Riding the Line (28 page)
She had helped him pick out a crisp white shirt to go with the suit and some black socks. The whole time she’d been talking, he’d wished Robyn was with him to depress his pretensions and tell him what she really thought.
Tension gripped his gut. He’d sure fucked things up that morning. Sure, Robyn’s refusal to lie down and worship him rankled, but he hadn’t meant to lose his temper. After the amazing night they’d shared he’d intended to tell her straight out how he felt about her. Instead he’d ended up pointing out her flaws. Not the best way to convince someone you loved them.
He groaned. Dammit, he’d lost his temper with Robyn more in the past two weeks than he’d ever lost it before. The strange thing was that it didn’t seem to make her like him less or vice versa.
He checked his watch, wondered if she’d show up for the party or if she’d simply wait until he’d gone, get her stuffand leave. If only he hadn’t promised Grayson he’d go . . .
He picked up the shirt and suit pants and headed for the bathroom. Sitting around in his boxers wasn’t going to achieve anything. He had to believe she’d come back so he might as well go and get ready. And if she did come back, he was going to tell her how he felt whether she wanted to hear it or not.
Robyn stared at the shiny black dress bag hooked on the outside of the suite door. Unfortunately it had her name on it so she assumed Damien must have sent something for her to wear to the party tonight. In an effort to avoid facing Dakota when she was so upset, she’d deliberately dawdled on the way back to the hotel. With a sigh, she grabbed the bag and draped it over her arm, opened the door and stepped cautiously inside.
Faint wisps of condensation floated into the main suite from the partially open bathroom door. She could hear Dakota whistling some mournful country song, the sound echoing around the tiled walls. With great care she laid the bag over the back of the couch and unzipped it. The tag said Versace but the dress, what there was of it, was barely bigger than the label. It appeared to consist of a series of red and yellow leather straps.
Robyn winced. It was typical of Damien to choose something like this: beautiful in its own way, but so not what she would ever chose to wear anymore. It seemed he was set on humiliating her and there was nothing she could do about it. In her heart she knew he could’ve helped her with other projects but he simply didn’t want to. By running away from him she’d made him look bad and he’d never forgive her for that.
She clutched the skimpy dress to her chest. He wouldn’t break her. She’d do what she had to and get away from him eventually, whatever the cost.
‘Hey.’
She turned around, saw Dakota coming out of the bathroom and almost bit her tongue. He wore a dark suit and white shirt that emphasized his athletic build and tanned skin. She realized she’d never seen him dressed up before. He looked so unlike himself that it was almost easier to pretend he was a stranger she hardly knew.
‘Wow. Now you look like a movie star.’
He hesitated, started fiddling with his shirt cuffs. ‘Then maybe I’ll take it off. It’s not a job I want.’
‘No, don’t. You look great, really.’
‘Thanks.’ His smile was slow to come and as awkward as she felt. He gestured at the dress. ‘Are you coming then? The party is in the Lyon suite on the ballroom level. The agent guy invited everyone from the production team so that includes you, me and Jay. Lauren’s also invited, so Grayson will be there too.’
‘I’ll come for a while. Then I have somewhere else to go on to.’
The party from hell
.
The party from hell
.
His hopeful smile disappeared. ‘Oh, right.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘I’ll wait for you then.’
‘There’s no need. I can just follow you down if you have to rush.’
She attempted a smile, found it impossible. How had it come to this? The two of them struggling to string a sentence together?
‘Robyn . . .’
She started toward the bathroom but was brought up short when he caught hold of her forearm.
‘Robyn, there’s something I need to say to you.’
She patted his arm. ‘It’s OK, I’m going to move out tonight. I know the shoot finishes on Monday and you’ll be moving on. It’s been great.’
His grip tightened and she almost winced. ‘Don’t do this. Don’t pretend everything’s fine.’
‘I’m not,’ she whispered. ‘I know it isn’t.’
He placed his fingers under her chin, made her look up at him. The concern in his hazel eyes made her tremble.
‘I love you, Robyn. I don’t want you to leave me, ever.’
His face blurred as she started to cry. It was hard even to breathe let alone speak. ‘I know.’
‘What the hell does that mean?’
‘It means I’m honored that you love me but . . .’
‘I don’t want to hear the “but”.’
‘OK, then I’ll shut up.’
‘Robyn . . .’
She stroked his cheek. ‘Dakota, that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.’
‘And?’
‘And thank you for telling me.’
He sighed. ‘You’re not going to give me a straight answer, are you?’
‘You haven’t asked me a question.’
He took a deep shuddering breath, rested his forehead against hers. ‘I want you to stay with me. That’s a question, isn’t it?’
‘No, it’s a statement of intent.’ She choked back her tears. ‘If there was a way for that to happen, Dakota, I would be a very happy woman.’
‘You would?’
‘I would.’ She kissed his cheek and stepped out of his embrace. ‘But it won’t, Dakota. I’m so sorry.’
Hardly able to see, she ran for the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Her legs felt like jello so she slid down to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest. Almost immediately, Dakota banged on the door.
‘We
can
make it happen.’
can
make it happen.’
‘Go away, Dakota. You can’t fix everything.’
‘I know that, but this, what we have? Isn’t that worth fighting for?’
She stared into her reflection in the mirror; saw a woman she almost didn’t recognize. The temptation to reply to him, to open the door and let him take care of her was immense, but she had to do this herself. Perhaps if he was still around in a few years when she’d gotten things straightened out, she’d look him up.
She winced at the stupidity of her dream. Good men like Dakota Scott didn’t wait around on the shelf for very long. Yeah, that’s what she should do; write him a rain check for collection in five years and slide it under the bathroom door. He’d definitely go for that.
