Feels Like Home (14 page)

His face must have given him away because she started to backpedal immediately. ‘Sorry. I just meant —'

‘Don't worry. I know what you meant. Forget it.'

They stood together awkwardly for a moment, neither of them able to come up with a neutral topic of conversation. Thankfully Nate arrived with their drinks, providing welcome relief from the escalating tension.

‘Hey you two. How are you doing? Having fun? The old pub's going off tonight. Can't remember when I last saw so many people in here. Reckon it might have something to do with our celebrity guest here.' He looked at Ryan for confirmation. ‘Am I right?'

‘Yeah, could be,' Ryan said. ‘They're certainly not here to look at your ugly mug.'

‘Here to see me?' Jo shook her head. ‘I highly doubt it. I hardly know most of these people.'

‘Doesn't mean they don't want to check you out. Like it or not you're a star in these parts. You've put Linden Gully on the map, Jo. Everyone wants a piece of the action. Their little brush with fame,' Nate said.

‘Surely you're used to drawing a crowd?' Ryan said.

Jo shook her head. ‘Me? If I'm on my own, no way. I mean think about it, how many best-selling authors can you identify on sight?'

Ryan and Nate shrugged in unison.

‘Exactly. Even big fans might not know what an author looks like.'

‘But when you're with your…' Ryan trailed off. The word ‘fiancé' stuck in his throat.

‘Zach? Sure, sometimes he draws a bit of a crowd. But that really only happens in L.A. In New York people are pretty cool about celebrities of any type. They tend to just say “hey” and then leave us alone.'

New York, where everything, even the man on the street, was better. Frankly he didn't want to hear another word about the place. ‘Maybe you should go mingle with your adoring public,' Ryan said. ‘Don't let the likes of us monopolise your time.'

Nate chimed in. ‘Go on. Give the people what they want.'

She shook her head and laughed. ‘You two are first-class idiots,' she said, and in that moment a flash of the old Joey was visible.

Ryan and Nate heckled her until she gave in out of exasperation. She looked around to see if there was anyone she knew well enough to strike up a conversation with. She scanned the bar, looking for familiar faces, when she noticed Kelly Prescott and Laura Baxter sitting at the table over by the jukebox.

Kelly caught her staring and gestured for Jo to join them. Dammit! She couldn't ignore her without looking like a stuck-up cow. She plastered a smile on her face and made her way to their table.

‘Hi Kelly. Hi Laura. Lovely to see you two.'

‘Oh Jo, it's so brave of you to be out and about tonight. Come and sit down with us and relax for a minute,' Kelly said, pulling out a chair and indicating for Jo to sit.

Brave?

‘Er, thanks Kelly. It is a bit daunting seeing all these people here. I have to say there's quite a few I don't know, and others who are familiar to me but I can't place them.'

Kelly and Laura exchanged a look.

‘It's okay,' Laura said, smiling. ‘You don't have to pretend with us. We know all about what's happened. You must be devastated. I can't believe you've had the courage to even leave the house.'

Had Laura been drinking? Because she couldn't for the life of her work out what she was on about. ‘I'm sorry, Laura. I have no idea what you're talking about.'

Kelly's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth.

‘You don't know, do you?' Laura said. ‘Oh Jo, I'm so sorry. We assumed you would know by now. I mean the magazine came out days ago, but they don't get delivered here until Saturday.'

‘Will one of you just tell me what's going on?'

Kelly dug into her oversized knock-off Louis Vuitton handbag and put the latest copy of
Gloss
magazine on the table. She slid it across to Jo. ‘Turn to the back page.'

There, under the heading
Celebrity Gloss,
was a half-page photo of Zach kissing Kiara Blake.

CHAPTER

13

Rumours of an apparent break-up between Zach Carlton and his Aussie fiancée, Johanna Morgan, gained traction this week when Carlton was spotted canoodling with
Hollywood Kisses
co-star, Kiara Blake.

Sources say that the ‘natural chemistry' that developed between Blake and Carlton on set has developed into a full-blown affair in recent days. This shot was snapped outside the Hurricane Club on Park Ave, where the couple had reportedly indulged in a romantic candlelit dinner.

The screenplay for
Hollywood Kisses
is adapted from Morgan's bestselling novel of the same name.

