This Is True Love (Exclusive! #1) (3 page)

He didn’t back away. Or back down. “You still haven’t told me why you’re doing this. Don’t you have enough going on?”

She sighed. As much as Alex irritated her, he was her new business partner and deserved an explanation for her actions. “You mean with my acting career? I’ve reached the point where I can be more selective about the movies I choose to do. I don’t have to worry about getting my name out there in the hopes of moving on to the next bigger project. More importantly, there is a serious lack of movies being produced for and about women, especially women of color, that portray us in an honest, intelligent manner. I want to change that.”

“That’s great, but once again, I’ll say that Crescendo is doing fine.”

Yep, stubborn was his middle name. Patience needed to be hers. “I know that, Alex. I’m not saying you’re doing a bad job. You’re doing a great job. But I bring a different perspective to the table. You know how flighty Hollywood is. It never hurts to keep all your options open.”

He studied her, his expression still foreboding. “Did you stop and think this through?” He threw his hands up. “Of course not. You always act first and think later.”

“Like I did with my marriage, you mean?” she shot back before she could stop herself.

He winced. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Fliss shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Forget I said anything.” Arguing about her past mistakes would solve nothing. She and Alex rarely saw eye to eye, but they had to come to an understanding if they were going to work together. “Actually, I did think this through. I had a lot of time alone to think about my future when the paparazzi were camped outside my house, waiting to catch a glimpse of the poor, duped, cheated-on Felicity. Knowing they were licking their lips waiting for any salacious detail to emerge, especially after the gala.”

Alex sighed. “I told you no one noticed anything was wrong with you. You didn’t give them any ammunition.”

She shrugged. She’d done her best to pretend everything was okay at the event. She’d smiled and mingled, even greeted Keith and his date. Sure, she would have preferred kicking him in the shin for not agreeing to a divorce settlement, but that wasn’t an option in such a public setting. A smart option anyway. Satisfying, yes. Smart, no. But with every eye in the room trained on her, there was only so much torture a person was equipped to take. Somehow, despite her unfaltering smile, Alex had known she was suffering. After she’d admitted to a blistering tension headache, he’d insisted on taking her home.

As a thank you, she’d invited him inside for apple pie and wine. They’d bonded over their adventures in the entertainment industry, and the conversation had turned to a project Alex was working on about the legendary R&B singer, Farrah Blake. She’d listened, rapt, as he detailed his vision for the film. He’d even gone out to his car to get a copy of the script, which she’d immediately fallen in love with.

Then she’d turned on the TV…

She flipped through a few channels and then burst into laughter. “No way. It’s
Graveland 6
. My first movie,” she added in response to his questioning look. Cringing, she watched through spread fingers across her face. “Thank God I’ve gotten better since then.”

“You sure about that?” Alex asked, grinning.

She stuck her tongue out at him, suppressing a laugh. Robot Alex had a sense of humor. Would wonders never cease? “Yes.” She pointed to the TV. “You see that? That was my first movie kiss. I’m so much better at the whole puckered lips, no tongue thing now. I’ll show you.”

She surprised him when she touched her lips to his. She shocked herself when she registered the demands of “more, more” crowding her brain. She gasped, stared into his eyes filling with desire for her, and the next thing she knew, the embrace had moved well beyond the realm of a movie kiss. Tongues, rapid heartbeats, wandering, grasping hands, and deep moans joined in on the fun on both their parts. Time and place ceased to matter as she became lost in the pleasure of being in Alex’s unyielding arms.

He touched her like he wanted her, like he had to touch her in order to secure his next breath. She didn’t stop to think that this was Alex. She was too busy feeling. For the first time in a long time. Heady, wondrous desire thrummed through her veins. She gasped in delight when a large hand landed on her breast. Her nipple hardened at the contact. His talented mouth never left hers, probing deeper and harder. He settled between her thighs, the hard ridge signaling that he was as worked up as she was. That he wanted this as much as she did. She moaned when he thrust against her, sending an electric shock through her entire body. Then she couldn’t think anymore as her arousal built, driving her closer and closer to the edge.

Until a gunshot from the movie startled them both. Alex pulled away, taking his heat with him, and leaped to his feet. He blinked, shock stamped on his face. “Damn, Fliss. That was…”

“Crazy,” she whispered. Understatement of the decade.

He gripped his head with shaking hands, his chest heaving, his normally steady composure clearly rocked. He stared down at her, bewilderment swimming in his eyes. “This shouldn’t have happened. I…I have to go.”

He raced out of the house, while she lay immobile on the couch, staring at the ceiling with unseeing eyes.

That was the last time she’d seen him until today.

“No one knows anything about what happened after we left,” he said, like he too had been besieged by memories. “No one ever will because it was a mistake that won’t happen again.”

Once again, she ordered herself not to be offended. His reaction had little, if anything, to do with her. Being attracted to his best friend’s wife was the ultimate sin, regardless of how poorly the friend had treated her. But damn, hadn’t her self-esteem taken enough hits over the years?

Fliss squared her shoulders. So what? Alex’s reaction didn’t matter. Besides, he was right. The kiss was a mistake. Claiming a stake in Crescendo was not. Even if Alex came as part of the package. They would just have to act like the adults they were. “All the alone time gave me the chance to think about the direction I want my career to head in. I want to continue acting, but I’d like to have more control over my career.”

His face remained unmoved. “That’s great, but this isn’t going to work. Crescendo focuses on action movies and thrillers, not romantic comedies.”

“’Course it’ll work,” she said, inserting some manufactured cheer into her voice.

It had to.

