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Silhouette Special Releases
June 2010
On Sale: May 25, 2010
Featuring: Booth DeWitt; Ariel Kirkwood
416 pages
ISBN: 0373285892
EAN: 9780373285891
Paperback (reprint)
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Balancing a bag of groceries in one arm, Amanda let herself
into the house. She radiated happiness. From outside came
the sound of birds singing in the spring sunshine. The gold
of her wedding ring caught the light. As a newlywed of three
months, she was anxious to prepare a special, intimate
dinner as a surprise for Cameron. Her demanding hours at the
hospital and clinic often made it impossible for her to
cook, and as a new bride she found pleasure in it. This
afternoon, with two appointments unexpectedly canceled, she
intended to fix something fancy, time-consuming and
memorable. Something that went well with candlelight and wine.
As she entered the kitchen she was humming, a rare outward
show of emotion for she was a reserved woman. With a
satisfied smile, she drew a bottle of Cameron's favorite
Bordeaux from the bag. As she studied the label, a smile
lingered on her face while she remembered the first time
they'd shared a bottle. He'd been so romantic, so attentive,
so much what she'd needed at that point in her life.
A glance at her watch told her she had four full hours
before her husband was expected home. Time enough to prepare
an elaborate meal, light the candles and set out the crystal.
First, she decided, she was going upstairs to get out of her
practical suit and shoes. There was a silk caftan upstairs,
sheer, in misty shades of blue. Tonight, she wouldn't be a
psychiatrist, but a woman, a woman very much in love.
The house was scrupulously neat and tastefully decorated.
Such things came naturally to Amanda. As she walked toward
the stairs, she glanced at a vase of Baccarat crystal and
wished fleetingly she'd remembered fresh flowers. Perhaps
she'd call the florist and have something extravagant
delivered. Her hand trailed lightly over the polished
banister as she started up. Her eyes, usually serious or
intent, were dreamy. Carelessly, she pushed open the bedroom
door.
Her smile froze. Utter shock replaced it. As she stood in
the doorway, all color seemed to drain out of her cheeks.
Her eyes grew huge before pain filled them. Out of her mouth
came one anguished word.
"Cameron."
The couple in bed, locked in a passionate embrace, sprang
apart. The man, smoothly handsome, his sleek hair
disheveled, stared up in disbelief. The woman—feline,
sultry, stunning—smiled very, very slowly. You could
almost hear her purr.
"Vikki." Amanda looked at her sister with anguished
eyes.
"You're home early." There was a hint, only a
suspicion of a laugh in her sister's voice.
Cameron put a few more inches between himself and his
sister-in-law. "Amanda, I…"
In one split second, Amanda's face contorted. With her eyes
locked on the couple in bed, she reached in her jacket
pocket and drew out a small, lethal revolver. The lovers
stared at it in astonishment, and in silence. Coolly, she
aimed and fired. A puff of confetti burst out.
"Ariel!"
Dr. Amanda Lane Jamison, better known as Ariel Kirkwood,
turned to her harassed director as the couple in bed and
members of the television crew dissolved into laughter.
"Sorry, Neal, I couldn't help myself. Amanda's
always the victim," she said dramatically while
her eyes danced. "Just think what it might do for the
ratings if she lost her cool just once and murdered
someone."
"Look, Ariel—"
"Or even just seriously injured them," she went on
rapidly. "And who," she continued, flinging her hand
toward the bed, "deserves it more than her spineless
husband and scheming sister?"
At the hoots and applause of the crew, Ariel took a bow,
then reluctantly turned over her weapon to her director when
he held out his hand.
"You," he said with a long-suffering sigh, "are
a certified loony, and have been since I've known you."
"I appreciate that, Neal."
"This time the tape's going to be running," he
warned and tried not to grin. "Let's see if we can shoot
this scene before lunch."
Agreeably, Ariel went down to the first floor of the set.
She stood patiently while her hair and makeup were touched
up. Amanda was always perfection. Organized, meticulous,
calm—all the things Ariel herself wasn't. She'd played
the character for just over five years on the popular
daytime soap opera Our Lives, Our Loves.
In those five years, Amanda had graduated with honors from
college, had earned her degree in psychiatric medicine and
had gone on to become a respected therapist. Her recent
marriage to Cameron Jamison appeared to be made in heaven.
But, of course, he was a weak opportunist who'd married her
for her money and social position, while lusting after her
sister—and half the female population of the fictional
town of Trader's Bend.