Mr Carlton has so far refused to comment, with a spokesperson saying that he would release a joint statement with Ms Morgan in the ‘near future'.

Ms Morgan is currently visiting family in Australia and was not available for comment.

Jo slammed the magazine down so hard that Kelly jumped.

Joint statement!
What bloody joint statement? She was totally blindsided by this turn of events. Why the hell hadn't Zach contacted her to give her a heads-up? Or Lydia, for that matter? Okay, it might not strictly be in her agent's job description, but she and Lydia were friends, weren't they?

‘I'm really sorry, Jo. This must be absolutely devastating for you.' Kelly's words were sympathetic but Jo could see the barely contained glee on her face.

‘Devastating isn't the word.' She stood up and turned to go.

‘If there's anything we can do for you,' Laura said, her voice condescendingly saccharine, ‘you know that we're here for you.'

‘Actually there is one thing…' Jo turned back to see Laura's eyes widen in anticipation.

‘Yes?'

Jo leaned over and snatched the magazine back. ‘I'll take this. Thanks.' She swung on her heel and made a beeline for Ryan.

‘Jesus, Jo. What did those two say to you? You look like you're ready to punch someone.' Ryan laid his hand on her shoulder. ‘Seriously, are you okay?'

She shook her head. ‘Not really. I want to go home. Have you seen Steph anywhere? I'm her designated driver.'

‘She and Nate are playing pool with Johnno and Soph.'

Jo flopped down on the stool beside him and let out a large sigh. ‘We'll be here all night. You know what she's like when she starts playing pool.'

Ryan's lips formed one of his lopsided smiles — the same smile that had made her fall in love with him all those years ago. ‘Yeah, good luck prising that billiard cue from her hand.'

Jo found herself smiling back.

‘Listen, you stay here. I'll find Steph and see if I can sort something else. There's bound to be someone here who can give her a lift.'

‘No, no. It's okay. I can wait until she's done.'

But Ryan was already on his feet. ‘I'm on it, alright? We're your mates, Jo. We look after each other. You know that, right?'

She nodded as he wandered off to find the others. While she waited, Jo stared at the diamond ring on her finger. It had always been slightly loose, something she'd been meaning to get fixed but had never got around to. Zach was always warning her she would lose it one day if she didn't sort something out. Today was that day. She removed the ring from her finger and slid it into her pocket.

In less than a minute both Steph and Ryan were at her side.

Steph slid her arm around Jo's waist. ‘Ryan says you're upset. What's going on?'

There was no point keeping it a secret. If Kelly and Laura knew, chances were half the town had already been informed and the remaining half would know by morning. Jo opened the magazine to the offending page and passed it to Steph.

‘Oh fuck,' Steph said. ‘Oh, Jo, honey, I don't know what to say.' She slipped both arms around Jo's waist and pulled her close.

‘What?' said Ryan. ‘What is it? Let me see.'

Steph pulled back and raised her eyebrows at Jo, who simply nodded. Steph handed the magazine to Ryan.

‘That arsehole! How could he even —'

Jo put her hand up and motioned for him to stop. ‘It's not what you think —'

‘Looks pretty bloody obvious to me.'

Jo shook her head. ‘I'm not upset. Well, I am but not for the reason you think.' She felt her face flooding with colour. ‘It's not all that surprising, really. Zach and I split up a few weeks back.'

‘What?' Steph's mouth dropped open. ‘Why didn't you tell me?' She folded her arms across her body. ‘We're supposed to be best friends. Don't you trust me with your secrets anymore?'

‘Of course I do. It wasn't that. It was Zach's idea to keep it a secret. I was the one who broke it off with him. I felt terrible, so when he asked me to keep quiet until after the premiere of
Hollywood Kisses
I agreed.'

Steph's mouth was set in a hard line. Obviously she was hurt. ‘But you could have told me. I know how to keep a secret.'

‘Oh, Steph, I know you can. It wasn't that. When I came home and saw how happy you were I didn't want anything to burst your bubble. I didn't want the lead-up to your wedding to be marred by my problems.'

Steph gave her a gentle shove. ‘You idiot. Your problems are my problems. Got it?'

Jo nodded. ‘Sorry.'

‘Right then. Don't let it happen again.'

