Seeing the front desk’s number, he cringed. “Sorry, I have to…”
She nodded and he answered.
“Calvin here.” He listened to Stacey explain how the cake for the main event tonight had gone missing in the kitchen and that they needed him to help find it and to explain to the Schaffers that their cake was MIA.
After hanging up, he turned to Bella. “I’m sorry. Raincheck?” he asked her.
“Yes.” She smiled and started getting up. He took her elbow in his hands and helped her up.
“How about after dinner?” he asked. “I can meet you?” He glanced around. “How about at the gazebo?” She was silent for a moment, thinking. “I’d like to help you. If you’re going to be staying here, under our protection, maybe it would help if I knew the entire story?” He tilted his head. “Or I could call your brother…”
“No.” She shook her head quickly. “Eight o’clock. The gazebo,” she agreed. Then she walked away quickly.
Chapter Five
Bella had only agreed to meet Calvin later that evening because of the look in his eyes when she’d been talking to him. The look of pure concern couldn’t be faked. That and, well, she’d been really spooked about the call.
She’d had several since she’d broken things off with Michael. They’d gotten darker each time.
It was true, she’d changed her cell number a few times now, each time only giving it out to family and Maggie, her agent.
She knew she could trust Calvin since her brother and Sarah trusted the man to run the resort. There was also the fact that she’d had a major crush on him all those years ago.
In the past few years, almost everyone she ran into would recognize her, and their eyes would grow large. She could tell right away that they were starstruck. Calvin didn’t act that way around her and it was so refreshing.
Calvin didn’t show any signs of caring who she was even though she’d seen the spark of attraction behind his dark eyes. Attraction that probably matched that in her own eyes.
She spent the rest of her day up in her room, strumming her guitar as she worked on a few new songs. She tried to get the deep voice out of her head, but the stress reflected in the music she played.
Finally, she gave up and turned on the television to watch an old sitcom so she could laugh instead of worry.
She had dinner delivered to her room. She didn’t want to deal with anyone else at the moment. After eating, she felt much better and picked up the guitar again. When she was in the mood to play, she liked as few distractions as possible.
She’d set an alarm so she wouldn’t work past the time to meet Calvin and had given it a lot of thought as to what she was going to tell him and what she wasn’t.
As she walked down the stairs, out the front lobby area, and down the dark pathway, she tried to settle her nerves. She didn’t know if she was more anxious about seeing Calvin or telling him everything that had been going on with her over the past few months.
The moment she stepped outside, she realized she should have looked out the window before heading out. The warm sunny day had turned misty and cooler, making her wish she had grabbed a light jacket. She stepped up her pace and, by the time she made it to the gazebo, she was warmer.
Calvin was there, leaning against the railing, looking out over the dark water. When he heard her approach, he turned and smiled at her and her steps faltered.
There were strings of white lights hanging from the eves of the small circular covering, which highlighted the brightness of the man’s smile.
He was still wearing dark gray dress pants and a crisp white button-up shirt, but he’d removed the tie he’d worn earlier and had rolled up the sleeves of the shirt. He looked even sexier than when he’d sat with her during breakfast.
“Did you enjoy your breakfast?” he asked smoothly with a smile that told her he knew full well that she’d taken his advice and ordered the French toast.
“I did,” she answered, stopping directly beside him. “Then again, I don’t think I’ve ever had anything bad come from the kitchen here.”
He nodded in agreement. “Want to sit?” He motioned to the bench. When she sat down, he frowned over at her. “You should have worn a jacket.” He picked up his jacket, which he’d tossed over the railing, and gently placed it over her shoulders.
“Thank you.” She sighed and enjoyed the instant warmth and the sexy male scent that surrounded her. “I didn’t look outside before heading down.”
He waited, watching her. “Busy day?”
She smiled. “I finished working on a couple of new songs.” She felt the flood of accomplishment that always followed the completion of a song.
“Wow, good.” He tilted his head slightly. “I’ve always wondered what the process was.” He moved slightly until his eyes met hers. “I mean, do you play while writing or write, then create the notes to match?”
She shrugged. “For me, I strum the guitar and the lyrics just come to me. Sometimes,” she admitted.
She could tell he was skirting around the subject and decided to jump right in.
“I mentioned Michael.” She took a deep breath. “That I’d gone out on a few dates with him. Well, those dates were more like… promotional opportunities. At least I thought they were.” She remembered the excitement when Maggie had told her about the deal she’d made.
Bella’s song “Someday Hope” had been selected as the main tune in the soundtrack for Michael’s latest movie, Rivers Crossing.
Maggie had arranged for Bella to attend the premiere with the director. She’d been so excited meeting and being around all the big-name stars that she’d allowed the bright lights and stars to blind her for the entire night. She’d overlooked the man’s obvious faults.
When he’d called her directly and asked her to attend another event with him, she’d jumped at the chance.
Naturally, pictures of them from the events had been plastered everywhere. She couldn’t go to a checkout counter without seeing her and Michael’s faces along with headlines that hinted at how far their relationship had come in such a short time.
By the second date, the bright lights and blinders she’d worn were quickly fading. They’d been removed completely that last night when he’d driven her home himself.
She’d made it clear to him that she had an early morning recording session and needed to get home so she could get plenty of rest. But instead of heading towards her apartment downtown, he’d turned onto the highway and started heading towards the Hollywood hills.
“What happened?” Calvin asked, and she realized she hadn’t stopped talking.
Her eyes moved up to his instead of her fingers, which she’d been staring at while she’d told him everything.
Swallowing, she continued.
“He pulled up in front of his house, one of those massive mansions that hangs on the side of the hills overlooking the city.” She remembered feeling helpless and cornered. “He talked me into going inside and tried to convince me…”
Calvin shifted and broke her attention. Shaking her head, she sighed.
“I didn’t sleep with him. At first, I thought I wanted to, but then, he… changed.” She shook her head, unable to explain exactly what she’d witnessed.