The A-List Collection. Victoria Fox
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stereo.
‘This looks good,’ said Jimmy, taking a seat and pulling his chair in. He turned to his wife. ‘Are you feeling OK?’
She put her hands on his shoulders, which felt quite bony, and began to rub. ‘You just relax,’ she soothed, bending so she could whisper in his ear, ‘and let me take care of things.’ Quick as a flash her tongue darted out and licked his earlobe.
‘What was that?’ he cried, swatting his ear.
‘Relax,’ she said again, running her hands down his arms. Hmm, he had got rather thin. She hoped he wasn’t on drugs. Gently she began kissing his neck, moving her hands down over his stomach until they reached a slowly but surely swelling bulge in his trousers. Jimmy had the biggest dick in Hollywood–a fact that had once delighted her but was now quite frightening. But the night was young and there was a marriage to save.
She unscrewed a bottle of red wine and filled both their glasses. Holding hers tight, she floated over to the stereo system. When the music came on, she started to move, swaying her hips sexily and winding to the floor. Phew, that was hard on the legs. Raising her arms above her head, she pushed out her chest and her ass. To hell with the dinner. Maybe she ought to strip for him, that’s the sort of thing he liked–show him what he had been missing all this time.
Jimmy remained at the table, visibly uncomfortable. ‘What are we listening to?’ he asked, anything to make conversation.
‘A new band,’ Kate murmured, closing her eyes as if the song had transported her. ‘I thought you might like them.’
He frowned. ‘It’s a bit … I don’t know, rock. Didn’t think you were into that sort of thing.’
‘There’s a lot you don’t know about me,’ she said huskily.
Jimmy picked up the sleeve for something to do. ‘The Hides.’ He flipped it over. ‘Bit of a stupid name, isn’t it?’
Keeping her eyes fixed on him, Kate continued the slow dance. ‘Their producer sent me a copy. Felix Bentley, you know–we’re friends. Good friends.’ She giggled coquettishly.
The attempt to make her husband jealous flopped, as he continued to scrutinise the album cover. She sensed he was avoiding looking at her. Maybe she’d acted too quickly, too much too soon. They’d eat, talk, she’d tell him about her new venture. And then …
‘I had some good news today,’ she said, meandering into the kitchen and bringing out an incinerated rack of lamb with over-steamed vegetables. She laid everything on the table. ‘I hope it’s all cooked,’ she said, taking a seat opposite him.
‘It looks … well done, Kate.’ He watched for a reaction but none came. When he pulled at the meat it came apart in coarse grey ropes. ‘What’s the news?’
Kate took a mouthful of wine and prepared herself. ‘Well …’ She paused for effect. ‘George Roman wants me for his new movie!’
Jimmy looked genuinely impressed. He opened his mouth to speak.
‘Thanks,’ she trilled, before he had a chance to say anything. ‘It’s moving so fast I can barely keep up! George is flying me to London this week. Jimmy, this is my ticket back to the top!’ She wondered why he didn’t get up, give her a kiss, anything. It was like they were business partners. God, is that what we are?
‘So you didn’t get the Carl Rico?’
The question threw her, before she remembered the degrading audition she’d attended a few months ago. She tensed. Why did Jimmy have to bring that up? This was her big moment, her big news–trust him to want to ruin it.
‘No, thankfully,’ she said crossly, recalling Carl Rico’s shifty eyes roaming over her breasts like a starved beast.
He grinned. ‘So you won’t get your tits out for this one, then?’
It was the wrong thing to say. Kate put down her fork, her expression cold. ‘No, I won’t.’ Then she muttered, ‘I don’t know why you can’t be happier for me.’
Jimmy sat back. ‘I am happy for you! If you’d just—’
‘By making wisecracks at my expense?’ She downed her glass of wine and poured another, not bothering to refill his.
‘Calm down a second, Kate—’
She let out a harsh laugh. ‘It’s not me who’s acted out of line, Jimmy. It’s always you, making a joke of me, bringing me down.’
‘You think I bring you down?’ He held up his hands. ‘Come on, we’re having a nice evening, aren’t we? Do we have to argue?’ When she didn’t respond he rolled his eyes, exasperated, and picked at the meal, which was practically inedible. ‘I’m sorry I mentioned Carl Rico,’ he said finally. ‘OK? Can we forget it now?’
But the damage was already done. Why did Jimmy have to shit all over her good news by reminding her of having to get naked in front of some pervert? He didn’t even seem interested in taking her to bed.
He must be fucking around again, there was no other excuse.
Again? When exactly did he stop, Kate?
She wasn’t standing for it a second longer. Oh, no–things were about to change. Kate diLaurentis was on the brink of the biggest career revival in Hollywood history and she didn’t intend to indulge a husband who was messing around.
Jimmy kept his eyes on his food. Without warning Chloe French popped into his head, the cute English actress he’d met at Harriet Foley’s party in December. She was a hot little piece. He wondered if he’d left it too late to call her.
Locked in their private worlds, husband and wife finished their meal in silence. When Kate had cleared her plate, she filled her glass one more time and with a sudden, unexpected flourish threw it in Jimmy’s face. He sat, stunned, dripping with sticky Rioja, his palms upwards. He looked like a religious painting.
She stalked off to bed, alone. ‘You can do the dishes.’
With shaking fingers, Lana laid the pregnancy test down on the side of the bath tub.
It might be OK. You don’t know anything yet.
Except she did. She had a feeling in her gut and it had been keeping her awake, stopping her sleeping, wringing her out. It had been eight weeks since Sam Lucas’s party. The first period she’d missed had rung alarm bells–they’d been at the Awards at the time and she hadn’t been able to focus on anything else, not even when Cole went up to collect his gong–but fear had made the warning easy to ignore. At missing her second, they’d sounded more loudly, insisting she listen.
She washed her hands, dried them then sat on the floor with her knees pulled up under her chin. Cole had expected her at a society function this afternoon but she had pleaded illness. She had to be alone for this.
The white stick looked back at her accusingly.
Maybe she wasn’t pregnant, maybe it was a false alarm.
Plenty of women experienced them. Tomorrow she’d get her period and everything would be back to normal. But a persistent voice told her different. Something felt changed, deep inside, something fundamental. Her body wanted to tell her what she didn’t want to hear.
She hadn’t seen Parker Troy since the party. She couldn’t contemplate his reaction if she told him he was about to become a father. To the child Cole Steel’s wife was carrying.
Fear throttled her when she thought of Cole. Parker’s response was the least of her worries, she knew. Quite simply she couldn’t be carrying another man’s baby. It was not an option.
Her heart thumping wildly, Lana reached out