Here Comes the Bride (20 page)

It was true…he missed Sam when she wasn’t around, but what they shared was still fresh and new. Most couples were eager to spend time together in the beginning. Maybe the great bond he’d thought they shared was nothing special at all.

Feeling an empty hollowness within, he raked his fingers through his hair, smoothed out a few wrinkles in his shirt and headed for the dining room.

He was surprised to find his mother alone in the family room. “Hello, Beverly,” he said.

Startled, she turned away from the wall of photos of him on different movie sets over the years and put a hand to her chest.

He could still remember the way those same hands had felt on his forehead when she checked his temperature for a fever. He inhaled, surprised by the sweet smell of her perfume. “That’s the same perfume I remember you wearing every night when you tucked me into bed.”

Her eyes instantly watered and he wondered what the hell caused him to speak his thoughts aloud.

“It’s the same. Roses and Gardenias,” she said. She gestured toward the photos. “You’ve had quite the journey, haven’t you?”

He stepped forward, pointed to the third picture on the right and even found himself smiling. “That was taken during
Blue Skies
, my second movie. I was sixteen or seventeen at the time. The director kept yelling ‘cut’ but I was having too much fun playing with the chimpanzee.”

“You always loved animals from the time you could crawl,” she said as she peered closely at the picture. “This,” she said firmly, pointing a finger at the picture in the far left corner, “was your best work. You should have taken home the Oscar for that performance.”

He nodded, slowly at first and then more noticeably. “I wasn’t nominated. The movie wasn’t very popular and therefore I didn’t get much recognition for that role.”

“It’s a shame,” she said defiantly. “I wrote the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.”

“You wrote to the Board of Governors?”

“Absolutely. I even got a response. I wasn’t the only one upset about their choices that year.”

He let out a laugh, surprising even himself.

“It’s no laughing matter. You have incredible talent.” She looked at him then, shoulders straight, gaze bravely locked on his. “I’ve always been so proud of you.”

He swallowed a knot that had somehow lodged in his throat.

“I came to every event I could.”

“I saw you.”

Her chin came up a notch, her eyes brightened. “I wrote you. I tried to see you, Dominic. There’s so much we need to talk about. If we could just—”

“We should join the others,” he said, cutting her off, not ready to hear her excuses.

The next two hours were filled with talk of Dominic’s movies, Linda’s dog ranch, and childhood stories told by both of their mothers, one of which included Dominic’s entrepreneurial tendencies while in kindergarten and how he charged kids a quarter to pull their loose teeth so they could return home and collect even more money from their parents.

Sam outdid herself with the meal she’d prepared: a spring watercress salad, filet mignon with asparagus, and mushrooms with lobster hollandaise.

Between spoonfuls of chocolate mousse, Sam’s mom complimented her daughter on her cooking.

Although the evening could only be viewed as a success, old wounds refused to die, summoning up emotions he’d been trying to bury for too many years. For the life of him, he couldn’t explain what he was feeling inside. He wanted to hear what his mother had to say, but at the same time, he was afraid.

As Dominic set his napkin on the table and excused himself for the night, his hands trembled. He couldn’t get away fast enough.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Sam sat on the edge of a green microfiber contemporary couch in the World Studio’s green room. The
Barbara Fells Show
would start soon.

Dominic sat next to her, his expression unreadable. Ever since she’d invited his mom to dinner two nights ago, he’d been distant. Even their lovemaking had suffered the consequences, the passion replaced with unspoken resentment.

Although Sam had felt certain she was doing the right thing in forcing the issue and bringing Dominic and his mother together, she could see that once again she’d stepped over the line. Whether Dominic decided to befriend his mother or not was not her decision to make. She’d apologized more than once and he’d told her all was fine and to let it go, but nothing had been the same between them since that night. “Are you all right?” Sam asked, squeezing his knee.

He looked at her. “I’m fine. How about you?”

“I’m nervous,” she said, hoping he would put his arm around her and just hold her for a few minutes.

