Her Determined Husband

Theo strode out of the room, leaving Kirsten staring at Cal with ill-disguised fury. ‘What does he mean…that’s settled? I haven’t agreed to anything.’

‘It’s not really a big deal. You were going to go to that première anyway.’ Cal shrugged.

‘Yes, with Jason—’

‘I’m sure Jason will get over the disappointment,’ Cal said wryly. ‘But it doesn’t sound like the studio will. I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty Saturday.’ He turned to leave and then looked back at her. ‘By the way…I was only joking about the cocoa,’ he said with a grin. ‘It’s the pyjamas that I hate. I’d much prefer you in the outfit you’re wearing now.’

CHAPTER THREE

THEY were in Kirsten’s bedroom amidst chaos. The dressing table was cluttered with a wild assortment of jars, make-up and face creams, all in aid of Kirsten’s last-minute effort to look her best, and the bed was strewn with Chloe’s hairdressing equipment.

She’d planned to wear a long red dress to the première tonight. But that was when she had thought she was going with Jason. Her change of escort had thrown her into a total panic, and at the last minute she’d changed her mind about the red dress, rejecting it for being too daring. If it weren’t for Chloe’s kind offer to do her hair and help her get ready she would probably be really on the last minute by now, she thought.

‘Thanks for helping, Chloe,’ she said. ‘I did think, right up to last night, that I’d be able to get out of this ridiculous charade. I’ve tried to ring Sue Williams all week but each time I’ve been told she is unavailable and will ring me back but she never does. Of course, if it had been Cal phoning she would have snapped to attention. But Cal didn’t bother to phone her. Oh, no, Mr Cal McCormick could never be that decent. I swear he’s just going along with all this to annoy me.’

‘Hold still, for heaven’s sake!’ Chloe muttered, pushing Kirsten’s head further forward so that she could stick a few more hairgrips in the back of her hair.

‘The studio wouldn’t want to fall out with Cal. So if he had backed me up I’m sure they would have dropped the idea.’

‘Look on the bright side,’ Chloe mumbled through a mouthful of grips. ‘A lot of women would love to be seen on Cal McCormick’s arm. It won’t harm your career.’

‘No…just my mental health. I’ve had the most awful week with him at that studio, Chloe; you wouldn’t believe how irritating he can be. And tomorrow we have to go to San Francisco together, because the studio has booked us on the same flight. It’s just the last straw having to go out with him tonight as well.’

‘But you used to love him once…didn’t you?’ Chloe said softly. ‘He can’t be all bad.’

‘No…he’s not all bad,’ Kirsten admitted. She could feel her heart slamming against her chest as she thought about that question. ‘I did love him once…but it was a terrible mistake.’

‘So what were his good points?’ Chloe asked, trying to take her friend’s mind off the evening ahead.

‘I don’t know.’ Kirsten frowned; she didn’t want to think about his good points. She glanced sideways at the untidy room. ‘He was fanatically tidy.’

‘That’s not a good point.’ Chloe stuck the last of the grips in Kirsten’s hair. ‘There,’ she said with a certain amount of pleasure, ‘you can look now.’

Kirsten looked up and met her reflection in her dressing-table mirror in surprise. ‘Wow! Is that really me?’ She watched as Chloe lifted up a mirror to show her the back. She had wound her hair up into a very sophisticated chignon, which made Kirsten look extremely stylish and very feminine. ‘You’ve done a fantastic job, Chloe. Thank you. And my make-up is great too!’

‘I should have stuck to being a beautician, shouldn’t I?’ Chloe smiled. ‘At least I can make money out of that, unlike my acting career.’

Kirsten turned around to look at her friend. ‘Didn’t you get that part you auditioned for?’

Chloe shook her head. ‘I start back to work at the beauty shop next Monday.’

Kirsten regarded her sympathetically. ‘I’m so sorry, Chloe.’

Chloe shrugged. ‘I’ve got another audition tomorrow…so, who knows? I might get lucky. And at least I like my job at the beauty shop. It could be worse.’

‘Yes…like the job I got once as a singing waitress on rollerblades.’

‘I remember you telling me about that.’ Chloe laughed. ‘Was that around the time you first went out with Cal?’

‘No, I was successfully established as a singer when I first met Cal. Whereas his career in acting was just starting to take off.’

She was silent for a moment as she thought about that. ‘Things seemed so uncomplicated back then. He used to make me laugh…we had such fun together.’

‘So he did have some good points.’

‘Just a few,’ Kirsten admitted cautiously. She glanced at her wristwatch. ‘He’ll be here to pick me up soon. Are you sure I look all right?’ She stood up from the dressing table so that Chloe could run a critical eye over her.

She was wearing a long white dress with shoestring straps that crossed provocatively low on her back. The material was finest silk and it clung to her figure before falling to the floor with a side split that showed a glimpse of long leg. ‘You don’t think it’s too revealing?’

Chloe shook her head. ‘You look stunning.’ She tapped her fingers on the glossy magazines that she had brought with her into Kirsten’s room. ‘Just have a flick through these…they’re all wearing dresses like that to the premières now.’

The shrill ring of the doorbell cut through the silence of the apartment. Kirsten looked at her friend in alarm. ‘If that’s him he’s early!’

‘Keep him waiting, then,’ Chloe said, turning for the door. ‘I’ll go and let him in.’

Kirsten sat back down at the dressing table. She felt incredibly nervous, as if she had first-night jitters or something. This was a ridiculous situation, she thought angrily. Whoever had heard of being forced to date your ex-husband for publicity purposes? Hollywood was a weird place.

She heard Cal’s voice from the hallway and stared down at her hands…hands now devoid of the wedding ring she had once worn. ‘You must have loved him once.’ The words echoed through her mind.

She had thought she loved him…had thought that it was love at first sight.

They had met at a wedding. She had been a friend of the bride; he’d been a friend of the groom. She had glanced across the aisle of the church and their eyes had met. Right there and then she had fallen under his spell.

He had looked so handsome in his dark suit, and when he’d smiled at her she had felt herself blush to the roots of her hair. She remembered feeling pleased that she had been wearing a wide-brimmed hat so that she could dip her head and hide from his deeply provocative gaze.

‘Who’s that?’ she had whispered to her friend Charlotte, who had been sitting next to her. ‘No…don’t look yet…he’ll know I’m asking about him.’

Charlotte had peeped from under her own hat and then smiled. ‘That’s Cal McCormick…he’s an actor. He had a cameo role in the movie that made it big last summer. Apparently he’s very up-and-coming. According to the grapevine, definitely one to watch.’

‘I can agree with that.’ Kirsten had smiled and risked another glance across the aisle. ‘Who is he with?’ she had asked, looking at the attractive brunette by his side.

‘Maeve Ryan. She’s married to Brian Harris, the director. He’s a lot older than her, but apparently it’s been a match made in heaven as far as her acting career is concerned. I think Brian is working abroad; that’s why she’s here with Cal. They’re very good friends.’

They’d been more than just good friends, Kirsten thought angrily now. Trouble was, she had been too blind to see it, and by the time she’d woken up to the fact she and Cal had been married, and she had been seven months pregnant.

The baby wasn’t something Kirsten allowed herself to think about. It was too painful. Even now when her thoughts flitted over the subject she felt the raw thrust of emotion…a pain that had never healed.

She heard Chloe’s laughter emanating from the living room. Obviously Mr Smooth was working his charms again, she thought. She glanced at her watch and stood up. Might as well get this over with.