Tragic Beauty (Beauty & The Darkness #1)(12)

A moment later, Gavin enters the kitchen.

I don’t look his way. Just scrub the pot that was clean five minutes ago. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’ve caused you nothing but trouble.”

“No. Trouble’s her job and she’s very good at it.”

He stands next to me now, which makes my hands shake. I rinse the pot and he takes it from me, a dish towel in hand. Our fingers graze in the exchange and a swoosh fills my lungs.

“You alright?” he asks.

I nod, trying to swallow down the question that forms, while I grab the sponge and wipe down the sink, but it comes out anyway. “Was she…your girlfriend?”

“No.”

I have no right to be relieved, but I am. Then there’s another question I have to ask. “And your mom—is she okay?”

He turns to put the pot away. “Time will tell.”

I can tell by the tone of his voice he isn’t liking where this is headed, so I let the questions go. It’s none of my business anyway.

And then it hits me. Familiar face. Gavin. Award. I set the sponge down and turn to him. “You’re Gavin West, the actor.”





CHAPTER S IX





Gavin leans against the counter and there’s no mistaking the disappointment in his face.

“Sorry,” I say. “I only just put it together.”

He shrugs and looks away. “I was kind of liking the anonymity.”

His voice is sad and I wonder what it must be like for him. His movies are big right now. Really big.

He stands there, just staring at the ground, his jaw tight, his mood dark, almost like he’s waiting for something. Maybe for me to ask for an autograph, or throw myself at him, or go on and on about how much I love his films. He’s only done a few, but I have seen them. They’re good. Really good. His main role—his breakout role—was the lead in the first of a spy trilogy, based on a set of books. The second one came out not too long ago and was one of the last my father and I watched together. Then he did another action movie, separate of those, and that one was good too. I only know all this because my father had liked his movies because they have good fight scenes. He apparently does most of his own stunts, and has some sort of background with mixed martial arts. His hair had been dyed blonde then, and was longer, and I think he was wearing blue contacts too, to match the character in the book. I wonder if that’s why I didn’t recognize him. Or maybe I just couldn’t imagine a world where he and I would actually meet, especially the way we did.

Then the dark-haired woman comes to mind, and I realize—she’s his co-star in the trilogy. There had been a rumored romance between the two, something I’d picked up watching Entertainment Tonight. And there’d also been rumors that he was difficult, temperamental, sort of like that guy I met back on the freeway. But I’ve also seen a different sort of man. The man who came back for me.

I watch Gavin look up and cross his arms, irritation etched into his face. If he’s expecting me to go crazy over him, he’s wrong.

“My clothes, upstairs, are wet,” I say. “Can I use your dryer?”

“Uh…sure.”

I leave him in the kitchen, looking a little confused, and fetch my clothes, knowing I’ll need them to wear home tomorrow.

When I walk back down the stairs, he’s waiting for me. I follow him down another hallway off to the side, when he stops at a door, opens it and switches on the light to a laundry room with the biggest washer and dryer I’ve ever seen.

I walk past him and toss my clothes in, careful to keep my underwear out of sight. It takes me a minute to sort through all the settings just to figure out how to start it. I wonder if he’ll step in and help, but he doesn’t. Eventually though, I get it sorted out and the tumble starts.

When I turn, Gavin’s leaning against the door frame, arms crossed, eyes narrowed, like I’ve done something wrong. I freeze and look back at the dryer, wondering if maybe I set it to detonate or something.

When I look back at him, not understanding, he shrugs. “I’m just surprised is all. Most women would’ve gone ape-shit. So I’m just wondering…”

I tilt my head, waiting.

“Wondering if you’re not impressed…or perhaps…don’t like my movies.”

I have an urge to smile, but hold it back. “They’re alright,” I say, and move past him.

I walk back down the hall and hear his voice behind me. “Just alright?”

There’s feigned hurt in his voice, but there’s no mistaking the smile too.

I nod, as though bored, but having more fun than I’ve had in a while. When I enter the living room, I stop. I’d noticed the oversized sliders when I walked by before, but had somehow missed what was just beyond. Maybe because I was too distracted with the wall-to-wall fireplace, still burning quietly off to the side.

The floor is cool beneath my bare feet as I walk over to the glass and stare out at a pool that ends where the lights of Santa Barbara begin. It’s still raining, not as hard as before, but enough that I can see the drops falling into turquoise water that seems to glow from within. A vapor rises from the surface and disappears into the night. I stare at it, mesmerized.

Gavin walks up and stands at my side. “You want to go for a dip?” he asks. “It’s heated.”