Second Chances

Copyright © 2011 Christle Gray

Cover Art by Kendra Egert

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transferable and can not be given away, sold or shared. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, faxing, forwarded by email, recording or by any information retrieval and storage system without permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law, as this is an infringement on the copyright of this work. Brief quotations within reviews or articles are acceptable.

Author’s Note. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to a person or persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is purely coincidental.

Second Chances

By Christle Gray

Dedication:

This book is dedicated to my wonderful husband, Ken. You continue to be the great love of my life. Thanks for being my hero.

Acknowledgements:

Thank you to all of my author buddies who push me to do better and keep on writing. This would be a lonely journey without you!

Chapter One

“Sophie, must you preen in front of every single photographer here?” David McDougal’s Scottish brogue thickened with his frustration as he ran his hand through his hair while Sophie circled his waist with her arm and smiled brilliantly at the man with the camera.

As the flash momentarily blinded David, spots danced in front of his eyes. He blinked rapidly until his vision returned to normal. Sophie stood in her gold beaded evening gown glaring at him, her bright smile vanishing as soon as the photographer was out of sight.

“Must you be so naff? Why can’t you just relax and try not to embarrass us both?” She carefully inspected one of her well-manicured nails. “And I don’t preen.” Her bottom lip protruded as she pretended to pout. He used to find that expression adorable on her. Now, it bordered on irritating.

David took a large sip of scotch and loosened the collar of his shirt. “You know how I feel about events like these. And given our ‘situation,’ I like them even less now.” Though they had agreed to call off their engagement a month ago, Sophie had convinced David to keep up appearances in public.

The crowded room had been totally festooned for the occasion, massive red flower arrangements adorned the tables while glasses of champagne and expensive appetizers floated on trays carried by waiters in tuxedoes. England’s most prestigious were in attendance to give money and buy art at London’s Royal National Gallery. Others were here purely to be seenlike Sophie.

She ceased the appreciation of her manicure and turned to face him. Her slender fingers gripped the lapels of his silk suit. “We only have to pretend for a short while, darling. Just until I finish the filming for this movie. Then, we can get everything sorted.”

She ran her fingers slowly along his jacket collar and smiled at him sweetly. “This is what’s best for both our careers, not just mine. The wrong kind of press could ruin things for us right now.”

David sighed as he stared into her cold blue-gray eyes. He hated that she was right. Bad press could hurt the both of them. But lying to his friends became more taxing with each passing day. He was stuck.

“I know, I know,” he grumbled. “Just don’t expect me to do such a bang up job of pretending if you drag me to many more of these social functions.”

Sophie shook her head, her blond hair not moving an inch from its elaborate French twist. She patted David’s shoulders condescendingly. “It’s no wonder your career was headed nowhere before you met me. Networking is essential to getting ahead, my darling.” She swiveled her upper body and snapped up a glass of champagne from a passing waiter’s tray.

David stiffened his shoulders and bristled at her comment. Just because he hadn’t been on the fast track to stardom when they met, didn’t mean his career was headed nowhere. He would have found his own way, eventually. But Sophie never saw it from that perspective. Just another reason he knew they were wrong for each other.

Sophie sipped her champagne, staring out over the rim of the glass at the people, as her diamond earrings caught the light. The gems sparkled along with the large engagement ring she still wore on her left hand. David had wanted her to wear his grandmother’s ring, but Sophie had insisted that she have a ring more befitting her status. Now the gaudy thing mocked him as it flashed upon her finger.

Sophie smiled and nodded as people passed by, totally absorbed in the activity around her. He might as well not have been there for all the attention she paid him most of the time.

Leaning over, her eyes glimmered with interest. “My new assistant said there would be reporters from
OK!
Magazine here tonight. We should try to hunt them down and get an interview to go along with the photos.”

David’s shoulders slumped. This woman never quit. Not wanting to face another round of flash bulbs and fake smiles, he downed the rest of his scotch. “You go right ahead and find that reporter. I appear to need another drink.”

Sophie’s blue eyes darkened as she narrowed them into slits. “But we should talk to the reporter together. Don’t you bloody disappear on me.” The threat of a tantrum was clear in her voice.

“I think people would forgive us if we didn’t spend every blooming minute together, Sophie.” He stalked off toward the bar, not caring about her reaction.

“I
will
find you later,” she called after him.

David wove through the maze of people as he made his way to the bar. For the first time this evening, he could actually breathe. Sophie suffocated him with her demands.

