There was not much she could do with her hair except pin it in a bun.She never went anywhere without hairpins.She also always carried a change of clothing whenever she was doing a scene.Rehearsals were a bitch on her regular clothes.Too bad she hadn’t thought of carrying something to the party.Maybe next time.
A knock came just when Jillian finished her makeup.She thought of putting on her panties, but they were still wet and cold.She hid them under her dress in the sink, grabbed her clutch and shoes, and headed for the door.
No one would know she was cruising commando.
Lex stood on the other side of the door.The look in his eyes sent heat shooting straight to her core.She waited for a compliment.Instead, he said, “I think I’m going to enjoy dressing you up.”
There he goes again, being unpredictable.
“I’m not a doll, and you’re too old to play dress up,” she said.
“Ah, but taking them off is so much fun.”His voice had gone rough and low, eyelids also low.He stepped forward, invading her personal space, and ran his knuckles down her arms before resting his hands on her hips.He tugged her closer, and she didn’t resist.“You look stunning.Maybe we should forget about the party and…” His hands skimmed the fabric, a frown on his face.When he murmured “damn,” she knew she was busted.
Jillian pretended not to have heard him, took a step back, and slipped on her sandals.
“Are you wearing anything under that dress?”He sounded outraged, but his expression said he was intrigued.
“Yes, I am,” she said.Shoes on, she stood and dared him to call her a liar.“A chainmail with a lock that says keep your hands to yourself.”
He laughed.“I cannot let you loose on the poor male population—”
“Oh put a cork in it, Alexander,” Jillian said, wrapping her arm around his.“No one will know, except you.And you know about the chainmail.”
“I’m going to regret this,” he mumbled as they headed for the stairs.
“Which part?Having a human doll to dress up, or the fact that she’ll fight you every step of the way?”
“Knowing you’re naked under that dress.”He pressed a kiss on her temple and said, “And you won’t fight me.You’re going to love everything Faith designs for you.”
Whoever the designer was, she must be a favorite of the Fitzgeralds.Oh, well, if she was going to be a trophy fake wife, she might as well enjoy the ride, including the sex, which was inevitable.She wasn’t an idiot or a simpering virgin.The chemistry between them was like nothing she’d ever experienced before, and the only way to let it run its full course was to meet it head on.
~*~
The day after the party, the headlines were cringe-worthy.
Trouble at the Set ofTerra Frost: Stunt Double Attacks Margo Jenkins
Jealousy and Tantrums: Margo Jenkins Accosted by a Jealous Stunt Double
Delays in Production ofTerra Frost: Infighting Between Margo Jenkins and Her Stunt Double
They followed Jillian wherever she went.In stores.At the backlot of the studio.Her coworkers talked of nothing else.Jealous?Someone had taken a wrong turn to the corner of reality and delusion.She could never be jealous of Margo.
Margo had never warmed to her as her stunt double and could barely tolerate breathing the same air now.Jillian wasn’t sure whether it was the way she’d saved the pool incident by pretending they were rehearsing a scene or the way the Art and Entertainment section of theL.A.Timeshad displayed Jillian and Lex’s picture.Instead of focusing on Margo, the biggest star at the party, the piece had focused on Lex, the reclusive billionaire and his mysterious date.Jillian suspected he had something to do with that.Still, the piece didn’t eclipse the tabloids, and soon someone would connect Lex’s mysterious date to the drowned rat feuding with Margo.
There was no feud, except in Margo’s head.Where the hell had she gotten the idea that Jillian wanted to replace her and had seduced Lex to achieve it?
She didn’t get the entire story from Shay on Saturday, but Margo seemed to know that Jillian had talked to Lex before her skydiving scene at Ferris.Somehow, that meeting had made Margo paranoid.Lex might be close-mouthed about the list of actresses he’d selected for his “pretend wife project,” but someone at the studio had told Margo that the Fitzgeralds had requested her portfolio.According to Margo, Lex had gone to Perris Valley Skydiving School to see her, but their meeting hadn’t gone well because he’d talked to Jillian first.Whatever Lex had told the actress that day wasn’t Jillian’s doing.
Jillian sighed and raised her arms as the wardrobe assistant finished adjusting her outfit.She wiggled a bit to release the tightness around her chest.
“Is it okay?”the girl asked.
It was a bit snug, but she’d bear it.In the last three days, she’d heard it all.How she would demand special treatment because she was dating Lex.
“It’s fine.”She sat and let a makeup artist transform her face, her thoughts drifting to last Saturday.
She would have ignored Margo bad-mouthing herandthe whispers from the others had the bitch not gone too far and started lobbing her salvos at Chris.Jillian could put up with a lot of smack from anyone any day, but to imply that Chris would behave unprofessionally toward another man?The conniving bitch!Margo had gone after Chris to hurther.That much was clear.Refusing to talk privately then pushing her into the pool had been the last straw.One more word from the actress and she’d give the tabloids a few pictures they’d never procure on their own.
