Hollywood Harlot

Chapter 8

Jake stood tall above her, glaring down.

“I’m just warming up,” Bella said defensively.

Jake eyed her up and down, no doubt taking in Alex’s coat around her shoulders, and then cast his attention to the chef.

“With him?” Jake jerked his thumb in Alex’s direction.

Alex stood up and reached out his hand. “Jake, good to see you again,” he said casually.

Jake ignored the hand. “You may return to the party,” he commanded, removing the coat from Bella’s shoulders and handing it to Alex.

Alex took the coat but looked at Bella for confirmation. “You okay here?” he asked.

Jake rolled his eyes but Bella smiled warmly at Alex. “I’ll be just fine. Thank you again for your coat. I’ll see you in there.”

Jake snorted and shuffled his feet as Alex headed up the stairs.

The second the chef had climbed the stairs, Jake turned back and looked at her.

“Seriously, Bella, I can’t figure you out! You were warm and sweet one minute, and then disappearing on me and hanging all over some other guy the next! What am I supposed to do with that?!” He ran his hands agitatedly through his hair.

“I’m not even going to dignify that with a response, because you know just as well as I do that I was doing no such thing,” Bella began, “But your sister…”

“My sister. Of course.” All of the anger drained from him as Jake slumped down in the chair next to her and patted his lap.

“Come sit?” He asked.

Bella considered it. “I think I’m still upset with you,” she said.

Jake nodded. “I don’t want you doing anything you’re not comfortable with. So tell me, what exactly did Jess say to try to scare you off?” he asked.

Bella sighed. “First of all, who is Paul Sawyer?”

“Well, that was actually my sister’s doing, too,” he said. “After Rachel, things were really hard for me, and I didn’t do much of anything, really. So on a whim, and out of desperation to try to get me back out there living life again, I guess, Jess signed me up for this show called ‘The One.’ Have you heard of it?”

Bella’s mouth dropped open a little. “I don’t live under a rock, Jake! Of course I’ve heard of it. I’ve never seen it, but I know about it.”

“You’ve never seen it? I don’t hear that very often,” he said warily.

She shrugged. “My room at the motel doesn’t have a TV, and before that, I was busy I guess.”

“Huh,” he responded. “Anyway, we filmed two episodes and I just couldn’t do it anymore. I wasn’t ready. It wasn’t right. So I left, right in the middle of the episode, which caused a bit of a social media uproar. Nobody had left the show before. And before I knew it, I had agents and scouts calling me, and I started getting consistent work. It took off pretty quickly.”

“So who’s Paul Sawyer, then?” Bella asked.

“I am. It’s my stage name.”

Bella stared at his cozy looking lap, and his long, lean thighs. She wiggled her bottom a little, anticipating how good it would feel to snuggle up on him like that.

“Why not keep Jake McGreen? I like your name.”

Jake smiled at her. “I do too. And I don’t really know why they switched my name for the show, but my agent told me to stick to it and it worked, because I’ve been working nonstop since.”

Finally giving in, Bella walked to him and sat down in his lap. She straddled him and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning toward his face.

“So, you’re Jake McGreen and Paul Sawyer?”

“No. For you, I’m just Jake McGreen,” he said.

Bella furrowed her brow. “Okay, but your sister also implied that I’m just here for your money, and the truth is…”

Jake placed one finger gently on her lips. “Shh,” he hushed her. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“It’s just that…”

“No,” he interrupted again.

“Jake, let me talk!” she scolded him. “She said I’m just here for money, and the truth of the matter is you are paying me to be here.”

“Don’t worry about that at all. My sister is three minutes older than me, and she’s felt the need to mother me her whole life. This is just her trying to protect me, in her mind, but I know you better than that, Bella, and I have no problem with our financial arrangement at all. Remember, I’m the one who hired you.”

“Okay…” she said, still doubtful.

“Less talking, more kissing,” he said, pulling her straddle deeper into him. She removed her arms from behind his head and placed them flat against his rock hard chest. She gently rubbed her thumb back and forth over his pec, and she began to lean toward him and they met in the middle. As she approached his magnificent face, she parted her lips slightly, inviting his warm tongue to come explore inside her mouth. She wiggled her bottom a little more and felt the hard proof of his desire for her pressed up against her thighs. She smiled and deepened their kiss. They kissed for five minutes, lost in ecstasy, Bella warming up from the bottoms of her feet right up to the tip of her head.

Finally, Jake regretfully pulled back. “There’s nothing I’d rather be doing right now than sit here by the fire with you, kissing you, but I’m afraid we need to make an appearance at the party. And my dad would like to formally meet you, too.”

Bella pouted but dutifully stood up. “To be continued, then,” she teased, and they walked to the stairs together.

****

When Jake and Bella approached the family table at the party arm in arm, he pulled a chair out across the table from Jess and pushed Bella in when she sat down.

“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not,” Jess said, shrugging half heartedly. “He’s my brother and I’ll always look out for him. You understand. Do you have brothers and sisters?”

Bella looked down at her hands in her lap. “I don’t,” she said quietly, still looking down.

“Are you close to your mom and dad, then?” Jess continued interrogating her.

“My mom passed away when I was seven, so it was just my dad and I,” Bella said. She started wringing her hands in her lap and Jake gently placed his hand on top of hers.

“You close to your dad then?” Jess continued.

“That’s enough,” Jake said sternly. To Bella he said, “You don’t have to answer that. Let’s go grab some appetizers.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled Bella from the table, who barely had time to smile a quick goodbye to the other people sitting there, whom she hadn’t even met yet.

