Hot Docs On Call: Hollywood Heartthrobs

CHAPTER FOUR

THE RESTAURANT WAS nothing like she’d imagined. It had basic melamine tables, white plastic chairs that she’d seen in her local two-dollar shop, and a fog of steam fragranced with seriously delicious smells of garlic and sesame oil and fish sauce.

Multicoloured paper lanterns hung from the ceiling, giving off a rosy red-orange glow, and squished in at each table were crowds of people Lola thought must be Thai nationals all chattering and laughing away in a language she didn’t understand. An oddly incongruous but perfectly quirky soundtrack of heavy rock pierced the air. Who’d have imagined a place like this? It was like being back in Bangkok.

‘Like it? This place is like a second home to me now,’ Jake said, as he squashed in next to her at a shared table. There was no room for embarrassment here, it was a case of either sitting close or closer. And she wasn’t sure if it was the cloying heat in the room or just being next to him, but she needed a cooling drink. Fast. He ran a finger down the pictures on the menu. ‘I recommend the Pad Thai or the house cashew chicken. Perfection. The best Thai food on the West Coast. Fancy a beer? Wine?’ He beckoned to a male server who came over, smiled and welcomed him like an old friend.

‘Mr Jake. Nice to see you again. Your usual?’

‘Hi, Panit, yes, please. And some...?’ He looked over at Lola.

Her mouth watering, she scoured the menu for her favourite. ‘Oh, yes. A beer, pork larb and a green papaya salad, please.’

Jake leaned back and looked at her, laughing. ‘There was me thinking I was going to wow you with unusual flavours and yet you know more about it than me.’

‘I travelled around Asia in my uni holidays...vacations. Vietnam, Laos and Thailand.’ It had taken her days to convince her parents to let her take time off. They’d had jobs lined up for her, but she didn’t do them. Her first strike for freedom. ‘It was brilliant. Madly busy but brilliant. And I learnt so much about the food. We even had cooking lessons over there. I came back ten pounds heavier.’ She patted her hips where the noodles and rice still clung in lumps and bumps. Her dad had gone mad about that too. You can never be too thin, he always said.

‘You look great to me.’ Jake’s eyes wandered to her hands, then slowly up her body until blood rushed to her cheeks just at the moment his gaze hit hers, and there it lingered for just long enough that she felt unsettled. There was something happening—and she knew it wasn’t the magical lighting or the steamy atmosphere, and it certainly wasn’t the beer because she hadn’t had any yet—but there was definitely something scary and weird happening inside her. And if it was just happening to her then she was going to feel like an idiot if it continued.

Jake took a slug of the beer that Panit brought over and broke the connection. ‘I’d love to travel more. I just haven’t gotten round to anywhere that far away.’

‘You’ve been focusing on work?’

‘You bet. My plan is to get to the top of my field and then take a little time to smell the roses... But, first, no rest for the wicked, right? You’ve got to push, push, push. I get the feeling you’ve got the same kind of drive.’ Confidence oozed from him, particularly in his smile. She wondered how it would be if this were a real date rather than a non-date. How it would feel to have those hands touch her... And suddenly she wanted them on her.

Was this chemistry real?

No. It couldn’t be. She shoved such fanciful ideas to the back of her mind. He’d made his intentions very clear and she was perfectly fine with that. She didn’t have time in her life for anything more intimate than this sort of dinner.

The food arrived so quickly she was surprised when the server returned with steaming plates of mains and bowls of rice. Jake picked up his two chopsticks, and one of hers, and held them aloft in front of him. ‘So, here we go...brain surgery one-oh-one. Basically you need one head, three probes...’

‘You’re not really going to...?’ She squeezed her eyes half-shut and shuddered.

‘And a drill...’ He made a drilling sound. Then stopped as she screwed her eyes up even tighter. ‘You okay? You’ve gone a bit green.’

‘Please. No. That is so gross.’

‘And I thought you had guts, Lola Bennett.’

Did he? How? Why? ‘Well, you’re going to see them in a minute if you don’t stop.’ But she was laughing and not really grossed out at all. Although she wouldn’t be queueing up to see him in action for real.