“I wish you would talk to me,” she said after a few moments of quiet threatened to strangle her.

“About what?”

“I don’t know…maybe yell at me and get it out of your system, talk about what’s been bugging you lately.”

“Everything’s going to be fine, Sam. Seeing my mom was a big surprise, but nothing I can’t handle.” He pressed his lips to her forehead just as a green light above the door flashed. The door came open. A man with earphones and a clipboard entered and told them it was time to move to the set.

They followed him down the long corridor.

Dominic gave Sam’s hand one last squeeze before he was led onto the stage where Barbara Fells awaited.

Barbara stood and greeted Dominic with a hug and air kisses while the audience went wild. Women screamed wildly as if he were a rock star.

Watching from the sidelines, Sam’s heart raced and her hands grew clammy. The two cushiony off-white sofas and colorful bouquet of flowers on the glass table did little to calm her nerves. She wished she could head back to the green room and watch the interview from there. She counted to ten and tried to calm herself, hoping Barbara would be swept away with Dominic’s charm and forget about her waiting in the wings. It certainly wouldn’t break her heart to miss the interview altogether.

The clapping finally died down. Barbara jumped right in and asked which movie Dominic was going to make next. Was he actually considering a Western?

Sam looked at the monitor. A glimmer of confusion crossed Dominic’s features. He was quick, though, and he laughed it off, telling the audience he was no Clint Eastwood, but he’d give the Duke a run for his money. The sexy drawl he used gave Sam a longing shiver.

Sam’s stomach lurched. Dominic prided himself on keeping his movie deals and all personal decisions private. Maria and Sam were the only ones who knew about the Western. How could Barbara have known?

“So tell me about your new bride,” Barbara went on, rapidly moving from one subject to the next, intent on getting as much information from Dominic as possible. “You’ve always been such a private person and yet suddenly you announced to the world that you’re about to marry, teasing the world with innuendos about who the new bride might be.”

Dominic let loose one of his wide grins, revealing his legendary dimples. The women shrieked. “I never planned to marry. I thought I would spend my life alone, but then I met Samantha. Everything changed the instant I first laid eyes on her. She is full of surprises. Her essence and positive outlook never cease to surprise me. She’s one of a kind.”

Sam blushed, her insides fluttering out of control.

“So sweet.” Barbara leaned close enough to place a friendly hand on top of Dominic’s knee. “What everyone here wants to know is what the hell happened to you?”

Seemingly satisfied with herself, Barbara sat back in her chair and waited.

For the first time since he set foot on the stage, the audience was quiet, everyone waiting to hear what he had to say.

“It’s simple really,” he said. “I’m in love.”

“Come now,” Barbara said. “You don’t expect us to believe that. You’ve dated scores of beautiful women and suddenly your wife, not a model or an actor, a regular everyday woman born in the suburbs, somehow catches your attention.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, she must be very special. Let me introduce Mrs. Samantha DeMarco.”

The audience applauded. Sam gathered her courage and walked onto the stage. Counting to ten, she concentrated on each step. Dominic met her halfway. He took her hand, smiled, kissed her on the cheek. Just one glance and Sam could see he was not happy with the way things were going, probably wondering how Barbara had known he was considering doing a Western.

Sam and Dominic took a seat on the couch opposite the chair where Barbara sat. After the audience quieted, Barbara leaned toward Sam. “What’s it like to be married to one of the most sought-after bachelors of the decade?”

“He’s the most caring and loving man I’ve ever met. I feel lucky to be his wife.”

Sam squeezed Dominic’s hand.

“We’ve talked to one of your brothers and he told us he was as surprised as the rest of the world when he heard of your marriage. Tell me how you two kept your relationship secret for so long?”

“If I told you,” Sam said, “it wouldn’t be a secret any longer. But I can tell you this—people are so focused on the gorgeous models with long lashes and even longer legs that it was easy for me to go unnoticed.”

The audience sort of laughed uncomfortably.

“Ah, you’re a modest one. I’m already beginning to see why Dominic has fallen for you.”

