Contracted For Love: Famous Love Series (5 page)

She nearly jumped out of her skin when he leaned down to kiss her neck. As quickly as he’d done it, he moved away and stood behind her, as though nothing had happened. She glanced up at him and smiled, and Jack smiled stiffly back.

What a dick. Why did he do that, if he still hates me?

She turned around and enjoyed the rest of the show; before she was ready, it was finished. The crowd drifted away and she heard them discussing where they should go now. Various suggestions floated through the air and people moved in the direction of the volcano eruption at the Mirage and discussed moving on to Fremont Street. It all sounded fabulous to her, and she pinched herself that she was lucky to have plenty of time to explore.

We don’t have to do everything tonight.

Jack took her hand again and they headed toward an outside escalator. She looked at Jack with a question in her eyes as they joined the throng of people going the same way. Behind her, she heard a woman whisper, “I think that’s Jack Fawkner.”

“What?” Jack looked at her. “We have to take this escalator and then walk across the bridge and down the other side. It’s the only way to get across the road on the Strip.”

“Oh. That’s weird.”

“It is. It’s also the reason you have to walk so far when you’re here—even crossing the road is an effort.” He smiled and looked for all the world like a man without a single care. She watched him as he smiled at people passing by. One or two appeared to recognise him, but his stride didn’t falter and he kept pulling her along with him.

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to eat. Are you hungry?”

“I’m starving. Can we go to a buffet?”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. He seemed to sigh a lot when she was around. “You want to go to a buffet?”

“I do. I’ve heard they’re amazing. Buffets are my favourite thing in the world—we don’t have too many of them in Australia.”

“That’s because they are a breeding ground for bacteria.”

“Oh, poo. You’re no fun. Where are we going, then?”

“I thought you might like somewhere a little more classy than a buffet with five hundred other people sticking their fingers in your food.”

“Well, that shows what you know about me, doesn’t it?”

Jack suddenly stopped walking and turned to her as she bumped into his chest. His face was pained and he looked like he was about to explain himself to a child. “If we go to a buffet, there’ll be tonnes of people around. Word will eventually get out that I’m there, and we suddenly won’t be able to enjoy our meal in peace.”

“Is that so bad?”

“It can be. We don’t even have any security with us.”

She considered that for a second. “Okay. Just this once, I’ll let you be right. Next time, though, we do the buffet. You’ll just have to wear a hat, or something, so no one recognises you.”

He smothered the laugh that wanted to escape him. She was so damn innocent. A hat wouldn’t help him blend in—nothing but a full disguise would do the trick. She had a lot to learn about life in the spotlight.

“Deal. Now come on, let’s eat before the couple of people whispering around us turn into two hundred.” He pulled her toward a tiny, exclusive restaurant tucked away in the Planet Hollywood casino.

***

On the drive home, she was mercifully silent—possibly worn out from all the walking. She’d insisted they walk from one end of the Strip to the other, so she could look at all the buildings. Charlotte had laughed as a fine spray of mist had landed on them as they’d passed one of the bars where people spilled out of the doors and loud music pumped onto the street.

He’d played a giant slot machine at her urging, and by the time he received his prize, a small throng of people had gathered behind them, wanting photos and autographs. He’d turned on his movie star smile and taken selfies and signed shirts for at least half an hour as Charlotte watched on with interest. He’d finally called a halt to it and insisted they call it a night.

Now they were headed home and he couldn’t help but remember that they were supposed to share the same bed tonight. Things were about to get interesting.

He parked the car and she slid out her side and slipped into the house without a word. Jack followed her inside to find her standing in the dining room, biting her lip.

“What’s up? Suddenly realised where you’ll be sleeping? Want to sleep in the spare room?” he asked hopefully.

Charlotte turned to him and rolled her eyes. “No, I do not want to sleep in the spare room. I’m not scared of you, Jack. I want to raid the fridge, but I was just wondering if Mrs. Jones had already gone to bed.”

“You’re hungry? Didn’t you have enough at the restaurant?”

“Of course I did, but I wanted a piece of fruit, or something else sweet before bed. I haven’t eaten nearly enough fruit today. Can I go in there?”

Without a word, he headed toward the kitchen. After a moment, she decided to throw caution to the wind and follow him. Relieved to see that Mrs. Jones was nowhere to be seen, she got a glass from the cupboard and poured herself water from the tap.

As she drank it, Jack motioned toward the fridge. “We have bottled water; you don’t need to drink from the tap.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why can’t I drink from the tap?”

“You can. I was just pointing out that you don’t
need
to.”

“I like tap water. Why would you bring bottled water into your house?”

“Because it’s better.”

“It tastes mostly the same, and plastic bottles are bad for the environment. I only use them if I’m out, or if I’m somewhere tap water isn’t safe to drink. Don’t order any extra water on my account.”

“Alright, I’ll let Mrs Jones know. I just assumed you’d prefer bottled.”

She finished her water and then washed the glass and placed it on the drainer. “You need to come to Australia with me.”

He choked on his own drink of water, which he’d taken from the fridge. “What?”

“One day, you’ll need to visit Australia… with me. You need a bit of loosening up, and a week or two out of the limelight could be just what you need. There’ll be no bottled water when we stay with my family.”

“Wouldn’t we stay in a hotel?”

She laughed and he tried to ignore the urge to smile. “No way—my mother wouldn’t hear of it. We’ll stay on the farm. You can ride horses, and my brothers will challenge you to wood chopping competitions. We’ll have barbecues, and you’ll drink Aussie beer and only tap water before bed.”

“I wonder how your family will like me. Wouldn’t it just be easier to avoid us meeting too much?”

