Trial Run: Addicted To Love Romance Collection (19 page)

Once he was certain Amelie had booked herself on the flight to Kingston, Rob called his team and gave them the signal for full steam ahead. His buddies in the SFX team took their positions. The helicopter was sent to refuel and pick him up, and Jason got ready on the nearby island. His favorite make-up artist was already in Kingston, awaiting his arrival, together with the wardrobe girls.

Rob hoped everything would work out smoothly, since there wasn’t enough time for a dry run. More nervous than he’d ever been before, he packed up the papers, checked the rings, and searched for a moment of peace.

No. It was not going to happen. Not until he’d heard his Ammy say yes.

A few short hours later (only short because of the number of things that needed to be set up before Amelie’s flight landed), Rob stood leaning against the rented limo, watching the skies. The helicopter was ready, the pilot already in the cockpit, the props set up, and the two actresses, Tina and Michelle, strapped in their seats, waiting.

He kept running his fingers through the thin blond hair of his wig and shuffling from foot to foot in the uncomfortable suit he was given. The fringe was long enough to slip through and tickle his lashes behind the wide lenses of the dark wrap-arounds. Between that and the temporary ginger goatee-and-moustache combo that made him itchy, Rob thought he might just tear off his disguise before she put one foot on the ground.

Suddenly, the plane came into view, and he grinned, making the flashing landing lights glint off his gold false tooth veneer. He stuck two mints in his mouth, pushed them into his cheeks, slipped into the limo and closed the door, directing the car in position.

“Amelie Watts?”

The sound of that voice made Amelie gasp, and she swiveled on one foot, ready to throw herself at its owner. But no, she’d been wrong. It wasn’t Rob.

A sharp pain pierced her chest as she took in the man standing in front of her. His stature matched, as did the voice, but his face was different, chubbier somehow, his hair was blond, the cut expensive but too young for his age… and he even sported facial hair. Ugh.

“Hi.” He offered a hand to shake. She complied, nodding. “This way.”

The guy turned around and walked toward a limo, limping slightly. The suit he wore was a little too fitted, and of a very modern tailoring. Hmm. Skinny leg couture didn’t suit him.

Stop staring, Amelie!

He opened the limo door politely, taking her shoulder bag and remembering to ask if she had any other luggage as she slid into the cool vehicle. When she shook her head, he closed the door behind her and got in beside the driver. That was odd.

The car began to move. Before she had the chance to ask what was going on, they were stopping again, this time beside a helicopter painted in crazy jungle patterns. Not camo-style – more kids’ party-style. The colors were too bright and cheerful. Another strange thing.

“The paperwork is all ready for us. After you,” he said, and gestured for her to get into the helicopter.

“Are we going to a hotel?”

“Remember the wedding I told you about?” Amelie nodded. “It’s been brought forward, so we really need to get going. Don’t worry, you can be my ‘plus one’.” He grinned widely, showing a gold cap.

Amelie winced and took a step back. “Wait.”

“Is there a problem?” the man asked.

“I…”
Don’t want to risk getting lost in the Caribbean again. With a stranger. Had that experience once this year.
“Can’t we just sign the contract now, and then I could be on my way?”

“I’d rather you read the small print. What if there’s something in there you object to? You’ll have plenty of time to do that on the way over. And then, we can celebrate! Now, come on, we have a rather tight slot over Cuban airspace.”

Cuba? Well, that wasn’t all that far away.

“I… I trust you.”
What other choice do I have?

He laughed, a deep laugh, throaty, almost like Rob’s. “I’m pleased about that,” he said, “as trust is important if we’re going to go into business together.”

“But I don’t have anything to wear…”
Pathetic!

“No worries,” a female voice piped up from the back of the helicopter. “I’m sure we’ve packed far more than we could possibly need.”

Amelie took a couple of steps toward them, then stopped and turned to the mysterious investor again. “Listen, maybe now is not a good time. I’ll just get a room in town and you can find m –”

“Nonsense. You deserve to have some fun. That proposal was awesome! You must have spent a lot of time working out all the details.”

As he spoke, he placed a hand on the small of her back and led her toward the open door. Unable to find any reason why she shouldn’t go and mesmerized by this man who felt so much like Rob, she sat down and allowed herself to be buckled into a seat.

Mr. Persistentmutt pulled out a pile of papers and passed them to her before he sat down opposite and reached for the door. The rotors began to spin. Amelie flicked through the cover pages, looking for his name, but at that moment the young woman sitting to her right yanked the papers out of her hands and threw them out through the open door. Just as the last of the pages disappeared, the door shut with a clang, leaving Amelie staring through the window at the scattering bits of white.

