heart lurched. He disagreed with Nick.
“You want my honest opinion, Alex? If you hadn’t done Jago in Mercy there’s no way you’d be about to play the lead in Hamlet.”
Nick stormed out of the cocktail lounge leaving his unfinished beer on the bar, and the trickle of early-evening customers who’d begun to arrive with their ears twitching. Alex sighed. Great! Right when he thought he and his brother were starting to see eye to eye he’d thrown a temper tantrum.
So what if he’d talked about Vampires in hushed tones? Sure, the series had been fun to make, but it wasn’t serious acting, the kind of work that would make Drake Wells proud.
A final mouthful of smoky whiskey scalded his mouth. Thank heavens Maggie was here, with her can-do take on life. Though, even she was riddled with complications, taking her styled-up life to the extreme of planning a designer family. Her announcement had caught him off guard. He didn’t doubt that she’d thought it all through. His remarks had been too strong. He should have kept his opinion to himself.
He’d meant it when he’d said he respected her decision. It was the genetically dad-shaped hole in his own identity that got his blood boiling, but there was no need to make that Maggie’s problem. It was a well-kept family secret that although Drake Wells’ name was on his birth certificate, he wasn’t his biological father.
He froze. He’d reacted as if they’d never stopped being friends. Since when did it matter a damn what his stylist planned to do with her life? He shouldn’t give a toss. She was in a totally different place in life to him. Settling down, starting a family. That was somewhere he’d never be headed. It was actually pretty brave that she wanted to do it on her own. He shouldn’t care. But curiously he did. He cared – a lot.
She’d said it herself – she was just someone he used to know. So how come he felt like he might spontaneously combust?
“What’s the verdict? Are congratulations in order?”
Maggie blanked out Alex’s question. She didn’t want to answer because she still hadn’t done the pregnancy test.
She’d been up since stupid o’clock. They’d driven down from Boston to a beach on Cape Cod. The location was fab. There was a lighthouse and they were using a clap-board, picket-fenced seaside vacation cottage as their base.
The weather had turned horrible. Grey-black storm clouds were gathering with appalling speed. The pressure was on. Because of the heavy sky the light was poor and the forecast was for rain. Hannah wanted to get the pictures and wrap it up as quickly as possible.
Maggie threw herself into the job. It was up to her to be eagle-eyed. She had to make sure that everything was spot-on for the photographer.
“Come on. Maggie. Don’t keep me in suspense.”
She was checking Alex’s clothes, making sure he was perfect. He was devastating. “I can’t talk about this now,” she whispered. She was deliberately side-stepping the issue. “We’re working. And we need to hurry.”
The image she had in mind was one of her typical mash-ups. She’d styled the brothers in leather biker jackets with slicked-back hair à la fifties. The goal was to combine their retro look with an ethereal quality in her girls. She had two lovely models: one brunette, one blonde. With Alex being dark and Nick fair, they complemented the brothers beautifully. She and Hannah had high hopes for the outcome. To complete the look they’d borrowed a super sexy Harley-Davidson.
Natalie was working on Nick’s make-up. “How’s it going?” she asked.
“Nearly done. Do you like it? I’m thinking echo-of-vampire-alter-egos. The-living-dead-go-to-the-beach – not so much …”
Maggie giggled. “Love it!”
She was on edge. There was no shelter at the beach. If it rained and the clothes got drenched, she’d be responsible. She had four big umbrellas on stand-by just in case.
She needn’t have worried. The morning rolled along like a dream, even though the tension in the air between Alex and Nick was tangible. They were barely on grunting terms with each other, but since the vibe they were aiming for was mean and moody, it didn’t matter. And since the rain stayed off long enough for Hannah to get the photos she wanted, it was all good. She was a happy pixie again.
A seagull swooped and shrieked above their heads. “Thanks guys and girls, you were all awesome,” she said. She directed a conspiring wink at Maggie. “Let’s get back to the cottage before the heavens open.” The sky had darkened some more and foaming surf was crashing onto the shore.
In some of the last shots taken Maggie had used a long, hand-painted silk scarf for one of the models. A diaphanous swirl of rainbow colors, Hannah loved the effect against the stormy back-drop. As the team prepared to head for the cottage, Maggie looked around for the scarf. To her horror it was rolling across the sand, carried on the wind like colorful tumble-weed. Each gust of wind off the sea blew it further up the beach.
“Oh …!”
“Quick.” Alex cut her off in mid-expletive. He threw a leg over the Harley and jerked his head, indicating that she should get on behind. “Hop on.”
Maggie’s brows knitted. “Is this okay?”
Alex shot a glance at Hannah. He was already revving the engine, tweaking the throttle so that it let out a tiger growl. “Go for it …” Alex sped off across the sand with Maggie clinging on limpet-like behind. “Only, if you write off the bike don’t come running to me about health and safety and insurance and … stuff,” she shouted after them. “On your own heads be it.”
“Don’t worry, he won’t trash the bike.” Nick slung a friendly arm around Hannah’s shoulders. “He’s good for a Harley – or two.”
The wind and salt on her face, the revs of the bike’s engine, her arms banded around Alex’s rock-hard muscular body, his scent of new leather and spiced man, sent a whoosh of joy rushing through her senses. Alex stopped the bike and Maggie jumped off. She ran across the sand, feeling a sense of exhilaration as the wind whipped at her hair. Laughing, she grabbed the runaway scarf, amazed that they’d got to it before it took a dip in the sea. When she turned around Alex’s eyes were trained on hers. “Thanks. If it had gone in the sea the salt water would have ruined it.”
“Let me see.” Alex took the bunched-up scarf from her hands. She couldn’t hide her tremble when his fingers touched hers. He shook out the long swathe of rainbow fabric. A little sand gathered in the folds fell away. “No harm done.”
He reached out his leather-clad arms and pushed her hair behind her ears with his thumbs. The brush of his skin on her temples hypnotized her senses. Sweet sensation swirled at her core. She stepped away from him, hugging her arms across her body, instantly super-aware of her breasts, nipples hard beneath her shirt. “Brrr,” she said crisply. “I need a sweater.”
He stretched out, drew her back to him, and draped the soft silk over her head, looping the ends around her neck. “Turn.” Maggie did as she was told. With her back to him, a frisson shimmied up and down her spine as he tied the scarf firmly behind her head. Disguised like an incognito movie star, all she needed was the dark glasses. She turned to face Alex. “That suits you,” he said. “You should keep it. It matches your nails. Blue one day. Yellow the next. Today?” He lifted her hand and looked at her fingers. “Purple! Tomorrow … who knows?”
Maggie laughed. He’d be so easy to be with, if he wasn’t so flipping sexy. “It’s my perfect accessory,” she agreed. A split second later she shrugged the idea off. “Except I don’t really do color. Just the nails.”
“And the …” Alex stopped abruptly. His jaw clenched.