Amanda was about to be confronted with the truth. The story
line had been leading up to this revelation for six weeks,
and the letters from viewers had poured in. Both they and
Ariel thought it was about time Amanda found out about her
louse of a husband.
Ariel liked Amanda, respected her integrity and poise. When
the cameras rolled, Ariel was Amanda. While in her
personal life she would much prefer a day at an amusement
park to an evening at the ballet, she understood all the
nuances of the woman she portrayed.
When this scene was aired, viewers would see a neat, slender
woman with pale blond hair sleeked back into a sophisticated
knot. The face was porcelain, stunning, with an icy kind of
beauty that sent out signals of restrained sexuality. Class.
Style.
Lake-blue eyes, high curved cheekbones added to the look of
polished elegance. A perfectly shaped mouth tended toward
serious smiles. Finely arched brows that were shades darker
than the delicate blond of her hair accented luxurious
lashes. A flawless beauty, perfectly composed—that was
Amanda.
Ariel waited for her cue and wondered vaguely if she'd
turned off her coffeepot that morning.
They ran through the scene again, from cue to cut, then a
second time when it was discovered that Vikki's strapless
bathing suit could be seen when she shifted in bed. Then
came reaction shots—the camera zoomed in close on
Amanda's pale, shocked face and held for several long,
dramatic seconds.
"Lunch."
Response was immediate. The lovers bounded out of either
side of the bed. In his bathing trunks, J. T. Brown, Ariel's
onscreen husband, took her by the shoulders and gave her a
long hard kiss. "Look, sweetie," he began, staying
in character, "I'll explain about all this later. Trust
me. I gotta call my agent."
"Wimp," Ariel called after him with a very
un-Amandalike grin before she hooked her arm through that of
Stella Powell, her series sister. "Pull something over
that suit, Stella. I can't face the commissary food today."
Stella tossed back her tousled mass of auburn hair. "You
buying?"
"Always sponging off your sister," Ariel mumbled.
"Okay, I'll spring, but hurry up. I'm starving."
On her way to her dressing room, Ariel walked off the set,
then through two more—the fifth floor of Doctors
Hospital and the living room of the Lanes, Trader Bend's
leading family. It was tempting to shed her costume and take
down her hair, but it would only mean fooling with wardrobe
and makeup after lunch. Instead, she just grabbed her purse,
an outsize hobo bag that looked a bit incongruous with
Amanda's elegant business suit. She was already thinking
about a thick slice of baklava soaked in honey.
"Come on, Stella." Ariel stuck her head in the
adjoining dressing room as Stella zipped up a pair of snug
jeans. "My stomach's on overtime."
"It always is," her coworker returned as she pulled
on a bulky sweatshirt. "Where to?"
"The Greek deli around the corner." More than ready,
Ariel started down the hall in her characteristically long,
swinging gait while Stella hurried to keep up. It wasn't
that Ariel rushed from place to place, but simply that she
wanted to see what was next.
"My diet," Stella began.
"Have a salad," Ariel told her without mercy. She
turned her head to give Stella a quick up-and-down glance.
"You know, if you weren't always wearing those skimpy
outfits on camera, you wouldn't have to starve yourself."
Stella grinned as they came to the street door.
"Jealous."
"Yeah. I'm always elegant and always proper.
You have all the fun." Stepping outside, Ariel took a
deep breath of New York. She loved it—had always loved
it in a way usually reserved for tourists. Ariel had lived
on the long thin island of Manhattan all of her life, and
yet it remained an adventure to her. The sights, the smells,
the sounds.
It was brisk for mid-April, and threatening to rain. The air
was damp and smelled of exhaust. The streets and sidewalks
were clogged with lunchtime traffic—everyone hurrying,
everyone with important business to attend to. A pedestrian
swore and banged a fist on the hood of a cab that had
clipped too close to the curb. A woman with spiked orange
hair hustled by in black leather boots. Somone had written
something uncomplimentary on a poster for a hot Broadway
play. But Ariel saw a street vendor selling daffodils.
She bought two bunches and handed one to Stella.
"You can never pass up anything, can you?" Stella
mumbled, but buried her face in the yellow blooms.
"Think of all I'd miss," Ariel countered.
"Besides, it's spring."
Stella shivered and looked up at the leaden sky. "Sure."
"Eat." Ariel grabbed her arm and pulled her along.
"You always get cranky when you miss meals."