He winked. ‘Another day, then. Seriously, if you decide to incorporate some medical scenes into your story I’ll be happy to help with the technical details.’

‘Who knows? I may just take you up on that. I do have a few medical scenes in there. Perhaps you could write them for me and I can just edit them peering from behind my fingers?’

He smiled. ‘The trick, I imagine, is to just give a few spare details and not a lot of gore—unless you’re writing a horror movie, in which case the more gore, the better. Everywhere.’

‘Especially in the scene where it’s night-time and someone hears a noise in the cellar. But no one has a torch...and they go down anyway...while we’re all screaming, “No, don’t do it!”’

‘Aw, no? Lola, I never realised they did that—but now you mention it...every horror movie. Ever. Now you’re analysing it and spoiling it for me too.’ Laughing, he tucked into the food and she followed suit. It was delicious, totally authentic and quite spicy. The cold beer washed everything down well. They ate in companiable silence until he put his chopsticks down and looked at her. ‘So, give me a synopsis of your story.’

‘Oh. Okay. Right. Well, I’ve been practising my elevator pitch—basically that’s for when I’m caught in an elevator with a famous director and I have two minutes to tell them about my script before they get out.’

‘You get caught in elevators with directors often?’

‘Not often enough. Well, never...but I’m prepared anyway in case I do. So...listen up...’ No point being nervous. He wasn’t going to poke fun at her. He wouldn’t criticise it. He was a...friend. She tested how that felt, and it felt good. He was funny and attentive and knew great authentic places to eat and was... Did it matter whether friends were gorgeous to look at? Just looking at him was putting her off her stride, never mind about the scary fluttery thing happening inside her. ‘Right... Oh, this is too hard.’

‘Come on, Lola. You can do this.’

I can? He believed in her, so why didn’t she?

Because so far things hadn’t worked out according to her plan, and before she knew it she’d be back on the plane, the second one in her family to give up on Los Angeles hopes and dreams. And she’d have to admit the truth to her parents and she didn’t want to do that until she was successful. ‘Okay. Here goes: Jane Forrest is thirty, brilliant, and...dying. Her father is missing, estranged and may hold the key to her survival. How far does she need to go to find him before time runs out? How strong are the ties that bind them together after years apart, and what will it take to convince him to help?’

‘Wow.’ Jake nodded, not looking as if he was overly impressed. ‘Great, Lola. Yeah.’

‘You’re not convinced?’

‘Good to hear there are no outer space desert warrior princesses.’ He took a mouthful of noodles. Swallowed, licked his lips and grinned. ‘Sounds pretty intense.’

‘It’s actually very funny in parts. I’m told it’s uplifting...and sad too. I cried buckets when I wrote it and my tutor said it was one of the best scripts he’d read. It’s about a woman trying to find her long-lost father, as she needs a bone-marrow transplant. Her investigation takes her all over the world to all the places he’d visited, and she learns about the great man he’d become. But she eventually comes almost full circle and finds him in the town next to where she grew up. And she gets to wondering, if he was so great, why didn’t he look for her too? But also he’s dying, so he can’t help her. It’s...I guess it’s about their relationship, forgiveness and healing—even when healing isn’t always possible.’

Elbows on the table, he steepled his fingers. ‘Sounds brilliant. So why haven’t you sold it yet?’

‘It’s not that easy—you don’t just advertise online and get it optioned. I’m tweaking it. It needs work.’

‘You need someone else to look it over...a script assessor? Your dad?’ Jake’s startling blue eyes lit up. ‘He’s been an actor and a teacher, so what’s the harm?’

The harm was that no one in her family knew she was writing. There’d be too many questions—too much she’d have to tell them. And then there’d be the letdown, the disappointment, the betrayal. And, after all that, even if her dad was still interested in reading her screenplay, what if it was rubbish? She’d never live it down. ‘I don’t know. It’s like...it’s like handing over your heart and giving someone carte blanche to stomp over it.’

‘Stomping runs in the family?’

‘We’re champion stompers actually. Won awards for it... We are stomping elite.’

‘But he wouldn’t do that. Surely not?’ Jake studied her for a moment. His eyes really were stunning and she didn’t want to stop looking at them. Her stomach felt a swooping sensation every time their gazes connected. Knowing she was on a highway to nowhere, she looked away as he spoke. ‘You miss them?’

