Tinseltown (7 page)

“Yeah, but, I let him. I thought his love was unconditional and he was just confused, but I started feeling like something was up when he told me if I quit acting he would marry me. I was a fool to waste six years on him.”

Her mother nodded, stepping up to stand next to her against the railing. “I like Zach.”

Deb looked out over the beautiful backyard and thought she might have seen a deer grazing near the edge of the property. She squinted, but when she blinked, it was gone. Grudgingly, she admitted, “I do too.”

“I can see he’s crazy about you.”

Heaving in a deep breath, she decided it was time. “He’s an actor, Mom,” she warned. Might as well prepare her for their demise now than let her get attached. “You can’t trust anything that seems obvious from people like us.”

Deb glanced at her mother when she didn’t say anything right away. “That’s just it. It’s not obvious. It’s like he’s trying to hide it, which I don’t get, since you’re here together. He watches you the same way your father watches me. And when he thinks no one is around, he seems a little lost. Are we overwhelming him?”

Staring into her mother’s blue eyes, Deb wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. “No. I think I am.”

“What do you mean?”

She studied her mother’s lovely features for a moment before bowing her head. Her parents had been married for more than thirty years. Who was she kidding? They were going to be disappointed in her no matter what she did. “We got married in Vegas, Mom.”

When she didn’t immediately answer, Deb raised her eyes.

“I know,” she said quietly, leaning against the deck railing.

“You know?”

“I don’t typically read the tabloids about you, but when I saw those pictures of you two at the altar, I couldn’t help but wonder. His wedding ring clued me in too. I knew you wouldn’t bring home a married man to meet us unless he was married to you.”

“I’m sorry.” Tears thickened her voice and an edge of helplessness overwhelmed her. “I know you’re disappointed in me, but I was drunk. I
never
drink, and I wake up and—”

Her mother held up a hand, effectively silencing her. “Drunk or not, you married him, Deb. I’m not disappointed in you. The only way I could be disappointed is if you divorce him before you give it a chance. Marriage isn’t all about a certain feeling or lack thereof. It’s a lot of hard work. There have been times I’ve wanted to kill your father and other days I couldn’t imagine my life without him. Some days, love is a choice not an emotion.”

Deb nodded as a tear trailed down her cheek, hot and wet.

“He’s a very handsome, very nice boy.” Her mother nudged her in the ribs.

“He’s a gentleman, I’ll give him that,” she said with a grin. Except for when she drank too much.

“Deb.” Her mother took her hand and looked her in the eyes. “What’s really wrong?”

Again, Deb tried to avoid her stare but her mother’s tightened grip brought her gaze back to hers. Her hair was pinned under a toboggan, her makeup still perfect. “I’m just confused.”

“Zach?”

“Yeah, but it’s nothing you need to worry about. I’ll be fine. I’ll figure everything out soon enough.”

“Promise you’ll talk to me if you need anything? I am still your mother and I’m a good listener.”

Deb smiled and grabbed her mother for a hug. “Thank you, Mom. And thank you for welcoming Zach.”

“Of course! By the way, have you told him about Eric yet?”

She shook her head. “It hasn’t come up. I’ll try to get around to telling him before this weekend.”

“Tell me what?” Zach’s voice sounded out of nowhere.

Deb jumped and laughed when she saw him standing there, bundled in a scarf, jacket, and gloves.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” Deb’s mother said quietly. Before she disappeared into the house, she pulled Zach into a hug. “Welcome to the family.” She patted his cheek.

* * * *

Zach eyed Deb. Something was up.

“Tell me what?” he asked again.

“We’ll talk about it later. It’s nothing, at least not to me.”

“Okay.” He shoved his hands in his pocket. “So your mom knows we’re married.”

“Yes.” Deb smiled. “The hard part is over. Funny thing is, she already knew. She’ll tell Dad and, since all the company is gone, we can enjoy some down-time for a few days. My brother won’t be here until Saturday, so we have five whole days to do a lot of nothing.”

“Sounds great.” Zach was sure she wasn’t being upfront. Her nervous hand-wringing concerned him. Had Brad got to her again? Was she upset her mother knew they were married? There hadn’t been a monumental difference in their relationship other than a little bit of friendliness, but something just wasn’t right.

