Caught on Camera (Black Towers Book 1) (6 page)

“Every time I look at him, I see my past mistakes, Sharon.” The words blurted out of her mouth before she could stop them.

“And the public knows this.” Sharon pushed her chair closer. “Do this role well, and you can show the world that you are stronger than Cole Anderson. You are stronger than this business . . . and you are stronger than that girl who bottomed out and went to rehab two years ago.”

Georgia looked away from Sharon’s all too knowing eyes. The good thing about working with her agent for so many years, was that they understood each other. The downside was that Sharon knew Georgia. Perhaps better than she knew herself.

“You need to do this Georgia. Not just for the money, but for yourself.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Look, if it’s the sex tape that’s bothering you—”

“No, it’s not that.”

“What is it then?”

Georgia shifted in her seat, trying to find the right words.

“Georgia, tell me what’s going on.”

Georgia shook her head.

“I can’t be the agent you need me to be if I have no idea of what’s going on in that head of yours.”

“Cole wasn’t the reason I went to rehab!” The words came out as a shout. A pulse of panic worked through Georgia as she realized what she’d just said.

“What? Of course he was. He was a bad influence. The two of you fed off each other. It was like . . . this negative feedback loop.” Sharon shook her head. “At times it seemed as if you two were trying to outdo each other on who could self-destruct first.”

Georgia cringed. “I know. But… he wasn’t the reason why I got clean.”

“No, you got clean for your job. No one wants to work with a junkie.”

“No.” Oh God, here she went. No going back after this. “I got clean for my baby.”

There was a long, tense pause.

“Your baby?” Sharon started to stand, then sat again. “Your baby?”

Georgia sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve. “Yeah.”

“You never told me that you were pregnant.”

“I never told anyone.” She looked down at her hands in her lap. “I didn’t want to raise a baby in...in that.”

“I don’t blame you.” Sharon narrowed her gaze and studied Georgia’s face for a moment. “So where is the baby now?”

“Not sure.” Georgia waved her hand in the air, smiling sadly. “Up there, I guess.”

Stiffening her spine, she started tapping her heel on the ground in rapid succession.

“Explain.” Sharon reached for the pack of nicotine gum that sat on her desk, opening two sticks and shoving them into her mouth.

“I mean. . .” Georgia picked at the hem of her shirt, then cleared her throat. “I mean that I… lost… the baby in rehab. I didn’t do anything to lose it!”

Oh God, what if Sharon thought this was her fault?

“Oh, my God.” Sharon’s eyes were wide. “Georgia. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s not a big deal.” Georgia’s shoulders hunched. “It was a long time ago.”

“Of course it’s a big deal.” This time Sharon did get out of her chair. She rounded the desk and knelt beside Georgia. “Honey, I had no idea.”

“No one knew. Well, except my doctors. It wasn’t exactly as if I had announced it to the world.”

Sharon blinked. “How far along were you?”

Georgia turned toward the older woman. She wanted to tell her, but the words stuck in her throat.

But just once it would be nice to lean on someone.

“Forget it. I can see how much this upsets you.” Sharon put her fingers over her lips for a moment in thought. “Can I just ask you one question?”

“Yeah.”

“Was Cole the father?”

Georgia nodded reluctantly.

“Does he know?”

“No.” Georgia stared at her hands once more. “He doesn’t.”

A single hot tear tracked its way down her cheek.

“I was going to tell him, but then stuff happened. He had this big picture and I knew that he wouldn’t be able to visit me in rehab. I had planned on telling him when I got out, but then…”

She shrugged in took in a ragged breath. “Then there was no point, really.”

“Wow.” Sharon stood and began to pace. “I’m so sorry, Georgia. I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing you can say. It’s in the past.”

Sharon stopped pacing and stared at her. “Is that why you told me you needed a break from acting when you got out of rehab?”

Georgia pressed her lips together for a moment in thought. “When I got out—it was right before Leta, Cole’s sister, had her baby. The media was all over him and his nephew, and he was quoted as saying how much he loved children and hoped to have his own someday. He looked so happy.” She nibbled on her fingernail.

“You thought you’d let him down.”

“Not let him down so much as . . . well, we weren’t dating anymore, and there was no baby. It just seemed better if he didn’t know.”

“But you went through all of that yourself.”

Georgia shrugged, then smiled sadly. “I lived.”

