Kaylie heard the familiar lead-in music to West Coast Morning.
“Oh, no,” she said, her appetite nearly forgotten as the camera closed in on Alan Bently’s handsome face.
“There he is—your fiancé,” Zane said good-naturedly, though Kaylie thought she saw a muscle tighten in his jaw. “What a guy! Look at that! Even his makeup is perfect.”
“He’s not my fiancé.” Kaylie shot Zane a warning glance, just as Alan made eye contact with the camera.
“Good morning!” Alan said. His brown eyes didn’t blink, and his smile seemed a little forced. “You may have noticed that Kaylie Melville isn’t with us today,” he said half-apologetically. “She won’t be with us for the rest of the week as she was called away from the city for personal reasons….”
“I was what?” Kaylie cried, astounded.
“Sick aunt,” Zane explained, fiddling with the dials at the bottom of the set.
“What?”
“Your aunt. Very ill. Needs care.”
“I don’t like the sound of this,” she said, pinning him with a glare that was meant to bore holes through solid steel. “I don’t even have an aunt!” She reached for a piece of toast and thought aloud. “So you must’ve told Margot something else. She wouldn’t buy into the sick-aun
t scenario.”
“Nope. But your sister thought it was romantic that I was whisking you away to a private hideaway.”
“You told her?”
“Of course I told her.”
“Just wait ’til I see her again,” Kaylie muttered, feeling betrayed by her own flesh and blood. Margot might not know it yet, but when Kaylie saw her again, there was going to be trouble. Big trouble! She ripped off a piece of toast and popped it into her mouth.
“Margot will probably defend me,” Zane predicted. “In fact, she said she wished some ‘knight on a white steed would carry her away to some romantic hideaway.’”
“Oh, give me a break!” But Kaylie could almost hear Margot uttering those exact words. Whereas Kaylie had always been sensible when it came to men—well, men other than Zane—Margot had been the dreamer, the romantic.
“Besides, she’s concerned about your safety and she let me know that she doesn’t much like Alan.”
“She knows how I feel about Alan. No two-bit scandal sheet would change her mind.”
As Zane buttered toast and scooped eggs onto his plate, Kaylie turned her attention back to the set. Didn’t Zane know that Alan wasn’t her type? Even years ago, when they’d filmed Obsession together and Alan had shown some interest in her, Kaylie had told him in no uncertain terms to keep his distance. She had been married to Zane at the time, and she wasn’t interested in a steamy off-camera affair with Alan or anyone else for that matter. In fact, she had been so head over heels in love with Zane that she had actually laughed at Alan’s sleazy attempts at seduction. Fortunately, Alan had taken the hint. Long ago.
“Old Alan looks pretty comfortable without you,” Zane observed, taking a bite. “He kind of glossed over your absence, don’t you think?”
“What was he going to say?” she countered. “He’s not exactly dealing with all the facts, is he?”
Zane stopped chewing. “When you and Alan did your last picture together, he was the one ranting and raving for top billing, higher salaries, a bigger dressing room.”
“A lot has changed since we filmed Obsession.”
Zane’s eyes darkened. “Amen.” He shoved his plate aside, half his food uneaten, and touched the tips of her fingertips with his. “So if you’re not involved with Bently, who is the man in your life?”
Her lungs grew tight, and she quickly pulled her hand away. “Why don’t you tell me? You’re the one who seems to know everything about my life.” She wished he’d just drop the subject; she didn’t want to admit that she wasn’t romantically involved with anyone, nor had she been since Zane. The dates and publicized relationships over the past few years had never become serious. She hadn’t let herself become involved with any one man. However, she wasn’t about to tell Zane about her less-than-fulfilling love life. If Zane knew she was entirely unattached, the feelings hovering in the shadows would only intensify the emotions already charging the air between them. No, it was better if Zane thought she was involved with another man.
“There is something more I should tell you,” he admitted, his finger slowly rimming his cup in suggestive circles.
Kaylie’s throat went dry. “What?”
The honesty honing his features disarmed her, his fingers quit moving on the rim of his cup. “I’ve missed you, Kaylie. I’ve missed everything about you.”
“Zane, please—”