As he reached the bar, David raised his glass toward the bartender so the man could pour him another scotch. He leaned casually on the counter as he waited. When the bartender handed him his glass, David turned to see his good friend and agent Bernard Stone at his side.

“David, my good man, there you are.” Bernard smiled and clapped David on the back.

“Why exactly are we here again, Bernard?” David fingered the collar of his shirt as he slowly glanced around the room filled with people talking, laughing and drinking. Their pricey suits and lavish evening gowns provided just as much ornamentation for the event as the decorations themselves.

“It’s good for you to be seen out in public, David. And it’s a charity event, so it’s good press, both for you and Sophie.” Bernard gave him a head nod as a tall, twenty-something blond walked by and winked flirtatiously.

David sighed and stared into his new glass of scotch. Quiet evenings at home with a movie and a beer were his preference, not this “who’s who” kind of party he was forced to attend more frequently than he wished. The down side of his acting career.

“Where is your gorgeous fiancé, by the way?” Bernard stared at David expectantly.

“Sophie is around here somewhere, dazzling someone, I’m sure. She has been so busy with filming, she wanted to live it up a little. Our schedules match up so infrequently these days.” David took a sip of his scotch and turned his attention back to Bernard.

“Well, that will change once you two get married, I’m sure.” Bernard swirled the olive around in his martini glass and took a drink. The man’s eyes darted around the room just like Sophie’s.

“Aye, I’m sure too,” David agreed, though less convincingly.

As he scanned the room again, the glass missed his lips and the amber liquid sloshed, landing almost all of it on the front of his suit.

A woman in red filled his vision, her black hair pulled back from her face, a few tendrils escaping to fall free. She appeared to be about five foot six, with fair, alabaster skin and never-ending curves. Her large, dark eyes flicked back and forth across the room in what he assumed was a nervous gesture. Next to her a very petite woman in blue seemed to be doing a fine job of chatting up the people around them.

He leaned over to Bernard. “Do you know who that is over there?” He tried to point inconspicuously across the room.

Squinting in the direction of David’s finger, recognition dawned slowly across Bernard’s face. “I believe that’s Ingrid Pierce. She’s a tiny devil, that woman. One of the sneakiest public relations agents around. Tries to steal my clients, she does. You just need to stay away from that witch in blue.” Bernard huffed, his pudgy face turning a bit red.

David chuckled at Bernard’s reaction. It seemed this Ingrid Pierce woman apparently knew how to get his friend up in arms, and rather quickly at that. Bernard was a good bloke, though he could be a bit stodgy at times. He did have a more relaxed demeanor than many other agents David had dealt with in his career. Most people said that meant Bernard was losing his touch, that he was falling behind the times, but David disagreed. Actually, he liked Bernard so much more for that very reason. Bernard wasn’t pushy and insincere, and even though he looked like he slept in his suits most days, David considered the man to be a good agent.

“Not the one in blue, the woman in red, next to her.” David shook his head and grinned as he watched Bernard’s face slowly fade back to its regular color.

Bernard squinted in the direction of the women once again, and shook his head. “Don’t know the one in red, but if she’s friends with Ingrid, she can’t be good news.”

Good news or not, David didn’t care. He was intrigued by her, and for some reason he wanted to meet her. “Introduce me, Bernard. Introduce me to Ingrid and maybe she will introduce her friend.”

David set his glass on the bar and moved toward the two women, not waiting for a reply. When he looked back over his shoulder Bernard stared blankly ahead for a moment, apparently confused by David’s actions.

Not usually so bold, David typically hated these types of events. He generally put in a brief appearance, smiled politely to everyone to appease Sophie, and then quietly went home. Acting was his passion, but not the superficial social niceties that were required of him at times.

Smiling to himself, David continued across the crowded room, finally hearing Bernard lumber up from behind.

~~~

Kristin Shepherd sipped her cosmopolitan as she watched people mingling around the gallery. It had been a long time since she’d had anything but wine, and the alcohol helped to calm her nerves.

People smiled and talked all around, including her best friend, Ingrid. Being the social butterfly that she was, Ingrid chatted away with everyone in her vicinity, her petite frame dazzling in a blue sequined dress. Her friend possessed the talent of knowing how to network at these functions.

Kristin sighed, coming tonight was a mistake. She never had a good time at social events like these anymore. Grief had wrapped her heart in a lock, and gazing around at handsome men at parties sure wasn’t the key. In fact, it just confirmed how alone she truly was.