“Yes, you did, didn’t you?” Sharon stepped back to her desk and leaned her hip on the side. “You’re a stronger girl than I ever imagined. And this is the universe’s way of making things right. You’re taking this job.”

“Oh no, I’m not.”

“This opportunity came around for a reason.” Sharon narrowed her eyes. “It’s your chance to put this all behind you.”

“But I already have.”

Sharon frowned. “If you really believed that, you wouldn’t be in this office, trying to explain to me why you can’t work on the project of a lifetime.”

“He released our sex tape.” Georgia ground her teeth together.

Sharon smirked. “I don’t think you really believe that. Think about it. It would serve him no purpose. It was the ex-girlfriend, or the producer and director. Be pissed at them. But take the job.”

Georgia considered her for a moment before responding. “Okay.” Slowly, she pulled out her phone and replied to the text from Ethan Black, the one that had been sitting on her phone all morning.

Her phone pinged as the text went through. There. It was done.

She stood slowly, her palms damp with nervous sweat. “I have to go.”

“Hey.” Sharon took her arm. “You’re doing the right thing you know.”

Georgia studied her face for a moment. “Seventeen weeks.”

“What?”

“When I lost the baby. I was seventeen weeks.”

“Dear God. That’s four months.”

“Four months, one week, and three days to be exact.” Georgia grabbed her purse and started for the door. “I’ll talk to you later Sharon.”

“Wait.” Sharon took the ribbons off of her picture and handed them to Georgia.

“What’s this?” Georgia asked as she held the strands up to the light.

“You aren’t the only one who has lost people they loved.” She nodded to the brightly colored strands. “They remind me of the ones I have lost, but more importantly, they remind me that I didn’t die with them.” She met Georgia’s gaze. “I keep going because it’s what they would have wanted.”

“This isn’t something I can just forget, Sharon.”

“I’m not saying to forget. I’m saying to forgive.” She wrapped Georgia’s fingers around the strands and cupped her hands in her palms. “Forgive and move forward with your life, Georgia. It’s the only way you can fully heal.”

Georgia tried to hand the ribbons back, but Sharon pushed them toward her chest. “You keep them. Keep them and remember that you aren’t the one who is dead. Your baby wouldn’t want you keep living in the past.”

Without speaking, Georgia shoved the ribbons into her purse and hurried out of the office. She didn’t know which was worse: the look of pity on her agent’s face, or the overwhelming sadness that was rising up in her chest and threatening to swallow her whole.

Chapter Five

“The Hollywood trades are buzzing today with news that former lovers Cole Anderson and Georgia Evans are reuniting for a new project. Will it be a smash success like Jungle Heat? Stay tuned to find out!
-Hollywood Insider

She was late.

Ethan and Kevin had been on his ass, telling him to make things right with the girl they now just had to have for
Love Me Harder,
but more than that, Cole had been hugely unsettled about the way things had ended the other day with Georgia.

He’d truly believed that he just needed some closure. He’d wanted to apologize, not just for the parties and drinking, but for dragging her down into his life of debauchery. It hadn’t been good for either of them, and he’d always felt the need to apologize to her. Just to apologize, he thought.

Then he’d seen her again. Now, all bets were off. He wanted her back. All the way back. No matter what it took.

Cole took a sip of his tea and glanced at his watch. He had been waiting at the tiny coffee shop in East LA for fifteen minutes and there was still no sign of her. He hadn’t yet been approached by anyone, but that was the only plus.

It was time to face the truth. She wasn’t going to show.

Sighing, he drained the last of his drink and tossed it into a nearby trashcan when a breeze picked up from the front of the café. The door had been opened, and as Cole looked up, a woman in a red knitted cap and denim jacket breezed into the building.

Cole leaned back in his seat as Georgia glanced around the café. She looked even better than she had at the audition, if that was possible. Her hair beneath the cap was tamed into a sleek braid, and it let him see her pretty face. Her soft skin had a healthy glow… almost as if she’d gotten lucky the night before.

The thought of another man with his hands on her was a like a hot knife in his gut.

Her spine stiffened when she caught sight of him. The reaction was so different from the warm smile he had grown accustomed to seeing all those years ago. As she made her way over, Cole held his breath, wondering just what kind of reception he was going to get from his former girlfriend.

“Hi.” She placed her hand on the back of his chair.

“Hi.” He motioned to the seat. “Please.”

She nibbled her lip and glanced around the café.

