“I don’t know why I’m defending myself to you,” she grated out between clenched teeth. “But Madeline and Charles both agree that McClarin is too smart to do anything as stupid as trying to have me hurt or killed so that I can’t testify. The reason I don’t want to hide out is because I have obligations, professional and otherwise. It’s not because I’m wild about the idea of having my private life completely robbed from me, being constantly ambushed by photographers or being run into the ditch and having my driver injured.”
Seth shrugged. She knew he was wearing his hair shorter now in comparison to that night two years ago. A while back, she’d watched her television in subdued fascination as he won an Oscar for Maritime. His hair was still longish, though, silky in texture and artlessly sexy. In the back, it brushed his collar. The style emphasized the stark, masculine angles of his face and remarkable eyes.
His heavy-lidded stare and bland expression as he studied her now didn’t fascinate her, though. Instead, it swelled her anger and sense of helplessness.
“You may not have planned for any of that to happen, but who could have?” Seth said quietly. “Surely you must see things are getting out of hand. It’d be unwise to dig your heels in because you weren’t the one to orchestrate all the details of this particular part of your life, Gia.”
Even her ears turned hot. She could feel the tips of them burning, just like the rest of her. He had no idea what she’d been going through for the past five months. But what was worse, her lungs had frozen at the sound of him saying her name in that familiar, quiet caress. For a few strained seconds, she remained locked in his gaze.
Panther eyes.
The charged thought was followed almost immediately by another unwelcome one.
Why didn’t you call me, you bastard?
Something gave slightly in his rigid features. Gia wondered if her thought had been so blistering, he’d caught the bitter gist of it. Besides, she had a pretty good idea why he hadn’t called. It was stupid to dwell on one misguided night of wild sex. She needed to move on. She had moved on.
“And what about when I come out of hiding?” she asked levelly, facing the others. “It’s going to be a zoo all over again. Nothing will have changed.”
“We’re not going to be able to alter what happens during the trial. We can do something about right now,” Charles said. “The smart thing to do now is to get you out of the fire, Gia.”
Dan Arden checked his watch. “I have to be going. Madeline, will you please get my secretary the trial schedule you promised you’d give me tonight? We’ll need that to coordinate all these changes with as little cost and hassle to the studio as possible.”
Madeline gave him a long-suffering smile. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give it to you tonight, Dan. Judge Halloran has about a thousand different factors he has to take into consideration before setting a date. I’ll get you a tentative agenda as soon as I can, but like I said, courtroom proceedings are not fixed in stone. We might need Gia at a moment’s notice, and she’ll have to be available.”
The studio executive grimaced. Gia knew he was usually in the position of telling others they’d have to wait and be ready at a moment’s notice, according to his demands. Arden grunted farewell to Joshua Cabot and left the conference room, slamming the door behind him. What a jackass. Irritated by the studio executive’s pout over circumstances she couldn’t control, Gia suppressed her pang of guilt much easier this time around.
Madeline didn’t bother to hide a sound of mixed disgust and relief when Arden vacated the room. Joshua Cabot gave her a knowing grin.
“You should consider yourself lucky, Maddie. You don’t have to deal with him 24-7.” He sighed and checked his watch. “I should probably get going as well.”
“Thank you for coming, Joshua . . . and for everything,” Gia said sincerely as he walked around the table toward her.
“Don’t thank me,” Joshua said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “And don’t worry about the movie. Seth is right. It’ll get made. If Dan didn’t have such high hopes for it—and for you in the role—he wouldn’t have agreed to any of this,” Joshua assured her with a droll grin. “In the meantime, look at it this way: You’ve been granted an unexpected vacation. Try to use it to your advantage and relax a little. You look exhausted.”
Madeline smiled broadly after Joshua left, seemingly more at ease with just the five of them left around the table. “I’ve seen your work before, Seth, and I know firsthand the miracles you can do. But do you really think you can make that look like an everyday woman on the street?” She glanced significantly at Gia.
Gia’s eyes widened. It was bad enough that Charles, Alex and Madeline were all staring at her like she was under a microscope. The worst part was the way Seth’s stare moved over her face dispassionately. His gaze flickered down to her breasts. Gia’s spine stiffened in mounting annoyance. She all but bared her teeth.
“I can do it,” Seth said definitively after a moment.
“And will you?” Madeline purred.
He arched his brows. “Will I?” he asked Gia.
She looked at the others, who were watching her expectantly. She made a sound of frustration. Every time she thought she was ultimately cornered and helpless, this situation got worse.
Then the image of Jeannie Salinger—McClarin’s victim—popped into her head. Gia would escape McClarin’s tentacles long before Jeannie ever would.
“Just the one time? A disguise to get me out of Los Angeles unnoticed?” Gia clarified.
“No,” Charles said, eyeing Seth warily. “You say you have a problem with confinement. Of course, we prefer that you stay in a secure place as much as possible. But if you do go out at all in the next three weeks, you’ll have to look like someone other than Gia Harris. This story is news nationwide. It’s even making headlines in Canada, Europe and South America. Seth? What do you say?”
Seth didn’t reply, his expression like stone.
“Wait,” Gia said, sensing the subtext to Charles and Seth’s exchange. “If I have to be disguised every time I step outside, then . . .” Gia trailed off, giving Seth an uneasy sideways glance.
“Seth will have to be with you the entire time, yes,” Alex Demonico said.