‘Of course, every day.’ So much. But she had to strike out on her own. She was going to be a success on her terms, then she would go home and celebrate with them. If they were still speaking to her. She turned back to him, wanting to put the focus on him for a while. ‘Don’t you miss your family too? Where are they? Didn’t you say they were north somewhere?’

‘Van Nuys. Just parents. I’m an only child.’

‘Not far at all, then. Do you see them a lot?’

‘They’d probably say not enough, but...you know how it is.’ He shrugged, a little closed suddenly, and she wondered why.

‘You’re busy living your life, right?’

‘Sounds selfish when you put it like that.’ Eyebrows rising, he huffed out a breath. ‘Which is a huge guilt trip for me, seeing as they fought hard for me to do that. Too damned hard at times.’ Then he looked away and breathed out heavily.

She felt as if she’d put a big dollop of down on the conversation and thought briefly about putting her hand on his shoulder to show him solidarity, but thought better of it. She couldn’t work out why she had this sudden urge to touch the man. Or to make him feel better. ‘Go and see them, then.’

He turned back to her. ‘That easy, right?’

‘Look, I don’t know the circumstances, but I’d say some communication is better than none.’ She was giving family relationship advice? Go figure.

He finished his beer and stared at the empty glass, clearly not wanting to elaborate. Then he turned to her and smiled. ‘You know what? I just might go up there and see them—although I’m going to Nassau this weekend.’

‘You too, eh? Lucky duck. I’ll be stuck here with the pooches. Cameron has three dogs she adores. And I don’t particularly. They’re very spoilt,’ she finished in a whisper. She would have to play mama while everyone else swanned off to the Bahamas. She refused to allow images of Jake sunbathing into her head. But they came and hung around for a few moments anyway, making her blush. It seemed her mind was in conflict over Jake Lewis. On the one hand, it understood and respected the whole friends thing...and on the other it wanted sneaky, semi-naked thoughts. Actually, it wanted full-blown, butt-naked thoughts. Clearly she was going mad. It was time for bed. Alone. ‘Actually, talking of work...it’s getting late, I really should be getting home.’

He glanced at his watch and nodded. ‘I suppose so.’

He got the bill and refused to discuss her paying a share. Which was another big fat tick for the doctor—because even though she tried to pay it was nice to have someone looking out for her for a change. ‘I’ll get it next time,’ she promised.

‘Next time?’ There was a smile in his voice and a question. As they walked towards her car she wondered what to do or say now. Would there be a next time? Had she said something inappropriate? Should she kiss him on his cheek, both cheeks, shake hands? Or just walk away? ‘Next time sounds good, Lola. It’ll have to be after Nassau, though. But, before you go, I have something to ask you...’

‘Oh? Yes?’ Her voice rose a little as her heart began to hammer.

‘Strange question, I know, but is Cameron seeing anyone at the moment?’

Oh, God. Her stomach tumbled. Here we go again. Stupid. Stupid. She’d read the signs all wrong. He wasn’t remotely interested in her, he was interested in Cameron. She should have known. History repeating itself over and over. That was why he’d insisted it wasn’t a date. Stupid fool. When would she learn? No one was interested in her. Plenty of interest in her boss, though.

Hoping he hadn’t heard the pathetic hope in her voice, she tried to keep her answer in friend territory. ‘Not at the moment. That I’m aware of. She was dating Marc Jason a few months ago but that fizzled. It’s always the same—busy schedules that never coincide and no one wanting to put their relationships first, because that’s the kiss of death to a career-minded person.’ And, okay, she was just adding that last bit on to remind him that he was a career-minded person too, and that a relationship with Cameron would never work. It was for his own good. Plus, putting a negative spin on it made her feel a teensy bit better.

‘Oh. Okay.’ He frowned again, as if he was thinking about something serious—weirdly, he didn’t have that dog panting tongue thing going on like most of Cameron’s admirers. Maybe he was working out a strategy for when they were in Nassau. A sensible and driven man was Jake, and very goal oriented. Maybe bedding an A-list actress was on that list of goals. Along with shaming the personal assistant. Well, he could tick that one off his list already.