“I’m not going to bite. Much.” He smiled, and she seemed to relax a little. She pulled out the chair and sat, although he noted that she kept her body angled toward the front door. Her whole body was stiff, and her knee bobbed up and down on the floor. He remembered her nervous gesture from when they were dating, and he sighed inwardly, thinking about how much they had to overcome.

“Do you want something to drink?” Cole straightened in his chair and pulled out his wallet. “Let me get you something. A muffin? A scone?”

“No. Thank you. Let’s just talk.”

“Georgia, don’t—”

She held up her hand. “Look. I know that you want me to take the part, and that Ethan and Kevin think that us being on the same project will create a lot of good media buzz.” She pursed her lips. “I’m willing to go along with that, as long as we get some things straight first.”

“I’m listening.” He slid his wallet back in his pocket.

“You need to agree that this is all for show.” Georgia blurted the words out nervously, startling him. “There’s nothing between us anymore, nothing beyond what will happen in the script.”

“Georgia.”

“I need you to agree to this.”

Cole didn’t like this. He didn’t like this at all.

She nodded and clutched her purse tighter to her chest. “So, do you agree?”

He leaned back in his chair and studied her for a moment. As usual, she saw right through him. Cole was known for striking up relationships with his leading ladies, and she didn’t want any part of it. Correction—she
said
that she didn’t want any part of it. He could tell by the way she tapped her foot, the way she nibbled her lip and kept glancing at his biceps, that she wasn’t as cold as she was trying to make herself out to be.

“And what if I don’t agree?” He arched an eyebrow.

She lifted her chin. “Then I won’t do the project.”

“We both know that’s not an option for you.” Georgia widened her eyes.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You know what I mean, Georgia.” He leaned back in his chair. “You have a lot of talent, Georgia. You just need to remind people about it.”

She narrowed her gaze. “And I will, just so long as you agree to keep your hands off. I know you, Cole.”

He considered her a moment before responding. “I won’t try to seduce you.”

“Thank goodness.” She relaxed her shoulders and loosened her grip on her purse. A quick glance at her purse showed her knee had stopped jerking up and down. She stood. “You have no idea how much this means to me. I was afraid that you wouldn’t understand.

Cole stood and grabbed her elbow, preventing her from leaving. “I’m not finished.”

“You’re not?”

“No.” He glanced down at her lips. He leaned in close to her ear and inhaled her fresh, floral scent. It was the same scent she’d worn the day she left him, the one that had been haunting his dreams for the past two years. “But if you make the first move, then all bets are off.”

She leaned back from him, but not before he caught the hitch in her breath.

“I’d never make any advances. I’m a professional.” She glanced down at his chest and then jerked her gaze back up to his eyes. “This is strictly professional.”

“We’ll see.” He let go of her elbow, barely hiding his smirk. The chemistry between them was still there, whether she wanted to admit it or not. “Do we have a deal?”

“Deal.” She held out her hand. He grabbed her fingers and pulled her close, brushing his lips against palm.

Her breath caught in her throat. She pulled back and stared at him. In that brief moment, Cole saw what he had been looking for, what he had been craving ever since he had first heard that Georgia Evans had gotten out of rehab.

Desire, longing, need. Each one flashed through her features in rapid succession. Then her emotions vanished just as quickly as they appeared, hiding behind an expressionless mask.

“Don’t do that.” She pulled her hand from his.

“For the public, my dear.” Smiling, he took out his sunglasses. He’d give it one day of shooting, maybe two, then the beautiful Georgia Evans will be right where he wanted her—in his bed.

Where she should have been all along.

“See you on Monday.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and strolled out of the café, whistling to himself.

Things were turning out better than expected.

***

Damn Cole.

Damn
herself.
What was wrong with her? She had a brain, didn’t she? So why did one smile from him turn her to mush?

Georgia tossed the script on her dresser and shoved her fingers into her hair with frustration.

“
Basta
!” The stylist scolded. She tossed the hairbrush onto the cart. "Lady, you're messing up my work. Now I'm going to have to start over.”

“Sorry.” Georgia forced herself to hold still and let the woman do her work. She tried to recall her lines, but all she could think about was the way that just a little brush of Cole’s lips over her hand had made her go weak in the knees.

And now she was going to have to act with him. It figured that Kevin had chosen one of their more intimate scenes to shoot first.

"You're so lucky, girlfriend." The stylist grinned at her emphatically. She took a small section of hair and teased it out. "There are a lot of women who wished that they could be in your shoes right now. Shooting love scenes with Cole Anderson,”

She fanned herself with her hand as Georgia cringed. Clearly the woman didn’t know about the history so soon.