From the outside, it looked like she led a charmed life. Parents who loved her, a more than comfortable upbringing, a lucrative career she loved. But that undoubtedly spoke to her skills as an actor, skills she’d learned from her parents. The perfect, loving couple in public. In private, they could barely stand to be in the same room. But divorce wasn’t an option because they were worth more together than apart.

They’d married after Fliss’s mom got pregnant in college because they couldn’t possibly embarrass their families, both pillars of the San Diego community. Who cared that they’d dated less than two months before the pregnancy? When they had gotten to know each other, they hadn’t liked what they’d found.

Spoiled. Inconsiderate. Vengeful.

Insults they’d thrown at each other at any given opportunity. Any love that might have existed between them was long gone by the time Fliss was old enough to question its absence.

She’d gotten lost in the shuffle somewhere in between business meetings, golf matches, and charity events. Oh, yeah, and extramarital affairs. She’d been a prop at best, a nuisance at worst, only useful when one parent wanted to hurt or annoy the other.

She’d been so determined to learn from their mistakes. She wouldn’t treat marriage like a business transaction. She’d only marry someone who loved her as much as she loved him. Turned out her husband, no, make that ex-husband, was a much better actor than she’d ever be.

The unexpected demise of her marriage had knocked her flat on her so-called perfect butt, leaving a huge bruise that had taken a long time to heal. Keith had made her question every decision she’d made in her life.

But she was done wallowing. She’d accused Alex of being a control freak, but she was the one determined to take control of her future. Producing movies would go a long way toward reasserting command of her career. As for her personal life? Crescendo would be her new soulmate. Because she was on an official man hiatus. At least until she figured out how to stop jumping headfirst into relationships and handing over her heart like it was a piece of cheap Halloween candy to men who proved over and over they didn’t want it and weren’t worthy of it. When she started dating again, slow would be her mantra.

A perfect plan. On paper, at least. She wasn’t sure she could pull it off—the business part of the plan anyway—but she had to try. Starting now. “In any case, you just proved my point about the types of movies Crescendo produces,” she said with her most confident smile. “It’s time to diversify. You know that. You even told me you were ready to expand.”

He hitched his right shoulder. “Yeah, but I plan to do it on my own at my own pace. Right now, thrillers and action movies sell. I’m not interested in romantic comedies.”

Fliss sighed. Fame had never been Alex’s end goal. Making enough money so he never had to worry about it again and making movies the public would enjoy were. She didn’t know all the details of his childhood, only the little Keith had imparted. Movies had offered an escape from a troubled home, something she could definitely relate to, and had become his dream career.

“You misunderstood me.” She narrowed her eyes. “Although there’s nothing wrong with rom-coms. I’ve acted in my fair share of them and plan to make more. However, in this case, I was talking about producing weightier films.” She poked him in the chest again, studiously ignoring the zap of electricity that traveled through her body at the innocent contact. “Need I remind you that your shoot-’em-up action movies aren’t any deeper than the rom-coms you like to sneer at?”

“I know. I just wanted to watch you get up on your soapbox like you do every time someone talks bad about the genre.” He flashed a half smile, the right side of his mouth kicking up.

Fliss’s heart skipped an unexpected beat. Wow. When he wasn’t being high and mighty, he could give lessons on how to be charming. He’d decided to try a new tactic, obviously. She wasn’t having it. “In other words, you were trying to distract me. You failed. And don’t bother with the ‘Damn it, Fliss’ I see forming on your tongue. You need some time to think. I’m going to take a shower.” She flicked a glance up and down his body, lingering on the shirt still clinging to his wide chest. “Maybe you should, too. You look a little hot and bothered.”

***

Without a backward glance, Fliss exited the kitchen and climbed the stairs. The sway of her hips, the ass that had dominated his dreams since
that night
, the determination that made her one of the world’s biggest stars—they all enthralled him and grounded him to the spot long after she’d disappeared from view. The hiss of running water didn’t help his predicament.

Explicit images of Fliss taking the poor excuse for a bikini off and standing naked under the spray of water, washing herself,
touching
herself, bombarded his brain. A low moan escaped before he could stop it.

The pathetic noise jolted him back to reality. What the hell was wrong with him? She was Keith’s.

Not anymore
.

Damn it.

The kiss had changed everything. He only thought about it a million times per day. Which was not how he worked. He thought about work a million times a day, not a woman. Especially not a woman who drove him crazy.

Her actions didn’t please him, regardless of the good points she made. He didn’t like being manipulated or feeling out of control. But he shouldn’t be surprised. Fliss didn’t know how
not
to jump without looking when she saw something she wanted. The complete opposite of him. Fliss was flash and bright colors and disorder.
Order and quiet ruled his life. He calculated every move he made. It was the only way to survive a childhood encased in chaos and emerge as a functioning adult.

He had to find a way to convince her to sell her stake to him, because he didn’t know what he would do if she didn’t. Fliss wouldn’t be content to be a silent partner like Keith. She was too inquisitive and stubborn to let that happen.

As selfish as it sounded, making Crescendo successful by himself was his ultimate dream. He wanted to prove that he didn’t need help to thrive. That his past didn’t have to define him. Once he reached his goals, maybe then he could slow down and think about his personal life. Only when he reached his goals would he have something worthwhile to offer a good woman on a permanent basis.

He had a plan and Fliss was fucking it up. In spectacular fashion.

The ringing of his cell phone stopped him, temporarily, from contemplating finding the nearest brick wall to bang his head against. He checked the number. He didn’t recognize it, but it had a Los Angeles area code. “Graham here,” he answered.

“Alex Graham?” a man with a Midwestern accent asked. The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but Alex couldn’t place it.

“Yes.” The water shut off. He looked up, a vivid image of a naked Fliss getting out of the shower and wiping her luscious body with a towel that had no idea how lucky it was filling his brain. Damn it.