AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And now the scandal of Grace’s undoing was causing shockwaves that were reverberating throughout Hollywood’s celebrity circles—not to mention causing a great deal of appointment-rescheduling.
Thank God she was out of it for now. Thank God the clinic was closed and she could step back from this crazy industry. Because this wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she’d come to LA. She’d wanted to make a difference for good, to help people make the most of their lives. And yet when she’d joined Grace’s clinic all that had changed.
Sure, for a while it had been exhilarating, exciting, and she’d loved the pace of life and the challenge. But she hadn’t been helping the people who needed it most, and if she hadn’t been working with her very own heroine, planning for the future of the foundation, surely she would have thought about moving on.
The foundation. What a joke! There was no foundation. Not the way she’d wanted. There was a fund, to be sure. But just how Grace had planned to make use of that fund…
A noise behind her alerted her to Loukas’s presence. She turned to see him standing stock-still in the doorway, his eyes calmly surveying her. She shivered as his cold eyes chilled the air around her. How long had he been there, watching her?
‘Are you all right?’ he asked, his voice flat and almost lifeless.
‘Is that why you brought me here? To ensure that I was all right?’ she responded, half wishing that he had, half hoping that he might have acted out of at least a modicum of concern for her welfare, even after everything that had happened.
It was insane, and yet it also seemed so important. Could he care for her? Just a little? After what they’d shared, surely there was something, some tiny residual shred of feeling for her?
‘I brought you here so the reporters can’t find you. What else?’
What else indeed? A bucket of cold water couldn’t have doused her pathetic hopes more effectively. She had been insane to even think it. After all, right from the start he’d never acted out of concern for her. He’d only ever wanted her so he could use her against Grace.
All thoughts of wanting to apologise to him evaporated in an instant in the cold, hard light of his attitude.
His face tight, his voice sounding strained, he continued before she had a chance to get her simmering thoughts in order. ‘I’ve put some fresh linen in the guestroom. I’ll get someone to pick up some clothes for you in the morning. Goodnight.’
Then he was gone.
‘Just how long do you plan on keeping me here?’
Loukas looked up from his newspaper, replacing a cup of coffee in its saucer with a low clatter. Jade was pacing behind the wide serving bench that separated the kitchen from the living area, her hands busy with each other as she paced, and turned, and paced some more. This was only her second morning at the beach house, and yet already her face looked tight and drawn.
Then he let himself do what he’d been avoiding doing all of yesterday, and let his eyes skim over the rest of her. Her curves were there, under her summer cut-offs and halter top, but she seemed, more angular in places. She’d lost weight.
He frowned. That was the last thing he wanted. ‘Come and eat some breakfast. You look gaunt.’
‘I’m not hungry.’
‘You need to eat something.’
‘How long?’ She stopped pacing and turned to face him, her eyes pleading while at the same time resolute. ‘The police said I was free to go. So how does that give you the right to kidnap me and lock me away?’
He raised his cup and took another slug of coffee. He needed the caffeine after two nights of trying—and failing miserably—to sleep half a dozen rooms away from where she lay. How many times had he imagined he heard her soft footfall coming down the hall? How often had he dozed off, half dreaming, half imagining that she was in his arms again, only to wake and find them empty or wrapped around twisted sheets?
And how many times had he been tempted to take those few short steps himself?
But that would serve no purpose now. She was only here so that he could protect Olympia. Nothing more.
But he didn’t know how long it would take. All he knew was that already it seemed too long. So instead he asked, ‘Have you read today’s papers?’
