Star of His Heart. Brenda Jackson
artist whose work was showcased in a number of galleries.
Her sister was worried that with being a makeup artist and wardrobe designer by day and a painter at night, Rachel had no time for a love life. But that was the least of Rachel’s concerns. She was only twenty-six and wasn’t ready for a serious involvement with any man.
In her early twenties she’d dated a lot, but to this day she couldn’t admit to ever falling in love. She would like to believe such a thing could happen for her. Her aunt and uncle had a loving relationship, and she’d been told her parents had had one, too. Regrettably, they had been killed in a plane accident before her second birthday.
Rachel eased out of her chair when she heard conversation outside her door and glanced at the schedule posted on the wall. She wasn’t supposed to work on anyone for another hour or so. Who could be infringing on her free time?
There was a knock on the trailer door, followed by a turn of the knob. Rachel fought to keep the frown off her face when Paige stuck her head in. The twenty-four-year-old woman had gotten hired during the middle of the first season. For some reason they had rubbed each other the wrong way that first day and things hadn’t improved since. Rachel still didn’t know the reason Paige disliked her, but figured it had to do with Rachel’s amicable relationship with Frasier and John.
“So you’re here,” Paige said in a voice that for some reason gave Rachel the feeling Paige wished she wasn’t.
Determined to present a friendly facade despite Paige’s funky attitude, she smiled and said, “Yes, I’m here. Was there something you wanted?”
“Frasier wants to go ahead and shoot the next scene as soon as lunch is over, which means you need to get started on this guy right away.”
Paige came inside the trailer, followed by the hunky and sexy Ethan Chambers. The moment Rachel’s gaze clashed with those blue-gray eyes of his, she knew for the first time in her life how it felt to be totally mesmerized. And nothing could have prepared her for her hormones suddenly igniting into something akin to mind-blowing lust.
Chapter Two
So this was where his sexy pixie had gone to, Ethan thought, entering the trailer and glancing around. He pretended interest in everything inside the trailer except for the woman who’d been in the back of his mind since he’d first seen her that morning. And now here she was.
“Rachel, this is Ethan Chambers and starting this season he’ll be a regular on the show as Dr. Tyrell Perry. Ethan, this is Rachel Wellesley, the makeup artist for the show. She’s the wardrobe designer as well.”
Again Ethan picked up a bit of scorn in Paige’s voice, although she had a smile plastered on her face. But then it was evident her smile was only for him.
He crossed the room and extended his hand. “Nice meeting you, Rachel.”
“Ditto, Ethan. Welcome to Paging the Doctor.”
The moment she placed her hand in his he was tempted to bring it to his lips, something he had gotten used to doing while living abroad in France. And when she smiled up at him the temptation increased. She had such a pretty smile.
“John wants him ready for his scene in thirty minutes. I’ll be back to get him, so make sure he’s on time.”
Both Ethan and Rachel glanced over at Paige and watched as she exited the trailer, leaving them alone. Ethan returned his gaze to Rachel once again and couldn’t help asking, “What’s got her panties in a wad?”
Rachel couldn’t help the laughter that flowed from her mouth, and when he joined in, she knew immediately she was going to like this guy. But then, what wasn’t there to like?
Up close, Ethan Chambers was even more handsome than he had been across the room earlier. With him on the show, this would be a pretty good season. She couldn’t wait to see them shoot his scene.
She finally answered him. “I have no idea,” she said. “But we won’t worry ourselves about it. My job is to get you ready for your scene.”
“But what about your lunch? Shouldn’t you be eating something?”
“I should be asking you the same thing, but to answer your question, usually I bring lunch from home and eat while taking care of business matters,” she said, thinking about the order she had downloaded off her iPhone. Libby’s, an art gallery in Atlanta, had just requested several of her paintings to display.
He nodded. “I’m too nervous to eat so I asked if I could go ahead and get the makeup part taken care of. I apologize if I’m infringing on your time.”
She waved off his words. “You’re not, so just go ahead and take the chair while I pull your file.”
“My file?”
“Yes. Sorry, I can be anal when it comes to being organized, but there’s no other way to work with Frasier and John. I have a file of all the scenes you’ll be doing today, what you’ll need to wear and the extent of lighting needed for that particular shot, although the latter is definitely changeable on the set. That gives me an idea of what kind of makeup I need to apply.”
She tried not to notice how he slid into the chair; specifically, how his muscular thighs straddled it before his perfectly shaped backside came in contact with the cushioned seat. She grabbed the folder off the rack and tried to ignore the dark hair that dusted his muscular arms. However, something caught her attention. A tattoo of a cluster of purple grapes draped above his wrist.
“Grapes?” she asked, meeting his gaze and finding it difficult to breathe while looking into his eyes.
“Yes. It’s there to remind me of home.”
“Home?” she echoed, breaking eye contact to reach over and hand him a smock to put on.
“Yes. Napa Valley.”
She recalled the time she’d visited the area years ago as part of a high school field trip. “I’ve been to Napa Valley once. It’s beautiful.”
“Yes, it is. I hated leaving it,” he said after putting on the smock.
She glanced over and met those killer eyes again. “Then why did you?”
He would be justified to tell her it wasn’t her business, she quickly thought, but for some reason she knew he wouldn’t do that. They had met just moments ago, but she felt she knew him, or knew men like him. No, she corrected herself. She didn’t know any man like him, and how she could say that with such certainty, she wasn’t sure.
“I left to pursue my dream. Unfortunately, it wasn’t connected to my family business,” he said.
Now that she understood. Her sister and uncle always thought she would join them in the family business, but she hadn’t. Limelight Entertainment Management had been founded by her father, John Wellesley, and his brother Jacob. It had been the dream they shared and made into reality, with the purpose of representing and building the careers of African American actors during a time when there were many prejudices in Hollywood. Today the company was still very highly respected and had helped many well-known stars jumpstart their careers.
“It’s a nice tattoo, but I’ll need to use some cream to completely cover it for the shoot. Dr. Perry doesn’t have a tattoo,” she explained, pressing a button that eased the chair into a reclining position
“That’s no problem. Do whatever you have to do, Rachel.”
It wasn’t what he’d said but how he’d said it that sent sensuous chills coursing through her. For a timeless moment, they stared at each other as heat flooded her in a way it never had before. As the flames of awareness licked at her body, somehow a part of her—the sensible part—remained unscathed. In a nagging voice it reminded her that she needed to get back on track and prep Ethan for his scene.
She swallowed and broke eye contact with him again as she turned to reach for her makeup