* * *
Chiara was tense. Controlling one’s image was paramount in Hollywood, and she’d just blown her cover. I love him... And the entire world knew. There was nowhere to hide.
She wrung her hands as she stared out her kitchen window. WE Magazine had published parts of her interview online late yesterday. It had been hours...and still no word from Rick.
He could humiliate her. He could issue a stunning rejection that handed her heart back to her.
Picking up the phone, she made a lifeline call to her manager.
“Oh, Odele, what have you gotten me into?” she moaned.
“Have you looked at social media?”
“Are you kidding? It’s the last thing I can bring myself to peek at.”
“Well, you should. The confirmation of your pregnancy has taken the internet by storm, of course.”
“Great,” she said weakly.
“Yup, but the viral storm is turning in your favor, sweetie. People are applauding your honesty.”
“About being a fraud?”
“You were honest about the phoniness of celebrity culture.”
Chiara closed her eyes. She’d gone viral as a recovering liar...and people loved it. “I’m afraid to leave the house.”
“You weren’t scared when you had a stalker, but now you are?”
Of course she was. She hadn’t heard from Rick. The ax could still fall.
Then a distant sound reached her, and she frowned. “Hold on, Odele.”
It sounded like hoof beats. Impossible.
She peeked out the window. A rider on a white horse was coming up the drive.
The clomp of hooves sounded louder as horse and rider came closer. It couldn’t be...but her heart knew it was. “Odele... I’ve got to go.”
“What’s the matter, honey?” Chiara could practically hear the frown in her manager’s voice. “Do I need to send the police?”
“Um, that won’t be necessary. I think I’m being rescued...”
“What...?”
“It’s Rick on a white horse...bye.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. And he didn’t even give me a heads-up so I could send a photographer to snap the moment.”
“We’ll do the scene over for you.”
“Great, because romances are my favorite.”
“I’d never have known from the way you’ve pushed me to do action flicks—”
“And you met a hunky stuntman in the process.”
“Odele, I have to go!”