‘Do you want me to put a word in for you? Is that what this is all about? Is that what dinner was about? The non-date? You’re interested in Cameron because, let’s face it, why wouldn’t you be? So you thought you’d pay for dinner and buy her secrets from me? Or worse—if you can’t have her, you’d try to have me as consolation prize? Second best, right? Here we go again.’ Fighting back bitter tears, Lola stomped—yes, she stomped perfectly—towards her car.

But Jake caught her up and pulled her to a complete halt. ‘What...? You think...? Me? With Cameron? Are you for real?’

‘It wouldn’t be the first time that has happened to me.’

‘Hell, no. You’ve totally got this upside down. Not at all. Not at all. I was asking...’ again the serious frown and a pause ‘...to see who would be on the private plane, who to expect generally. How many people I have to look after.’ He gave an embarrassed wince because clearly he wasn’t convincing anyone with that line. ‘But really? Has that happened before? A guy has taken you out so you could introduce him to Cameron?’

‘Yep. One too many times.’ Lola closed her eyes briefly at the memory, the sharp sting of betrayal. How gullible she’d been...and was continuing to be. Would she never learn? ‘But she is very beautiful and rich and famous and on another level. Why wouldn’t anyone be attracted to her?’

Conversely, then, why would anyone be interested in her?

Jake’s jaw stiffened, his eyes blazing in the streetlight, his grip on her arm firm. ‘I am not attracted to Cameron Fontaine.’

‘Then you must be blind.’

Strangely, out of nowhere a smile formed on his lips. ‘Oh, no, my vision is perfect.’

‘Then you must be gay.’ Please, for the love of all women, including Cameron Fontaine if absolutely necessary, do not be gay.

‘No way.’ He stepped closer, so she could see his chest rising and falling, could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin. Could smell the most exquisite scent of man and medicine and spice.

‘Then what...?’

‘Then this.’ And he was suddenly too close. Not close enough. He pulled her to face him and his fingertips lifted her chin. ‘This, Lola.’

His mouth pressed against hers, gently at first, and her body responded in a flush of heat that pooled deep in her core. Every part of her craved him, craved to touch him, to kiss him, to feel him against her.

Initial instinct told her that she shouldn’t kiss him back, but something deeper, something intense had her opening her mouth and tasting him. And he tasted good. So good. She felt as inquisitive as the doomed teenagers stepping into the dark basement, and as filled with adrenalin. Knowing, like them, she was headed to disaster but doing it anyway.

She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him closer as his tongue slid past her lips, stoking the furnace that had lit inside her. She moaned at the pleasure of him filling her mouth, of the curling clench in her gut, at the sensations that ran up and down her spine, just being in his arms.

Leaning her against her car door, his hands cupped her face and he pressed harder against her, kissing her open-mouthed, and wet and hungry. She could feel how much he wanted her. How much he wanted something from her.

And like listening to an old-fashioned vinyl record scratching to a stop, she felt a visceral catch as her body stiffened. She put her hands on his chest and pushed a little away from him. ‘Stop. No. This...this isn’t...’

‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ But he didn’t let her go as he hauled in deep ragged breaths, kissed the top of her head and stayed close.

‘I can’t stop thinking about Cameron and there are too many questions racing in my head. Too many reasons not to do this. Please, I think you should just go.’

‘Lola, believe me, this is not about Cameron. She is the furthest thing from my mind. I don’t want to go. I want to stay right here, doing this.’

* * *

Damn it. Jake’s hands dropped from her face as he struggled to control his breathing. God, she was hot. He couldn’t describe the way he felt with her pressing against him, kissing him. The fun she found in her life despite everything, the positive spin, the humility. She was a bundle of energy that he wanted to capture, to slow down, to have in his bed. And he’d blown it by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Each time he thought he knew what he was doing, things took a very unexpected turn.

Error number one: inviting Lola out for dinner in the first place, when he should have gone home and packed for the break he clearly needed. Because, no matter what he might have said about it being a non-date, the words and the reality were on two very opposing sides.