“What did you do that for?” Mystery-man asked her, looking outraged.

“Oh, relax, Ty. There’ll be plenty of time for business later. First, we need to look after our guest. Where are your manners?”

Funny thing to ask, thought Amelie. As if ripping a bunch of papers out of her hands was perfectly polite. But at least now she had a name for the mysterious stranger – Ty.

“Don’t worry,” he said to her. “I can call ahead and have another set printed and waiting for us.”

Amelie nodded and smiled. The guy looked genuinely embarrassed, so she wasn’t about to give him a hard time over someone else’s behavior. It wasn’t his fault, was it?

The woman turned to Amelie. “My name is Michelle, and this is Tina.” She pointed at her friend. “And if you’ll just drop that frown, we could do something about updating your make-up.” She smiled, and Amelie couldn’t help smiling in return. “That’s better. Now,” she directed her question toward Tina as she pulled out a zipped bag full of different color bottles of nail varnish, “the shell pink or the frosted cerise? What do you think?”

“Don’t you have a blood red or something?” Ty asked.

“Of course I do,” she answered. “But it wouldn’t go with your suit.”

Ty’s perplexed expression was so funny, Amelie giggled.

“See what I have to put up with?” he asked, playing up the fun. He tugged off his jacket and threw it over the back of his seat. As he turned back, Amelie stifled a gasp. Around his left wrist was a string of wooden beads just like Rob’s. Her eyes drifted up and over his torso, looking for more matches, but his long-sleeve shirt concealed his arms and chest.
Dammit!

Amelie’s eyes continued their journey up to his face, but Ty’s shades and facial hair obscured his expression. He didn’t seem to be looking at her, but she could swear she felt the same heat warming her skin as she did when Rob was watching her. How she would have liked to see his eyes, for just one second! Her stomach was beginning to do the flips, and she was certain it wasn’t because of the altitude.

Ty made a show of turning away from the girls, then he pulled out a lump of wood from beneath his seat and a small sharp knife from his jacket pocket, and began to whittle away at it.

Amelie felt her mouth drop open. “Rob?” she mouthed. She was certain the sound had been undistinguishable over the noise of the rotors, but his chin jerked up, as if he’d heard her. Or seen her say it.

His hands didn’t slow, and she watched him, mesmerized, her heart saying one thing, her eyes disagreeing.

“Amelie, is it?” Tina’s voice seeped through. “That’s a beautiful name. Of French origin, I assume.”

Amelie was beyond being able to answer any questions. Her attention was focused on the man across from her, the man who was doing all the things Rob used to do, the way he used to do them.

“What are you making?” she asked, unable to help herself.

“Hmm?” Ty asked, his face lifting to look at her, though she still couldn’t see his eyes. “Oh, this? It’s going to be a stand, I suppose.”

“A stand?”

“For an artifact. An ornamental piece. Something that has deep significance for me.” Amelie smiled, though she was certain her face showed her confusion. “See this?” he asked, and she nodded. “This would be the foot, so to speak. It is meant to be placed on a table or mantelpiece. And these… these are going to be the arms that will wrap around the… the… the other thing I was talking about.”

Amelie blinked, trying to follow Ty’s explanations. She could see what he meant and her mind was already fitting an object in the enclosure of the wooden arms he was still working on. An object that held a deep significance for her, even when it was incomplete.

Her gaze fell on her travel bag. The wooden heart was in there, secreted inside an old camera case. She just couldn’t bear leaving it behind. It was here now, close to her, and it took all her self-restraint not to pull it out and hug it tight to her chest, the way she had done every single day since she’d left that one tiny part of it in Rob’s care.

But before she could drown in her sadness, Tina and Michelle began chatting to her, drawing her into their conversation and making her smile again. Amelie was grateful. She could feel herself relaxing, and she welcomed the relief. She pushed all her bad memories back, to a far corner of her mind, and decided to enjoy herself.

The attention and calm demeanor of the two women was like a soothing balm to her shredded nerves. The last few months had taken a lot out of her. Now that the tide of bad luck had finally turned, she was ready to make the most of her life’s opportunities.

Michelle and Tina began pulling out make-up and hairbrushes, and before she knew it, Amelie was choosing color palettes and gem-encrusted hairpins.

Ty wasn’t spared their attentions either, and he let them play with a smile on his face.

The more Amelie looked at him, the more like Rob he looked, but whenever she wanted to open her mouth to ask a relevant question, a make-up brush touched her cheek, or a hand reached for her hair. She was beginning to wonder whether she would ever be allowed to speak again.