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Chapter One

‘Bethany! Bethany! Ms Lord!’ The calls and shouts ether in her brain, like there was only one voice screa her na every time a camera flash went off, until the red carpet under her feet turned into a kaleidoscope of twisting light and shade

Not the right red carpet, though Not the carpet that odforsaken city No, that red carpet was still two nights and about two hundred intervieay As et the hell out of town, she had to survive the press junket first She owed it to Neil, for taking a chance on her and giving her a shot at a new kind of role Hell, she’d even got to wear are froh heels

She kind of wished she had the armour on now, actually

But she didn’t She didn’t even have Liam Hunter, her co-star, beside her Perhaps his considerably higher celeb status would have attracted attention away fro star to be He’d been a good friend to her when she’d been finding her feet on set – and just a friend, whatever the press said!

She owed it to Neil and Liaet on with her job She couldn’t skip out on everyone now, just when the publicity ear

Even if she really, really wanted to And even if she knew that the reporters weren’t going to care about the film They only had one subject they wanted to ask Bethany Lord questions on this week And she needed to find out what the ansere, before she could figure out how much of them she could share

I need to talk to Megan

‘Bethany! Is it true? Did you arrange bail for your brother-in-law today?’

Bethany winced On the bright side, at least they weren’t all asking her if she was sleeping with Liam anymore

An ar, but close enough that she could feel its presence Dylan The security guard Neil had insisted she take with her to London She’d laughed at the idea when he’d first brought it up, but now it seeo than she had

She should be grateful to have hi and the questions and the cameras, she supposed But she wasn’t And if that rateful, spoilt little starlet, like the press would no doubt claim, well… she didn’t care Not this week This week, she’d earned some petty nastiness, even if it was only in her head

She just wanted to be alone She wanted to be able to visit London, see the sights, or even just veg out in her hotel suite without having a permanent shadow Soht she was doing so ‘inadvisable’

‘What about the assault charges, Bethany?’ Another journalist, A by the accent God, had they chased her here on the next plane, the ot hold of the story?

‘Nearly there,’ Dylan ht by her ear, his head bowed next to hers His short hair brushed against her temple, and despite herself, his nearness made her feel just a little safer Which she supposed was the point

Finally, the doors to the Chatsfield Hotel swung open before them, held by a smartly liveried staff member, and Bethany ducked inside, Dylan still pressed close behind her The doors were pushed closed, and suddenly a blissful silence echoed through Bethany’s aching head, punctured only by the sound of heels on the polished floors

‘Ms Lord,’ the approaching wo as if there wasn’t a horde of rabid paparazzi just outside the doors ‘I’ your stay at the Chatsfield If you and your staff would care to follow s have already been delivered to your suite’

The trappings of fame, Bethany had discovered over the past few years, often caused more bother than they orth But the ability to skip check in and have her bags unpacked before she even arrived – not to er than her first apartment – were definitely worth it

Dylan followed the uncomfortable in the ornately decorated space Bethany found herself staring at the way his black-suited form repeated in endless reflections on the lass and she looked away again

Just ignore hiuys are trained to be unobtrusive You shouldn’t even really know he’s there unless you need him

Well, Neil clearly had no idea what he was talking about Hoas she supposed to ignore six foot five of solid muscle and dark eyes?

She looked up at the lasses, so all she could see was dark lenses Was that so she couldn’t stare at hi at her? She kind of hoped it was the latter, which was ridiculous

She sighed, and Valerie gave her a sy journey?’

‘So like that,’ Bethany said, as if they both didn’t know exactly earing her down today Staff at a hotel like the Chatsfield would know everything about their celebrity guests Valerie had probably been reading up on Bethany and her family before she came down to meet them Whichabout Bethany right now than she did herself

Sighing again, Bethany looked down at her feet, since that seemed the only safe place not to meet someone’s eyes Finally, the elevator ca sound as the doors opened Thank God

‘You’re in one of my favourite suites,’ Valerie said, perma-smile still in place ‘I do hope you like it’

‘I’racefully as she could when herfor people to just leave her alone, just for a while Just long enough to process the last twenty four hours, to cal brain, to ease away the tension in her neck and shoulders Just long enough for her to get back in control, and be the Bethany Lord everyone expected her to be

Because, right now? The persona earing thin

Valerie opened the door to a tastefully elegant suite of roo table It was beautiful, if not necessarily coured it didn’t matter; she probably wouldn’t see ht, her schedule was packed solid for the entirety of her stay What was left of the evening was her one chance to regroup and refocus To prepare herself to get through the next few days, until she could get hoan…

Megan She really had to call Megan

‘Would you like ?’ Valerie asked, as Bethany too

k in the room ‘The Chatsfield has connections at the best restaurants, theatres, clubs—’

‘No No, thank you’ That was the last thing she wanted Too many people, tooher everylate, and she was about ready to pass out Or she would be, if her brain would just stop whirring

‘Actually, I think I’d rather have a quiet evening in’ Her gaze flickered al in the corner Dylan had theblind between two fingers, peering outside, apparently unconcerned by their conversation What was he looking at, anyway?

Valerie followed her line of sight, and gave her a knowing smile ‘I understand entirely’

Bethany’s eyes widened ‘No, I et sorew ‘Oh never mind’

‘Don’t worry, Ms Lord Everyone here at the Chatsfield has signed a confidentiality agreeuests Our discretion is assured’

Yeah, because that alorked Bethany knew better than to rely on other people to keep her secrets Just one an

‘Trust ossip ‘I’ht that requires discretion All I want is a quiet evening and an early night Alone’

‘I understand entirely,’ Valerie said, her toneit clear that she totally didn’t ‘Now, if there’s nothing more you need…?’

‘I’m fine, thank you’ All she needed was to be left alone Who would have thought that could be so hard?

Valerie backed out of the roo closed behind her, and suddenly Bethany was alone with the suit full of muscles

‘I don’t suppose I can persuade you to leaveuncertain in what should be her own space All she wanted to do was strip down to her pants, pull on the oversized tee shirt she slept in, and crash out watching trashy TV for the night She could call roolass of wine, a bubble bath… whatever she wanted