Ryan picked up the magazine and glanced at the photo one more time. ‘Jo, I don't get it. If you've broken up why are you so upset about this photo?'

‘I'm not upset, I'm angry. We had an agreement about how this would play out, how we'd manage the media and so on.'

Ryan and Steph exchanged a glance and she laughed, the thin tinny noise sounding unconvincing even to her own ears. ‘I know, I know. I sound like a tosser. But this kind of stuff is important career-wise.'

Steph's brow creased in confusion. ‘How?'

‘It's in both our interests for the movie to do well. If it tanks some of that negativity will wash up on me. It could affect future publishing contracts, the success of the next book, whether I can sell the movie rights and so on.' Heat crept up her neck and into her face. Spoken out loud her concerns seemed trivial. It was hard for her friends to understand the impact that public perception could have on her career. Through no fault of her own her success had become closely linked to Zach's. His star was on the rise, but now that she was being cast in the role of discarded girlfriend she wondered how long it would be before all her industry connections dried up. ‘Look I know this probably makes me seem like some kind of high-maintenance wanker but I need to get home and see if I can contact Zach or my agent, just to see what's going on. I need to know if this story is a beat-up or if there's been any other media coverage. I'm sorry, Steph. I don't want to put a dampener on your night but I need to go.'

Steph hugged her. ‘It's okay. You do what you need to do. Will you be okay on your own? Johnno said he'll give Nate and me a lift home, but I'm happy to come with you if you want company.'

‘No, no, please don't worry, I'll be fine. I just need to sort this out and work out what sort of response, if any, I should make. I don't want to spoil your night.'

Ryan put his empty glass back on the bar. ‘Can I get a lift with you, Jo? I've had my fill for tonight.'

He hadn't changed. Ryan was always chivalrous. He loved to play knight in shining armour to a damsel in distress. ‘It's okay Ryan. You don't need to rescue me. I'll be fine on my own.'

‘I wasn't trying to rescue you. I genuinely need a lift. Johnno was supposed to be driving me but looks like he's settled in for a snooker challenge. I don't want too late a night. I have a six-year-old human alarm clock to consider. So if it's not too much trouble…'

‘It's no trouble, but are you sure you're not just being nice?'

He performed his old Scout salute. ‘Scout's honour.'

Jo laughed. ‘Sorry to have doubted you.'

Steph kissed them both. ‘See you later. I'll call you in the morning,' she said, looking at Jo.

Five kilometres went by without either of them speaking. Jo's anger at Zach receded into the background the minute Ryan slammed the Jeep door shut and buckled himself in. His physical presence was making her belly do backflips.

For all her protestations to the contrary, she was glad not to be on her own. Ryan's chivalry was one of the things that attracted her to him in the first place. He was a rare find — a man who treated a woman as his equal and yet knew how to make her feel like a princess when it counted.

And she couldn't deny that he was looking particularly easy on the eye tonight. Despite it being mid-winter and freezing cold outside, the pub was always warm, often too warm. Ryan had removed his jacket inside and not bothered to put it back on before getting in the car. He was dressed in a simple white t-shirt that left his tanned muscular arms available for her to ogle. A man wearing a close fitting t-shirt and a pair of well-loved jeans did it for her every time.

When she was with Zach women often commented on how lucky she was to be with such an attractive man. She always smiled and agreed, but in reality Zach was not her type physically. Sure he had a fit, toned body and he was always beautifully groomed — hair cut just so, nails manicured, skin exfoliated. He wore suits cut from the finest cloth, tailored especially for him, and all his casual clothes came complete with designer labels. But he had the soft hands of a man who'd never held a shovel or an axe.

Zach's wit and warmth had drawn her to him at a time when she was in desperate need of company. The attraction grew out of fun and friendship. But she'd never felt the powerful physical pull that she was experiencing with Ryan right now.

To be honest it had been a while since she'd been satisfied in the bedroom. In fact, now that she thought about it she couldn't recall the last time she and Zach had made love. Their schedules had been impossible for the last month or so, and although they'd attended quite a few functions together they'd barely had any alone time. When they did get some time alone they were both so exhausted they generally just fell asleep. Lovemaking, when it happened, was quick and perfunctory rather than wild and passionate.