Virgin's Sweet Rebellion

‘Thank you, darling. But there’s really no need to state the obvious.’

He laughed, impressed by her drawled vowels and sexy pout, both all too reminiscent of the entitled star. ‘Clearly you have a gift for mimicry.’

She upped the pout. ‘I have many gifts, sweetie.’

‘That woman is seriously a horror.’

‘She’s won awards though.’ She dropped the act, shaking her head at him. ‘How did a surly chef end up playing host to a bunch of overindulged celebs?’

‘I’m either a sucker or a nice guy.’ Or just a brother who was still too eager to please.

‘Hmm. You don’t strike me as either.’ She frowned speculatively, and Ben resisted tugging at his too-tight collar. He didn’t need any analysis tonight, and certainly not about the difficult dynamics between him and Spencer.

‘Come on. We don’t want to be late for this thing.’

‘Anyone who is anyone is late to these things.’

‘But if we show up on time, we can leave early.’ Too late he realised that sounded like some kind of intent on his part. If we leave early, we can go do something by ourselves...like finish what we started the other night.

Except he wasn’t sure Olivia even wanted to finish it. She’d been the one to call time, after all. Of course, he had been moving a little fast. With a rush of both longing and recrimination, he remembered how good she’d felt. How much he’d wanted her. And how little self-control he really possessed.

‘So where is this party?’ Olivia asked, thankfully interrupting his thoughts.

‘In the Parisian Salon.’

‘And is Caris Dowling going to be annoyed when you show up with me on your arm?’

Ben shrugged. ‘Probably.’

‘This isn’t going to be good for my career, you know,’ Olivia said with a shake of her head. ‘Showing up one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.’

‘And showing everyone else that you’re the next big thing,’ Ben countered. ‘Besides, I think I’m more of a temporary amusement for Ms Dowling. She’ll forget about me by morning.’

‘She will if I have anything to do with it,’ Olivia promised, her eyes sparkling, and Ben felt his mouth kick up in a smile.

‘You aren’t going to do anything crazy, are you?’

Olivia rounded her eyes innocently. ‘Who? Me? When do I ever do anything that isn’t carefully thought out?’

‘This should be interesting,’ Ben murmured, and they stepped into the salon.

Caris zeroed in on him almost instantly. Ben tensed as she moved towards him, arms outstretched, a half-full glass of champagne dangling dangerously from her manicured fingers.

‘Caris!’ Olivia’s voice was like the peal of a crystal bell. She started forward, hands outstretched, and did the Hollywood kiss-kiss thing on both cheeks. Ben knew he should be used to it; he lived in France after all. But the sight of two women bussing each other’s cheeks even as at least one of them had eyes that shot daggers was...

Funny.

For once he could see the funny side of this kind of pretending. He felt his tension drain away as he watched Olivia’s mouth turn up in a high beam of a smile. He was going to enjoy this, he decided as she chatted Caris’s ear off before turning to Ben with a tug on his fingers. ‘Ben, darling? Isn’t it so funny that you and Caris are friends? Such a small world.’ She turned back to Caris with that full-wattage smile and Ben had to suppress a laugh.

Caris, poor woman, could do nothing but nod stiffly. She wasn’t going to lose face at her own party, not in front of an actress who was, Ben knew, younger and more beautiful than she was.

Olivia had her nailed.

After a few pained moments of chit-chat Caris excused herself. Olivia plucked a glass of champagne from a tray and watched her disappear through the crowds with satisfaction.

‘I don’t think she’ll bother you again.’

‘I wasn’t aware I needed rescuing,’ Ben answered dryly, and Olivia turned to him with a devilish glint in her eyes.

‘Oh, can girls not charge to the rescue in your world?’

‘Actually,’ Ben said, stepping closer to her, ‘you were magnificent. Caris Dowling didn’t stand a chance.’

Olivia’s eyes widened at this bit of praise, and then her mouth curved up in that teasing smile Ben was really starting to like. He’d dismissed Olivia as shallow, but now that he knew of the depths she had to her, he could appreciate her sense of humour and fun.

‘She didn’t, did she?’ she agreed, her eyes sparkling. ‘Unfortunately I’ve just made an enemy of one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.’