Jessica Hart - Here Comes The Bride

Without waiting for her response, he got in his truck and moved it to the nearest parking space while Reese moved her car back where she’d parked it before. In another minute he’d climbed into her passenger seat.

She’d already pulled out the insurance card she carried in her wallet and had started to make the call. Soon she was able to give out the details. “Yes. It was my fault. I forgot to look.”

The man on the phone asked for her opinion of the damage to Alex’s truck. Reese bit her lip before looking at him. “How much do you think it will cost to fix your bumper?”

“The scrape mark can be rubbed out. Don’t worry about it.”

“But-”

“Here. Let me talk to them.” He took her phone from her. “This is Alex Kieris. I’m the one who caused the accident, not Ms Bringhurst. Send the bill to my insurance company.”

Reese listened as Alex gave the man the particulars. After hanging up, he handed her back the phone. “Why don’t I follow you to your car dealership? Then we’ll talk.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to put you out any more than I already have. These things take forever.”

“Work’s over for me today. I have no plans. Are you in a big hurry to be someplace special?”

“I was.”

“Then let me help you.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you’re not nearly as brave as the front you put on for everyone today. You may not want to be an actress, but it still couldn’t be easy to walk away from all the people your aunt loved, only to go back to her empty condo.”

“You’re right.” Reese’s voice throbbed. “I was going to take a long drive.”

“Then let’s do it together.”

“Why?” she asked him again because, so help her, she couldn’t think, let alone speak when he was sitting in the intimate confines of the car with her.

“Would you believe me if I told you, ‘I’ve grown accustomed to your face?’” He sang the last. Alex had a nice singing voice.

“No.” She laughed to hide her chaotic emotions. “With a talent like that, you could perform on Broadway.”

“Wrong side of the country. I’d rather spend the rest of the day with you.”

“And?” she prompted him.

His mouth curved upward. “You know me well, don’t you? Actually, I’d like your opinion about something. What do you say? It would be doing me a great favor.”

She found herself staring at him. “Considering that I ran into you, you’ve put me in a position where I can hardly afford to turn you down.”

His eyes flickered in satisfaction. “Good. I’ll meet you at the dealership.”

This time Reese looked before backing out. Only now did she notice that Brad had disappeared a long time ago. By the time she reached the gate of the studio parking lot, Alex was right behind her.

She knew why he was doing this. He was the sort of man who didn’t forget a kindness. Her aunt had taken a special liking to Alex. In the early days, she’d invited him to the condo where she could teach him some of the acting tricks of the trade. The fact that he was a quick study artist was a testament to his natural acting prowess.

Reese had looked on with great interest and pleasure, occasionally being pressed to act a part to help Lilian put over a point. Now that she had passed away, he felt it incumbent to be Reese’s friend on this day of transition from actress to ordinary mortal waiting for school to start.

It was his way of paying Lilian back for those hours of friendship and instruction that had bonded the two of them. But some time during that period, Reese had also grown attached to the charismatic man who’d treated her as he might treat a sister.

He showed her the greatest respect. It was a tribute to his professionalism that he was careful how he handled their love scenes. Off the set, he never touched her or made comments that could be misconstrued.

Except for scenes shot on location at the beach in Laguna, he’d never gone anywhere with her after the taping of a scene was over.

No question about it. Alex had always been the complete gentleman. Only today at the party had he acted out of character and kissed her in front of everyone. Nobody thought anything of it.

But Reese still hadn’t recovered. Was it any wonder she’d backed straight into him?

THE five-mile drive took a good twenty minutes in the lunch-hour traffic. When Reese pulled into the bay of the dealership, Alex stopped his truck short of the overhead door to wait for her.

The guy in charge came over to get her paperwork done. During the litany of questions, he kept glancing at her.

“You’re Carly!”

She nodded. “I’m surprised you recognized me without my makeup.”

“I’d notice you anywhere, any time. We have a TV in the office. Most weekdays we watch the soaps. Laguna Nights is the favorite around here.”

“The producer will be happy to hear it.”

“You’re even better looking in person.”

“Thank you.”

“Would you be willing to come inside and sign a couple of autographs for the guys? I’d consider it a personal favor.” The male interest in his eyes almost blinded her.

“Sorry,” sounded a deep, familiar voice with the fake Italian accent that sounded authentic. “She has other plans for the rest of the day.”

Alex had joined them. Without hesitation he opened the door and helped her out. “We’re in a hurry. You know how it is.” He kissed her unsuspecting lips in proprietorial fashion.

“You’re Fabio!” The other man sounded dazed. He wasn’t the only one in that condition.

“That’s right. She’ll call you later to find out when she can expect her car to be repaired. Let’s go.”

Alex put his arm around her shoulders and ushered her to his truck. “I couldn’t resist,” he confessed as he helped her into the passenger side. “If that guy’s eyes had gotten any bigger, they would have fallen out.”

The picture he’d painted made Reese chuckle. “Except that he was even more excited to discover your identity. You’re as famous as any movie star with top billing.”

“Don’t kid yourself. He was getting ready to make his big move on you. I bet it happens to you all the time,” he said as he got in his side and backed the truck around.

“Not as often as you think. From what I hear, you’re the one who has the most trouble in that department.”

“Where we’re going, neither of us will have to worry about our privacy being invaded.”

“I didn’t know we could go to the moon.”