The deli was packed with people and aromas. Spices and
honey. Beer and oil. Always a creature of the senses, Ariel
drew in the mingled scents before she worked her way to the
counter. She had an uncanny way of getting where she was
going through a throng without using her elbows or stepping
on toes. While she moved, she watched and listened. She
wouldn't want to miss a scent, or the texture of a voice, or
the clashing colors of food. As she looked behind the
glass-fronted counter, she could already taste the things there.
"Cottage cheese, a slice of pineapple and
coffee—black," Stella said with a sigh. Ariel sent
her a brief, pitying look.
"Greek salad, a hunk of that lamb on a hard roll and a
slice of baklava. Coffee, cream and sugar."
"You're disgusting," Stella told her. "You never
gain an ounce."
"I know." Ariel moved down the counter to the
cashier. "It's a matter of mental control and clean
living." Ignoring Stella's rude snort she paid the bill
then made her way through the crowded deli toward an empty
table. She and a bull of a man reached it simultaneously.
Ariel simply held her tray and sent him a stunning smile.
The man straightened his shoulders, sucked in his stomach
and gave way.
"Thanks," Stella acknowledged and dismissed him at
the same time, knowing if she didn't Ariel would invite him
to join them and upset any chance of a private conversation.
The woman, Stella thought, needed a keeper.
Ariel did all the things a woman alone should know better
than to do. She talked to strangers, walked alone at night
and answered her door without the security chain attached.
It wasn't that she was daring or careless, but simply that
she believed in the best of people. And somehow, in a bit
more than twenty-five years of living, she'd never been
disillusioned. Stella marveled at her, even while she
worried about her.
"The gun was one of your best stunts all season,"
Stella remarked as she poked at her cottage cheese. "I
thought Neal was going to scream."
"He needs to relax," Ariel said with her mouth full.
"He's been on edge ever since he broke up with that
dancer. How about you? Are you still seeing Cliff?"
"Yeah." Stella lifted her shoulder. "I don't
know why, it's not going anywhere."
"Where do you want it to go?" Ariel countered.
"If you have a goal in mind, just go for it."
With a half laugh, Stella began to eat. "Not everyone
plunges through life like you, Ariel. It always amazes me
that you've never been seriously involved."
"Simple." Ariel speared a fork into her salad then
chewed slowly. "I've never met anyone who made my knees
tremble. As soon as I do, that'll be it."
"Just like that?"
"Why not? Life isn't as complicated as most people make
it." She added a dash of pepper to the lamb. "Are
you in love with Cliff?"
Stell frowned—not because of the question, she was
used to Ariel's directness. But because of the answer.
"I don't know. Maybe."
"Then you're not," Ariel said easily. "Love's a
very definite emotion. Sure you don't want any of this
lamb?"
Stella didn't bother to answer the question. "If you've
never been in love, how do you know?"
"I've never been to Turkey, but I'm sure it's there."
With a laugh, Stella picked up her coffee. "Damn, Ariel,
you've always got an answer. Tell me about the script."
"Oh, God." Ariel put down her fork, and leaning her
elbows on the table, folded her hands. "It's the best
thing I've ever read. I want that part. I'm going to get
that part," she added with something that was apart from
confidence. It was simple fact. "I swear, I've been
waiting for the character of Rae to come along. She's
heartless," Ariel continued, resting her chin on her
folded hands. "Complex, selfish, cold, insecure. A part
like that…" She trailed off with a shake of her
head. "And the story," she added on a long breath as
her mind jumped from one aspect to the next. "It's
nearly as cold and heartless as she is, but it gets to you."
"Booth DeWitt," Stella mused. "It's rumored that
he based the character of Rae on his ex-wife."
"He didn't gloss it over either. If he's telling it
straight, she put him through hell. In any case," she
said, as she began to eat again, "it's the best piece of
work that's come my way. I'm going to read for it in a
couple of days."
"TV movie," Stella said thoughtfully. "Quality
television with DeWitt writing and Marshell producing. You'd
have our own producer at your feet if you got it. Boy, what
a boost for the ratings."
"He's already playing politics." With a small frown,
Ariel broke off a chunk of baklava. "He got me an
invitation to a party tonight at Marshell's condo. DeWitt's
supposed to be there. From what I hear, he's got the last
say on casting."
"He's got a reputation for wanting to push his own
buttons," Stella agreed. "So why the frown?"
"Politics're like rain in April—you know it's got
to happen, but it's messy and annoying." Then she
shrugged the thought away as she did anything unavoidable.
In the end, from what she knew of Booth DeWitt, she'd earn
the part on her own merit. If there was one thing Ariel had
an abundance of, it was confidence. She'd always needed it.