She turned away from him, leaning on the patio railing overlooking the rolling back yard. Pine trees and oaks dotted the landscape. “I thought I saw a deer a little while ago but I’m not sure.”

He walked up behind her, placing his arms on either side of her waist. She was so close he could smell the sweetness of her hair as the brisk wind whipped it near his nose. The perfume she wore made his gut ache. He’d love to have her smell surrounding him while he made love to her.

He could feel her alertness and how she went still when he pressed his body into hers. He wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing tonight. Before, when the witty conversation kept them at arm’s length, he might have thought it was a good thing, but he couldn’t tell what she wanted now.

“We don’t see many deer in LA, do we?” he said. He ran his gloved hands up her arms before wrapping his arms around her shoulders, pulling her back against him. For the second time in as many days, he marveled at how well they fit together.

She didn’t reject him, but she didn’t relax either.

“Relax,” he whispered in her ear. “I made a promise I wouldn’t kiss you unless you asked, remember?” At her nod, she hooked her hand around his arm as he held her close. “And remember how you said you’d never ask me again?”

She nodded.

“I think you’re safe from the big bad wolf.”

Deb giggled, and he grinned too. Then, she leaned into him. Zach held her tight, closing his eyes against her softness and loving how intimate it felt to just stand there behind her, looking out over the snowy landscape and feeling each prick of a snowflake as it touched his face.

At her soft sigh, he realized while he’d had many relationships over the years, none had been like this. He wouldn’t necessarily categorize their marriage as an actual
relationship,
but if he closed his eyes and erased the past week of differences between them, this moment made him feel like he was in on a special secret… the one everyone spoke of when they talked about love.

But he didn’t want to love her. He didn’t really know her, except that she could kiss better than anyone he’d ever locked lips with. It didn’t make for a substantial connection, despite the rings or the vows they had uttered.

Shaking his head slightly and leaning down to rest his head on her shoulder, he dropped his arms to wrap them around her waist.

“You smell so good,” he murmured in her ear.

She grinned against his cold face. “The first thing you should know about me is you never tell me to stop doing something. I always find a way to do it.”

He laughed and kissed her cheek. “Don’t ever kiss me again.”

Her laughter joined his. “Except kissing you. That, Zach, is the one thing I know you want, so I intend to drive you crazy.”

He rolled his eyes and let her go. “You already are, woman. If I go any crazier, they’re going to have to put me in a nuthouse.” She laughed again, and he felt her gaze on him as he turned to pace. “I mean, you’re doing a really good job of it.” He pumped his fist in the air to emphasize his words.

“Good.” She threw back her head and laughed.

Zach stood there, mesmerized.

He realized then he was lost. Sure, he’d thought it before, but this time tears welled in his eyes at the powerful emotion he felt.

“I’m sorry!” She laughed. “The look on your face is priceless!” Bending forward at the waist, she slapped her knee, her shiny, flaxen hair spilling over her shoulders.

“If I wasn’t such a gentleman, I’d be kissing you senseless right now.” He placed his hands on his waist and watched as she sobered.

“What?”

“You heard me. There’s nothing more I want to do during a moment like this than be close to you and kiss you. You’re lucky I made a promise I intend to keep.”

Deb swallowed deeply and looked away from him. He took that as his cue to leave.

The last thing he wanted was to scare her. He was terrified enough for the both of them.

Chapter 6

The next morning, after another near sleepless night, Deb felt like death. She had a sore throat and felt achy, exactly how she felt when a cold came on. Just as she was about to get up, she heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.” She moaned, flopping back down and throwing her arm over her eyes.

“I see you’re awake,” Zach said.

“Yes, and I’m sick.”

“What’s the matter?” he asked, concern filling his tone. A few seconds later, the bed dipped under his weight and she felt his warm hands on her chilled face.

“Just a cold,” she whined. “I always do this when I come up here. I guess it’s the temperature change.”

“Probably. Want me to bring you breakfast? You should stay in bed and rest today.”

