Malibu Betrayals Read Online Free Page B

remembered realizing her marriage was over, that if anyone should be looking at her in such a way it should be her husband, not a stranger she’d just met.
    She remembered deciding it was time to face the reality and move ahead, but it was shortly after meeting Gage that the accident had happened, and then she couldn’t move at all.
    And she’d been angry. At him, at Ethan, at herself. She’d imagined a life with a man who truly saw her, daydreams of being heard, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Not then, and not now. “I don’t know what you want from me here.”
    He shook his head. “I want you to admit we’d had something that night.”
    She put her hands out. “But why? What will that change? Do you want us to start where we left off? As far as Hollywood is concerned, you were the cause. How would that look?”
    “Who gives a shit what they think?”
    “I do. They were relentless after the accident and even more so after his suicide.” She dropped her hands to her sides. “I can’t go through that again. Whether I’ve thought of you or not. Whether we had a connection or not.”
    “But you admit we had a connection.”
    Her shoulders dropped. Why did he need to hear this so badly? “Yes.”
    “We could still have something.” His jaw ticked as he watched her.
    Seconds felt like minutes, and she couldn’t help but fidget under his stare as her mind reeled to make sense of his words. Finally, he gave a nod, focusing on her with a smile, and then he stepped around her and went inside.
    She was dumbfounded. How in the world was this sexy, powerful, A-list actor attracted to her? Her stomach tightened.
    Well, they had something in common, because she’d never quit thinking of him, either.
    Maybe it was simply a matter of getting him out of her system. A little fling, casual sex, the no strings attached kind of thing. All this time and emotion, worrying and wondering, made him so much bigger than he really was; she was sure of it. Wasn’t she all about moving forward? Nothing serious, just enough to appease her long-brewing curiosity.
    Short, sweet, and most of all, secret.
    She just needed to figure out how to keep a secret like that in Malibu.
    Maybe then she could get over her nerves and jumpiness around him once and for all. Nothing serious, because they had a movie to make, and the last thing she wanted were pseudo-reporters camping out at her doorstep again. In the end, nothing had really changed, since he was still in the spotlight of Hollywood.
    It might not be fair to hold it against him, but that kind of attention disfigured everyone.

Chapter Three
    Gage walked back to the house from his trailer the following afternoon, grumbling. If he had his choice, he’d kick back with a cold beer, but the cast and crew were having a lunch. One of those opportunities to get to know one another better. Which was something better accomplished during filming than any forced social hour, but the powers that be summoned him, and he’d promised himself he wouldn’t be difficult.
    Stepping though the door, he scanned the room and then slowed. Sam sat next to Martin in deep conversation, her hands gripped together in her lap.
    Gage shoved his hands in his pockets.
    Annoying as hell. Her silence when he’d mentioned they could still have something made sure he understood nothing could happen. Every fiber in his body tensed with the need to prove her wrong. They’d had something. Something he hadn’t been able to forget. Fuck.
    Making his way to the other side of the room, he looked for the seat farthest from where she sat with Martin. The last thing he needed was a long afternoon of awkward niceties, which would be worse than her silence. He busied himself chatting with a few of the crew and then looking through an old album collection used in the film. Some of Martin’s inspiration was evident in the collection.
    “She doesn’t bite, you know.”
    Gage swung around to find Martin walking up behind