“Jesus,” Jake muttered as he led her to a banquet table across the room. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her. I’m sorry she’s acting like that.”

“It’s okay,” she said.

“It’s not, and I’m going to talk to her,” Jake said as he grabbed two small plates and handed one to her. “But, Bella, I had no idea about your mom. I’m sorry.”

Bella nodded. “Thank you. I am too. I was only seven, so I don’t have a ton of memories, but the ones that I do have remind me of how awesome she was. And how much I miss her.”

Jake gently squeezed her elbow and then the two filled their plates with delicious looking bite sized snacks. They were walking away from the table when Jake’s dad began vigorously waving from across the room. Jake smiled and they altered their course to head in that direction.

The moment they approached the older McGreen, he stepped forward and embraced Jake in a giant bear hug. Bella felt just a twinge of regret and jealousy, but tried to shrug it off and cover it with a huge smile.

“Dad, I’d like you to meet Bella officially. Bella, this is my father, James.”

“Bella!” He said warmly, pulling her up into a big hug of her own. Bella stiffened at first, then relaxed into the older man’s bear hug. It felt nice to be hugged so tightly. He gave her an extra squeeze and then held her out at arm’s length.

“Now, let me get a good look at you,” James said jovially. He stared right into her eyes and smiled. “Beautiful, inside and out!” he boomed.

Bella blushed and looked down. Jake took a step closer to her and put his arm around her waist loosely.

“That’s enough, Dad,” he said. “You seem to be enjoying yourself quite a bit.”

Bella glanced at the beer in his hand. James grinned even wider.

“And why not? My baby girl is getting married to the man of her dreams in our beautiful lodge. My Jess survived a horrible car crash, Thank God. And my prodigal son has returned to the castle!”

Jake laughed. “Now I know you’ve had too many,” he said. “You know I’m just here for the week. But I am glad you’re having a great time.”

“That I am, my boy, that I am. And while we are on the subject of it, please go fetch your old man another, and I’ll speak here with Bella for just a bit.”

Jake started to shake his head, but Bella put her hand on his. “It’s fine, honey, go ahead,” she all but purred, remembering her job was to make his parents believe Jake was happily committed to her.

Jake tilted his head. “Are you sure?”

“She’s sure, she’s sure,” James interrupted them, so Jake gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and then headed off toward the bar.

Bella watched his back as he retreated to the bar.

“I’m glad to see you’re looking well,” James said, pulling her attention back to him.

Bella shrugged and blushed. “I’m so sorry, sir, to cause such a fuss…”

James shook his head and gently clapped her on the shoulder. “I won’t say another word about it, because I’m sure you’re mortified, though I promise you there’s no reason to be. But I just wanted to say I’m glad it all worked out and let’s move on.”

Bella nodded, grateful for his kind words.

“You know, I know he always brings an escort to these things, but you’re different,” James continued.

Bella’s eyes opened wide in surprise. She was speechless.

James chuckled softly. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell on him. I know he does it to make his mother happy, and I don’t want to ruin that for him. But I can see he really cares about you. And he really hasn’t cared about anyone since Rachel died, so I just have to ask you, please be careful with my son.”

Bella took a step back. Her mind was reeling. “Rachel died?” she asked incredulously.

James glanced down at his beer. “Jake doesn’t talk about it much. But yes, it was a car accident. She was the only one involved, but she died on impact.”

“Oh, how horrible. I had no idea.” Bella glanced back toward the bar, and looked at Jake talking easily to the bartender. He glanced at her and winked. No wonder he’d said yes when she’d asked if he’d been hurt. He must have been devastated.

“I’m only telling you because like I said, I can tell you’re different, for him at least. So just be easy on him, would you?” As James was talking, Carolyn approached. “And there’s my beautiful bride!” James gushed, once again raising his voice to a boisterous yell. Carolyn came up to him and he immediately wrapped his arms around her waist.

Carolyn smiled. “Bella, so good to see you again. Is this goofy old man talking your ear off?”

Jake returned and stood next to her, grabbing her hand while handing his dad a beer. Bella squeezed his hand gently and smiled at him.

“Spring Creek Brewing?”

“I’ll have to take you down there, it’s downtown. Great food, great beer,” Jake said with a smile.

Bella studied him carefully. She’d never have guessed the pain that was hiding behind those deep blue eyes. She knew he was skittish about love and relationships, but now knowing he’d lost the love of his life in a fatal car accident…she understood.

“I’d like that,” she smiled warmly at him.

“It’s a date then,” Jake winked at her and the butterflies in her stomach fluttered. He was gorgeous, that much was certain. And he was stirring feelings in her that she hadn’t felt for a long time, feelings she’d purposefully turned off for her own survival.

“It’s just for a week, and it’s just a business arrangement,” she reminded herself. She couldn’t allow feelings to cause her any more pain than she’d already endured in her life. She wouldn’t allow herself to care for this man. Business only.

Suddenly, a soft chime sounded throughout the Great Hall.

“Dinner is officially beginning. Time for everyone to take their places,” Carolyn said smoothly.

Jake offered Bella his arm and she dutifully wrapped her arm through his. The moment she connected to him, she felt a burst of heat hum through her body. It was going to be harder than she wanted to keep things strictly business with him.

“Shall we?” He said with a big, goofy grin.

She smiled back. “We shall,” she said, but deep down inside, she wondered exactly how far she was going to be willing to go with this beautiful, mysterious man.