Error number two: mentioning Cameron at such a defining moment. He’d been thinking about trying to convince Lola’s boss to seek medical help, and had wondered whether he should suggest Cameron confide in the baby’s father too. He couldn’t tell Lola that Cameron was pregnant. That would betray a professional confidence and was something he would never do.

But he did want to keep kissing Lola. ‘I was stupid to mention her. I’m sorry I’ve ruined the moment.’

‘I’m sorry? So you can actually say it? Now, there’s a revelation.’ Lola gazed up at him and he could see the hesitation and the desire still there, and that she was fighting it. Resigned to it being over. ‘It was already heading in the wrong direction, right? It wasn’t a date, you said openly that you didn’t want that, and things have just gotten a little out of control.’

He huffed out a long breath. ‘I wanted to kiss you.’

‘And I wanted to kiss you back.’ She gave him a small smile that was at once coy and sexy.

That gave him some hope, as he wasn’t finished with the kissing. Although everything she was saying made absolute sense, his body had other things on its mind. ‘So we could have a re-run?’

The red hair swung as she shook her head. ‘No, Jake. It was an itch that we had to scratch. But it’s done now and I don’t think we should do it again. I get the feeling we want very different things.’

‘I don’t know what I want, Lola. At least I did yesterday. I did this morning. Now I’m not sure, but I think it definitely involves you and a lot more kissing.’

‘See? Now I’m messing things up for you.’ She turned away from him and unlocked her car. Climbed in. Wound down the window. All in the quick-paced way that she did everything. ‘I think it’d be a good idea if I’m not around when you come over to see Cameron. Don’t worry, I’ll make myself scarce.’

Then she gunned the engine and was gone.

She was right. Kissing was messing with his head. A few days on location with a demanding celebrity would see him back to his normal self—one who didn’t do random kissing in the street with a woman he’d only just met.

Although he had a feeling that getting back to normal might take a little time, and that a certain Lola Bennett would be stomping through his dreams tonight.

CHAPTER FIVE

JAKE HAD TO admit that flying by private jet was going to be pretty damned cool. He wasn’t easily impressed, but he was looking forward to this part of the potentially mind-numbing trip more than anything else. Somehow he’d managed to score a flight with Cameron, and he needed to find time to talk to her about his suspicions of her pregnancy and what antenatal care she should be having.

Thankfully he could concentrate on that, and then try to get some shut-eye after failing to get a decent night’s sleep for the first time in his life. Medical school then interning—being woken up at any time of day and night and expected to respond immediately with both a ready smile and a correct diagnosis—had taught him to be able to sleep anywhere he needed, any time. He could power up and down on demand as easily as his trusty laptop.

Except for the last few nights—when he hadn’t been able to get the taste and smell of Lola, along with memories of her easy laugh and mesmerising smile, out of his head. All the more reason he needed this break—mind-numbing or not—to reaffirm his work focus and equilibrium. He would approach it as he did everything else, with single-minded determination to do it to the highest standard.

It was, after all, what he’d promised his father he would do—and the only thought going through his brain right now, other than Lola, were the words he’d used at his father’s bedside in the hospital. ‘I’ll pay you back, double, triple what you’ve given me. Just get well and come home.’ His dad had paid too high a price for Jake to lose focus.

After ditching his car at valet parking, he strode into the private airfield departure lounge, which was more like a converted hangar than anything particularly luxurious, and was immediately greeted by a cacophony of shouts, hysterical screaming and wild yapping.

‘Get her, quick, grab her, hurry!’ Cameron was screaming, as a small brown dog wearing a studded diamanté collar, head down and teeth bared, scampered faster than Jake imagined a dog that size could go towards an open door that led to the tarmac. Dropping his bags, Jake set off in hot pursuit, dodging air crew, ground crew, piles of luggage, a refuelling lorry and, thankfully, but only just, a catering trolley heading straight for him.

The dog, seemingly enjoying this game of one hundred metre dash, bounded towards the steps of a private Cessna.

‘Peanut! Sit. Sit!’ From behind Jake a stern but breathless English voice bellowed through the hangar and, unbelievably, the dog came to an abrupt halt at the foot of the steps. ‘Naughty girl! Now, come here.’

Lola?

Jake took the opportunity to creep forward and grab the dazed puppy, securing it under his arm. I did not sign up for this.