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“Do you have any rope or something else we can tie him up with?” Rick asked. “He’s unconscious but we don’t know for how long.”
With shaky fingers, she handed him the receiver. While Rick called the police, she ran to get some twine she kept for wrapping presents. Her uninvited guest needed to be hog-tied, not decorated with a pretty bow, but it was all she had.
As she passed through the house, she noticed some picture frames had been repositioned—as if her stalker had stopped to admire them—and some of her clothes had been moved. Chiara shuddered. Likely Jeffers’s obsession with her stuff had bought her time—time enough to stay hidden in the gym until Rick arrived.
Eleven
Chiara sat in her den attempting to get her bearings. Todd Jeffers was on his way to prison, not least because he’d violated a restraining order by scaling her fence, taking advantage of the fact that her alarm system had been off and she’d been ignoring the video cameras. Breaking and entering, trespassing... Thanks to Rick, the police would throw the book at him.
While Rick walked the remaining police to the door, she called Odele. She needed someone who would deal with the inevitable press attention. And even though she’d uttered the words you’re fired, she and Odele were like family—and there was nothing like a brush with danger and violence to mend fences. She filled in her manager on what had happened, and Odele announced she would drive right over—both to get the fuller story, and perhaps because she sensed Chiara needed a shoulder to lean on.
Because Rick wasn’t offering one—he continued to look mad as hell.
She knew she was lucky Rick had shown up at the right moment. She’d been in the shower when her father had attempted to reach her, and because he was worried she hadn’t picked up, he’d called Rick. Michael Feran had done nothing for her...until today, when he may have saved her life. The ground beneath her had shifted, and there hadn’t even been a major seismological event in LA. Forgetting about her scheduled call with her father had been a lucky break because minutes later she’d had an intruder in her house.
When Rick walked back in, Chiara hugged her arms tight across her chest as she sat on her couch.
He looked like a man on a short leash. The expression on his face was one she’d never seen before—not even in the middle of a difficult stunt. He was furious, and she wondered how much of it was directed at her.
“Thanks,” she managed in a small voice.
“Damn it, Chiara!” Rick ran his hand through his hair. “What the hell? I told you to get extra security.”
“You were it. I didn’t have time to replace you...yet.”
“You didn’t have time? There’s been a court order in place for weeks!”
She stood up. “Sarcastic stuntmen willing to moonlight as bodyguard and pretend boyfriend are hard to come by.”
“Well, you almost gained an unwelcome husband!” Rick braced his hands at his sides. “According to the police, your Romeo had picked a wedding date and drafted a marriage announcement before he showed up today.”
Chiara felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. As a celebrity, she’d gotten some overzealous adulation in the past, but this was beyond creepy. “Don’t lecture me.”
She was frustrated, overwhelmed and tired—nearly shaking with shock and fear. She needed comfort but Rick was scolding her. It was all too much.
Rick crouched beside her. “We need to resolve this.”
She raised her chin. “My stalker is behind bars. So that
’s another reason I don’t need you anymore, I guess.”
Except she did. She loved him. But he’d offered nothing in return, and she couldn’t stay in a relationship based on an illusion. She’d learned this much from Tinseltown: she didn’t want make-believe. She didn’t want a relationship made for the press, and the false image of a happy couple expecting their first child. She wanted true love.
Rick stood up, a closed look on his face. He thrust his hands in his pockets. “Right, you don’t need me. You’ll never need any man. Got it. Your father may be back in your life, but you always stand on your own.”
She said nothing. In her mind, though, she willed him to give her the speech that she really wanted. I love you. I can’t live without you. I need you.
He braced his hands on his sides. “We’re stuck playing out this drama, the two of us. The press junket for Pegasus Pride is coming up, and we don’t want to be the story instead of the movie. I’ll move back in with you here until my house is ready. We’ll do promo for the movie and then nest until the baby arrives. All the while, we’re back to Chiara and Rick, the happy expectant couple, as far as the press is concerned.”
She lifted her chin again. “Got it.”
The only thing that saved her from saying more was Odele breezing in the front door and descending like a mother hen.
“Oh, honey,” her manager exclaimed.
Chiara looked at her miserably and then eyed Rick. “I’m glad you’re here because Rick was just leaving to pack. He’s moving back in with me.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