Sam smiled.

“A tabloid reporter married to a famous celebrity. Ironic, wouldn’t you say?”

Dominic shrugged. “I would call it fate, chance, love—take your pick. A policeman married to a criminal, a vegetarian married to a butcher. It happens all the time.”

“I don’t know about that,” Barbara said. “This is different. You wouldn’t mind if your wife wrote a personal story about you for the
LA Beat
?”

“As long as we talked about it and came to an agreement, no, I wouldn’t mind. How about you, Barbara?” Dominic teased, turning the tables on her just for fun. “Would it bother you if your husband went on a late-night talk show and gave away some of your talk-show secrets?”

The audience laughed.

Barbara laughed, too. “I would be ecstatic to know he could be so clever without my even realizing it.”

More laughter.

“Well,” Barbara went on as she reached for the latest edition of the
LA Beat
. “Are you aware that someone wrote detailed stories about you for the
Beat
under the name Liliana Parker?”

The audience murmured among themselves while Barbara put on her glasses and began to read from the paper.

Sam couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Her heart hammered against her chest and she felt suddenly dizzy.
What was going on?

Five minutes passed before Barbara finished reading a story about how Dominic slept in the nude and was fond of walking around the house naked, flaunting himself whenever he got the chance.

Dominic laughed it off. “If I worried about every story someone wrote about me, I wouldn’t be able to get any work done, now would I? There are award-winning journalists with integrity and then there are those who spin their tales, robbing people of their dignity because it sells papers.” He waved her comments away. “I don’t waste my time with that stuff.”

“What about this,” Barbara said. “According to Ms. Parker, you have a half-sister, Linda, who has devoted her life to taking care of dogs too old to adopt. She does most of the work, but you keep the place running by giving her financial backing.”

The audience let out a satisfied sigh.

“Is there a reason you’ve never talked about your sister?”

Frozen in place, a million thoughts raced through Sam’s mind. Everything Barbara had said so far had come straight from her journal.
How could that be?
Her journal was safely hidden away.

And then it hit her, like a bolt of lightning to her brain, reminding her of the time she’d left Kate upstairs while she’d gone to answer the phone. Kate stole her journal. Sam’s stomach turned.

She looked at Dominic. He was doing his best to keep a smile on his face, refusing to let on what a surprise all of this was. An Academy Award-winning performance for sure. His body stiffened and he released his hold on her hand. He’d worked so hard to keep his private life private and she’d destroyed that by putting all of his most personal moments on paper. She wanted nothing more than to walk off the stage and purge herself of the horrible pain she knew she was causing him.

But Barbara wasn’t finished with either of them. In fact, she was just getting warmed up. She had the cameraman pan in close to the same picture Dominic’s mother had shown her: his mom’s face battered almost beyond recognition.

“It says here that your father abused your mother? And yet the two of you haven’t spoken in years. Why is that?”

“I didn’t come here to talk about my family, Barbara, you know that. I came here to talk about my marriage.”

Barbara smiled. She’d gotten the reaction she wanted. She was the first to break the news about Dominic’s mother and therefore was perfectly happy to move on. “My sources tell me Liliana Parker is indeed your wife, one and the same.”

“That’s a lie,” Dominic said.

“Well, what do you have to say about people who are saying your marriage is a sham? It says here that the two of you met for the first time on the day of your wedding, in an office at the back of the church. Apparently, you both signed some sort of contract. Even as husband and wife, the two of you didn’t share a bed while on your honeymoon.”

Sam was about to respond when she saw Julia standing on the sidelines.

“I have a surprise guest who says your marriage is nothing but a ploy to jumpstart Dominic’s career. Her name is Julia Harmon.”

Julia smirked at Dominic and Sam as she walked onto the stage.

Dominic stood. His jaw was hard, his body stiff.

Barbara asked him to take a seat.

People began to talk among themselves as Dominic strode off the stage.

Sam hurried after him.

Dominic unlocked the car. Neither of them said a word as they climbed into his BMW.