“Probably, but that’s not realistic, is it? What couples don’t introduce each other to their parents?”

“Plenty in Hollywood, actually.”

“Well,” she pursed her lips in annoyance, “I might be hanging around on the fringes of the rich and famous at the moment,” she waved her hand in his direction as she opened the fridge to peer inside, “but I don’t intend to become one of you.” Charlotte squealed as she saw the array of fruit stored on the top shelf of the fridge. “Can I eat these berries, or do you think Mrs. Jones has plans for them?”

“Go ahead. If she had plans, she’ll just order more.”

She sat at the kitchen bench and closed her eyes, savouring each berry as it passed her lips. She offered Jack some, but he shook his head as he took his own seat opposite her. He could hardly take his eyes off Charlotte and the way she slid each berry across her tongue. The look of pure bliss that followed as she closed her eyes was soon too much for him and he quickly stood up and excused himself.

“Do you remember the way to our room?”

“I do. Don’t worry Jack, I won’t stand you up. I’m a sure thing to spend the night in your bed,” she cooed at him and watched with amusement as he blushed and his eyes widened. He turned and walked out without saying another word; she smiled to herself as she turned her attention to the delightful berries.

Jack Fawkner sure is fun to annoy.

***

When she went to the bedroom twenty minutes later, Jack was already in bed. She guessed he’d showered, since his hair appeared to be wet. His back was to her, though, so she couldn’t be sure. For all her bravado, she’d been panicking about this moment all day; right now, her panic was at DEFCON five and rising.

Charlotte went to the robe and pulled out the pyjamas she’d had to buy before she’d come here—she was used to sleeping in a t-shirt and undies. She’d wanted to pack light when she’d flown to Los Angeles from Australia and was worried she might be moving around a lot, so a small suitcase had seemed sensible to her. As a consequence, she didn’t have much to wear after dark, either to a nightclub or to bed.

As she took in the vast wardrobe where Jack stored his clothes, she was amazed at how many suits he had. They were all lined up, like he wasn’t a famous actor at all, but a businessman. They seemed to be waiting for him to choose them for his next meeting. She reached out and ran her fingers along the row of jackets. This whole room smelled of Jack; his cologne was light, but it was on everything. She glanced to the right at the custom-made shelving where he stored his shoes. The man had more shoes than anyone she’d ever known. She smiled as she looked at them all lined up, and the urge to rearrange them to see if it got a reaction out of him was strong. It passed as quickly as it arrived, though, as she realized she needed to stop stalling and get changed for bed.

The robe had no door, but he was already in bed, so he wouldn’t be popping his head in—would he? She shrugged and pulled off her shirt and slipped her pants down before she could totally freak herself out.

Stop being a baby. You’re just sleeping in the same bed, nothing else.

Charlotte undid the clasp of her bra, slid it off, and placed it on top of her suitcase. She’d need to unpack properly tomorrow, as he hadn’t told her where he wanted her to put her things.

She pulled the pants on and dragged the top over her head, then discovered it was a lot tighter than she’d expected. Catching sight of herself in the full-length mirror, she let out a squeak of horror.

That will definitely not do!

Everything was showing. Her legs looked even longer than they usually did. The shirt was skin-tight, and her boobs seemed to be waving at her. If he saw her dressed like this, he might get the wrong idea, and that wasn’t what she wanted at all.

Isn’t it? Wouldn’t you like it, if he wanted you? Maybe just a little?

She brushed that thought aside before it could take hold. What was she going to wear to bed, now? She had no floppy shirts in her suitcase—not even a flowing dress that she could pretend was nightwear. As she stood there, in her skin-tight attire, her eyes fell on the dozens of shirts hanging beside the suits. She wondered just how much this would piss him off as she reached for the nearest one.

Oh, this works.

She pulled it on and was relieved to see that it fell halfway down her thighs. It was loose enough that it didn’t hug any of her curves and wouldn’t give him any ideas. Although, it didn’t seem like he’d even see anything: she could hear him faintly snoring.

After switching off the light, she walked into the room, noting the lamp on her side of the bed was on. She crept into the bathroom and quietly closed the door before switching on the light to find her toothbrush. As she brushed, she looked at herself in the mirror. Everyone else saw the bravado on the outside that she wore like armour, but those same people wouldn’t recognise the wide-eyed girl cleaning her teeth in the mirror right now.

Wiping her face, she pushed down her anxiety about sharing Jack’s bed and left the bathroom. After stepping lightly around the bed and switching off the lamp on her side, she pushed back the covers and slid between the sheets. The bed was huge—definitely king-sized. She didn’t dare roll over to face him just so she could sleep on the side she preferred. He might have been all the way on the other side, but it felt safer to be facing the wall, for now.

As she closed her eyes and tried to relax into the gloriously comfortable bed, she had a sudden thought that made her eyes fly open.

Please God, don’t let him be sleeping naked!

***

Jay was on the phone early the next morning, and he was as excited as she’d ever heard him. “Is Jack there, Charlotte?”

“He’s here. Why?”

“Put him on. Better yet, put your phone on speaker, so I can talk to you both.”

“Okay, you’re on speaker. What’s got your knickers in a twist this morning?”

“Jack Fawkner, you are a genius.” Jay’s voice gushed from the phone on the table. “I don’t know how you did it, but I salute you.”

Charlotte glanced at Jack in confusion. “What’s he talking about?”

“I’m talking about the internet blowing up with the news of you two. Tell me you’ve seen it, Charlotte.”

“I haven’t seen anything, Jay. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She turned to Jack, “Did you put out a statement or something?”