me the truth?”

She’d never seen such an expression on Garrett’s face; it was both anguished and desperate. He looked as miserable as she felt. Up close to him now, she could see his eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn’t slept, and his face was covered with a day’s growth of whiskers. Even his hair looked as though he’d spent the past several hours raking his fingers through it.

“I never intended to deceive you—I want you to believe that.” His voice was earnest. “But that first day, when you asked me if the scenes with Helena were based on reality…” He ran a hand through his hair. “I never thought the deception would go as far as it did. I figured that at some point, either in your discussions with Finn, or with the other cast members, you’d realize that not only was Helena old enough to be my mother, but that I was too badly injured to even know what was happening during those days at the mission. Forgive me. Please.”

Ivy shook her head in bemusement. “Why did you let me go on and on, asking you to give me pointers, like some kind of idiot?”

She didn’t protest when he took her face between his big hands. His eyes were heated and tender as they traveled over her features. “Don’t you know?”

Ivy felt her chest constrict, and her voice croaked when she spoke. “Tell me.”

“I love you. I have since the first moment I saw you in that hospital, when all I wanted to do was pull you into my arms and comfort you.” He smiled crookedly. “Instead, all I could do was watch you leave.”

Ivy searched his eyes, seeing the truth in their light brown depths. “But you lied to me.”

Garrett groaned. “Don’t think it didn’t keep me up at night, because it did. I’m not proud of myself, but put yourself in my place. The woman of my dreams—the one woman in the world I’m absolutely nuts about and I’d do anything for—asks me to re-create a love scene with her, believing it will help her improve her acting skills.” His thumbs smoothed over her cheeks and he looked directly into her eyes. “What was I supposed to do? Tell you the truth—that there was no love affair—and let you go into the reshoot with no idea how to make it work? Or let you go to Terrell to practice the scenes?” He shook his head. “No way.”

Ivy’s heart began to knock hard against her ribs, and of their own volition, her hands came up to cover his. “So you—you used me.” Even to her own ears, her words lacked conviction.

“No, baby. Never.” His eyes searched hers. “I loved you.”

“But how?”

Garrett laughed softly. “How could I love you? It’s the easiest thing in the world.”

Ivy closed her eyes, unwilling to let herself be drawn into the irresistible promise she saw shimmering in his eyes. “How do I know your love is real? How do I know it will last beyond filming? That once we’re back to the real world, with you at Fort Bragg and me in New York, it won’t just end?”

She didn’t resist when he gave a heartfelt groan and hauled her into his arms. “You have to trust me on this, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere. If New York is where you want to be, then we’ll make it work, I swear. North Carolina isn’t all that far from the Big Apple. I could probably catch an early flight every morning and be at Fort Bragg in time for role call.”

Ivy tilted her head back to stare at him. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.”

She started to smile. She couldn’t help herself.

“What?” He frowned down at her. “You don’t believe me?”

Ivy shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know what to believe. This is all so…crazy.”

“It might seem like that, but I have never been more serious about anything in my entire life. I was half in love with you before I ever met you, but I realize now that was the equivalent of an adolescent crush.” He brushed a loose tendril of hair back from her forehead. “What I feel for you—it defies words. The only thing I do know is that it’s real. ”

Ivy searched his eyes, and found the truth reflected there. “I knew there was something familiar about you the first time we met, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was like a—a connection of some kind.” She managed a weak smile. “I was so attracted to you that first day, by the pool, when I was wearing those awful clothes.”

Garrett smiled. “You looked amazing.”