“Yeah.” Georgia had read about all of the women who had wanted to be in her shoes. Cole had just been named
Population Magazine’s
Sexiest Man Alive for the second year in a row, and women of all ages were coming out of the woodwork to meet him. Just this morning, two women had stopped her on the street outside of Black Towers to see if Georgia could get them inside to get Cole's autograph.

They didn't want
her
autograph. Oh, no. They wanted Cole’s. Georgia didn't know why that fact hurt so much, but it did. She supposed it was because Cole had started his career only two years before she did, and while he seemed to keep climbing the ladder to fame and fortune, Georgia was starting over.

"Okay. All done." the hairdresser took off Georgia's robe and stepped back. "What do you think?"

Georgia looked at herself in the mirror and frowned at the teased up hair and heavy makeup. "Are you sure this is necessary?"

"It's a flashback scene from your goth days." The stylist scowled defensively. “This is what the director wants.”

Georgia rolled her eyes. She’d never embraced the Goth culture, but if she had, she doubted that she'd have worn so much eyeliner. “It’s great.”

“On set in five!” Someone shouted from the door.

“Okay.”

As the hairdresser packed up her things, Georgia picked up her script again. This scene was a first kiss scene, which meant that like it or not, she and Cole were about to get up close and personal.

Actually, she was pretty sure that she was going to like it. That was the problem. Was she going to fall under Cole Anderson's spell just like the rest of the women around the world?

No
, she decided. She wasn't going to become another Cole Anderson groupie. She was going to act professional and get through the scene with minimum fuss, and decidedly ignore how his touch made her insides tie up in knots.

Sliding from her chair, she did one last check of her hair, makeup and wardrobe and went out to the set. Cole was standing by the cameraman, going over part of the script. As soon as she arrived, he looked up and met her gaze, an easy smile forming on his lips.

“You look amazing.” His eyes roamed over her as she approached, and Georgia cursed as heat pooled low in her belly.

Cole looked pretty sexy himself, in his tight jeans and ripped T-shirt that left nothing to the imagination. Granted, they had dyed his sandy hair black and gave him an entire pencil’s worth of black eyeliner, but it didn't detract from his appeal. The tattoo he’d gotten while they were dating peeked out from under the sleeve of his T-shirt and Georgia stumbled as the bottom half of a series of letters stared back at her.

He still had that?

Seeing her name still inked on his arm? It was almost… primal.

“You still have the tattoo,” she said once she came within earshot.

“The tattoo?”

She motioned to his arm.

Cole lifted up his sleeve. Georgia looked at the cartoon version of herself as a siren, with her name curled below it in flowing script.

Yeah, she liked that he still had that ink. She liked it far more than was healthy. It made her want to grab him, shove him down on the floor, and stake her claim.

She wasn’t entirely sure that she’d be able to resist doing just that for the entirety of shooting. Taking this part had been a bad idea.

“You seem surprised.” Cole studied her face, eyes shuttered.

“I thought you would have had it removed long ago.” She looked up at him from beneath thick spikes of black mascara.

“Why would I do that?”

She shrugged. “It's part of your past.”

“Don’t you remember what I said? Just cause it’s in the past doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.” Cole’s features rippled with emotion and longing, and Georgia felt his words like a punch to the gut. “I don’t want to forget.”

“Well, I do.” She blurted, turning away. She didn’t want to be cruel, but revisiting their relationship? It only made her think of the pain, the fear that she’d felt, pregnant and alone.

She tore her gaze away from Cole and looked at Kevin. "Are we ready?"

“Of course." Kevin turned to address the cast. "Okay, so this flashback takes place at the after party of a rock show. Cole, as Spike, you've just come off stage and Georgia, as Haven you're waiting and eager to see him. . .”

Georgia tried to concentrate on the director's instructions, but it was difficult. Cole had moved next to her and she could feel the testosterone coming off him in waves.

"Okay, let's do this. Places everyone!" Kevin went back behind the camera, and everyone took their spots on the small stage.

Georgia hadn’t expected to be aware of anything besides Cole and her own internal struggle for the entirety of the shoot. But as the familiar hum of a set rumbled to life around her, instead she felt the long-lost quickening of excitement.

This—this was a part of herself that she’d sorely missed.

And it was really, really good to be back.