His L.A. Cinderella

The woman inside her so lacking in self-confidence blossomed under the simple, if unfounded praise. She could feel her skin warming, could feel her heart racing—could feel her smile breaking loose…

Then a sultry female voice sounded above her head. ‘As always flattery will get you everywhere, Irish boy…’

Whipping her head round, Cassidy found herself staring up at a face she recognised from movie billboards and TV screens. The woman wasn’t just beautiful, she was perfection. Even without airbrushing.

When Will pushed his chair back, the actress stepped over to him and kissed each of his cheeks, European-style. ‘I heard you got a green light for your pet project. Bravo, you!’

‘You know what I had for breakfast this morning too?’

‘Not in a long time.’ She aimed a wink at Cassidy, who smiled weakly in return. ‘Not that you haven’t been invited often enough…’

Will remembered his manners. ‘Angie—this is Cassidy Malone. Cass, this is—’

‘Angelique Warden. Yes, I know.’ Cassidy made the smile more genuine as she stood up and stretched a hand across the table. ‘It’s nice to meet you. I loved your last movie.’

‘Shame the box office didn’t feel the same way. But thank you.’ Her eyes narrowed momentarily. ‘Wait a second. You’re not Cassidy Malone as in Ryan and Malone?’

Cassidy’s gaze slid briefly to Will and then back. ‘A long time ago…’

‘Then the rumour is true? They picked up the option?’

Will nodded, and glanced around him as if it was a state secret. He even lowered his voice. ‘It’s not been announced yet, so—’

‘Oh, you don’t have to tell me, you idiot. How exciting!’

Suddenly Cassidy was much more interesting to her than before, and a matching set of European cheek kisses were bestowed on her before Cassidy could warn her of her cold.

‘So nice to meet you. Make him bring you to dinner. I have a million and one questions to ask about the Ryan and Malone years. Will thinks being enigmatic makes him more interesting.’

‘Not everyone likes their every move reported in the dailies.’

Still blinking in stunned amazement at having been kissed by one of the highest paid actresses on the globe, Cassidy found her attention caught by the drawl of Will’s newfound American twang. The words made her scowl in recrimination. He’d been many things back in the day, but cruel had never been one of them. The famous Angelique Warden had hardly had an easy time with the press in the last year.

But Angelique laughed huskily and batted his upper arm with her designer purse, pouting and rolling her eyes. ‘Yes, but it’s such a joy for the rest of us. Dinner. Saturday. Bring your partner. I’m going to learn all your darkest secrets.’

‘No, you’re not.’

‘I’ll ply her with alcohol if I have to.’ She winked at Cassidy for the second time and Cassidy was immediately charmed by her.

In fairness, if she plied the only Irish native on the planet who couldn’t hold her drink with alcohol then she would get everything she’d probably never wanted to hear. Half a glass of wine and Cassidy’s tongue tended to take on a life of its own.

‘No, you won’t. I need her lucid for the next few weeks.’

‘Was he always so serious?’

Cassidy looked at Will, found him staring at her with a disconcertingly unreadable expression, and her answer kind of popped out. ‘No. He wasn’t.’

He stared at her until she could feel her toes curling in her shoes.

So she bravely lifted her chin in challenge.

After what felt like a very long time, Angelique laughed musically. ‘Okay, then. Well, you two kids have fun. I can highly recommend the scallops. Saturday, Irish boy—you hear me?’

‘I hear you.’

He waved an arm to indicate Cassidy should sit back down, and she was glad of it. She really was starting to feel light-headed. Maybe she should have dragged herself out of bed for breakfast after all?

‘I’ll call on Saturday and tell her we can’t make it.’ He re-opened his menu. ‘I think we should start brainstorming tomorrow and get something down on paper over the weekend.’

That fast? Great. Now she felt nauseous as well.

Hiding partially behind her auburn hair as she lowered her chin to scan the menu, she cleared her throat and asked, ‘You have any ideas?’

‘A few.’

It was like pulling teeth. ‘Any you’d care to share?’

When she glanced at him she saw the slight upward pull on the corners of his mouth before he answered. ‘Not here, no.’

Cassidy’s gaze moved from side to side and she lowered her voice to a stage whisper. ‘Are they watching?’

‘They?’ His gaze rose, curiosity lifting his brows.

‘The script gremlins…’

There was a second of silence, and then a brief rumble of low laughter broke free. ‘Haven’t changed, have you?’

Oh, how little he knew.

They managed small talk after that. The latest movies Will’s company had produced, the differences in living in California compared to Ireland…They even segued from there to the weather. But she couldn’t help missing the ease they’d once had with each other. Angelique was right—Will had got serious with age. It made Cassidy feel like even more of an idiot. She couldn’t seem to manage a conversation without a wisecrack or teasing him the way she’d used to, and it added to her feeling of awkwardness. Then she hit rock bottom in the embarrassment stakes when he walked her back to the hotel.

The air really was thinner in California. And it really was incredibly warm. Food hadn’t got rid of her light-headedness. Her nose felt more blocked than ever, her throat hurt, and her voice was beginning to fade…

Then, back in the foyer of the beautiful hotel, surrounded by beautiful people in expensive clothes, Will turned to say goodbye and the world began to spin. The edges of her vision blurred—she swayed. And, as she had figuratively speaking so many years ago, Cassidy fell at his feet.

She came to with her head resting against Will’s hard chest, his warmth surrounding her. He must have sat her up. He had his arm around her. Blinking the world into focus, her eyes immediately sought his.

He was frowning. ‘What happened?’

‘If I had to guess, I’d say I fell down,’ she informed him dryly.

‘Are you sick?’

‘Bit of a cold. I spent the morning in bed.’

His mouth narrowed into a thin line as he held a glass of water to her lips. ‘You should have said something.’

Allowing the water to wash the dryness from her mouth and throat, she glanced around at the sea of interested bystanders and immediately felt colour rising in her cheeks. Great. The never-ending humiliation continued. It reminded her of that time in high school, before she’d had laser surgery, when she’d forgotten her glasses and got into the wrong car outside the school gates. She’d held a five-minute conversation with a complete stranger before she’d realised what she’d done…