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She looked over her shoulder and saw twenty-eight-year-old Leah headed toward her in one of those slinky dresses that made the most of her voluptuous figure.
“That’s quite an outfit Wardrobe has put you in.”
“I wouldn’t be caught dead in it otherwise.” They smiled at each other. “It’s the pits you’re leaving the show. You have no idea how much I’m going to miss trying to kill you off.”
Reese chuckled in spite of her pain. “You’ll be getting your last chance today.”
“True, but as usual I won’t succeed, and you will get to fly off into the sunset with the breathtaking Fabio.”
“Don’t envy me. On our honeymoon, I get lost in the jungle, never to be seen again. You’ll have Mr Irresistible all to yourself.”
Her married friend grinned. “Don’t I wish. So what’s the real deal on Alex?” she asked, lowering her voice. “Is he taken? Like in for keeps?”
“Who wants to know?” Reese questioned noncommittally.
“Sally. She’s had a crush on him forever.”
Sally and a dozen other actresses.
A shiver ran down Reese’s back. She rearranged the flowers in the basket she was carrying, making sure the certificate lay on top for easy access.
“I don’t honestly know, Leah. Rumor has it there’s another woman, but he doesn’t share anything about his personal life with me.”
“Well, if you don’t know, nobody else does, that’s for sure. Since your aunt’s funeral, he has seemed a lot more attentive around you. I thought maybe he confided in you.”
“Afraid not. My aunt gave him some acting tips when he first came on the show. He liked her a lot, and knows I’ve missed her, so he’s been a good listening ear. That’s all.”
“That’s not all. Take a look at him in that tux.”
“I’m looking.” Reese had already sensed him coming before she’d actually caught sight of his tall, fit, male physique.
“So is every woman on both sets. Sally needs to cool it. You can tell he hates fawning women.”
That was exactly why Reese was leaving the show, before she made a fool of herself over him as Sally was doing. With his dark attractive features and olive skin, her heart couldn’t take much more.
“He’s headed our way. Lucky you,” Leah quipped. “If I were you, I’d make the most of that final clinch he gives you in the vestibule. After today’s taping, there’s not going to be any more of that to look forward to.”
Thank you for reminding me.
“All the emotion he puts out is strictly for the camera.”
“Come on,” Leah baited her. “Admit there were times when the temperature heated up between you two.”
“I admit he made our love scenes look passionate, but that’s because he’s a good actor.”
“Whatever you say.” Leah emphatically didn’t believe her. At Alex’s approach, the skin prickled on the back of Reese’s neck.
“Good morning, ladies. Brushing up on your lines?” he asked in his deep, cultured voice. He spoke with a slight Greek accent but saved his deep Italian accent for the camera.
Somehow Reese found the courage to lift her guarded blue gaze to his. “It can’t hurt. I’d like my final performance to go without a flaw.”
His black eyes gleamed. “You always do perfect work. It has made my part easy.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s true. You’re Lilian Jaynes’s flesh and blood. She was a master actress. So are you. When your fans find out you’ve left the cast of Laguna Nights, there’ll be mass mourning.”
But you won’t mourn over my absence. Reese would only have been a blip on the screen of his life.
“They’ll get over it as soon as the writers find you a new love interest.”
“Word has it they’re going to let me grieve for a few weeks, then I’ll take up my original vocation as an Italian monk. Without Carly Shaw, I no longer want to live in the world.”
“You made that up.”
On occasion Alex could be a tease. Maybe this was one of those times. If Patsy had been able to tell Reese was uptight, surely it hadn’t escaped Alex she was more nervous than usual this morning. No doubt he was trying to get her to lighten up.
But to her surprise he lifted his hands in defense. “I swear I’m telling the truth. Ask Stan. Melissa’s going to pretend to be a priest and smuggle herself inside the monastery to make my life hell.”
If that was true, then lucky, lucky Melissa. An ache passed through Reese’s body more intense than before.
His eyes narrowed on her face. “You were supposed to laugh. Are you having seconds thoughts about leaving the show?”
Her head reared. “None!”
“You don’t have to pretend around me. You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have some misgivings about walking away from all your friends here.”
“Of course I’ll miss everyone, but acting’s not for me. When Aunt Lilian died so suddenly, I’m afraid any thespian tendencies inside me died with her. If my aunt had done something else for a living, the idea of being an actress would never have occurred to me.
“Let’s face it. My chance to play Carly Shaw on a soap opera was an absolute fluke. To be honest, I’m eager to get back to the university. In retrospect, two years away from the books makes me want to jump right into my studies again.”
“Still planning a graduate degree in Archaeology afterwards?” he inquired.
“I don’t know. My parents were hoping I’d follow them into their field, but I’m also thinking Anthropology. Maybe I liked this stab at acting as much as I did because I’ve always found people and their behavior fascinating.” Especially yours, Alex Kieris.
“Carly, Fabio, Melissa—church scene coming up next!” the stage manager announced.
Alex’s gaze swept over her. “Let’s go do it, shall we?”
They walked the short distance to the vestibule of the church where Carly and Fabio would link arms for the walk down the aisle ahead of the bride. Melissa took her position behind the back door where she could eavesdrop on their conversation.
When they were in place, Alex whispered, “Smile, Reese. It’s our wedding day. All the grief and misunderstandings between us are about to come to an end. In a few minutes we’re going to give the viewing audience a twist they’re not expecting.”