A smile hovered at the corner of his sensuous mouth. “The destination I have in mind isn’t quite that far away.”

“If you mean the rental car place, the closest one is about three blocks from here.”

“I’ll take you there later. For now let’s just relax and enjoy this unexpected sunny day.”

His suggestion sounded heavenly.

She fastened her seat belt. If she was dreaming, then so be it. “What did you do during the holidays?”

Alex made a U-turn out of the lot and headed for the street bordering the dealership. “I had a lot of unfinished projects around here.” He flicked her a glance. “What did you do?”

“I spent it with a friend in La Jolla.”

“Cammy?” he asked once they’d merged with the traffic.

He had an amazing memory. Cammy was Reese’s childhood friend. They’d grown up together on the same street in La Jolla. Now she was married and had a baby.

“Yes. We drove around looking for a rental home for me near the university.”

“Did you find one?”

She nodded. “I’ve decided to let someone lease my aunt’s condo. It will pay my rent and feed me so I won’t have to work while I’m going to school full-time.”

“What are you planning to do for the next week until classes start?”

Brad had asked her the same question. “Volunteer at the hospital.”

“That’s a noble way to pass your time.”

“Aunt Lilian was the one who got me interested. She did it for years.”

“Your aunt was a remarkable woman. So are you.”

“Thank you.” His compliments were making her nervous. “Look, Alex-I know you’re trying to pay my aunt back by looking out for me today, but it really isn’t necessary. I’ll be twenty-four on my next birthday and am a big girl now.”

“I’ve noticed,” he inserted in a tone that sent a wild shiver of excitement through her body. “I waited a whole year for the kind of kiss you gave me at the party.”

Her breath caught. “That was for fun.”

“It felt like a lot more than that to me, and I ought to know better than any man…unless you’ve been seeing someone behind my back.”

“What do you mean behind your back?”

“Exactly what I said. Who’s the man in your life who has opened you up and made you give more freely of yourself? I thought I knew everything about you.”

She blinked. “There isn’t another man.”

“The guy at the dealership would never believe it.”

“I don’t care what he believes.” She eyed Alex covertly. “I could ask you the same question. Who’s your secret woman?”

“If you really want to know, I’ll tell you about her later. How’s that?”

“Is it serious between you two?” She could have shot herself for asking the question, but it was out now and she couldn’t take it back.

“Very.”

She clutched her hands together and stared blindly through the side window, away from him. “I see. Is she an actress, too?”

“No.”

They’d come to the Pacific Coast Highway. He turned right and joined the stream of traffic headed north. Suddenly the mood between them had darkened. With every mile, her agony increased.

Agreeing to spend the rest of the day with him was the worst mistake of her life.

“Alex, I-”

“Don’t worry,” he cut her off. “We don’t have a long drive. I promise to feed you.”

“I ate at the party.”

“One mouthful. I watched.”

She took a ragged breath, not knowing what to say. His behavior was so different than usual. Always before he’d treated her like a cherished sister. But ever since she’d backed into his truck, it felt as if everything had changed. In some indefinable way, he’d changed.

The next sign came into view. Malibu lay just around the curve in the highway.

Like many Hollywood stars, Clark Robison, the actor who played Carlo on the show, lived there with his wife and family. One evening soon after Reese had gotten the part of Carly, he’d invited the cast to a party at his fabulous house in Topanga Canyon.

Reese could still remember standing on his deck, trying to imagine what it would be like to live in such a paradise with the man you loved. At that point in time, Alex hadn’t arrived on the scene yet.

What an irony that, almost two years later, she discovered herself sitting next to the man of her dreams at the very moment the truck passed the turn-off for Clark’s home.

She studied the landscape. Amazingly, the chaparral-type vegetation that had gone up in flames from the terrible fires of the recent past had grown back a lot since she’d come to Malibu for the party.

“Here we are,” Alex broke in on her thoughts. He’d turned left at the light and had driven them into the parking area of a one-story building on the ocean side of the highway. There were a dozen workmen moving about. The place was obviously undergoing major renovations.

He read the question in her eyes.

“Once this was an art gallery. As you can see, a lot of it was scorched, and some of the rooms partially destroyed by fire. I bought it for a good price over the holidays.”

This was one of his unfinished projects?

A good price in Malibu was probably three to four million dollars. But her aunt had told her that because three different television networks had wanted to sign up Alex, he’d been offered the kind of a salary to afford the very best, and he’d taken it.

Alex got out of the truck and walked around her side to help her down. Every time he touched her, even if it was just to assist her to the ground as he was doing now, she felt it to the very bones of her body.

“Come inside. One of the rooms has been drywalled so I can use it to work.”

“Are you a famous artist I should know about? Or maybe an art dealer who’s planning a new opening?”

He stared at her through veiled eyes. “Neither one.” He extended his hand. “Hold on to me while we make our way through-it’s a maze of building materials at the moment.”

Reese was glad for his support. With almost every step she needed to be careful as he guided her past the weathered-looking stones a workman was fitting into place in front of the building. Two men worked in harmony tiling the roof.

With Alex’s help, she reached some wooden steps leading into the shell of a rectangular room with a stone fireplace at one end. The bank of windows facing the ocean was covered by plastic so you couldn’t see the view. Another group of workmen were putting in dark wooden beams across the ceiling. They nodded to Alex.