Deb eyed him curiously then grinned at the sweetness of his concern. After last night, she wasn’t sure how he would react around her today.

“Sounds great. Thank you.”

Before she could register what he intended to do, he bent and touched his lips to her forehead. He smelled like pine needles, and his hair was still wet at his temples from his shower. His copper eyes shone with concern.

She touched his cheek and smiled at him, thinking how his tenderness tugged at her heart. He kept his promise and, little by little, Deb saw he was trying to make this work more than she was. In fact, each thing he did for her, whether he held her close as snow fell around them or brought her breakfast in bed, all the way to kissing her senseless left her feeling… complete.

Deb could tell he wanted to kiss her. Zach gazed deeply into her eyes. His hand smoothed her hair. But she knew the rules. He wouldn’t touch her unless she asked, and if she hadn’t had horrible morning breath and felt like her head might explode, she could have been tempted.

He must have read the resignation in her eyes because he sat up, pushing himself off the bed and walking to the door. “I think your mom is making waffles. Does that sound good or would you like me to go out and get you something?”

For unexplained reasons, a lump formed in her throat. “Waffles are great. Thank you, Zach.”

Despite feeling so rotten, Deb got up and brushed her teeth and combed her hair. Maybe, if the opportunity presented itself, when he returned she would ask him to kiss her. She felt desperate for his kiss, despite her claim otherwise. Usually in relationships, she could take or leave spending time together. She wasn’t normally needy.

She chalked it up to being sick. Yes, that had to be it.

Thoroughly disappointed when her father returned with her food, Deb smiled and thanked him, trying to hide her emotions.

“Sorry you’re not feeling well, sweetheart.”

“Where’s Zach?” she asked, trying to look uninterested.

“Oh, he’s downstairs setting up for a game of chess. I convinced my son-in-law to let me bring your breakfast up.” Her father eyed her for a moment. “He sure is crazy about you.”

Deb smiled, a little giddy. “So Mom told you we’re married. It didn’t go exactly the way I planned, Daddy. I wanted you to walk me down the aisle and everything.”

He placed a soothing palm on her forehead and shushed her when tears gathered in her eyes. “Your mom told me the circumstances behind it. Does he come from a nice family?”

Her father’s kind eyes told her he was merely curious instead of drilling her.

“He doesn’t talk much about his family. We’re really just at the beginning of this relationship, so I can’t really say I know much about him yet.”

He smiled. “I know it’s hard during filming to get to know someone. You both have to concentrate on your work, so I’m sure once filming is over, you’ll be able to direct your attention to each other.”

“Yeah, I’m sure we will.” But Deb wasn’t sure at all.

“Maybe you can while you’re here too. Once Eric and the kids get here, we have some things planned. Jesse and Elizabeth want to go ice-skating and do a few other things. Then we’ll have some of your mother’s eggnog and cookies. Any man who doesn’t fall in love over those isn’t a man worth keeping.”

Deb laughed and nodded. “I agree.”

“Can I tell you congratulations?”

“I guess. I just don’t know if it should be congratulations or condolences at this point.”

“You’ll figure it out.” He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Feel better, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Dad.” As he shut the door behind him, Deb tried to ignore the sense of loneliness and grabbed the TV remote. Settling in, she flipped until she found something of interest and ate her breakfast.

Afterward, Deb snuggled in her bed, dozing peacefully for a while. Dreams of Zach teased her mind, centering on his smile. She hadn’t seen him laugh a lot since they had arrived in New York, but she knew when he did, it held the power to stop a beating heart right in its tracks. It was such a cliché to say he had movie star looks, but quite simply he did. His dark hair falling just above his brow combined with his intense golden eyes gave him a sex appeal most actors in Hollywood couldn’t achieve. Those golden eyes could burn a hole right through her.

As noon approached, Deb watched another lame TV program. Footsteps came up the steps. Hopeful it was Zach, she ran her fingers through her hair and swiped her hand over her lips. She might feel like crap but it didn’t mean she had to look like it too.

She wasn’t disappointed this time. Zach peeked in quietly and grinned when he saw she was awake. It was still one of those guarded smiles she hated, as if he wasn’t sure if they were really friends.