He knocked more softly on the door but this time she didn’t even think about answering him. After a few more minutes, she heard him curse, walk away and the slam of the outside door.
Her hands were shaking so badly it took her about fifteen minutes to even work out how the dress was supposed to fit on her. She wasn’t surprised to see that it revealed far more skin than she ever wanted to show. Because she wasn’t as thin as most Hollywood women, her curves flowed uninvitingly over the bands of leather giving the impression of a badly wrapped lumpy parcel.
She plastered her face with make-up. Damien liked her to look like a real star rather than her natural self. Tonight the falseness of it suited her mood. She needed a mask to hide behind while she played out her dangerous game with Damien and whatever he had in store for her. She knew him well enough to suspect that the party would be specifically engineered to further humiliate her.
She added another layer of mascara. It didn’t matter. Whatever he did to her she would survive it. She had no choice and she knew she was strong enough to deal with anything. She hesitated, the mascara wand poised above her lashes. Would Leda enjoy seeing her suffer like this? Would this be enough to assuage Robyn’s guilt over her survival and her sister’s terrible condition? Somehow she doubted it.
She slid her feet into a pair of gold sandals, picked up a matching small purse and headed for the door. Her backpack leant against the hall doorway. She’d already packed her things, left everything that Dakota had bought her and stuffed the cash she’d withdrawn in his underwear drawer. There was nothing left to do but leave her backpack with the concierge and face her fate.
Damien had told her that someone would meet her in the hotel lobby and escort her to his party. She doubted it would be Damien himself so she’d have time to pop into Dakota’s party and say goodbye to his family. She’d come to like them all way too much in such a short time, especially Lauren. At least Dakota would have people to care about him after she’d gone. She’d have no one.
The elevator doors pinged and opened on to the bustling lobby. Robyn took a deep breath and looked around. She saw a red-headed woman waving at her. Was that Stephanie? What the hell did she want?
As Robyn reluctantly approached Stephanie she hesitated. She looked different somehow, had she taken off her glasses? Something about Stephanie’s triumphant smile bothered her.
‘Robyn. I’m here to escort you to the party.’
‘I don’t need an escort, thanks. I know where the party is. I’m just waiting for someone else, actually.’
‘Oh no, you’re not.’
Stephanie grabbed her upper arm and held on tight, virtually dragging Robyn in the direction of the ballroom. Robyn tried to pull away but Stephanie was remorseless. Eventually, Robyn resorted to holding on to the nearest large object and digging in her heels.
‘Stephanie, what the hell are you doing?’
‘I’m taking you to the party.’
‘I’m quite capable of getting there myself, so leave me alone.’
Behind Stephanie’s head, Robyn could see the entrance to the Lyon suite and beyond that several tall guys clustered around a brown-haired woman who must be Lauren. Would she be able to shout for help? Had Stephanie gone nuts?
‘Damien told me to make sure you got here.’
Robyn went cold. ‘Damien?’ She stared at Stephanie, suddenly remembered the shadowy woman with Damien the night she’d gone to get her stuff. After their clash on the stairway, Stephanie must have told Damien exactly what Robyn was doing in LA and whom she was with. ‘You’re working for him as well?’
‘I don’t
work
for Damien. I’m his girlfriend.’
work
for Damien. I’m his girlfriend.’
Robyn smiled. ‘Welcome to the club. We’re always adding new members.’
Stephanie’s cheeks flushed. ‘That’s so not true. I know all about you, Robyn Sparrow, and your attempts to blackmail my Damien.’
Robyn finally managed to pull out of Stephanie’s hold. ‘Well, thanks for the information, but I’ve got to go now.’
‘You can’t go, Robyn. You’re the guest of honor.’
Damien appeared at Stephanie’s shoulder, a smile on his face and held out his arm. Robyn glanced behind her. She’d been set up. Damien knew about the connection between her and Dakota. With a sinking sensation, she realized that all her worlds, all her hopes of protecting Dakota from the crappiness of her life were about to collide and come crashing down.
Reluctantly, she placed her hand on his arm. What choice did she have? He held her future and her sister’s future in his hand. All she could hope was that Dakota wouldn’t get hurt by the unfolding events, but somehow, knowing Damien’s vindictive streak, she doubted it.
Chapter Twenty
Dakota glanced over at the door for about the thousandth time. Why he continued to hope Robyn would show up, he didn’t know. He’d always been stubborn and he couldn’t believe she’d simply walk out on him without at least saying goodbye. Hell, she’d done everything but said flat out that she loved him. He was certain that given more time, he could change her mind.
Most of the guests at the cocktail party bored him to death. They were only interested in what he could do for them or how they could use him to further their own pathetic careers. As Jay had predicted, he’d also been offered some scripts to read for the movies and TV. Despite the amounts of money they’d been prepared to offer him, it had given him a certain grim pleasure to turn everyone down.
He sipped at his tepid white wine and wrinkled his nose. OK, the money would’ve made his life a lot easier but he couldn’t become what they wanted. Or perhaps he could. That scared him even more.
Grayson nudged him. ‘Is Robyn coming tonight?’
‘Yeah, she said she’d be right down.’
‘Good, because I got one of my guys to do a little digging on the internet about her, and I think you might be interested in what I found out.’ Grayson didn’t look particularly happy as he scanned the crowd around them.
Dakota forced a smile. ‘It’s OK. I know her real name and about her past.’
‘I doubt it.’
Dakota met Grayson’s skeptical stare with one of his own. ‘I didn’t ask you to spy on my girlfriend, so don’t get all moral on me, OK?’
Grayson’s eyebrows rose. ‘I was only trying to help so don’t get all pissy with me either.’
‘What’s up?’ Jay’s smile disappeared as he turned around to face his two brothers.
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