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“Pretend boyfriend.” Everyone needed to be clear on the fake part, including and particularly him, if he was going to get involved with another actress.
Odele inclined her head. “Leave convincing her to me. I won’t say anything more about having you function as a bodyguard. But believe me, the press attention surrounding her father is really upsetting her.”
In Rick’s opinion, Chiara should be spending more time worrying about her stalker than about her estranged father. Still... “Tell me about Michael Feran.”
Odele set aside her coffee cup. “There’s not much to say. Chiara’s parents divorced when she was young. Chiara and her mother were in Rhode Island until Hollywood beckoned. Her mother died a few years ago. She developed sepsis after an illness. It was a shock for everyone.”
“But her father continues to make waves.”
“Last year, he accepted money from a third-rate weekly to dish about Chiara.”
Rick cursed.
Odele shot him a perceptive look from behind her red glasses. “Yes, Chiara felt betrayed.”
So Chiara’s was far from a fairy-tale upbringing. No wonder she was prickly around him, and no doubt distrustful of men.
“Take it from me. Be the good boyfriend that she needs and keep an eye on her. Just don’t bring up the bodyguard part to her.”
“A pretend boyfriend.” Pretend being the operative word there. He wasn’t sure if he was reminding himself or Odele, though.
“Right.”
Right.
* * *
Chiara took Ruby out of her box and perched her on her knee. The dummy wore a sequined gown, and her hair and face were worthy of a Vegas showgirl.
Chiara sat at the writing desk occupying one corner of her master bedroom. There’d been a break in filming for the weekend, and she was happy to retreat to her sanctuary. She needed time away. First her father, then Rick and finally a stalker had frayed her nerves.
Still, even though it was a beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon, and she should have been in a great mood, she...wasn’t. She was irritable and restless and anxious. She’d been having trouble memorizing her lines ever since the attempted break-in at her trailer. Pegasus Pride was an action flick, so the script wasn’t heavy, but there was still dialogue that she had to be able to say without prompting.
Frustrated, she’d finally resorted to using Ruby to help her relax. She hadn’t taken the dummy out in months, but ventriloquism kept her in touch with her former life—and at moments like these, let her deal with her present concerns.
Chiara searched the dummy’s face. “What am I going to do?”
Ruby tilted her head.
“I must be out of my mind to be talking to a dummy by myself.”
“You’re not alone if you’re having a chat with someone,” Ruby responded in her singsong voice. “I just help you figure things out, sugar.”
“I thought that’s what Odele is for.”
Ruby waved her hand. “You already know where Odele stands. She’s on the hunk’s side, and frankly, I don’t know why you aren’t, too.” Ruby tossed her hair—because rolling her eyes was out of the question. “He’s delicious.”
“Annoying. You’re reading too much gossip.”
“I have to, it’s about you,” the dummy chirped. “Anyway, it’s time you let someone under your skin, and back into your bed. And Rick...that body, that face, that kiss. Need I say more?”
“You are saucy and naughty, Ruby.”
“And you wish you could be. Let your hair down, sugar.
”
Chiara’s gaze fell to the laptop at her elbow. “I have too many responsibilities...and plenty of problems.”