“It’s a twist with a sting,” she murmured, hoping he couldn’t hear her heart clogging up her throat.
He cocked his dark head. “That’s true. You’ve been on the show a year longer than I have. After losing Lilian, the fans are going to have a doubly hard time letting you go.”
He unexpectedly reached out to adjust her hat. At her questioning glance he said, “Just making sure the rim doesn’t get in the way of my kissing you at the altar. I don’t understand why they gave you a hat to wear.”
With a grin he said, “In Greece a bride wears a garland of flowers so the poor grooms don’t get injured before the honeymoon even starts.”
Reese had been right. The woman waiting for him in Greece was on his mind.
“This is L.A., and I’m the bridesmaid, remember? Normally I’m not the one who gets kissed at the altar.”
“You are this time! I may just remove your hat at the appropriate moment, so don’t be surprised.”
“You mean inappropriate, don’t you?” she teased, trying to put on a happy, carefree face so she wouldn’t give herself away completely. “After all the stunts you’ve pulled on me that weren’t written in the script, I don’t think there’s anything you could do that would shock me.”
His eyes glinted black fire. “I have to admit you’ve been a real sport to put up with me for the last twelve months. It’s proof of your great acting talent that every time I blundered, you covered for me without missing a heartbeat.”
That was where Alex was wrong. Around him her heart had stopped beating more times than he would ever know. It was the reason she was leaving the show now instead of putting off her studies for another year.
School seemed to be her only salvation. Being forced to immerse herself in her studies wouldn’t cure her broken heart, but if she wanted to obtain decent grades she wouldn’t have the time or luxury to wallow in pain. At least that was what she was telling herself right now.
He reached for her left hand.
“What are you doing?”
“Wardrobe handed me this gold band to put on your finger. Let’s make sure it slides on easily, otherwise I’ll have to put it on your baby finger.”
Baby finger … She loved his little language mistakes.
“You did say you wanted our last scene to go without a hitch.”
Biting her lip, Reese clutched the basket in her right hand while he checked the fit. She willed her body not to shake.
“Perfect sizing.” He slipped it back off. “But your hand feels like ice,” came the unexpected comment before he chafed it with his to warm her up.
“I have poor circulation.” She snatched her hand away.
“That’s news to me. I never noticed the problem while you were putting sunscreen on my back during our beach scenes.”
Before she could find a logical response, the pre-wedding march music started to play in the background.
“Places, everyone! Action!”
With those words, the two of them became Carly and Fabio.
Reese immediately slipped into the role and peered at Fabio from beneath the rim of her hat. “Is it true you’re going back to Italy after the wedding?”
His black eyes narrowed. “Why do you ask?”
Reese’s whole body throbbed with pain. “Just answer me, dammit!” she cried in a hushed tone, her eyes filling with tears.
He put out a finger to catch a drop, then rubbed the moisture around with this thumb. “Tears. From you?” he mocked. “I didn’t think it was possible.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
“Did you ever give me the chance, bellissima?”
“I’m giving it to you now.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t listen to her!” Melissa broke in on them with a maniacal look in her eyes. “I heard her tell Miranda she was in love with you, but she was lying! All this time she’s been sleeping with Carlo.”
Carly gasped. “That’s not true and you know it,” she whispered, enraged.
“Give me a break—” Melissa fired back. “Think about it, Fabio. That’s why you’ve never been able to get Carly in your bed.”
“You’re wrong, Melissa. The only reason I haven’t slept with Fabio is because I knew you were in love with him. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Ooh. You really know how to play hardball, don’t you?” Melissa’s furious gaze switched to Fabio. “The only reason she’s hitting on you now is so she can get her hands on your portion of the Andretti fortune.”
“There is no fortune, Melissa,” Fabio declared with quiet menace. “I gave it to the church when I entered the priesthood.”
“I wouldn’t want it anyway!” Carly cried. “Money means nothing without love. How can you stand there and accuse me of such lies? Carlo’s old enough to be my father. He’s always been in love with your mother. They’ve been like parents to me. Don’t listen to her, Fabio.”
“Don’t listen to her, Fabio,” Melissa mimicked brutally. “Get ready to die, Carly!”
Melissa pulled a gun from the thigh holster beneath her dress. But before she could shoot it, Fabio wrenched it from her hand.
“I might have known you’d try to ruin your mother’s wedding day,” he said with cold fury. “My uncle told me how their first wedding ended in disaster because of you, but you’re not going to get away with it a second time. Get out of here, Melissa!”
Two ushers seating people rushed into the vestibule. “What’s going on? The guests are waiting.”
“Escort this woman from the church and call the police to pick her up for threatening Carly with a deadly weapon.”
While one of the ushers dragged Melissa, who went kicking and screaming, the other one relieved Fabio of the gun.
After he disappeared, Fabio turned to crush Carly in his arms. “Are you all right?”
“Yes.” She struggled for breath. “Fabio—you didn’t believe her, did you?”
“What do you think? According to Carlo, she’s been unstable for years. Maybe she’ll finally get the psychiatric help she needs.”
“She was actually going to kill me.”
“Don’t think about that now.”
“How can I not?” she cried. “Oh, no—the wedding march has started up!”
CHAPTER THREE
“LET it!” Fabio fired back. “You were about to say something important before she tried to kill you.”
“There’s no time to go into that now.”
